I thought when I caught Teddy cheating on me it that had been the worst moment in my life. But this…it didn’t even compare. I felt like I couldn’t breathe as I collapsed to the ground, the tears not stopping this time as a loud sob broke through my lips. Nick dropped down in front of me, looking like he wanted to touch me, but I held up my hands. “Please, don’t touch me,” I managed to say, before wrapping my arms around myself and looking back at him through blurry eyes.
He stood up slowly, stuffing his hands into his pockets, like he was trying to keep himself from reaching out for me. “I’m sorry, Ally,” he said in a hoarse voice, turning away. “I didn’t want to ever hurt you.”
I sniffed loudly, wiping at my eyes. “But you did, Nick.” He turned back around, but I shook my head. “Please, just leave me alone. Please.”
I heard the engine of his bike start up, and I listened until it slowly started to fade away. I knew I would never see Nick again. No matter how hard it would be, I hoped that I never did. I guess I always expected the cheating from Teddy, but from Nick…I never expected something like this from him. Nick was different. At least I thought he had been. Nick was…Nick.
I don’t know how long I ended up sitting there like that, letting the tears flow until I think they eventually ran out. My insides felt like ice. I eventually stood up and dragged myself up the stairs, mechanically unlocking the door, changing into a t-shirt, and pulling the comforter over my head after I climbed into bed.
It wasn’t until I was drifting off to sleep that I realized what I had done. I inhaled deeply, smelling the scent of Nick on the t-shirt of his that I had put on, and somehow fell into a comfortable, dreamless sleep.
Nick
I had to pull over after I left Ally like that. I knew if I didn’t, I would’ve probably ended up wrecking my bike. I could barely see through the haze of tears clouding my vision.
I kicked at the gravel on the side of the road, pissed at myself, mad at this whole situation. I felt like a jackass for leaving Ally like that, looking almost broken. I wanted to scoop her up in my arms, tell her that everything was going to be alright, that I would fix this. But I couldn’t. There was nothing that I could do to fix this, and I needed to come to grips with that.
The baby would be here soon, and I wanted things to be ready for her as much as they could possibly be, so I know what I had to do, even though my head was telling me to do the exact opposite. So, instead of heading back towards Ally, where my heart belonged and would always belong, I headed towards my future. The future that no matter how much I wanted it to change was set in stone, and already rolling in motion. Now, I just needed to figure out how to live with the choice that I had made.
“I think that’s the last of all of her shit.”
I glared at Danny, wiping the sweat off my forehead, as I looked around my house, hating that everything I saw belonged to Kara. This should be Ally’s stuff invading all of my space. I shook my head as I took a big gulp of water. Those thoughts had been eating me alive for the past two weeks since my world had been flipped upside down and back again. I really needed to stop doing it; it wasn’t going to change anything.
Danny wasn’t helping at all either. I thought he was going to kick my ass when I told him that Kara was moving into my house. After I explained to him that I had to do what I had to do, he smacked me upside the head, and told me I was an idiot. “You know I was raised by a single parent, right?” He spread his arms out wide. “And I turned out pretty damn good. Why do you think you need to raise the baby together?”
I shrugged my shoulders, not wanting to rethink my decision. What’s done was done. I had showed up to Kara’s house, and told her that Ally was out of the picture, and that we were going to do what was right for our daughter by raising her together. She agreed without missing a beat, and then I told her we were moving into my place. There was no way in hell that I was giving that up too, and to my surprise, she hadn’t argued.
“Where is Kara by the way? I know she’s pregnant and all, but you would at least think she would’ve been here handing us bottles of water or something.”
I tossed my empty bottle towards the trashcan, and stood up from the spot that I had collapsed to on the floor. All of her stuff was moved in, but now we had to figure out where it was all going to go. She had put her furniture in storage, but there was still so much shit, and barely any space to put it.
“She went out with my mom.”
Danny choked on his water, and I slammed my hand on his back as he coughed loudly, trying to clear his throat. “Kelly? Your mother? Willingly went somewhere with Kara? Did you have to drug her or something?”