Illicit Affairs (Andy Barber x OC)

6 - Revelations

Of course it had been too good to be true. Rose knew enough to know that recent events would see that they were ripped apart.

Jacob Barber's arrest and trial for murder was all anyone could speak of in Newton as well as outside of there. The Rifkin murder was the focus of every news channel, every paper. The office was busy and Andy Barber's departure was hanging over her like a dark cloud. She hadn't seen him in a week or so. She could say nothing in his defence to Lynn. All Rose could do was just sit there and try to act like everything was ok.

It wasn't.

And it probably would never be.

She sat on her couch and pressed 'call', praying that he would pick up.

Voicemail.

That's all she ever heard now, and he'd not contacted her either. "Andy...just checking in that you're ok...and, well...if possible, I need to see you. It's kind of urgent. Ok not as urgent as what's been happening but pretty urgent." She paused. "Please, call me..." and then she hung up, feeling angry with herself that it had come to this.

Her phone vibrated soon after, Andy's name lighting up and she grabbed it quickly. "Rose..." his voice sounded disconnected towards her than usual.

"Andy...I'm sorry, I really needed to talk."

"It's not a good time."

"I know but..."

He paused. "One moment..." She could hear a voice in the background that sounded like a woman's before Andy said he needed to take the call. After some initial shuffling he finally came back on the line. "Sorry..."

"No it's ok, I shouldn't have called." She told him

"What did you need to talk to me about?" He asked.

Suddenly this didn't seem like a good idea. It wasn't right. He had a duty to his family more so than ever now, and despite telling her that he loved her, he probably wouldn't leave them now.

Not even with what she was about to tell him.

"Rose?" he pressed.

She swallowed. "I'm pregnant..."

The deathly silence that followed felt like a lifetime until finally he spoke. "Shit..."

"This is why I needed to talk..."

"No." He cut her off. "No, we can't talk about this – not now."

"Andy..."

"I'll call you tomorrow." And then his voice was replaced by the dial tone.

Rose hung up and put the phone down onto the coffee table, huddling further into the couch. She had always known deep down that she'd be the one who would end up getting hurt, but now Andy had left an ever lasting mark, and it was growing inside of her.

It was clear that he no longer wanted her, and now she'd told him that she was carrying his child it would give him even more of a reason to stay with Laurie.

Her phone lit up, a text message now coming through.

Andy.

Usual place, tomorrow evening. 8pm.

Already she was mentally preparing herself for the end. Nothing good had ever come from something like this. At least, not for women like her.

She'd ruin herself for Andy Barber over and over again.

Why? Because that was what love did to people who were in too deep as much as she was.

**

The words had hit him like a ten tonne weight straight to the stomach.

"I'm pregnant."

Had he heard her right?

No.

She couldn't be. They'd been careful? Obviously not enough as she was now telling him this. All he could muster was that they couldn't talk about it now and hung up. Andy needed to think about this.

This had taken a bad turn at the worst possible time. Jake being accused of murder and now Rose telling him she was carrying his child? She could be wrong. Perhaps she was? He knew she wasn't though, and she wouldn't lie about something like that either.

What a mess.

He inhaled deeply and exhaled, trying to get his head around the news, then hearing Laurie come into the office where he'd taken himself into to finish the call. "You ok? Who was it?" She asked, seeing him looking rather perplexed.

"Just Duffy..." he lied, "I called her because I needed some information – can't access it anymore so guess I've just gotta figure it out myself."

Laurie had been sporting the same tortured expression from the moment that it had been announced that Jacob was the main suspect in Ben's murder. This evening she looked more broken than normal, finding it hard to adjust to the fact that she'd lost friends as well as having to give up the job she loved for the time being.

"Come to bed..."

"I will soon." He replied, not looking at her. He just couldn't bring himself to meet her eye because she'd only press him further until he came clean. 

She left him alone and Andy pulled up Rose's name on his phone, sending her a message. He couldn't just leave this be. They needed to talk about this, figure out what the hell they were going to do. He loved her too much to let her go fully but, with Jacob's name being dragged through the mud, he needed to still stay with Laurie for the sake of their son.

Usual place, tomorrow evening. 8pm. He sent the message and shoved the phone into his pocket.

He'd been an idiot to think that they'd have it easy. That he could have simply walked out and started a new life with the woman who'd given him a new lease of it. He craved it as much as he craved Rose. Now everything was beginning to crumble before his eyes. 

The bottom line was that someone would always get hurt.