SECOND CHANCES (ORIGINAL WORK)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

She stumbled, trying to find the words. "I can explain."

"Explain what exactly?" Jason shook his head, and his lips twisted into a frown. "I was worried sick about you. Now I come home and find out that you're packing? What the hell's going on, Aaliyah?"

Aaliyah's eyes suddenly dropped to the floor as she bit her lower lip. Jason had seen that particular behavior enough to know that she only did it when she was extremely nervous and he had a sinking feeling in his gut that warned that he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.

"I...um..."

She was still refusing to look at him.

"Aaliyah," he said, his voice a low growl of impatience and anxiety. "What were you doing?"

She said nothing, eyes still fixed to the floor.

"Aaliyah. You—"

"I had a lapse in judgment," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "I was going to leave."

For a moment, there was silence in the room, a stillness so dense that they could feel it pressing down on them with suffocating weight until at last Jason spoke, the incredulous tone clearly audible in his voice.

"But... how could you... Aaliyah, I love you. You're everything to me."

Aaliyah heard his voice break with emotion and lifted her eyes to meet his blue pair that were filling with moisture. She cupped a hand over her mouth as her heart constricted.

"No." She stifled a sob. "Don't..."

"What did I say? What did I do to make you want to leave? Whatever it is that took you away from me, I'll fix it, I promise."

She shook her head. "You didn't say or do anything wrong."

"Then why?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I—"

"Sorry?" He glared at her incredulously. "How could you do this to me? I love you and you were just going to leave me without saying so much as a goodbye?"

She winced at his words, looking absolutely miserable. She was perfectly aware what she did was wrong, but that didn't make it any easier to listen to Jason berate her.

"I don't deserve this. I don't," he continued. "You're pregnant with my child, Lia, my child! You can't just leave me like this. I have a right to be with my kid!"

Aaliyah wrapped her arms around herself as if they would protect her from Jason's painful words, but she couldn't stop the tears from forming in her eyes. Jason was furious with her, furious and disappointed, and that knowledge only compounded the pain gripping her chest.