Twenty-Four ~ Chris Evans X Reader

Part 6 ~ The Harsh Truth

"Jack? Why was he there?"

"Apparently he was still listed as my emergency contact. Any ways, of course I asked him why he was there and what happened." Tears started to fill my eyes as I somehow found the courage to continue. "He said that I had taken so many drugs and drank so much that I had done the same thing as Emily and overdosed; but that wasn't even the worst of it." Karen's grip tightens on my hand offering me moral support as I continue, "It seems that I had been two months pregnant at the time." Karen gasps as she realizes whose baby it had been. "I lost my baby. I was distraught. I was borderline suicidal. Surprisingly though Jack was very helpful. He stayed with me, forced me to take my medicine and to stop drinking. He was a real godsend, which surprised the hell outta me cause before he was so mean."

"I guess getting a phone call that your ex had almost died freaked him out enough to wake his abusive ass up." Karen interjects matter of fact-ly.

"Apparently so. It was while Jack was still staying with me that Chris showed up one day wondering why I hadn't answered the phone or contacted him. He saw Jack there, who was kind of an ass to Chris if I remember correctly, and automatically assumed I had cheated on him and went back to Jack. He left angrily not giving me a chance to explain. I was about to go after him when a reporter showed up on my doorstep and threatened to reveal the whole story, which would ruin not only my career but it would have done worse to Chris's, he told me that if I ended things with Chris and stayed away from him he'd keep the whole thing secret. Even though it killed me I went to Chris's apartment and told him the biggest lie of my entire life. I told him I didn't love him anymore and that I never wanted to see him again."

"And until today you kept that promise." Sebastian says regretfully as he realizes that it's because he asked me to go with him.

"Seb, it's not your fault. You didn't know. No one did." I say turning my attention to him as I pull my hand from Karen's and gently touch Seb's cheek. "It'll be alright. I'm a lot stronger than I used to be."

"You have to tell Chris." Seb says and my heart drops.

"No,"

"(Name) he has a right to know the truth, all of it."

"I won't do that to him. I'm not gonna tell him that I lost our baby all those years ago and that's why I shut him out. I can't do that to him."

"Is it really him you're trying to protect, or yourself?" Karen asks and my heart drops.

"Both." I reply as I push away from the table and standing up walk away from them and toward the bar. I was seriously craving a drink and somewhere quiet. At least I could have one of the two. Smiling politely I weave through the crowd until I make it out to the terrace. Thankfully there was no one else there so I walk over to the railing and leaning against it I let out a heavy sigh. I knew I should tell Chris everything but I was scared. I know that you're thinking, that's a stupid excuse but I can't help it.

"I figured I'd find you out here." I hear a familiar voice say and I feel butterflies dance in my stomach. I gulp down a breath of air as he walks up beside me and leans on the railing his arm inches from mine. "You looked spooked, are you okay?"

"Honestly?" I ask as I turn toward him my eyes finding his. "I don't really know what I'm doing here."

"What do you mean?"

"I hurt you Chris; if you knew everything you'd run away and never look back."

"(Name), I just want the truth. All of it. I know you were going through a lot because of Emily's death but I wanted to be there for you. I wanted to help you through it."

"Chris you don't understand," I fold my arms over my chest as I try to keep my cool.

"Then tell me so I will."

"I can't!" I reply a little louder than I mean to causing his jaw to clench. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell."

"(Name)," He says closing the distance between us his hands reaching up to rest on my shoulders. "I understand that there are some things you are scared to tell me. I know you are worried about hurting me and more importantly yourself; but I'm a big boy, I can handle it." He offers me a reassuring smile and I feel my fears melt away.

"What if it's something you'd never forgive me for?" I ask my eyes begging him for an honest answer.

"We'll deal with that when it comes to it. I just want a second chance at what we had; no scratch that. I don't want what we had." He pauses and my heart clenches. "I want to start over. I'll wait for you to tell me everything in your own time. I won't push you. We'll take things slow. What do you say?"

Everything in my head screams at me to say no, to walk away and never look back. I lean forward and placing my head on his chest say, "Okay, we'll try again."