The odds against us • a Scott and Allison fan fiction

29 • Mondays

Scott's pov:

"I uh.. I'm sorry I shouldn't have come." I say awkwardly, turning away and placing my hand on the back of my neck.

"No, you shouldn't have. What the hell are you doing here?" Allison questions.

"You didn't get my-"

"I think it's time you leave." The dirty-blonde man suggests.

"Get... What?"

Then, I hear the door slam shut from behind me. Did she really have no idea what I was talking about? She must have gotten the note, unless someone stole it from the hallway, but I can't see why anyone would do that.

Who was this guy? Her boyfriend? I wondered if he knew about me, or our situation. I wondered if he'd met Emma yet. It might not be my place to say this, but I hope not. I hope she hadn't forgotten who I was, and replaced me with him. These thoughts clouded my mind as I trudged back to my hotel in the rain. It rarely rained in California, but of course it did the one time I really wasn't in the mood for it.

As soon as I get back to my temporary home, I watch some tv before heading to bed. I lay awake for hours, thinking about Allison and everything I've done wrong in my life. I'm a complete and utter failure. I've ruined my only shot at happiness, at a family, and I'm never going to get it back.

By the time to sun begins to rise, I haven't even slept for a minute, so I decide to get out of bed. I'm feeling delirious from exhaustion, and my idiotic, tired brain decides that it's a good idea to call Allison.

After about three rings, she picks up.

"Scott, what do you want?" She whispers.

"Alli, please meet me for coffee. I'm begging you!" I plead.

"Why? You think you can just waltz back here after eight months and everything will go back to normal and be all rainbows and unicorns? It won't be, okay? You broke my heart and I'm finally picking up the pieces. I won't let you ruin me again."

"I don't want to ruin you again. I want to get coffee, that's all. Just twenty minutes before you go to work, that's it."

"Fine. Meet me at the Starbucks across from my apartment in 10 minutes." She demands, before hanging up the phone.

As wave of relief rushes over my body until I think about the conversation a bit more. 10 minutes?!

I rush to get ready, only having time to brush my teeth, brush my hair, and get dressed. I throw on a pair of dark wash jeans with a grey T-shirt and red hoodie, and Sprint out the door. I make it to Starbucks a couple minutes late, and I hope that Allison is still waiting. Luckily, I find her sitting at a table with a coffee in her hand. I assume it her's favourite- a medium flat-white.

A huge grin forms on my face, and I take a seat directly across from her. She looks up from her laptop, and takes notice of my presence with a faint smile.

"Hi." She says. "You look... Tired."

"Hi. Yeah, I didn't really sleep at all last night. I'm really sorry for showing up out of the blue yesterday."

She nods, and there's an awkward silence for a few moments. She's obviously not willing to accept my apology.

"So..." She says, after sipping her coffee.

"I'm just wondering, did you ever get my note?" I ask, sinking back into the chair.

"What note?"

"Never mind."

"No, tell me. Anything worth repeating?"

"No, no. It was stupid." I lie, wishing I could just tell her. "So, how's Emma?"

"She's good. She misses you. I told her that you've been away on business."

"Could I maybe see her sometime?"

"Maybe. I'll think about it."

"How have you been?"

"Good. Really good, actually. I have a new boyfriend, the one you met yesterday. His name's Max. We've only been together for two months, but we're getting to know each other. How about you?"

My worst fear has been confirmed. Boyfriend. Goodbye to any chance of winning Allison back.

"Uh... Good. Yeah. I'm sure Lydia told you about my travelling."

"Yep. Sounds fun."

"I guess. It wasn't worth leaving for, though."

"Oh."

Some more awkward silence is shared.

"Well, I better get going. Feel free to text me, we can figure something out for you and Emma. Maybe once a week on... Mondays?"

"Really? Thank you! I'd love that." I exclaim, reaching across the table to grab her hands, but I quickly pull back, remembering that she has a boyfriend.

"Well, I'll see you, then." She says as she slides her laptop into her bag.

As she's leaving the store, I call her name. "Alli?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry for everything."

She nods once again, not accepting my apology, before exiting.

A few days later
Allison's pov:

"Emma, can you come here, please?" I ask her, switching off the tv. My brunette daughter skips over to me from her dollhouse, placed in the corner of the living room, and plops down next to me on the couch.

"Yes, mommy?" She smiles.

"I have some good news. Daddy is back from his trip, and you're gonna spend the day with him tomorrow!"

"Yay!!! When is he gonna come back here?" She asks.

"Well... That's the thing, sweetheart. It's different now. Daddy isn't going to live here anymore, and you're gonna see him once a week." I explain, causing her to frown. "I'm sorry, baby." I pick her up, and place her in my lap, wrapping my arms around her tiny body.

"Mommy," She whispers. "Do you still love daddy?"

I take a deep breath, and think carefully for a moment.

"Of course I do. I always will, but for now, this is what we have to do, okay? I'm sorry it has to be this way." I reply, tears streaming down my cheeks.

"It's okay."

•

Author's note:

Yes, the Starbucks meeting was supposed to be awkward. Yes, Allison is still in love with Scott, but it's different now. She knows that.