In a couple of days, the new season would be starting& the last thing on his mind was the first game. Stephen was still a bit frustrated with Alyssa about Christian. He wasn't mad at her, but the way she approached their conversation threw him off.
And she also brought up the whole Felicia thing. Unnecessarily.
Stephen knew his fiance was just as stubborn as he was, so it was obvious the two still needed some time to cool off and get over themselves before discussing the issue again. He hated the fact that they played the silent game every time they were upset. She was rarely ever the one to break the silence, even if she was more wrong than right in the argument. But once he got over himself, he'd return to his gentleman ways and apologize just to make things better with her.
Just not right now.
"Hey." Steph says, walking into the kitchen seeing Alyssa working on some dinner.
"Hi."
"Whatcha making?"
"Pasta."
"Yum."
"Is it okay if Sheri has dinner with us?"
"Yeah. You two go eat, I'm not too hungry anyways."
"I guess." Alyssa shrugged, keeping her eyes on the cutting board.
"Twins taking a nap?"
"Mhm." There was an awkward silence. Steph sighed as he closed the fridge and took a sip from his glass of water.
"Well I'll be upstairs then." Being the princess that Alyssa is, she rolled her eyes and continued to cook the pasta. Before he could fully leave the kitchen, he turned back around and slightly threw his hands up in defeat.
"So are we just gonna keep doing this?"
"Doing what, Stephen?"
"This! This back and forth of being stubborn."
"I'm not being stubborn. You are."
"Me?" He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "You know what, never mind. Alright. Forget it. All I want to do is protect my family, is that so much?"
"Protect us from what? You're overthinking too many things."
"Whatever. Look, I'ma just give you some space tonight, alright?"
"Space for what?!"
"That! That attitude, is it necessary? Damn." He smacks his lips. "I'll be at Dray's tonight."
"Go. I can handle the twins by myself."
"Jesus." He mumbles, frustrated as he makes his way up the stairs to pack some stuff for the night. He feels horrible that he's leaving but at the same time, he's way too upset. He's mad. She's mad. They keep going in circles. You would think that living together, they'd learn how to fix their problems.
Not in this case.
He doesn't understand why she's being so difficult. He throws his fists in the air, carefully trying not to hit anything solid so he doesn't wake up the twins. Regardless of what she told him, he was still gonna take precautions and keep his eye on Christian. Even if she doesn't like it. That was his final word.
The issue wasn't supposed to become something this big. Over a psycho ex.
When Stephen finally leaves the house, Alyssa lets a few of her tears down. This is how they fought and she hated it. Putting two stubborn people together is work. But in due time, they'll be okay. So she lets it be. Hopefully.
"Hello?" She answers her phone call from Sheri.
"Hey girl. Sorry, I can't make it. Something came up."
"This late?"
"Ish. I'll explain later, but I'm so, so, sorry. I promise I'll make it up to you and see you and the twins soon. But I'll call you after, okay?"
"Mm, okay." Alyssa says, disappointed that her best friend wasn't coming through tonight to save her from her misery. But what can you do?
"I love you!" She quickly says before ending the call. She seemed happy, which Alyssa wasn't complaining about. But she wondered where it came from since, the last time she spoke to her, she was totally torn up over Klay.
"Well. What do with all this pasta." She says, digging the cooking utensil into the pasta to mix it. Then, she thought of the perfect person to come and keep her company. Plus, help her eat some of this pasta.
Meanwhile, Sheri hung up the phone, crying to herself in her bed. She tried her best to sound okay over the phone, but she was having one of her breakdowns and she was having the hardest time not thinking about the drugs she had in her drawer. At the beginning of the day, she had the courage to face Alyssa and tell her everything that's been going on - even if that meant being up front about her stupidity. But as time went on, she dreaded it. And she just couldn't do it. She'd break Alyssa's heart, and she already has too much going on.
He should've taken it, but he trusted her too quickly.
"Whats up, Sheri?" He says, picking up the phone. She's pretty sure he's tired of these calls, but he was her only rescue at the moment.
"Please come here."
"Alright, I'll be on my way. Hang tight. Don't touch your drawer." He says before ending the call. She threw her phone onto her bed, bringing her knees up to her chest. She let out every ounce of tears she had in her, the pain hitting her real bad tonight. Who was she kidding? Klay hurt her so bad. She had no idea why it felt this way, but it stung. And at this point, she didn't even think the drugs could help her. Cause every time she had taken a hit, it would be temporary. Then she would be in her feelings all over again. She really, really missed him and what they had.
But the thing that hurt her the most was knowing that she had to move on. Not saying that he was the one she'd move onto because it still didn't feel right. It seemed as if no one would ever be able to provide her with the same happiness, but she was hoping someone could do just that & then some. Only time could tell.
She had her head dug into her arms as they rested on her knees. She was slightly startled when she felt someone put their arms around her, not even hearing him come in.
"It's gonna be okay." He says, his hand rubbing the back of her head as he pulled her closer to him.
"I hate this."
"Hate what?"
"This feeling. I don't even know where it's coming from, and I have no idea why it feels this bad." She says, soaking his shirt and gripping onto it. He hugged her tighter, letting her release what she needed to release.
"Them drugs aren't helping you out. I told you."
"I haven't touched them."
"You shouldn't have touched them again in the first place, Sheri. There's better ways to handle things." He says a bit sternly. He was right. And she needed to hear it.
"I couldn't even see Alyssa today. I couldn't do it."
"Well, you're gonna have to see her soon. That's your best friend."
"I'm scared."
"Did she leave your side before?"
"No."
"Then she won't do it now. She'll be upset, but she's not gonna leave you." Silence. He sighs, hearing her calm down a bit and pulls away to lift her chin up. "I know what Klay did was fucked up, but you're gonna have to stop thinking that everyone's gonna end up leaving you too. He's one person. He doesn't compare to Alyssa or George, or any of your other loved ones. Let it go, Sheri. You're just gonna need to let it go. Let him leave, and you keep doing you. Everyone else who's been here, will be here." She looks at him, taking in every bit of his wise words. She kept repeating his last sentence in her head, over and over again. Hoping that maybe, it'll finally stick in her head and she could get back on her feet. Slowly but surely.
"It's just been so hard. I've felt so alone."
"Not anymore." He says, wiping the last tear that fell down from her eye.
"Why are you doing this for me?"
"Someone's gotta take care of ya, right? Not gonna let you get away with this one on your own, shorty." He chuckles a bit, getting a small giggle out of her. "See, I knew I'd hit a spot sooner or later."
"Thank you."
"My pleasure." He lightly taps the top of her nose and smiles down at her. She has no idea what comes over her, but she quickly places a kiss on his lips. "Wow. Is that what I get for being nice?"
"Shit, sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean--"
"Stop." He laughs. "That was actually kind of nice." She blushes.
"Well, do you know what'd be better?"
"What?"
"If you got me out of here."
"Hm, I mean, my crib isn't all that, but it'd probably be better than being cooped up in here. Plus, I got a ton of movies and video games."
"Video games?"
"Yeah yeah, I usually only touch it when some of the guys come over."
"Whatever you say."
-
"Sheesh, what are you trying to do to me with this pasta?" HB says, finishing his second full plate. "You didn't put no drugs in here, or anything of that sort, right?"
"Oh, I did. Sorry. Forgot to tell you." She shrugs, cleaning her plate. Harrison comes over, waiting for Alyssa to finish washing her dishes. "Put it in."
"Uhm, no. I'm grown. I can wash my own plate."
"Damn, okay. Go ahead." Alyssa laughs, putting the clean plate onto the dish rack. She sits on the counter, watching HB clean his plate and glass.
"What?" He looks up at her as he puts the soap on the sponge.
"Thanks for keeping me company."
"Yeah, of course. I'm always down for free food." She chuckles. "But, you do know I agree with Steph right?"
"On what? Christian?"
"Yeah." HB shrugs. "It is kind of weird, you can't deny that. You barely talk to the dude and he's showing up to the gate here and there. You can't help but trip when you feel like your family might be in danger."
"I guess so." She hops off the counter, grabbing the clean plate from him to place it on the dish rack. He stands next to her, watching her every move. Examining her, almost.
He still really had it for the girl, he wasn't gonna lie. And when he thinks about it, it still kind of kills him to see her with someone else. Don't get him wrong, he's happy that they're happy. But there's days where he can't help but wish it was him in the picture.
"Alyssa?"
"What's up, Barnes?" She looks up at him, his eyes fixed on hers.
"Can I tell you something?"
"Shoot."
"You know I've always got love for you, right?"
"I mean, I guess." She chuckles. "Why, did you really hate me before?"
"No. Do you get what I'm saying?"
"Elaborate." He sighs, hearing one of the twins cry. She had a feeling it might've been Lay, since she tends to wake up and cry more than her sister does. "Actually hold that thought. Let me go tend to Lay." She drops the rag onto the counter, hurrying off to the room.
"I love you." He mumbles to himself as he watches her walk away. "But I guess that's why I'm happy for you."
-
Just so you know. This anonymous man will be revealed next chapter. Lol.
Please continue to vote, comment, show some love, etc. etc.
(A/N: Missing You - Atu ft. Dpat)