The next morning John woke up and headed down the stairs where his wife was already hard at work making breakfast. She was still worried about Chelsie. John walked into the kitchen and kissed Jessica as he sat down and drank his cup of coffee. Adam walked down a few minutes later and sat at the table. He looked tired. John made a note to talk to him about it. There was a knock at the door and John and Jessica looked at each other. They hadn't been expecting anyone. Especially so early in the morning. John got up and answered the door and smiled a little. He stepped aside and let Randy and his wife Olivia in.
"Hey guys." John said.
"Hey, we wanted to stop by and express our condolences." Randy said somberly. "We would have been at the funeral but….Olivia wasn't feeling too well yesterday." Randy smiled over at his wife. She walked over to the table and sat down pushing some of her medium length brown hair over her shoulder. John had met the blue eyed beauty before and noticed that there was something different about her. She seemed to be glowing.
"I hope everything is okay." Jessica said as she turned around to look at them. She took in the way Olivia was sitting. The way her hand rested absentmindedly on her abdomen and smiled. "You're pregnant aren't you?"
Olivia looked up at Randy and smiled nodding. Chelsie rounded the corner just as the words left Jessica's mouth. Everyone stopped and looked at her. She had fresh tears in her eyes and flew back up the stairs locking herself in her room. It didn't seem fair. Her chance at happiness was gone and everyone around her was starting a family. Something she desperately wanted.
"Im going to go talk to her." Jessica said heading upstairs. She knew Chelsie was upset and she wanted to help her sister. She got to the room and knocked on the door. She heard Chelsie say go away. "Chels, it's Jess."
She heard her say come in. She walked in and saw her sister sitting in the window. It was one with the bench underneath that you could sit on. She sighed and walked over and sat down beside her.
"Chels, I know you're sad." She said to her.
"Everyone is getting their happy life except me. Don't I deserve to be happy?"
Jessica sighed and hugged her sister. "Chels, you do deserve to be happy and you will be again. I know how much you loved Chris. He loved you too. Chels, nothing about this is right. But you will be okay."
"How do you know that? Have you ever lost a husband? No." Chelsie said getting up. "Your husband is alive. You and he can be together like you were last night. You can make love to your husband. Kiss him and hear him say how much he loves you. You and he can have a family. I can't have that. My husband is gone and never coming back."
"Chels, I know I have no idea what you're going through. I'm just trying to help. I love you. You're my sister."
"Just go Jessica. I want to be alone." She said turning to face the window and turning her back on her sister.
Jessica sighed and headed to the door. She knew Chelsie needed time alone so, she would let her do what she needed to do. She came back downstairs and looked at Randy and his young wife.
"Jess, we didn't mean to upset her." Olivia began.
"She's not upset with you. She is just grieving over Chris. She will come around in time and apologize to you. A baby is a blessing." Jessica said rubbing her own belly.
"I know that. But part of me can't help but feel bad for her." Olivia said. Adam had slowly crept up the stairs and knocked on the door to Chelsie's room.
"Go away Jess. I don't want to talk to you right now."
"It's Adam." He said. When she didn't tell him to go away, he opened the door and walked into the room. "You okay?"
"I would be lying if I said yes. I am so far from okay. Jessica and Olivia get there happily ever after. They get to lay in bed at night with their husbands and have children. My chance at happiness is gone. I have no one outside of Jess."
"Did I ever tell you how Chris and I became friends?" Chelsie shook her head. "My mom lived down the street from Chris'. We used to play together in the woods behind the houses. My old man split before I was born. He was a mean drunk and he used to beat my mom. Anyway, my mom worked for Chris' family so to speak. She would help look after Chris after school. Mama got sick. It came on all of the sudden and by the time they caught the cancer, there was nothing they could do. Chris' family was so good to us. His mother never left her side. And she promised my mama on her death bed that she would take care of me. And she did. She treated me like I was her son too."
"Why are you telling me this?" Chelsie asked.
"To prove a point. My mother was all I had in life. And I thought that when she died, I would never have any family ever again. But I was wrong. You have people that want to be there for you. People who love you and are trying to be as understanding as possible. But you can't ask them to put their lives on hold or begrudge them their happiness. That's not what Chris would want."
Chelsie knew Adam was right. Chris wouldn't want that. Her head knew that but her heart wasn't ready to agree yet. She wanted her happy ending. She wanted her husband and a child. She wanted what her sister had. But she believed with Chris gone, her chance had come and gone.
"I really want to be alone." She said to him.
"Alright." Adam said getting up and walking to the door. "Chelsie, bad things happen. It's just how it is and you can't always control them. But no matter what bad might come, that is no reason to shut out the world."
Adam shut the door and headed downstairs. He hoped she took his words to heart. Chris would want her to be happy. He wouldn't want her to put her life on hold.
Wouldn't want her to put her life on hold. Those words rang in his head like a siren. Chris wouldn't want him to put his life on hold either. But that's what he was going to do if that's what it took to take care of Chelsie.
Jessica looked at him as he walked back into the kitchen. She could see the sadness he was trying to hide. He rushed out the back door and walked down by the lake adjacent to the house. When he was sure he was far enough away from the house and sufficiently covered by a thicket of trees, he sat down on the ground and let the tears fall. Heart wrenching sobs burned at the back of his throat and escaped his body in such a way that he was sure he was going to fall apart. Reliving the moment of his mother's death had made the stinging pain of Chris' death all too real in his mind and he finally let out the emotions he'd been keeping buried since his best friend, his brother died in his arms.