The next morning, Justin woke up and realized there was an empty spot beside him where Alex usually slept. That's odd, he thought. She's never awake this early. He slowly got out of bed and walked downstairs, finding Alex in the kitchen. She was making tea once again and began coughing. He walked up behind her and rubbed her shoulder. "Hey…you alright?"
After her coughing fit died down, Alex replied in a hoarse voice, "I think I'm sick…I feel horrible."
"Yeah…you might be sick. Your voice sounds horrible. Have you checked your temperature?" Justin asked.
"Not yet. I woke up around five this morning and couldn't fall asleep. My throat is dry and I can barely breathe through my nose. And now my head's staring to kill me," Alex moaned.
Justin replied, "I think you have a fever too…just try and get some rest. I'm going to get ready for work- I'll be back in a little bit."
After getting ready, Justin headed back downstairs and suggested, "Alex, it's going to be hard for you to rest if you're taking care of the kids today. You know, I can stay home."
Alex shook her head, "No…I'll be alright."
Justin insisted, "I don't mind staying home. I'll just call….."
"Really, Justin, I'm fine," Alex interrupted him.
Justin sighed, "If this has to do with last night, I…"
"It doesn't, so just leave." Alex coughed a bit more.
Justin headed for the door and looked back at Alex, "I just don't want you to be mad at me…"
Alex watched as he left. She wasn't angry at him- she just felt confused. But the morning passed and Alex was ready to fall apart. She was tired and decided to call Harper, who graciously agreed to come.
Harper walked in and commented, "Well, you look like crap."
"Thanks, Harper."
"Auntie Harpie!!!" Kaylin and Trevore screamed.
"Hey guys."
"Can you watch Little Mermaid with me?" Kaylin asked.
Trevore interrupted, "But I want to play with cars!"
Harper smiled, "Calm down, you two. We can do both."
"Yeah!" Kaylin and Trevore yelled before running off into the living room.
Alex's voice sounded hoarse as she mentioned, "I really appreciate you coming to help me, Harper."
"No problem, bestie!" Harper smiled and continued, "Just get some rest."
"Thanks."
About two hours later, Alex woke up from her much needed nap and headed downstairs. She found Harper cutting an apple. Harper noticed Alex walk in and greeted, "Well, good morning!"
"Sorry…I didn't mean to sleep that long- I was just so tired and…" Alex began apologizing.
"Don't worry about it, Alex. I think I've gotten everything under control. Emma is sleeping in her crib upstairs and Trevore is taking a nap too. Kaylin' is out in the living room playing or coloring- I'm just cutting some fruit for her because she said she's hungry." Harper explained.
Alex sighed, "You are a lifesaver."
Harper laughed, but then asked, "Alex…you seem like something's bothering you. You want to talk about anything?"
"Well…it's just a little thing between Justin and I. Nothing big."
Harper became more alert, "What happened? Did he…"
Alex stopped her, "No…nothing serious. It's just that…."
"What?"
"Do you remember Juliet?" Alex asked.
Harper thought for a couple of seconds before replying, "Uhh…I think so. That name sounds familiar- back in high school, right?"
Alex nodded, "Mhm. She was Justin's girlfriend and…"
A light bulb must've flickered on in Harper's head as she exclaimed, "Oh! You mean the vampire! Wait…I thought she became old or something. Isn't that why they broke up?"
Alex nodded again, "Yeah, but a couple days ago, Justin bumped into her at the beach."
"Oh…"
"And they went out the other day- just to talk about things. I mean, I don't mind those types of things, but…"
Harper finished her sentence, "You're scared that Justin's going to fall for her again, aren't you?"
Alex sighed, "I guess…"
"Look, Justin loves you."
"I know that, but anything could happen….I really trust him, but…ugh! I don't know how to explain this." Alex sighed.
"If Justin leaves you- first, he'd be the biggest jerk to be walking on this planet. Second- I'm sure I or Max will kill him. And third- he'd be making the biggest mistake in his life." Harper joked.
Alex laughed slightly, "This is why you're my best friend, Harper."
Harper smiled her cheesy smile, "I know…but deep inside, I know he cares for you."
Alex shrugged, "I don't know…"
With perfect timing, Justin walked in, "Alex, I'm home…oh, hey Harper!"
Harper smiled, "Hi."
"So, what are you doing here?"
"Well, I decided to help Alex out with the kids since she's sick."
Justin muttered, "Oh…Alex, why didn't you call me?"
"I didn't want to disturb you."
"But this morning, I offered…"
"Look, Harper came over to help me and we were able to have a nice talk." Alex explained.
Justin raised his eyebrow, "What kind of talk?"
"Girly stuff….what else?" Alex smirked.
"Whatever…" Justin rolled his eyes jokingly.
As the weeks past, Alex did get better- however, she couldn't help but notice that Justin was spending a lot of time with Juliet. He usually went out with her on weekends and possibly on week days. She knew that he was just really excited to see her again and they were probably just talking, but something still didn't feel right. But Alex never confronted him about it because she trusted him…that was all there was to it.
______
It was a Sunday and Justin decided to meet up with Juliet at the mall. He enjoyed spending time with her since it had been years when they last saw each other. He wasn't going to lie either- he was extremely happy when he was around her. It almost seemed like old times.
Juliet interrupted his thoughts, "Justin, can I talk to you?"
"Of course."
"I've been thinking a lot about us."
"Oh…and?" Justin became worried.
Juliet frankly blurted out, "I still love you."
Justin was shocked and silence hung in the air, but he said, "But…you can't."
"There wasn't one day when I wasn't thinking about you." Juliet continued.
Justin sighed, "I'm with Alex and I have a family… and….look, I'm sorry I never waited."
"I know…I'm not forcing you to leave Alex or anything, but please think about it." Juliet says as a moment of silence followed her sentence. All of a sudden, she kissed Justin- who surprisingly didn't let go at first. He knew it was wrong, so he pulled away quickly, but felt a need to hang on.
Justin shook his head, "I...I'll talk to you later…I gotta go…" He murmured to himself, "For now, I need to straighten things out by myself."
Justin got in his car and was ready to drive home, but instead, he just sat by himself for a couple of minutes. His mind was going in all sorts of directions and he had no idea what to do. The truth was that he loved seeing Juliet and wanted to spend more time with her. On the other hand, he cared for Alex and wanted the best for her. They had been through a lot together, but what Juliet mentioned earlier was going to be stuck in his head forever. He didn't know if he had feelings for her, but something inside kept telling him to be with her more often. Then, Justin reminded himself of a quote- "You can never forget your first love." Was this true?
Was he falling for Juliet all over again?
Thanks for reading and review!
