Billy sat the breakfast tray on the floor outside the door and walked back into the room, taking his place by the bathroom door.
"You ok?" He asked, his face concerned.
"I think so," Phyllis managed, her voice still shaky. She gripped her stomach, still acutely aware it could lurch at any moment. "Is it gone?"
"Yeah," he smiled. "It's gone...not even in the room."
She stepped out of the bathroom slowly. "I'm sorry. It was a really sweet idea...I just." She swallowed hard, the image of the food on the tray causing her insides to quiver.
"No..you don't apologize...I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking...I was just trying to do something nice for you. I wasn't thinking about you being sick." He reached over to the nightstand, grabbing the small bottle of ginger ale. "What about this?" he smiled.
Billy adjusted the pillows on the bed before kicking off his shoes and climbing back on top of the covers. He extended his arms, wrapping them around her as she snuggled up against him.
"I know I should be telling you you don't need to do this, but I really needed this right now." She looked up at him, her eyes full of wonder as she studied his face. "How do you always know?"
He smiled, kissing her forehead, enjoying the feeling of her in his arms. "I know you." He met her gaze, his smile broadening. "You know that. I'll do anything I can to put that smile on your face."
Almost as if on cue, her eyes filled with tears.
"Hey..Hey..Hey...What's that about? I'm trying to put a smile on your face here. What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she sniffles, smiling up at him and wiping her eyes. "You better get used to this...this gets worse before it gets better. It's happy caring, sad crying, crying at commercials, children's books, absolutely no reason..."
"So which one is this?"
"Happy," she whispered, leaning in for a quick kiss. "I don't know what I would have done without you the last few days...and the fact that you're here now...I mean not that I wouldn't expect you to, but this wasn't what we planned and..."
"Being with you is everything I planned...everything I dreamed of...whatever this life holds for us...as long as we're together, I'm here. You can count on it."
Jack stared through the glass door. His eyes were cold. "I've got nothing to say to you."
"You don't have to say anything," Billy shouted, frustrated with being forced to talk through the door. "You can just listen or not..I just want to say a few things to you and I'd rather not scream them out here."
He sighed as he heard the door open.
Jack stepped back, still glaring at him. "Where's your other half?"
"Jack, don't...I want to explain..."
"You want to explain?! You want to explain how my wife is having a child with you?" His face displayed his disgust and anger. "Spare me the details. I can read between the lines."
"You know what, you can't hear anything I have to say right now, and I get that, so I'm just wasting my time. I came here to get Phyllis' things, so I'll just go do that now."
He turned, heading for the stairs.
Jack's hand gripped his shoulders. "That won't be necessary. I had all your girlfriend's belongings gathered up this morning. I'd expect them to be at your place right now."
Billy closed his eyes. "Damnit, Jack. Why the hell would you do that?"
Jack smiled. He was certain any number of people would advise him to be the bigger man, to take the high road, not to do things to hurt people-at least not intentionally, but those people could shut the hell up as far as he was concerned.
"I was just trying to be helpful. I thought you would appreciate the fact that I was expediting the process of getting Phyllis under your roof."
"The hell you did," Billy snarked. "You did this to hurt us...more specifically to hurt Phyllis."
Jack stared at him. "So what if I did? You two don't deserve any pain? You only inflict it? You get to blow up the lives of everyone around you, but if anyone dares to take a swing as you at you..."
Billy stepped close to him, his eyes foreboding, "See that's just it, Jack-you can take as many swings at me as you want. You can plot and scheme. You can hate me. You can do anything you want to me and I'll let it go. I'll accept it because I get it. What I did to you was something you'll never get past, but what I won't allow, what I can't let you do is torture Phyllis. You don't believe it, but she's tortured herself plenty for this. She never wanted to hurt you. The guilt nearly ate her alive and she wanted to tell you the truth. I know that doesn't make it better. I know it doesn't make this hurt any less, but hurting her-especially now-it's not right."
"And why should I be worried about her wellbeing?" Jack asked, his face still stern.
Billy sighed. "Because she's pregnant...Because you love her...Because she's a human being...Because this isn't who you are. This isn't you, Jack."
Jack stood still for a moment, quietly considering his words. His blue eyes were like ice as they stared into his. "They say there are moments that define a person. I had a moment like that recently-when I found out my wife and my brother had been having an affair...when I found out they were going to have a baby together...it changed things. It changed me. So that Jack you knew-the one that would that would never do something to hurt someone intentionally, he's not here anymore. He's gone and I don't think he's ever coming back."
Billy stepped into the living room, stepping over the bags. Garbage bags. He sighed, shaking his head as he looked around the room. He'd thrown her things into garbage bags. His eyes moved to the couch where a box sat, its lid lifted half off. He lifted it, looking inside. His breath caught in his throat as he picked up the shredded bits.
"Phyllis," he called her name as he stepped into the room.
She was on the bed, her face buried in pillows, her hand clenched around shreds of pictures.
He lay down beside her, pulling her close to him, holding her as she cried. "I'm so sorry he did this," he whispered. "You don't deserve this."
She moved slightly, her eyes looking up at him. "That's just it, Billy. Maybe we do deserve it. What if this is just the beginning. What if this is just the beginning of the things we'll have to go through to pay for what we've done."
