A/N: Many thanks to Dionne Dance for all of her help with this!
Ch. 25
The next thing Ichabod knew, someone was calling his name. A woman. Her voice was soft and familiar sounding. Then he realized, it was his mother calling.
"I...cha…bod… I...cha…bod… Wake up, Ichabod."
Ichabod cracked his eyes open, but everything was blurry. All he could make out was his mother's pale skin and dark hair. He closed his eyes again, but decided to answer. He didn't want to worry her.
"I'm fine, mother... just need to rest..."
He could hear her speak again, but not to him, and he could barely make out what she was saying. Then a male voice answered.
Oh. God, his father was there. It took all of his strength, but Ichabod forced himself up, leaning back on his hands for support. He opened his eyes and his vision was suddenly clear. He was at the gym. In Queens. It wasn't his mother standing over him, it was Michelle. His father wasn't there either, thankfully. He suddenly realized that both of his parents had been dead for over 200 years. The man that he had seen lifting weights was standing next to Michelle along with the other girl who had been working there. All of them looked extremely concerned.
"Ichabod! Are you okay?" Michelle asked, nervously.
Before Ichabod could get a word out, the man spoke up. "Just because he's sitting up doesn't mean he's okay. He might've had a seizure or he might have a concussion. We ought to call an ambulance. I'm telling you, I used to be an army medic and concussions aren't anything to be playing around with-"
"I'm fine," Ichabod cut him off. His head hurt, and he felt completely drained, but he was fine. He always felt this way after he fainted. "I don't need an ambulance, but thank you. I just... the snake scared me," he admitted, blushing as he did so. "It happens sometimes."
"Are you sure?" Michelle's coworker asked, "You went down pretty quickly, you might've hit your head."
"I'm sure. I always feel like this." Ichabod moved to stand up, but he barely had the strength to do so. Suddenly, someone put their hands under his armpits and lifted him up. It was the buff guy.
"There ya go," the man said, "I still think you ought to go to the hospital though. Especially if this happens a lot, could be a symptom of something bad."
Ichabod nodded curtly, "Thank you, and thank you for helping me up. I'll take your suggestion under consideration. Now, if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to head home."
Ichabod began to walk away before anyone replied. He wanted to get out as soon as possible, lest he embarrass himself further somehow.
00
When Ichabod got home, he was surprised to see that Angie was already there. Usually she didn't get out of school until closer to four.
He opened the door to find her in the living room, doing some cleaning.
"Hey," she greeted him.
"Hello. You're home early?"
"Half day today. They always do that right before Christmas break. Are you okay?" Angie sounded worried. "You have a huge bruise on the side of your forehead."
"It's nothing, really. I fell at the gym, must have hit my head on the way down."
Angie quickly walked over to him, and put an arm around him. "You should sit down then," she said, leading him over to the couch. She helped him sit down. "I'll go get you some ice."
"No, it's fine. Angie, I need to talk to you." He might as well get this out now. No time would be particularly good.
Angie turned back towards him. "Okay." She sat down next to him.
Ichabod sighed.
"This is difficult. I don't know how to say it nicely, and it's going to hurt..." He took her hand, "I'm sorry to tell you but I can confirm that Steven has been having an affair."
Oddly enough, Angie's expression didn't really change.
"You did." She finally said.
"I followed him to the university and… do you actually want to know the details of it?"
"Yes."
"He was with Rachela in his office. I heard them from the next room over. They began to have relations… then maybe: after they finished they left to go to her apartment. I took a picture of them leaving with my cell phone. I'm very sorry." Ichabod held Angie's hand a little tighter, trying to provide some small amount of comfort.
"So I was right, then."
"It appears so. But... there's more to it."
Angie nodded. "Go on."
"Rachela's pregnant. I saw her at the cafe yesterday. She was with her friend, and she was talking about getting a sonogram of the baby."
Angie breathed in and out a few times, before letting go of Ichabod's hand and standing up. She was clearly trying to remain calm.
"That's fine, then." Her tone was cold, and it frightened Ichabod a little. He'd expected Angie to cry, or to at least be angry.
"It is?"
"Yes. I knew it was coming. I didn't expect her to be pregnant, but I'm not surprised. So, I'm going to leave. Now. And... if you want, I'd like you to come with me."
00
While Ichabod packed up his few belongings, Angie was busy raiding the house of everything that was technically hers, and of value.
She hadn't said where they were going, but Ichabod didn't ask, either. He figured that she had some game plan in mind.
An hour and a half later, they'd loaded several suitcases into Angie's car, and she had placed the Christmas presents for Ichabod on top of them. Her last act was to go around the house and take down any photos of herself and Steve.
Ichabod watched as she did this, taking down two in the living room, one in the sitting room and so on.
"Why are you doing that?" he finally asked.
"I want him to understand, in no uncertain terms, that our relationship is over."
With that, she slid off her wedding and engagement rings, and set them down on Steven's desk.
00
As it was Christmas time and so many people were visiting relatives, most of the nearby hotels were booked up. After driving around and trying places for over an hour, they came to a Super 8 in Long Island City that had space available.
The room wasn't anything fancy. It had a bed, a couch and a television. It would work for now, though.
Ichabod could see that Angie was still upset, understandably. She sat down on the couch and stared at the wall, as if lost in thought.
"Angie?" he asked, after several moments.
"Huh?" Angie looked at him.
"Are you alright?"
"What do you think?" she snapped.
Ichabod flinched slightly, but Angie didn't seem to notice.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, before taking a seat on the bed.
The two sat there in silence for another few minutes before the sound of Angie's cell phone interrupted it.
She looked at the name and frowned.
"I need to take this," she said, standing up. She headed out towards the small balcony, not bothering to put on a coat despite the cold temperature.
Ichabod heard Angie slam the patio door shut. No doubt it was Steven calling. Ichabod sighed, laid back on the bed, stretched out, and tried not to think about the angst that was sure to occur next.
00
Angie paced back and forth as she spoke to Steven. It was below freezing outside, but she was so angry that she didn't feel it.
"What do you mean, why did I leave? Do you think I'm stupid? You're cheating with that student of yours!"
"What? Why do you think that? I was at work all day!"
"You were fucking her in your office, Steven. And you knocked her up! I have my ways of knowing. We're done. That's all there is to it. Ichabod's staying with me and I'll be getting a lawyer."
"Seriously? After all we've been through, you're just going to end it all like that?"
"No, YOU ended it when you fucked that girl. I'm done. DONE. Don't contact me. I'll have my lawyer send whatever papers we need."
"Fine."
"Goodbye." Angie hung up before Steve could reply.
The whole ordeal had caused her pulse to race and her hands to shake. Her legs felt weak, too. She had a hard time staying on her feet. Her mind felt like it was going a thousand miles an hour.
Slowly, she made her way back inside. Ichabod was still there, sitting up on the bed. She sat down next to him. It was then that her resolve finally broke. She began to cry. Ichabod remained quiet, but he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him. She rested her head on his shoulder, and could feel him gently running his hand up and down her back.
Don't worry," Ichabod whispered. "We'll figure everything out." He reached for a tissue on the nightstand and gently blotted the tears from her face. "Just relax and let it out."
He put a clean tissue in her hand and continued to rub her back. "Imbecile," he muttered softly "that cad doesn't deserve you." Ichabod bent down and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "It's not your fault."
He stroked her hair and noticed that she was drifting off to sleep. He would help Angie figure everything out and he'd try to help her heal. The events of the day were beginning to take their toll, though, and Ichabod was asleep himself within a few minutes.