Chapter 6

Alyssa's POV

I'm out to lunch with Nichole. She's been chatting with me about my upcoming procedure and I've been texting Stan and staring at my phone. He's only responded to one text and that was with a heart emoji. I wonder if Mom is giving him a hard time.

Nichole catches onto the fact that I'm halfway listening and decides to interrupt my thoughts. "You seem to be in another world today. Are you okay?"

I look at her and smile. "I'm fine..."

"What's his name?"

"What do you mean?"

"I use to have that look when your dad and I started dating. So who is he?"

I turn my head away. I can't believe I'm that obvious. "I'm not ready to talk about it."

"I understand. You can talk about it whenever you're ready."

"Thank you." I think for a minute. "But I do need to talk to someone about this."

She taps my hand. "I'm here if you need me."

"If I tell you, have to promise not to tell my parents."

Nichole raises her eyebrow. "Before I make that promise, has this boy harmed you in anyway or made you feel uncomfortable?"

I shake my head. "No! The complete opposite."

She smiles and nods. "Then I promise not to say anything."

"So there's a guy that I'm into, but he's kind of involved with someone else."

I notice Nichole's smile immediately fades. "Well if he's involved with someone else, then he isn't the right guy for you."

"How can you of all people say that? Wasn't my dad involved with someone else when you two started seeing each other?"

She looks away. I can tell she's embarrassed by that question. Oh well, facts are facts. "Well...umm...yeah, but it's different. We don't want you to make the same mistake."

"You think your marriage is a mistake? You two clearly love each other and the family you've built. Not to mention, you love your step kids like we're your own."

She shakes her head. "That's not what I mean. Your dad and I love each other more than anything. The way we fell in love wasn't an ideal situation. We don't want you to do the same thing. The way we did it was selfish and it hurt people. You don't want to hurt anyone, do you?"

"I don't and the person he's involved with is someone I'm close to."

"That's something to think about. You don't want to ruin a friendship. My relationship did." If only she knew…

"But you and my mom are in a good place now…right?"

She nods. "We're cordial because of you and TJ. I wouldn't exactly call us friends. Your mom can hold a grudge."

"Sometimes the wrong people get married. She has to realize that at some point."

"I don't think she'll see it that way. I mean she should because if she and Token didn't divorce, she wouldn't have had a chance to reconnect with Stan."

Hearing her say that hit a nerve. "What if Stan isn't right for her…?"

"Why would you say that?"

I shrug. "Hypothetically. You know, what happened with my dad, could happen with Stan."

"Anything is possible. But lets not wish that on your mom. I would hate for her to have two marriages that ended like that."

"I guess…" I look down. It's going to end up that way regardless…

"Are you okay? You seem a little troubled?"

I look back up. "Nichole…"

"Yes?"

"If I don't tell someone this, I'm going to explode!"

"What is it? You know I'm here for you. I already told you that."

"The guy I'm involved with IS Stan…"

Nichole's eyes widen. "WHAT?"

"Stan and I are in love."

"Wait a minute! You went from being involved to being in love?"

"We're in love."

"He told you he loved you?"

I nod. "We made love for the first time after my party. He told me he loved me while we were snuggling."

"Ally…"

"I love stan and I hate seeing him with my mom! Stan promised me he wouldn't have sex with my nom anymore and he's stuck to his word! Mom is pissed, but I'm glad! I don't want them together!"

Nichole stares at me in shock. "Are you sure Stan really loves you? I feel like he's taking advantage of you because you're young and naive."

I shake my head. "I don't think he would say it if he didn't mean it."

"Some men will say anything to get you in bed."

"He said it after we made love!"

"He's the same age as your parents..."

Now I'm offended. How dare she! "So what? Love is love! Why are you judging our relationship?"

"I'm not judging, I'm just concerned. Did Stan say anything about leaving your mom?"

I sigh. "Not yet, but it's going to happen. I can feel it."

"You're probably not going to like this, but I think you should tell your parents."

"Stan and I will talk to my mom when the time is right."

"I think your mom has the right to know that her husband is sleeping with her daughter! Especially if you've fallen in love with him."

"Just like you and my dad did..." I remind her of her discretions.

"I really don't want to see either of you get hurt by him. Ally, I love you like you're my own daughter and I'm worried about you. You need to tell your parents or I will!"

I completely taken aback. "You promised not to say anything!"

"That's before I knew it was Stan! I should cut his dick off for taking advantage of you like this!"

I start to cry. "He didn't take advantage of me! I wanted it as much as he did!"

"This is so wrong..."

"You better not say anything! You can't break your promise!"

"I'll give you a week to tell your mom. If not, then I'm telling both of your parents!"

"You're serious?"

She nods. "As a heart attack!"

Just then, I get a text. I look and see it's from Stan. My heart sinks when I read it. "Oh my God…"

"What is it?"

"I guess I don't need to tell my mom. Stan just sent me a text. He wants to end things between us…"

"Oh Ally, I'm sorry." She hugs me.

"I thought he loved me…" I cry on her shoulder. What the hell could've happened? I have to get back home to find out. I don't want things to end…