Chapter 3

Thankfully the day goes by quickly and Izzie managed to avoid Alex every time she saw him. By six o'clock she is on her way home.

Izzie steps out of her car and grabs her bag, memories of the past few days going through her mind. She is so lost in her thoughts that she doesn't even notice who is sitting on Meredith's front porch until it's too late.

She walks up the sidewalk and stops suddenly as she sees Alex sitting on the steps. He's still wearing his clothes from the day before and looks like he came straight there from the hospital.

"I knew you wouldn't talk to me there. And I knew you had to come home sometime." He says quietly as he stands up.

"Go away." Izzie says brushing past him, pulling her keys out.

"No." He takes the keys from her hand and inserts them into the lock himself, making sure that he will enter the house before she does to prevent her from slamming the door in his face. He grabs her arm enough to pull her in the door behind him without hurting her. He closes the door behind him and leads Izzie to the living room. He sets her down on the couch and then sits on the coffee table facing her.

"Get out Alex. I have nothing to say to you."

"Well I have something to say to you."

"You don't deserve my time. Leave now."

"I made a mistake. What happened with Olivia was a huge mistake. I never meant to talk to her, let alone sleep with her. But she was just there and all the memories about how good it was…"

Izzie jumps up off the couch interrupting Alex's words

"Not you too. If it's so great with Olivia then go waste her time with your words! I don't want to hear them. I'm done with you."

"Izzie wait. Just talk to me."

"What is so important that you have to say?" She pauses a moment waiting. "Well what is it? Speak!"

Alex visibly jumps and takes a deep breath.

"I'm not going to apologize for what I did. It was a mistake pure and simple."

"So because it was a mistake it's okay? You think that's it. You say it's a mistake and we go back to where we were? There are so many problems with that asinine idea that a lifetime won't be enough time for me to go into them all!"

"Izzie what do you want me to say? I know it should never have happened. It will never happen again. I made a mistake!"

"Stop lying to me! We weren't together a month before you cheated! You know what I want? I want you to leave me the hell alone! Go see someone who cares. I tried but apparently I wasn't good enough. Go see Olivia!" She turns to storm out of the room, but Alex's hand on her arm stops her.

Izzie balls up her fist and punches him hard in his left eye.

"Fuck you!" She says before turning and storming up the stairs.

"Fuck." He whispers lifting his eyes to the ceiling above him. He runs upstairs after her sounding like a herd of elephants. Hearing him coming Izzie runs to her room and slams the door shut quickly locking it. She leans heavily against the door with her eyes closed as his footsteps move closer. They stop right outside the door. A moment passes in silence and Izzie cracks open one eye wondering why the hell he is just standing out there. Suddenly the whole door vibrates as Alex pounds on it from the other side. Izzie jumps away from the door and faces it with her hands crossed over her chest.

"This is stupid! Let me in so we can talk!"

Izzie resists the urge to reply and just stares silently at the door.

"You're acting like a child!"

That was too far.

"I'm acting like a child? I'm acting like a child! I am mature enough to recognize how to behave in a relationship! I know when to back off! And I don't break into someone's house banging down their door to force them to listen to me!"

Satisfied that at least she was talking again Alex bangs on her door again just to be contrary while he thinks of a reply.

"I'm not going to say I'm sorry! I have nothing to be sorry for! It was a mistake! It didn't mean anything!" He adds a bang against the door after each statement.

"It must've meant something because you managed to get it up for her!"

Alex groans deeply and leans his head against the door. He turns around and slowly slides down so he's sitting on the floor. Deciding honesty was the only thing that Izzie would listen to Alex takes a deep breath and begins.

"I did it because it was easy." He says talking loudly enough so that Izzie can hear him through the door. "There were no considerations and no complications. No emotions involved. I didn't have to care whether it was good or not. I didn't care what happened with Olivia because I don't care about her."

"You cared enough to sleep with her."

"I slept with her because I didn't care. I didn't have to worry how it would change the relationship because there was no relationship."

"Oh but ruining our relationship never crossed your mind? Never took that into consideration huh?" Izzie's voice yells back through the door.

"I didn't mean to ruin anything. You're perfect Izzie. You're smart, beautiful and you have everything going for you. I'm some washed up frat boy who couldn't pass his clinicals. Everything is in the shitter and just as my world is crumbling down you come into my life. And as happy as you make me, I feel like shit compared to you. I'm not good enough for you."

Izzie moves closer to the door listening intently as Alex continues.

"I never wanted you to know about the test. What would you do? Support me? Tell me everything will be fine? It would've been easier if you just castrated me."

Izzie slowly opens her door and looks down at Alex.

"In that whole speech you never said the one thing that would have proved to me that you meant what you said. Just leave. Please." She turns and shuts the door tightly behind her.

Author's Note: So what do you guys think so far? I'm not sure where I'm going with this yet. I'm a total Alex/Izzie shipper, but I don't want Izzie to lose her respect by forgiving him too easily. There'll be another update soon, because by Wednesday finals start and I'll be off in the world of school. Leave reviews, good and bad, I love reviews.