Midnight:
Chapter 12:
"Let's go for a drive, we have a lot to talk about."
"Sounds good to me."
May 20th
John's Car
11:45 PM
The silence as they sat there was deafening. They had pulled over after about ten minutes of driving at a Vista Point, just sat there, staring down across the view. There hadn't been any reason to go any further than this and all the other places were already closed by this point. Alexander sat there, pulling at the sleeve of the sweater he was wearing, picking off the little lint pieces.
"I told my father."
Brown eyes blinked for a moment, Alexander shifting his gaze from the lint on his sweater. "Told him what exactly?"
"I came out to him." There was another long passage of silence, Alexander obviously thinking about what he wanted to say. John bit his lower lip, glancing down at his lap. His hands fidgeted a bit as he continued speaking. "It was the first step, I believe. He took it better than I expected." John had expected his father to yell or scream or make some sort of comment but all he had done was leave the table, leaving John dumbfounded as he sat there with his siblings.
Another moment of silence passed, before Alexander finally spoke. "I assume you're still getting married then."
John couldn't help the small groan that passed his lips. Of course, there was still the marriage that, for now, was still on. His hands came up and he just hid his face in them for a moment before he finally glanced over at Alexander. "I know, I'm sorry. I just everything got fucked up so fast and before I could talk to someone." It was a stupid excuse and really, he knew he didn't have an excuse as to why it all ended up like this. "I'm not expecting any sort of forgiveness or anything. Can I just explain everything though?"
Alexander sat there in silence, knowing fully well that John had had more than enough time to explain everything but finally ended up shrugging. What could it hurt? "Go ahead, I'm listening."
It was John's turn to sit there quietly for a moment as he now glanced out at the pitch-black view of the vista point. After a moment or two, he glanced at the clock that now read midnight. He briefly closed his eyes, thinking about his first meeting with Alexander, ending at midnight. The kiss. Of course, this midnight was different and not in a good way. A feeling of nerves washed over him. "I suddenly don't know where to start."
"The beginning is a good place."
John couldn't help but chuckle weakly. "Well, for starters I started dating Martha in high school, and I guess we continued it college. I thought we would drift apart but she was the one who kept trying to keep it going." A small pause. "The only time we slept together was back in November. I never wanted to marry her, but since she was pregnant and well, here we are."
Alexander sat there quietly as John spoke, wincing a bit. He couldn't help but feel bad for not only himself but also poor Martha. "And how come you just weren't up front about this in the beginning?"
It was a fair question and one that Alexander deserved an answer to, at least. He sighed a moment or two, before giving his truly, selfish answer. "Would you still have talked to me if I was honest?"
The question earned him a glare from Alexander. "I don't know, but at least I could have decided inside of being lied to the whole time and now we're all in the middle of this fucking mess." He should have stayed home but there he was sitting in the car in the middle of the night against his better judgement.
All Alexander knew was that someone was going to get hurt if this kept going, well get hurt more than he already was. He opened his mouth to speak again, this time, the words just dying on his lips instead. He just turned from him, choosing to gaze out the window into the darkness.
John sat there a moment, only nodding at the words. It was a big mess and everything in it was his own fault. He chewed his bottom lip for a moment. "Alexander?"
"What?"
"For what it's worth, I am sorry. I never wanted to hurt you or anyone." There was another moment of silence that followed. "Thank you for letting me explain, I know it's more than I deserve." He glanced down at the clock before glancing back at Alexander. "It's getting late, perhaps we should finish this discussion after we've all slept a bit more."
It was a way out, not only for himself but Alexander as well, the air was growing heavy with the awkwardness. The neon letters of the clock soon read that it was twelve thirty in the morning. Alexander only nodded as they drove back in silence.
Four Seasons Hotel
12: 45 AM
The ride back felt much quicker than the original ride out. Perhaps it was the feeling of the mental taxation of the day on both of them, but even after the conversation the feeling that something was still there looming over everyone.
"Good night," the parting was simple, no other words really being exchanged between the of them.
Alexander stood there in front of the lobby doors, watching John drive off before turning to head inside. Glancing around, he could see Gilbert as the only other person in the lobby aside from the desk manager that was working that night.
He walked closer to the other man, seeing that he was flipping absentmindedly through whatever magazine they kept in the lobby. Gilbert glanced up and tossed it back on the table in front of him when he saw Alexander standing there. Alexander sat down beside him and sank down into the couch wordlessly.
"I see that you're back and judging by that alone, I could only guess how it went?" His French accent being thicker than normal, a product of being tired.
Alexander only shrugged. "I mean, could it have gone another way?" He asked, closing his eyes a moment bringing a hand to his face.
Gilbert pursed his lips together, nodding. "Well, it's still better that the two of you talked, non? Even if it didn't result in anything? At least, I hope you got some questions answered."
He tried to stifle a yawn that was trying to force its way out. "I suppose but now I have more questions that I want answers to."
Gilbert nodded, standing up as he stretched. "Perhaps then, we should wait to talk about this in the morning. I only mean that you might fall asleep down here and I certainly do not posses the strength to carry your body upstairs." A small pause. "Plus, I can tell we're both tired."
"And I suppose Herc is already asleep?"
"Oui, there is that too."
Alexander nodded as he pushed himself off the couch. He wanted to nothing more than to sink down into the cushions and sleep but as it was getting late, the two of them decided to make their way over to the elevator. Gilbert jammed his finger into a button and with the ding coming a moment later the two of them were on their way up to their room silently.
AN: Wow, it's been over a year since I've actually written anything for this story. It's crazy because I know my original notes said this fic was going to be 15 chapters but as this is 12, I have no idea how I was planning on wrapping it up so quickly, but I've made some adjustments so we'll see.
Anyways, I hope you all are well!