CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Martha stood at the front door of Jack's house; getting ready to enter. She'd spent the last few hours preparing herself for this moment. She still couldn't believe what she was about to do. It pained her to know that she was about to hurt someone she loved deeply. And the fact that the person was Jack; made her hurt even more. She didn't want to do it. She didn't want to leave him.
Martha took one last deep breath, and walked into the house. Jack was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper. When he saw Martha he stood up and smiled.
"Hey," he said, and kissed her on the cheek.
"Hey," she smiled lightly. Jack immediately sensed that something was not right.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"No, not really," she replied.
"What's wrong?" Jack questioned.
This is it, Martha thought to herself. I'm about to hurt him, and break my own heart along the way.
"I think we should take a break," she stammered.
Jack just looked at her in shock. He didn't know what to say to that. He wasn't expecting her to say that. He felt like he had just been punched in the stomach.
"I'm sorry. But did you just say that you want to break up?" he finally spoke.
Martha didn't say anything. She just nodded.
Jack moved closer to her and clasped her hands in his. "What? Why?" he asked, starting to get upset.
"I just think it would be best if we take a break for a while," she told him.
"Is this because I snapped at you last night? I said I was sorry. I didn't mean it," Jack exclaimed.
Martha shook her head. "No, that's not it. You haven't done anything wrong," she said.
"Then why do you want to break up?" Jack started. "Is it because you don't love me anymore?" he continued; his eyes starting to shine with tears.
Martha looked into his face. She hated seeing him like this. And now he thinks that I don't love him.
"Of course i still love you. I love you more than anything," she reassured him.
"Then why the hell are you doing this?" Jack demanded.
Martha couldn't hold in the tears any longer. She didn't like to cry in front of Jack; but at this moment, she couldn't help it.
"Please don't make this harder than it already is," she cried, letting the tears fall down her cheeks.
"I'm just tring to understand why you're doing this," Jack began. "We have something great, and you're trying to ruin it," he continued.
"You have a child now Jack. You need to make her your top priority," Martha explained.
"Wait, you're doing this because of Grace? That's crazy," Jack exclaimed.
"I better go," Martha then said. She needed to get out of there before she completely broke down.
"Martha, please don't do this. I need you," Jack cried as he grabbed hold of Martha's arm and pulled her to him. "Don't destroy what we have together".
Jack's arms around her were so warm, strong and comforting; and Martha was finding it hard having to pull away and leave him. If she didn't do it now, she never would.
"Can you not touch me, please. I can't break up with you while you're touching me," Martha cried harder.
"Well, i won't let you go then," Jack whispered into her hair while pulling her into a tighter embrace.
Martha eventually pulled away from his grasp and started backing away towards the door.
"Don't," Jack pleaded one last time.
"It might not be forever," Martha promised him through her tears.
Then she moved foward quickly; cupping his face in her hands. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and captured his lips within hers for a deep, lingering and passionate kiss. They both hoped that it wouldn't be for the last time.
Jack slowly pulled away and looked deep into Martha's eyes. "I love you more than anything else in the world, Okay," he said softly. "You're the one I love. Don't ever doubt that," he finished.
Martha nodded. "I love you too," she said back to him. Then she pulled away and ran out the door.
Jack stood and looked at the door for a few minutes; hoping that Martha would be back any minute saying that it was just a joke.
But she didn't.
Martha rushed down the hall towards the apartment that Tasha and Robbie shared. She needed to tell someone what she had just done. And she needed to tell someone about the baby. The only person she could even think about telling was Tasha. She just hoped that Tasha was already home from school, and that she was alone.
She knocked on the door and waited; while sobbing uncontrolably to herself. A few moments later a smiling Tasha answered the door. But as soon as she saw the state that Martha was in, she started frowning.
"Martha, what's wrong? Has something happened?" Tasha started asking questions while she pulled Martha into the apartment.
"Is Robbie here?" Martha asked in a hushed voice.
"No, he's gone to see Beth. Now, tell me what's wrong," Tasha said again, and sat Martha down on the couch.
"You were right the other day," Martha sobbed.
Tasha was confused. She didn't know what Martha was talking about. "What do you mean?" she asked Martha.
"You asked me if I was pregnant. I said I wasn't. But I lied," Martha answered. "That's why I've been sick. And that's why I collapsed at Noah's last week," she continued.
"You're having a baby," Tasha stated, a grin starting to appear on her face. Martha nodded.
"When did you find out? How far along are you?" Tasha started throwing more questions at her.
"I'm three months along already. And i've known about it for nearly two months," Martha told her; still crying.
"Two months," Tasha practically yelled. "I can't believe that you and Jack have kept it to yourselves for so long," Tasha exclaimed.
At the mention of Jack's name, Martha started crying again.
"Wait, are you crying because you're pregnant?" Tasha asked.
"No," Martha shook her head. "I've just done something really stupid," she continued.
"What is it?" Tasha urged.
"I just broke up with Jack, and he doesn't even know about the baby yet," Martha cried.
Tasha looked at Martha; shocked. "Your pregnant. Jack doesn't know yet, and you just broke up with him," Tasha stated. "Are you crazy?"
"It's complicated. I've tried to tell him so many times, and then Megan turned up with Grace. Everything has just gone so wrong," Martha told her.
"I totally forgot about Grace," Tasha sighed.
"He's only just got Grace, and i don't want to have to load another kid onto him so soon. He's already stressed enough as it is. I don't want to make it worse," Martha explained.
"I guess I can understand why you haven't told him you're pregnant yet, but why in the world would you break up with him? I thought you loved Jack," Tasha wanted to know.
"I do love him. But there's a little girl out there who needs her dad.," Martha began. "Jack needs time to get to know her a bit more. I think it would just be better if I took a step back for a while," she finished. She decided not to mention Megan. There was no point in bringing her into the conversation.
"You're sacrificing your own happiness for Grace? That's really nice. But what about your baby?" Tasha questioned.
"My baby won't be here for another six months. I'll be fine," Martha reassured her.
"You need to tell Jack. He deserves to know," Tasha tried to convince her.
"No, I can't. Not yet anyway," Martha shot out. "You have to promise me that you won't tell anyone. Not even Robbie," Martha begged.
Tasha hated lying. Especially to Robbie. But Martha was her best friend.
"Please," Martha begged again.
Tasha nodded. "Okay. But you have to tell Jack soon," she promised.
"You're the best," Martha thanked her.
Jack was sitting on the couch drinking a beer when his father got home. This was his third beer already, and he wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon.
"What's the occasion?" Tony asked him, when he noticed the empty bottles lying on the floor.
"Martha dumped me," Jack replied.
"What? Are you serious?" Tony was shocked.
"Yep. Bout an hour ago," Jack slurred a little.
"Mate, I'm so sorry," Tony said, sitting down next to him on the couch. "Can I ask why?"
Jack shrugged. "She said something about having to make Grace my top priority now. She doesn't want to get in the way, or some crap like that," Jack explained.
"But that doesn't mean that you have to break-up," Tony said.
"That's what I said to her, but she wouldn't listen," Jack growled. "Then she started crying, and then she left," he kept on.
"You need to understand that this stuff with Megan and Grace is probably taking it's toll on her," Tony started. "The poor thing has just found out that you have a child with another women. You can't expect her to just except it straight away," he finished.
"I know that," Jack snapped at his father. "Why did she have to destroy everything we had together. I love her so much, and now she's just...gone," he said.
"Look, just give her some time. I know that Martha loves you. You'll be back together in no time," Tony tried to reassure his son.
"I hope so," Jack paused. "It's only been an hour and I miss her already," he said truthfully.
"I guess that's how it is when you're in love," Tony stated. "Now, why don't you put down that beer, and I'll get you a coffee," he offered.
Jack shook his head. "Na, I don't think so," he exclaimed and took another mouthful from the bottle. The beer helped numb the pain that he felt in his heart, and it helped take his mind off Martha. The more; the better.
Tony sighed and walked off to the kitchen. He flicked the kettle on anyway; just in case.
NEXT CHAPTER- Martha has her first ultrasound, and yet another person finds out about the baby. But who?