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"Ah, shit!" Alex shouted, waving his hand after trying to grab a hot skillet without an oven mitt. It hadn't helped that he had burned his breakfast – a failed attempt at making his own version of eggs, sausage and potatoes. He used a small towel to pick up the skillet and dump its contents into the trash.
Normally, April cooked breakfast for the both of them. If she left for work earlier than he did, he simply went for his Crispy Puffs cereal. However, he ran out of cereal, which reminded him to go grocery shopping later – a task his roommate never allowed him to do. But she hadn't been herself since the incident with Matthew the previous day. He had been surprised when she refused to let Jackson spend the night.
Alex had wondered if he should call the police to report Matthew, or even April's parents, but he decided not to. Knowing April, he knew she wouldn't want the extra attention from her family. People would likely gossip about her like their old coworkers did at Mayo when she returns to work. He wasn't sure how to help her, but leaving Seattle wasn't an option. And as Bailey had told him, beating people up wasn't an option either.
A light knock on the front door forced him to abandon the kitchen to answer it. When Alex opened the door he was greeted by Jo, who held up a bag of bagels. "Hungry?" she lightheartedly said.
"How did you know?" he softly laughed, kissing his girlfriend on the lips before allowing her into the apartment.
"Just a lucky guess." Jo smelled the awful scent of burnt food and smiled. "I came in time, didn't I?"
"Whatever. I tried," Alex replied with a shrug. He returned to the kitchen to retrieve two mugs and small plates. "At least I didn't screw up the coffee."
Jo made herself comfortable at the dining table, then she removed bagels and cream cheese from the paper bag. "How's day one of your suspension treating you, so far?" she jokingly asked.
"Sucks ass," he murmured, sitting down beside her. "Robbins sent me a text telling me that this kid I've been helping her treat, his name's Tommy, he's finally getting new kidneys today. Guess who would've assisted with that surgery? Me. Now, I can't. Freaking Matthew screwed me out of a surgery."
"You didn't have to beat up the guy," she commented, shooting him a look.
Alex sighed as he smeared cream cheese onto his bagel. "I know, but if you knew him, you'd be pissed off and raging too," he defensively answered. "He's scum. He almost completely ruined April's life because of one stupid decision."
"How is she doing anyway?" Jo whispered, hoping April wasn't awake and eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Honestly, I don't know. You know it's not good when she asks Avery to go home instead of inviting him to spend the night," he glumly replied. "Dude looked heartbroken, like she actually dumped him, but thankfully, that wasn't the case."
Jo slightly frowned. "Well, I'll see him at work later. Hopefully, his mood isn't too bad." She chewed her food and quietly swallowed before she asked, "This is probably an awkward time to ask you this, but… I was wondering if you could do me a favor?"
"What is it?"
"Since you're not working today, would it be possible to pick up Cat from school?" she sheepishly requested. "She usually takes the bus to my grandmother's work if she doesn't have any activities after school. If you're up for it, maybe you two can hang out for a while, and I can pick her up after work."
Alex slowly chewed his food. "Would she be cool with that?"
"Your presence was missed at dinner last night," Jo noted. "All you have to do is entertain her for a bit and make sure she does her homework. But if you're worried about leaving April alone, then I understand. Just an idea I threw out, so you two can bond some more."
"Well, I can do it. I think April will be fine. She's not suicidal or anything," he insisted. Alex swallowed his food, then he suddenly shot up from his seat. "At least I hope not. Maybe I should go check on her."
Jo grasped Alex's wrist before he could leave. "Don't think like that. You'll only stress yourself out."
"But she's an early riser. Even on her day off, she's up at the crack of dawn. I have to check." He left the dining area and walked to April's bedroom. Quietly opening her door, he peeked his head inside to find her lying in bed. She appeared to be asleep, but he wasn't absolutely positive that she was breathing. He rushed towards her and shook her hard. "April, wake up."
April immediately woke up, scowling at her roommate. "Alex, what the hell is your problem?!" She grabbed one of her pillows and hit Alex across the head with it. "Get out!"
Alex raised his hands in front of his chest and forced a laugh. "Just wanted to make sure you're still alive." April responded by throwing her pillow at his face. "Okay, okay! I'm leaving!"
Jo couldn't help but laugh when Alex returned to the dining table. "She sounded thrilled," she sarcastically said, sipping her coffee.
"Hey, at least I know she's not dead," he retorted, reclaiming his seat at the dining table. "I shouldn't have pushed her to tell Avery about this. I mean, she never actually did. I ended up telling him, but I still feel guilty for pushing her. I knew that was something she wanted to forget. With Matthew showing up, that's all she's probably thinking about now."
"This isn't your fault. Neither of you expected him to show up in Seattle," she assured him, gently squeezing his hand. "So, what happened anyway?"
Alex glanced over his shoulder hoping April wasn't standing behind him. He decided to lower his voice just in case she hadn't fallen back asleep. "Matthew let his temper get the best of him over wedding planning. He pushed her down a flight of stairs at work. The fall ruptured her spleen and killed their unborn baby."
Jo covered her mouth with her hand as she softly gasped. "Oh, God. That's terrible," she whispered. "Poor April."
"She worked really hard to move on from it. She was in therapy, her parents visited from Ohio to support her. The April that you guys met when we first arrived, that was genuine. It took some time, but she was herself again," Alex explained, then he rolled his eyes. "Then, that freaking moron ruined it for her. Anyway, don't bring any of this up to her unless she wants to talk about it. And don't treat her like she's fragile. Enough people pitied her at Mayo. She was like a walking freak show over there."
Jo nodded before she finished her coffee and stood up. "I wish I could stay longer, but I have to leave for work now. Cat gets out of school at 3 o'clock. Let me know beforehand if you can't pick her up anymore." She reached into her purse for a post-it note and wrote down the address of the school. "This place is easy to find. I will send her a text to wait for you in front of the school."
"Got it. I'll be there." Alex escorted Jo to the front door and opened it for her. He leaned in to give her a long, deep kiss goodbye.
"Wow," she breathed, smiling back at her boyfriend. "What was that one for?"
"For the bagels," he nonchalantly replied, leaning against the doorway. He mischievously smirked. "Just the bagels."
Jo playfully rolled her eyes as she stepped out of the apartment. "And I thought it was because you enjoyed my company," she quipped, turning around to face him. "But thank you for agreeing to pick up Cat. It does mean a lot to me."
"She's not allergic to anything, is she? I don't want to accidentally kill her by giving her something she's not allowed to eat."
"Just shrimp, but I doubt you'll be taking her out for seafood after school, so you're safe," she answered with a smile. "Don't freak out, okay? You've already been alone in a room with her, so three or four hours won't kill you."
Alex chuckled. "I won't freak out. I used to babysit Amber, so this isn't any different. I can handle it."
April stepped out of her bedroom slowly, almost as if she had been infected by a zombie and was now one of them. She spent a few minutes in the bathroom before walking towards the living room. Alex lay sprawled out on the couch while he watched TV. He quickly noticed her disheveled appearance – her auburn hair hadn't been brushed and she was still wearing her scrubs from the previous day.
"Gonna change out of those anytime soon?" he jokingly replied. His roommate simply stared at him before she entered the kitchen for a cup of coffee. "You might want to make a new pot. That one's been sitting there for a few hours now. It's already 10 o'clock, which is probably considered late for you."
Instead of responding to him, April poured coffee into a clean mug and put it in the microwave. It would probably taste awful, she was aware of it, but at the same time, she didn't care. She stood in front of the microwave, quietly watching the seconds tick down until it was finished. Then, she leaned against the counter with her back facing Alex as she sipped her coffee.
Alex immediately became concerned. He hadn't seen April so morose since Mayo. After she had been discharged from the hospital, she spent time recovering at her apartment. When she returned to work the whispers and the stares had made her feel worse. Her insecurities were at their highest and the dimpled smile he was used to seeing was nowhere to be found. He was worried she would fall back into her depression, only the outcome might be worse.
He pushed himself up from the couch and approached her. She stared down at her coffee when he gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "Look, you know I'm not good at this deep talking crap, but you gotta talk to me. You can't let Matthew make you feel like shit again," he calmingly said.
"Is he still in Seattle?" she murmured.
"I don't know," he answered, frowning. "But he's not coming near you again. He'd be an idiot to try that."
April set her coffee behind her on the counter. "Thank you for doing what you did," she softly replied. "Normally, I would be against using violence to retaliate, but I'll make an exception. He doesn't deserve another chance ever."
Alex slowly nodded, though he continued to feel guilty for telling Jackson, and now Jo, about what had happened to her. "I know you didn't want Avery to find out about what Matthew did, but he was getting desperate. He asked me as my brother, and I had a hard time saying no-"
"It's okay. Maybe it was better coming from you than me. I don't think I'd be able to tell him everything myself," she dejectedly responded. "I guess that makes me a coward, but I just couldn't do it."
"You're not a coward, April. And I'm sorry for pushing you to tell him. I shouldn't have done that," he assured her. "I thought him being here would help, actually. Why'd you ask him to leave?"
April sighed deeply, then she finally made eye contact with Alex. "Because I needed to be alone. I understand that he wants to help, but I just needed the space. And he wanted to tell me that he loves me. This wasn't how I pictured it happening. How am I supposed to believe him when he tells me while I'm vulnerable and upset?"
"Because he does freakin' love you! Yeah, I know Matthew did too, but you know Jackson isn't like him," he argued. "Has he ever tried to make you feel small by tearing you down for no good reason? Did he ever call you a bitch and claim he didn't mean to? What you have with Avery is nothing like what you and Matthew had. Verbal and emotional abuse isn't love. The guy had a temper, but he also took pride in controlling your relationship. It was only a matter of time before he really blew up. You said it yourself yesterday. You think Jackson's the one."
"I said the same thing about Matthew!" she retorted.
"Do you honestly think that Matthew and Jackson are the same person? Give me a freaking break. You and I both know that you're just scared because of what happened over a year ago. You can't do that to yourself. You'll only hurt your relationship with Jackson."
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. April forced her way past Alex to answer the door. Lexie stood outside in the hallway, which surprised her. "Umm, hi," she muttered, chewing on her bottom lip.
Lexie softly smiled at the redhead. "Hey, I have the day off. So, I was wondering if you wanted to get out of here?"
"Lexie, I'm really not in the mood to wander around Seattle knowing my ex might still be in town," she politely answered.
"Oh, no. I don't mean anywhere here. I was thinking out of Seattle, out of Washington," the brunette clarified, drawing a raised eyebrow from April. "Portland is a few hours away by car. I'll do the driving. I thought you could use time away from Seattle to clear your head a bit. I think it would be good for you."
April glanced back at Alex, who remained in the kitchen with a slight scowl on his face. She opened the door wider for Lexie, allowing her to enter the apartment. "Give me 20 minutes to get ready," she said, accepting the offer. "You may actually be my lifesaver right now."
Jackson pressed his forehead against the vending machine window as he stared at the Snickers bar that had gotten stuck before it was supposed to drop from the shelf. This particular moment reminded him of April's first day and how he had tried to impress her when her bag of pretzels suffered the same fate. However, he wasn't amused this time. He had a desperate urge to punch his fist through the glass to retrieve it. It was just another element to add to his growing list of frustrations.
He had been bothered by his girlfriend deciding he should go home for the night, which was the opposite of what he wanted to do. Her preference to be alone left him confused and hurt. He wanted to support her, but she seemed to be pushing him away.
He gave the machine two hard pounds with his left hand, then he groaned. "Not today, please," the pretty boy whispered through gritted teeth. Another swing at the vending machine drew stares from people passing by. He was prepared to aim for the glass when a hand grabbed a hold of his wrist.
"Don't be an idiot," Cristina scolded him. "If you're scrubbing in with me later, you need to have two healthy hands."
Jackson watched the cardiothoracic fellow insert some coins and press the numbers for a Snickers. Two bars dropped from the shelf, and she retrieved both of them. "What are you doing?"
"Offering some help, so you'll stop pouting like a child," she bluntly replied, handing him one candy bar. "Satisfied?"
"Uh, thanks… I guess," he reluctantly answered. "You're not being, I suppose I can consider it, nice because of what happened yesterday with April and her ex-fiancé showing up, are you? I'm not sure what people are saying about it."
"As far as I know, nobody knows or cares that much about who Matthew Taylor is. If anything, they're talking about Karev and the beat down he gave him. And Kepner, if they don't know the whole story, then there's no reason to pity her."
Jackson furrowed his brow as Cristina walked past him. "Are you saying you're only kind to April out of pity?" He wouldn't be entirely surprised if that was the case, but he still wouldn't appreciate it. "She doesn't need your pity. She needs support."
Cristina turned around. "I never said I pitied her. I was in the OR when they took her dead baby out of her," she noted with a frown. "She didn't deserve that. April Kepner might be annoying and disgustingly too cheerful, but I don't pity her."
The tension in Jackson's face softened. "Okay," he sighed.
"So are you coming with me to prep for Mrs. Wright's surgery, or will you be moping here all day?" she cheekily asked.
Jackson cleared his throat and slightly smiled. "Umm, yeah. I'll be right behind you." He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket as he followed Cristina down the hallway. He sent a text message to April asking her what she would be doing later that night. Her response only made him even more confused.
On my way to Portland with Lexie. Not sure what time we'll be back.
After slipping his cell phone back into his pocket, Jackson ripped away half of his Snickers wrapper and took a large bite from his candy bar. Hanging out with his ex-girlfriend all day? Yeah, he was very confused.
Lexie knew exactly what April needed when they arrived in Portland. Her coworker had been reluctant about her idea, but she insisted that a box full of sugar in the form of Voodoo doughnuts would help. They found an empty bench at a nearby park and took turns tasting the various flavors they had chosen.
"Oh, my gosh. Try this one. I hate it and love it at the same time," Lexie excitedly said, offering the other half of her chocolate doughnut that was covered with caramel and chocolate drizzles.
April laughed. "I honestly think you're trying to kill me here. Everything is so good!" She held up the doughnut currently in her hand. "I'm eating a doughnut covered with Fruit Loops. Alex would immediately retire if I brought him here."
"This place is like a godsend. I'll admit, I've done this doughnut run before in the past – the first time was after I moved back from Boston. Just graduated from med school and… I dumped Jackson," the brunette sheepishly confessed. April glanced back at her awkwardly. "I know that's a weird thing to bring up, but doing this made me temporarily feel better. Are you two okay?"
"He probably is, but I'm not," she murmured. "Seeing Matthew brought back so many bad memories. I don't know why he thought coming to Seattle would benefit either of us. He killed our child. He wasn't the charming man I met when we were interns. Everything I went through with him made me afraid to be in another relationship. He made me feel unworthy."
"And you think that will happen with Jackson?"
"Alex told me I shouldn't worry. Alex, of all people," April pointed out. "My problem is I'm afraid that I'll be the disappointment. I worry so much about screwing everything up that that's exactly how I'll screw it all up."
"Having dated Jackson for almost four years, I can assure you that he won't see you as a disappointment – unless, you want him to see you in that way," Lexie insisted. "He really cares about you, April. It was obvious to me when he defended you that day I body checked you out of Yang's surgery. And he was so concerned for you yesterday. You're worthy to him."
April slowly nodded. She knew the mind games she was playing with herself only ruined her morale. Unfortunately, she had grown up with a low self-esteem due to the lack of attraction from boys at school. Sometimes it was hard to shake herself out of that mentality, especially when her ex-fiancé brought her back to square one with his temperamental outbursts towards her.
"I was going to marry Matthew despite the fact that he had the tendency to give me a verbal beat down when he was frustrated with himself or me, sometimes for no reason at all. We were discussing wedding reception plans, and he blew up over the decision to serve salmon instead of cod," she recalled. "I still don't remember much after the push. Everything went black."
Lexie frowned at April. "Why did you want to stay with him?"
"Because I thought I'd never meet another person who would want me," she glumly answered. "Matthew was my first serious relationship. I convinced myself that he was the one, and that he would change after the baby was born. I was also scared of what he might do if I did leave him."
"I get it, feeling unworthy. My mother killed herself when I was three months old. For a long time, I wondered if she even wanted to have me. I wanted to know why she did it, but my father would give me a bullshit answer. Meredith refused to tell me because talking about it made her angry at our dad," Lexie explained.
"So you still don't know why?" April inquired.
"I do. When I was in junior high I unintentionally overheard Mer arguing with our dad. He was having an affair while our mom was pregnant with me. She found out sometime after I was born and became really depressed," she answered, then she sighed. "Nothing could rattle Ellis Grey in the OR. I've been told she was a phenomenal surgeon. But my dad's infidelity practically killed her. I doubt she thought about her kids before she slit those wrists."
April quietly gazed down at her lap. It was morbid to think that she and Lexie could easily bond over traumatic experiences, but she felt more connected to her coworker now than all of the previous times they had interacted. She offered her half-eaten doughnut to her. "Swap?"
Lexie slightly smiled, switching doughnuts with April. "Cheers," she half-heartedly replied, tapping their doughnuts before they finished their new halves in silence.
After picking up Cat from school, Alex decided to buy pizza on the way home. He hadn't eaten lunch after spending time grocery shopping – he was certain some of his food selections would piss off April – and a late lunch with his girlfriend's daughter made up for missing dinner with Jo's family the previous night. Picking up someone else's kid at their school had been nerve wracking initially. He had hoped nobody would assume he was a pervert trying to abduct a young girl. Fortunately, that hadn't happened and Cat found his car immediately.
He allowed her to enter the apartment first while he carried a large box of Hawaiian style pizza. He was surprised that her favorite pizza toppings were pineapple and ham, but he ate just about everything, so he wasn't complaining.
"Have a seat at the dining table. You can set your backpack beside the couch." Alex walked into the kitchen to retrieve plates and placemats. "What do you want to drink? Water, orange juice, milk or beer?"
Cat smirked back at him from her seat. "You'd really let me drink beer?"
"Are you kidding me? Your mom would kill me," he lightheartedly replied. "So, what will it be?"
"I'll have orange juice, please," she politely answered.
Alex poured orange juice into two glasses, then he sat down beside Cat at the dining table. "I don't have an Xbox or any game console here, sorry. There just isn't time for it with my work schedule," he regretfully said. "But you gotta do your homework anyway. I promised your mom that you would finish it before she picks you up."
Cat grabbed a slice of pizza. "I don't have a lot to do, but I have a project coming up," she noted. "And it's kind of awkward for me because it involves lying."
"They're teaching you to lie in school?" he amusingly questioned.
"No, I mean I have to lie my way through it. We're supposed to make a presentation about our heroes and I want to use my mom, but… everyone in my class knows her as my older sister," she explained before taking a bite out of her slice. "I'm used to lying about that, but I wish I could tell them how great of a mom she actually is."
"Well, you still can. Just replace mom with sister," Alex suggested.
"I know, but I'd have to make up a fake story about how our parents died in a car crash, and I don't want to do that," Cat answered with a frown. "I don't know why she had to introduce herself as my older sister at school. Who cares what the other parents think?"
Alex swallowed his food before he said, "People judge each other all the time. I guess she was trying to protect you from being teased by the other kids for having a younger mom. Kids are jerks like that."
"I've been in fights at school because I was teased for not having parents at all. She says she'll stop doing it when I'm in high school, but what if I go to the same school as my friends? Why can't she just come clean now?"
"It's not as easy as you think. Things would get pretty messy if you used your presentation to out your mom. She'll do it when the timing is right," he insisted.
Cat quietly nodded, then caught Alex off-guard with her next question. "Do you have a cool dad?"
"Depends which dad you're referring to. Uh, my biological dad wasn't a good person. My mom and I had to leave him or else he would have hurt us pretty bad," Alex murmured before he slightly smiled. "But my stepdad is cool. He's a doctor too. I wasn't the perfect kid, but he was always patient with me and my bad attitude."
"I don't know anything about my dad except that he's a few years older than my mom. She won't even tell me his name. She probably thinks I'm gonna try to search for him on Facebook or something," Cat bitterly replied.
Alex shrugged. "Maybe she's waiting until you're older. I didn't find out about my stepbrother until I was in high school. His dad- well, our dad left his other family when we were really young. They didn't have contact with each other. I'm only kind of just building a relationship with my stepbrother now. He works with us at the hospital, actually."
"Really?"
"Yeah, you met him. Dr. Avery, he's the dude with the nice eyes."
Cat's eyes lit up. "The hottie? Wow. Why didn't my mom date him?" She laughed when Alex playfully rolled his eyes. "I'm kidding… sort of. But you're cool, Alex. I met a couple of her past boyfriends and I could tell they sucked. One sight of me and they were ready to run out the door."
"For what it's worth, you're cool in my book too," Alex complimented. "And you're smarter than your age. You're not getting yourself into trouble on a daily basis. You listen to your mom and Nana. They raised you well."
"I'm gonna be a surgeon when I'm older too," the 12-year old declared proudly. "Make it a family tradition. I'll open my own practice, and sometimes perform surgeries for free for people who can't afford it."
Alex softly chuckled. He truly admired Cat's determination, but she had a long way to go before reaching her goals. "One step at the time, kid. You need to make it out of 6th grade first."
Cat continued to eat her pizza while she eyed Alex's bruised right hand. "What happened to your hand?" she curiously asked. "Get into a fight?"
"Somewhat, yeah," he guiltily answered. He had hoped she wouldn't notice his hand, but it was difficult to hide considering it was a dark shade of blue and purple. "I was protecting someone. My roommate, actually. You remember April?"
"Uh huh," she said, nodding simultaneously. "Who were you protecting her from?"
"This dude. Not a good guy," Alex vaguely responded. "He hurt her."
"Oh," Cat murmured before finishing her first slice. She paused after reaching for the pizza box, then she looked back at Alex. "If someone hurt my mom, would you do the same thing for her?"
Alex stopped mid-chew, pursing his lips. Of course he would protect Jo if he felt it was necessary. However, getting into more fights would probably turn her off eventually. He especially wouldn't want to behave that way in front of her daughter. "Well, yeah… but you can't use violence as an answer for everything," he acknowledged. "I'd keep your mom safe, though."
Jackson entered the Emerald City Bar following his shift. Because he hadn't received any messages from April, he decided he was going to give her space until she was ready to talk to him. It was frustrating for him, but he didn't want to push her towards a breaking point. Her ex had already done that in a matter of ten seconds of seeing her.
He planned to sit down for a greasy burger, maybe with a glass of whiskey, before heading home across the street to his apartment for the rest of the night. However, he spotted Matthew sitting at the counter. The other man's face was bruised around his eyes, and a small bandage covered the bridge of his nose. Alex had definitely broken it. Matthew appeared worn out while he slowly sipped tequila from his shot glass.
Jackson clenched his fists inside of his jacket pockets. The sight of him made him furious. He had hoped Matthew would have fled by now after the incident at the hospital. He wanted to confront the guy, but he wasn't sure he could do it without throwing in a few swings at his already injured face. A part of him told himself to turn around and leave. On the other hand, he wanted to stay and watch his every move.
His eyes followed Matthew as he left the counter to use the restroom. After taking a minute to think about it, Jackson decided to follow him inside. He stood by the sink as the other man used one of the urinals.
Matthew briefly turned his head to catch a glimpse of him. He walked towards the sink to wash his hands, while Jackson carefully watched him. "Uh, you need something?"
"Yeah, I believe we have something in common that we need to discuss." Jackson furrowed his brow when Matthew blankly stared back at him. "April Kepner ring a bell?"
Matthew hesitated to answer, then he forced a laugh. "Listen, I didn't come here for April. I wanted to talk to Karev."
"Bullshit." Jackson forcefully pushed Matthew against the side of the bathroom stall. "I know everything. What you did to her, how you killed her child. You're a disgrace, man. How in the world did you think showing up in Seattle would make it all better?"
"I'm telling you the truth! I came here to talk to Karev about April," the taller man retorted. "I know I'm not supposed to be near her because of the restraining order. That's why I wanted to see Alex. I just wanted to know if she was okay."
"She was doing just fine without you. And do you seriously believe Karev would tell you anything?" Jackson scoffed. "I know him well enough that he would tell you to fuck off and leave. Did getting your ass kicked not convince you of that?"
Matthew threw his arms up in frustration. "I'm trying to make things right! What I did to April is unforgivable and it's impossible for me to make up for it, but she needs to know how genuinely sorry I am. I didn't mean to…" He closed his eyes and groaned. "He was my kid too!"
"Well, you should have thought twice about taking out your anger on her," Jackson sternly replied, then he pointed at himself. "And I know we met yesterday, but I left out one little detail. I'm April's boyfriend, and I'm going to take care of her a hell of a lot better than you did. I really want to knock your teeth in right now, but I won't. Consider yourself lucky that I'm not Karev. Otherwise, you would be unconscious."
"I can press charges, you know," he claimed.
"And who are they gonna believe? The person protecting his best friend, or the baby killer?" Jackson harshly responded. "Also, Karev's my brother and I will defend him when it's necessary. Now you better get out of here ASAP. If I see you wandering around here again, you'll be missing some teeth. Leave and don't you dare try to contact April or Alex again."
Matthew cautiously stepped aside before rushing out of the men's restroom. Jackson stayed inside to regain his composure, but when he walked out he no longer had an appetite and decided to go home. He remained upset as he crossed the street to his apartment building, but he stopped before he reached the entrance when he found April waiting for him outside.
"Hey," he murmured, the wrinkles in his forehead decreasing as his face relaxed. "How long have you been here?"
"Umm, Lexie just dropped me off a couple of minutes ago," the redhead stated, slowly approaching him. "I'm sorry for kicking you out last night. My mind was all over the place and I couldn't-"
"It's okay. Don't apologize." Jackson quickly scanned their surroundings, checking the area for Matthew. "How was Portland with Lexie? I suppose getting away from here for the day was the right decision…"
April wrapped her arms over Jackson's shoulders, hugging him tightly. He reciprocated the hug and buried his face into her neck. "I've had a lot of time to think about us, and I don't want what happened with Matthew to be the reason why we can't work out," she tearfully said. "I love you, and I won't push you away again."
Jackson smiled against her neck. He raised his head, so he could directly look back at her. "I love you too."
April grasped her boyfriend's cheeks and tenderly kissed his lips. "Do you mind if I stay here with you tonight?" she asked, her hands sliding down his arms until they found his own hands.
"Do I have to answer that?" he happily replied, leading her into the apartment building.
April softly chuckled and shyly bit down on her bottom lip. "Just making sure."
Let me know what you think, please! Up next: Jolex finally going all the way? ;)