Chapter 2

"Rose?" He asked, alarm now heavy in his voice. "What's wrong?"

"I can't stay. I can't do it anymore!" I cried, tears streaming down my face faster than ever.

"Come on in, let's talk." He replied, swinging the door open for me to step inside.

"Thanks" I said quietly, wiping my nose on the sleeve of my sweater.

I walked slowly past him, keeping my eyes firmly on the floor. I remembered the last time I was here, when I had to tell him that Mickey didn't want us being friends anymore. He'd begged me not to let him dictate my life and control me, but I didn't listen. I was just a stupid girl. I felt his hand on my back, a familiar thing for him to do. He guided me to a suede sofa, where I plopped myself down, sitting on the very edge.

"Rose, please, you don't have to sit in such an uncomfortable position, please make yourself comfortable." John said, warmth replacing the alarm and curiosity in his voice from before.

"It's okay, I don't even know why I came here. You probably don't even want to see me" I said pathetically.

"Rose, just because we haven't spoken in nearly a year, doesn't mean I don't still care about you." He said, kneeling so he was in my line of sight. "I'm still here for you as your friend."

"Mickey, he's been sleeping with a former classmate of mine, and I found out today that I'm pregnant with his child." I breathed out.

"Oh my God, Rose are you okay?" He asked, the alarm back in his voice, and radiated double out of his eyes.

"No, I don't know!" I exclaimed. "I found out about the baby before he brought his parents' home for a visit. I was expected to just play the happy wife, despite the fact that I've been a stranger in my own home for the last 3 months. I couldn't just sit there and pretend that everything was okay and normal."

"Rose, it's okay. You don't have to sit there and be okay with this. It's not okay Rose, it's not okay what he's doing to you!" John said, placing his hand on my knee.

"I know that now. At first I was just ruining his and Heather's lives, but they're ruining mine." I said crying. The tears wouldn't stop, and what started out as just crying morphed into sobs, body shaking, and gut wrenching sobs.

Suddenly I felt the couch shift beneath me, and I felt his arms around me, which made me cry even harder. I wasn't sure how that was entirely possible, but apparently it was very possible. He rubbed my back while I cried out the months of pain, anguish, depression, and anger. I cried for everything I'd lost, my husband and my friend. I cried for the friend I gave up in John when Mickey decided we shouldn't be friends. I cried for my baby, and the now difficult situation I'd be bringing little he or she into in six months. All the while, John held me, rubbing my back, and comforting me. I knew I didn't deserve it, but John was willing to comfort me, and that's all I needed for now.

"Rose," He said in my ear. "None of this is your fault. You have to know that, you've done nothing wrong. You're right, you're not ruining their lives, they're ruining yours. I'm here for you Rose. I'm here. I never stopped caring about you."

"Promise?" I asked in between sobs.

"I promise pretty girl." He said. "I was just about to order dinner, are you up for pizza?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry." I said while the tears slowed.

"You get comfortable on this couch while I order it. You're welcome here for however long you need." John said standing, pulling his phone from the back pocket of his jeans.

He left the room to order the pizza, and I slid back on the couch, letting all of the muscles in my body relax. For the first time, there was no lingering tension, no nagging feelings pulling at me, it was the best I'd felt in months. I took the time while John ordered the pizza to survey his living room. Not much had changed I realized looking around. He still had the same dark brown, suede sectional that took up the entire wall to the right of the entrance, the corner, and half of the wall perpendicular to it. It was an outside wall because above the couch on that wall was a bay window with individual windows opening to the outside. He had an oak coffee table, and entertainment center that had a fairly good sized flat screen television, blue ray player, PlayStation 4, and stereo. Everything looked great together with the beige carpet, and the off-white wall color. I could see there was a hallway that went off to the left next to the entertainment center, but decided to stay where I was instead of exploring. It wasn't long before John was off the phone and back on the couch next to me.

"The pizza will be here in about 45 minutes. Would you like to freshen up?" He asked. He knew how much I hated crying in front of people.

"Please. Where's your bathroom?" I asked.

He stood and held out his hand to me. "I'll give you a tour on our way." He said with a smile.

We walked back towards the front door, but before we got there, he led me off to the left into a galley style kitchen. "This is my kitchen. I don't use it too much, but it's nice I guess." He said running his hands through the hair at the base of his neck.

It may have been a galley style kitchen, but it was done up very nicely. The cabinets were cherry, matching the hardwood floor. The countertop was a beige granite, and all of the appliances were stainless steel. I whistled appreciatively. "This is an absolutely beautiful kitchen. It's narrow, but beautiful." I told him.

Next he opened a closet to the right of the kitchen door which held a stacked washer and dryer. "This is where I do all of my laundry. Saves from having to store quarters to do it at a laundry mat." He quipped.

"Very convenient." I quipped back with a slight laugh. His brown eyes snapped to mine, and whatever he saw in mine, it made him smile widely.

Across from the doorway to the kitchen was a pub style table with 2 chairs, and there was a neat looking light hanging over it. "I mostly eat at the coffee table in front of the TV, but I figured I should have a table in case I ever have company." He explained. I nodded with a smile.

We passed through the living room again, and headed for the hallway. As soon as you stepped into the hallway, there was a closet on the wall to the right, which he showed me was where he kept his linens. He defined his linens as his sheets, towels, washcloths, and any spare blankets. There were two doors to the right which he explained were his guest bedrooms. The first was a room with a single daybed on the wall opposite the door. Next to the door was a dresser, and a lamp was sitting on top of it. The walls were the same off-white color as the other rooms I'd seen, but around the top was a painted floral border. It was then I noticed the bedding on the daybed was a delicate floral print. The other was slightly larger, and had a closet. This room I'm assuming he painted a sky blue color. The bed was a twin sized bed still, but instead of a dresser, there was a desk with a newer looking desktop computer and a blue lamp on it. The bedding on the bed in here had blue butterflies on it, and immediately I was in love with this room.

The next room was to our left, and that was his room. It was painted the same sky blue color, and was double the size of the guest bedrooms. He had a queen sized bed that took up most of the room. The headboard was on the wall shared by the living room, and the bed moved out into the room. There were 2 white wicker side tables, both with lamps that were made of glass. In the glass bottoms, the person who'd made them had put sand and seashells in them. The bedding had white Hawaiian style flowers, and it was made up perfectly, in fact it barely looked like it'd been slept in. He also had a closet, and there was a door opposite the bed which he said was a private entrance to the only bathroom the apartment had in it. At the end of the hall was the door to the bathroom which I assumed was for guests, or when he wasn't in his bedroom. The bathroom was a stark white color with black and red accents. The shower curtain had thick white and black stripes, but the floor carpets and toilet seat cover were red. It was very clean and had a very modern feeling to it.

"You have a very nice place here." I said quietly, looking down at my old junky sneakers. They were the only shoes I could get on quickly enough, and now I was regretting my decision to not put on better shoes.

"It took me some time to put it all together, and I had a decorator help. I had to pay extra to paint my room, and the two guest rooms." He replied. "In fact, the floral room was inspired by you."

My eyes snapped to his. There was vulnerability, and something else in his eyes as he gazed softly at me, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I think it's absolutely beautiful. I'll just wash my face, and I'll be out." I said taking a step into the bathroom.

"Take all the time you need Rose." He said pulling the bathroom door shut behind him.

I washed my face with warm water and the bar soap he had sitting next to the sink, and rinsed of the soapy foam with cold water. When my face was clear, I dried it on the black and red striped towel hanging on the towel loop. I looked at my appearance, and decided a good face washing was just what I needed after the cry I just had. I didn't look like I'd been sobbing my face off on John's couch. I pulled my smart phone out of my jeans pocket and took note of the dozens of missed calls from Mickey, the 5 voicemails he left me, and about as many texts from Mickey, his parents, and Heather too. Not ready to deal with all of them, I turned off the phone completely, stashing it in the cupboard under the sink. I walked out of the bathroom to find John placing a pizza box on the coffee table.

"Good timing love, the pizza just got here." He said flipping the lid open. "Let's eat and talk about this fucked up situation in which you've found yourself in."

I walked over to the couch, took a deep breath and sat down. "I hope you don't have an early bedtime because this is going to be one long story…" I started.