"Sorry." I say as Alex flinches as I clean the cuts along his cheek and I can't help but feel guilty for dragging him in to the situation. I've never confronted anybody in public before and it's never resulted in a fight, either. "I need to give you stitches, but keep the ice pressed against your cheek." I leave the room and go in to the one opposite, which has Bailey, Addison and Jack inside. Jack is sat on the chair while Bailey prepares to give him stitches and Addison watches.
"I need to give Alex stitches. He has a little concussion but he's fine. I just came to get some thread." I announce and try to avoid eye contact with Jack.
"The Chief has been notified, he wants to see you and Karev once you're finished. There better be a reasonable explanation for this because as your attending, I am responsible for you." Bailey explains.
"Karev, or whoever this guy is, he's bad news. You need to stay away from him." Jack states.
"You're not in any position to tell her what to do." Addison intervenes, stepping closer towards the table. Bailey looks between the two of us and sighs.
"She's my fiancee, I can say whatever I want."
"Excuse me? That's no way to talk about your fiancee." Bailey says. I raise my eyebrows and take a step back, shocked that the two were defending me. "Have a little respect. You don't own her, you can't tell her what to do. If that's the way you're treating her then maybe she needs to re think her engagement to you."
"I already did," I sigh, and I toy with my engagement ring on my finger. "I don't think I'll ever understand why you cheated on me, and I'm sure it's not the first time. But this...whatever this is, it's not working."
"This hasn't been working for a long time, you're never there." Jack says. "But we can work on it, we can get through it. We will."
"No, we won't!" I exclaim, pulling the ring off of my finger and my eyes begin to sting. "Don't you get it? You broke my heart. I can't go back. We can't go back, we're done."
"Who's to say you haven't been sleeping with other people either?" Jack perseveres and Bailey raises her eyebrows at him as she finishes his sutures.
"Why is it always me that has to be wrong? I tried so hard to make you happy, I spent four years of my life putting in so much effort in to this relationship... You knew what you were getting in to, I told you what you were getting in to and I gave you an out which you didn't take. You should've left. This isn't my fault so stop blaming me. Everything inside of me hurts and as much as I want to hate you and what you did to me I can't, I love you, I love you..." Addison wraps arm around me and gets ready to escort me out. I place the ring on the table next to him and he grabs my wrist.
"Don't do this, Alexis. Don't do this." Bailey takes a step back and looks like she's ready to call somebody. "I won't let you go, you can't leave."
"It's over, Jack." I whisper, my heart rate increasing drastically as his grip on my wrist doesn't loosen.
"Good." He says and lets my wrist go. I stand there, dumbfounded and confused. "I'm so glad, I'm free! This is so liberating! Just go, I don't want to see you again."
I step outside of the room and Addison and Bailey follow and I collapse on the floor, borderline hysterical. I can't stop crying or hyperventilating and I'm so confused at his change of heart and I don't understand what's going on.
"It's okay, Alexis, it's okay, just breathe," Bailey says, crouching down on the floor in front of me. "In for seven seconds, hold it for five, breathe out. Come on, you can do it." Once I gain control of my breathing she sits down on the floor next to me and nods to Addison, who stands leaning against the wall.
"What the hell just happened?" I ask, wiping my eyes and pushing my hair behind my shoulders.
"That man...my God... I've never seen anything like that before. You don't need him, you can do a lot better. You weren't happy, obviously. He's very controlling and manipulative. Are you okay?" She questions.
"I just broke up with my cheating fiancee... I don't know if I'm relieved or completely heartbroken... God, I have to return my wedding dress. I look so good in my wedding dress." I laugh a little.
"I'm sure you do," she smiles. "You'll move on, you'll find somebody else. You'll find somebody who's going to accept you, your job and your wedding day is going to be one of the most amazing days of your life. It'll be even better when it's with someone you love, who you don't have doubts about...you just have to wait."
"Thank you." I say. She stands up and Addison helps me up.
"Now, are you alright to go back inside?" I nod. "Come and find me if you need anything. Addison, page somebody to escort him out of the building."
I take a deep breath as I step back in to the room and Alex is sat in the same place as before, waiting for my return. I sigh and begin to give him sutures immediately.
"Thank you for standing up for me. And punching him." I whisper as I move on to the last few stitches.
"The guy is a jerk, he had it coming. I don't know what you see in him, but you can do so much better. He's not a nice guy and...what were you even arguing about? Why was he here?" He asks. I look down to the floor as I begin to talk.
"He cheated on me on our anniversary, with a waitress who works at the restaurant we were supposed to go to. Our anniversary was the night of the car accident. I haven't been home since and he says he was here because he was worried about me." I explain as I put all of the antiseptic wipes into the trash and put things away.
"And you're engaged to him?" He questions as I press the ice pack against his cheek again.
"Not anymore... There was...confrontation when I went into the other room and he practically physically assaulted me. I told him that I couldn't do this anymore and then he kept begging me not to go and I tried to reason with him, then he told me that he was glad it was over, that he was free and that he didn't want to see me ever again." Alex fell silent. "Am I really that bad? I had no idea I was so bad to put up with."
"Hey, don't say that. Listen to me," he holds my hands in his and stares at me. "The guy doesn't deserve you, you deserve so much better than that and you deserve somebody who's going to treat you the way that you deserve to be treated. He's trying to defend himself and his actions for cheating on you when he knows that there's no reasonable explanation. Alexa...you're going to find somebody else, you're so good, you're so..." and I don't know what crosses my mind, but the next thing that I know my lips are on his. They're warm and inviting and when he wraps his arm around my waist, I feel safe and comfortable. I wrap my hands around his neck and as soon as I feel his hand pressing against my cheek, what we're doing finally registers in my brain and I reluctantly pull away.
I stand there for a few moments, unsure of what to do or say before I remove my hands and walk out of the room, ignoring his calls. I walk down the hallway with my fingers pressed to my lips and my clouded judgement.