First of all I want to thank everyone for the lovely comments. You don't know how they have made my day. This story popped into my head after speaking with my lovely friends. And I wrote it in like 2 days and the responses have been amazing. You guys thank you so much from the bottom of my heart! Thank you so much for your support.
Peter walks Angela to the door.
"You feeling better now?" he smiles at her, she nods at him. "You don't look much happier if I am being real honest there Angela." She gives him a sad smile.
"Your company was just what I needed this evening Peter, thank you so much. You've distracted my mind for a couple of hours. This was truly what I needed." She sighs.
"I still don't like leaving you like this. I just.." He stops talking then looks at her. "This might be out of place, seeing as we have a business relationship." Angela narrows her eyes but motions him to keep talking. "I don't know what happened before I rang this door bell, but when you opened the door, that wasn't the same Angela that Jon and I saw yesterday." Angela sits down on the bench next to the front door. "You don't have to tell me what has happened but I can see something is weighing heavy on your heart." Angela looks at the front door. She feels so reluctant gong into her own house. Tony's betrayal is weighing heavy on her heart. ~Peter is absolutely right.~ she sadly thinks to herself. ~He is very observant, lovely company, intelligent and.. unlike Tony he is interested in me.~ She turns to face him.
"Have you wanted anything more than anything else you ever wanted?" She knew her question was vague and he had no clue what she meant. She sighs before continuing "Like have you ever waited on something so long, hoping for so long that one thing would be yours but then all of a sudden it was all just taken away from you?" She quickly glances over. "Like that one thing you wished and hoped for is just POOF" She throws her hands in the air to emphasises the poof. "disappears on you?" She looks at Peter waiting for his reply.
"I don't know.. I don't think so." He honestly replies. She gives the saddest chuckle he has ever heard.
"Well I have." She looks up to the sky at the stars. "Tonight. I think I've lost the one thing I wanted most in this world." She feels slightly guilty confessing to Peter, she knows she is interested in her. She might even be interested in him, but she also knows her heart still belongs to Tony even though right now it feels like he has ripped it out of her chest.
"And what might this thing you wanted most in the world be?" Peter curiously asks.
"It doesn't matter, I am not getting it anyways." She smiles at him. "I don't know why I'm telling you all of this." Her smile more sincere now. "But you are just so easy to talk to." He scoffs, that's when she gives him a confusing look.
"Story of my life." He smiles before hanging his head low. Angela's heart aches for this man, who clearly wants more than she is willing to give to him. She covers his hand with hers.
"I am sorry." She softly squeezes his hand. "You are the full package, handsome, intelligent, kind and very sweet.." That's when Peter leans in, she pushes him back just before his lips hit hers. "Bu not for me." Her hand still on his chest. "I won't do that to you. I really do like you too much to hurt you." He frowns his eyebrows. "Peter, you are amazing but my heart belongs to someone else and trying to start anything with you won't be fair to you or me. I would never be able to give myself to you entirely. I won't start anything knowing that there is a real chance I will break your heart." Peter smiles at her.
"Thank you for being honest. And don't blame me for shooting my shot. You are the most intelligent, beautiful and fascinating woman I've ever met." Her smile mirrors his. "I hope this doesn't interfere with our business relationship." He insecurely asks.
"I wouldn't dream of it." She bumps her shoulder to his. "I think we work very well together. Don't you agree?"
"We do, don't we?" He side-eyes her. "No hard feelings?" He asks.
"No hard feelings." She puts her head on his shoulders. "Thank you for this conversation. I do really appreciate it."
"I know." He ceases the opportunity and kisses the top of her head. She squeezes his hand again.
"I will talk to you soon." She says before getting up. "Thank you again."
"You can stop thank me now Angela." He grins. "I'm happy I was able to help or at least give some relief."
"You did so much more, you can't even imagine." She leans forward to kiss his cheek. "Good night Peter." She says as she pulls back.
"Good night Angela." He smiles at her. "And don't forget to listen to those new tracks." Angela laughs.
"I will Peter, I promise." She says as she opens the front door, she turns around and waves at him.
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Twenty minutes prior Tony is sitting on the couch, still waiting for Angela to arrive. He hears a car stop as he quietly makes his way to the front door. He peeks through the window. He sees Angela and Peter walking up to the front door. He sees them talking, but he can't hear a word they're saying. His heart aches when he sees Angela's face, she looks so hurt. He watches her sit down and look up at the sky, she is still talking, he wishes he could hear what they are saying. He feels like he is invading her privacy but when he leans in to try and kiss her, he feels his blood boil. But then there is a sigh of relief when he sees her pushing him back. Tony slides himself to the floor, pulls his knees up and leans his head on his knees. ~She might have rejected his lips, but you messed up Micelli! How will you ever, ever make this right?~ He feels so lost. ~Shall I stay up? Or shall I go to bed?~ He quietly gets up and peeks through the window again. He is just in time to see Angela kiss Peter's cheek, his stomach drops and he quickly, yet quietly makes his way to the kitchen. He starts cleaning the already clean kitchen.
~I hope she hears me and comes in to talk to me. We need to resolve this.~ He thinks as he reaches for the kettle. ~Tea! We will drink our evening tea together.~
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After walking in, Angela hangs her wrap and puts her purse on the side table. She is about to walk upstairs when she hears noise coming from the kitchen. She stops and looks at the kitchen door. She takes a step towards the kitchen door but then stops. She desperately wants to talk to Tony, she wants their relationship back to before this afternoon. She takes another step, her body is aching to see him, but her mind quickly takes over. ~I can't I'm not ready to talk to him, to see him. Dammit Tony, why did you do this?~ She takes a step back towards the stairs but then hears the whistle of the kettle, holding on to the banister she looks back towards the kitchen door. ~Did he make tea for us? Does he know I just came home? Is he expecting me to come in?~ It feels like someone is squeezing her heart. ~I can't.~ As she makes her way up the stairs.
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Tony knows she must have heard the kettle whistle. He pours them 2 cups of tea and puts them on the table. Eagerly awaiting her entrance. He waits for a couple of minutes but then realisation sinks in. ~She isn't coming.~ He gets up and dumps the tea into the sink. ~I messed up big time.~ Tony washes up the cups and sighs heavily.
He switches off the lights and heads towards the stairs, but first checking if the front door is locked. Then he heads up. He sees the light in Angela's room is still on. His entire body is telling to go over there and knock on the door, yet his mind doesn't allow him as he makes his way to his bedroom. He changes into sweatpants and a clean white t-shirt. He plops onto his bed and grabs the magazine on his nightstand. He can't stand it any longer, he gets up and checks if Angela's light is still on. He sees it is, so he tries to find the courage and makes his way to her door. He softly knocks.
"Not now Tony." Is what she says.
"Can you give me just 5 minutes Angela.." He lowers his head until it rests on the door. "Please." Slowly the door to her bedroom opens. "Hi." His head shoots up as he smiles.
"I'm not ready Tony." He can see the conflict and pain in her eyes but he can't go to sleep like this.
"Please Angela, all I'm asking is just 5 minutes. I need to explain, I need you to understand." She feels enraged by his words.
"You don't owe me any explanations, your actions were quite clear and ,I for one, cannot deal with it right now." She closes her eyes to level thoughts. "I don't want to understand anything. You have no idea how much you've hurt me." She opens her eyes and looks at him. "Deeply."
"Well you've hurt me too!" His mouth is faster than his brain.
"Excuse you? I did what?" Angela straightens her back, ready for the battle that she feels is coming on. "Please Tony, enlighten me?"
"Hurt me." He softly pipes.
"Pray do tell how I've hurt you?" Angela sounds condescending and she doesn't feel sorry at all.
"You went out with Peter." He knows he is in the wrong but he can't help himself, his mouth has always been quicker than his brain in panic situations.
"Not that I need to explain myself to you, Tony. But I did NOT go out with Peter. I was supposed to be picked up by Jon and Peter to head to the studio. Unfortunately Jon fell sick, so Peter was taking me to the studio. And HE did see that there was something wrong with me, so he took me out for coffee. That's all that happened, coffee and conversation nothing more and nothing less. I am not like that, I have never been like that and I will never be like that." ~unlike you!~ She thinks.
"Unlike me?" Tony looks up at her with his big brown eyes.
"Maybe we shouldn't do this right here and now. The kids are sleeping in their rooms." Angela calms herself by thinking of the kids.
"Please come down and talk to me, please Angela." His puppy dog eyes slightly bigger than a few seconds ago. "I'll make us some tea." He adds with a shy smile. Angela takes a deep breath, she knows she can't resist his eyes and charm.
"I thought you already drank tea. I thought I heard the kettle whistle." She crosses her arms in front of her chest.
"I knew you heard that." He smiles. "Please give me a chance, please let me explain." She loosens her arms and waves one hand as a gesture for him to move towards the stairs. He nearly jumps in happiness and moves towards the stairs. Angela follows him down. ~What was I thinking?~ She shivers. ~I mean he made is decisions. Why did he have to go and kiss another woman? Why did he have to ruin it all? He knew I was waiting for him.~ When they reach the last step, she can't hold it in anymore.
"You knew." She just spits. Tony turns around.
"What?"
"You knew." She repeats as she steps closer to him. "You knew because we spoke about it. I told you everything. You knew." He can see the disappoint, rage and hurt in her eyes. The ferociousness of her look makes him step back, but she keeps closing the distance. "You knew. Why did you do this?" Tears of anger and sadness make their way down on her cheeks. He wants nothing more than to wipe them away, but knowing he caused them, holds him back. "You knew Tony, then why?" The tears keep streaming, leaving wet streaks on her face. "WHY?" She says louder than intended. Tony stands frozen, trying to find a word to say.. any words. "I see." She slowly starts nodding her head. "This is all I need to know." Angela takes a big step back and turns on her heels. "Good night Tony." She says before walking off. He makes a beeline for the stairs and stops her in her track.
"Please wait." He takes her hand in his. "Please hear me out." Angela gives him an angry look. "I know I haven't been very talkative but I haven't found the right words yet." Angela narrows her eyes, but she doesn't give him a chance to talk again.
"Words from the heart should come easy Tony. My words have come from my heart. Not only tonight, but also back in Jamaica." She closes her eyes again and heavily sighs. "Do you.."
"Mom? Tony?" A sleepy Jonathan appears at the top of the stairs.
"Oh sweetheart, all is fine." Angela says as she quickly rubs her face, making sure there aren't any tears for Jonathan to see. "Do you want a glass of water?" She says as she makes her way to the kitchen.
Tony quickly makes his way up the stairs. "Hey buddy, did we wake you?" Jonathan softly nods his head. "I am so sorry buddy."
"Are mom and you fighting?" He says with a sad voice.
"Oh no buddy." Tony puts his hand on Jonathan's shoulder. Jonathan looks up a Tony.
"Don't lie to me Tony." The way Jonathan says the words and then looks at him, reminds Tony so much of Angela. "I overheard you." He looks at Tony again. "What did mom mean when she said that you knew."
"Basically that I messed up." Tony sits at the top of the stairs and invites Jonathan to sit next to him. "Listen buddy, adults make mistakes and I did make a mistake. But believe me when I say, I will do everything in my power to make it up to your mom."
"She was crying, wasn't she?" Jonathan side-eyes him. "You made her cry, didn't you?" Tony sighs at his questions, realising he really isn't a little boy anymore.
"Yeah.. I really, really messed up." He puts his face in hands. "You're not a little kid anymore, are you now?" He looks at Jonathan.
"What did you do to her?" Jonathan directly asks. Tony looks him directly in his eyes.
"You are your mother's son." He states with a sad smile. "Always asking the direct and painful questions."
"What did you do?" he asks again but this time he puts his hand on Tony's lower arm. "Will you guys be okay?" He can't mask the hint of fear in his voice. Tony gives him a hurt look.
"I don't know." He softly says.
"Here's the water!" Angela says way too chipper. Tony looks at her, in awe with her resilience. There was no trace of her sadness, anger or tears. "Here you go sweetheart." She hands Jonathan the water.
"Thanks mom." He looks up at her. "Are you okay?"
"I am sweetheart." She says while running her hand through his hair. "You need a haircut." She gives a slight giggle.
"Hey.. I like it this way!" He smiles at his mom, she mirrors his smile.
"Now back to bed, okay sweetheart?" She kisses the top of his head. "I love you."
"I love you too." Jonathan gets up, then looks at Tony. Tony is totally mesmerized with his mother. "Good night mom, good night Tony." Tony looks up.
"Good night Jonathan.." He looks at Jonathan.
"Make up with mom, please" He softly whispers. Tony just gives a small nod. Jonathan is about to walk off but gives his mom another look. She is looking up at him with a smile. He knows that it is a fake smile but he knows better than to say anything, he just returns the smile. Angela turns and walks down. "Whatever you did.. undo it." He reminds Tony so much of his mother, the same anger and sadness. Tony gets up.
"I will try my best buddy." Tony puts his hand on Jonathan's shoulder.
"I never thought I'd say this, but I don't want to see the pain and sadness in mom's eyes." Jonathan looks at Tony. "Of all people, I never thought you'd hurt my mom this bad." He hangs his head low.
"Listen to me when I say Jonathan, we will be okay. I will make this up to your mom, it's all just a misunderstanding." Jonathan looks at him.
"I hope so, I don't want to lose another father." Jonathan says before heading back to his bedroom.
~Another father?~ Tony's heart swells at those words. "I love you too buddy." Tony says to Jonathan's back. "And you will never lose me." Jonathan turns and gives Tony a relieved smile before going back into his room. ~There is a lot at stake here Tony, don't mess this up.~ He makes his way back to the living room, but finds it empty. He walks towards the kitchen and finds Angela pouring 2 cups of tea. He stands in the door opening watching her.
"Hi." He softly says as she turns around with the two mugs in her hands. Angela gives a small smile and places their cups on the table before sitting down. He takes the opposite seat. "I am sorry." He starts. "I am sorry I kissed Kathleen." Angela physically cringes at her name. "I am even more sorry I've hurt you. That I've hurt our family. He nods upstairs." He sighs. "I never meant to kiss her. It was something that just happened and I stopped it before it became anything else." He looks her in the eyes, tears brimming her eyes. "I never meant to hurt you.. to hurt us." Angela closes her eyes as the tears fall. He can't contain himself as he leans over to wipe away the tears. Her eyes shoot open and meets his. "I am such a fool." He sincerely says.
"You really are." She says with a slight chuckle. She sits back and wraps her hands around her cup.
"Are we going to be okay Angela?" He wraps his hands around his cup. "I need us to be okay." He says looking at his cup.