Best Mistake

I woke up to a dull headache. My mind instantly went to the night before when Alex showed up at my apartment and cursed me and our baby. I felt like I wanted to throw up just thinking about it.

I sat up in bed and stretched, jumping slightly at the sound of pots clinking in the kitchen.

"Is he cooking?" I thought aloud.

I slowly crept out of bed and tiptoed to my bedroom door, opening it just a little so I could see to the other side.

Alex was standing at the stove, laying a piece of bacon in a hot frying pan. He'd taken his jacket and shirt off and laid them across the back of the couch. I watched as he jumped when some bacon grease popped up and hit him on the chest. I instantly wanted to kiss the spot to soothe it.

He'd taken his shoes off, too, and I listened to his feet pad against the floor as he walked over to the fridge to pull out a baking sheet with biscuits on it, putting it in the oven. All he had on were the pants to his tuxedo and I felt my face flush when I thought of how Christian Grey he looked. I shook my head, ridding my mind of those thoughts.

Other than his messy hair and the faint paleness of his complexion, he looked completely at ease. I figured he didn't remember what happened, and I was not going to remind him. I was sure he was going through enough coping with his breakup with Sophia. I didn't want to add to it.

I hurried back to my bed and slid on my pajama bottoms and my fuzzy slippers before opening my bedroom door. Alex looked back at me, a smile barely forming on his lips.

"Good morning," I said enthusiastically.

"Morning," he mumbled, pulling a piece of bacon out of the pan and laying another one down.

I walked past him to the fridge, pulling out the orange juice. "That smells great," I smiled, taking a deep breath in through my nose. "What's gotten into you?" I asked, pushing gently on his shoulder.

Alex stiffened at my touch, then went back to turning the bacon over. "I don't know," he shrugged.

"Well," I started, standing on my tiptoes to reach a glass. "I like it."

He nodded, laying another piece of bacon down. When he didn't say anything, I took the liberty to fill the silence.

"Dude, work was so brutal last night! I can't even-"

"Why are you doing that?" he interrupted, turning towards me.

A little flustered, I asked, "Doing what?"

He put the tongs down on the counter. "That. Acting like nothing happened last night."

I swallowed hard, suddenly struggling to speak. "What do you mean?" I asked, feigning oblivion.

His face was expressionless, and his eyes were starting to turn red. "I remember everything I said to you last night," he said softly. "Every horrible, mean, heartless, cowardly-"

I put my hand on his shoulder, bring him to a halt. "Stop. It's ok."

He scoffed, pulling the biscuits out of the oven. "How can you say that? None of it was ok."

I watched him as he leaned against the counter, his head in his hands. "I know last night was rough on you, with...with Sophia. I know you didn't intend on saying those things."

He looked over at me, shaking his head. "You see? That's exactly why it's not ok. Because I was an absolute fucking bastard of a person to you, but you're still defending me so I won't feel bad. That's why it's not ok. You didn't deserve the way I treated you last night."

I stood still, feeling an overwhelming flutter in my chest. I couldn't tell if it was good or bad.

"Have you even realized that since we met, you've tried to get me to do things only that were convenient for me? Not once have you asked me to do something that would benefit you or make this easier on you. You're way too good of a fucking person, Whitney. Way too good."

I didn't even feel like I was breathing anymore, just staring him in the face. When I could finally blink and a tear rolled down my cheek, Alex pulled me into his tight embrace. I tried to keep it together while he sobbed into my shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," he mumbled. "I'm so, so fucking sorry."

My breath hitched in my throat when I tried to swallow a sob of my own. "It's ok," I whispered, rubbing his back.

I held him like that for a moment, and soon he started to calm down. After a deep breath, he backed away a little. He was a total mess, and it broke my heart. He rubbed his eyes with his hands and shook his head before reaching over and brushing away one of my tears. He held my chin between his thumb and index finger and placed a soft kiss on my cheek.

"Please forgive me," he begged.

I smiled a little. "Only if you fix me a plate of that bacon," I said, trying to lighten the mood.

Alex laughed and nodded, turning back to the pan. "It's almost done."

"Good," I huffed. "We're hungry," I added, rubbing my bump as I sat at the table.

Alex grinned and put all of the bacon on a plate, bringing it and the biscuits to the table. He sat beside me instead of across from me, and it kind of gave me butterflies.

We ate in silence for the most part and every so often I would notice that Alex would tense up while he ate. I had a feeling I knew what he was thinking about, and I secretly hoped he wouldn't be mad at me for bringing it up.

"Have you talked to Sophia today?" I asked quietly.

He glanced at me quickly and shook his head.

"Are you going to try to fix things with her?"

He sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair. "I don't know if it would do any good."

I turned towards him a little. "I think you should at least try."

He shrugged, picking up and dropping a piece of bacon. "I don't know. Maybe this is for the best, you know? It was bound to happen eventually. You were right, she'd never be ok with this." He offered me half of a smile before saying, "Atleast now I have time to get over it before the baby comes."

I shook my head, feeling my heart plummet to my feet. I still felt ridiculously guilty for being the girl that came between them. I inwardly gasped at myself when I thought that at least I had a chance to really be with him. If I could've hit myself, I probably would have.

Alex gave me a look like he was pleading with me to stop thinking so much. I sighed heavily and said, "Can you at least try? Please?"

He looked at me for a second and nodded slowly. "Ok, I'll try. But if she doesn't go for it I don't want you to try to convince yourself that you're a horrible person."

I nodded, picking up my last piece of bacon. "Thank you," I said before popping it in my mouth.

He smiled and took our empty plates to the sink. I watched as he cleaned up because he refused to let me help. I was fine with it though, because my feet were still very sore from working almost all night.

Alex finished up with the dishes and joined me on the couch. He motioned for me to put my feet in his lap and after hesitatingly doing so he started massaging them.

"Oh dear lord," I moaned. I slid down so I was leaning against the arm of the chair. "Bless you, child."

Alex laughed, working his fingers up and down my sore feet. "Just relax. I'm sure you worked your ass off last night."

I sighed heavily, closing my eyes. "You have no idea."

He shifted, facing more towards me and started massaging up my leg. I moaned again, it felt so good.

"Speaking of work," he started, "I'm going to be leaving for tour in three days."

"Oh?" I asked, barely paying him any attention.

"Yeah. Two months overseas."

"Wow," I said. "Where all will you be going?"

"Australia for two weeks, then Europe for the rest. The U.K., Germany, then Ireland," he said, pressing down on my heel.

"It's going to take you two months to go to those four places?" I asked, opening my eyes.

He smiled. "We'll be doing some press there, too."

I nodded. "That's awesome. I hope you have a great time."

He stopped massaging my feet for a second. "You know you're going to miss me."

I rolled my eyes, a dramatic expression on my face. "Oh, Alex. What will I ever do without you."

He smiled and gave my feet a gentle squeeze before pushing them out of his lap.

Notes