I Meant What I Said

A week later

The week had gone by terribly. Her dad came home early from Sweden because he was sick and her mom had spent all her time taking care of him, exhausting herself. The twins had practice every day after school and the teachers had decided to load her with homework. On top of everything, Nate went back to college and she had no one around to help her with all of the housework that had been accumulating.

Her dad was so sick that he couldn't get out of bed and her mom was getting sick because of him, leaving all the responsibility of the twins on her. She was mothering them: making lunches, packing backpacks, making sure all the homework was done, making them dinner every night.

She had barely gotten a good night sleep the entire week because of her father coughing and the twins refusing to go to sleep at night. She was falling behind on her work and she worked even harder to keep up.

Alex saw how much of a toll her family was having on her so he invited her over to watch movies and spend the night with him, away from her hectic house.

Less than an hour and a half in, he had fallen asleep on her lap. Great. He was lucky he was so cute when he was sleeping. She had her phone on the end table. Suddenly, it started going off like crazy. Who was texting her? It was already 11. She picked up her phone before it made too much noise and woke Alex up. She reached over and grabbed it, hitting the button on the side to make it silent.

'One New Text Message'

She flipped open her phone. It was from Jamie. Oh my.

'Can we talk?'

She closed her phone and put it on the couch. Why? Why now? Couldn't he just take the hint and stay away? Honestly, what did even want anymore? She stared at her phone then picked it up again. She decided to respond to get him off her back.

'Why?'

'Cause, Bree. I can't go through the rest of the year not being friends with you. It's so bad going from having all of you to not even being able to say hello.'

'Oh. Uh, I don't really know what to say.'

'Yeah. I don't know.'

'It's kinda out of the blue, don't you think. Why now?'

'Cause, I miss you. A lot, Bree.'

'What changed? Did you just decide that all of a sudden you miss me?'

'No, I have missed you, everyday. I just want to hold you in my arms again.'

What was he thinking? He never really took the point that he broke her heart and she was better off without him.

'So, where do we go from here?'

'We talk, sometime, hopefully soon. It's killing me, Bree. I miss you.'

'That's it? We talk and everything goes back to the way it used to be? It's not that easy Jamie. So much has changed, too much has happened.'

'I know. I just want to be friends with you again.'

'So, I have to ask, why all of a sudden? Why do you bring this up now?'

'I don't know. I hate the way we look at each other. It breaks my heart more and more everyday. It sucks.'

'Jamie... This isn't going to be easy. It's not just going to fall back into the way it used to be.'

'I know. I know, Bree.'

'I just don't get you, Jamie. At all. You're so frustrating! You broke up with me. You wanted to end all of this. Why do you keep coming back?'

'Bree, I need you in my life. It's terrible and empty and lonely without you. I'm sorry, for everything.'

Bree closed her phone and threw it on the other side of the room, waking Alex up. He looked at her and knew something wasn't right. He sat up and pulled her into his arms and the tears started falling. “I don't know anymore, Alex. I really don't. This is so confusing and I'm just terrified I'm making all the wrong decisions.”

Alex pulled her closer to him and she felt the beating of his heart. “It's all going to be okay, baby. I got you now, I'm going to protect you.” Alex stood up and pulled Bree into his arms. She was so worn out from everything. She was completely exhausted. He picked her up and carried towards the stairs.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

Alex smiled at her. He had a smile that melted her heart. “I'm putting you to bed, baby.” She smiled and snuggled in closer to him. He walked upstairs and carefully laid her down on the bed. She pulled herself up and rested her head on one of his many pillows.

He pulled off her shoes and undid the button on her pants. She gently slid out of them and he put a pair of his boxer shorts on her. He pulled her up and slid her shirt and tank top off over hear head, leaving her in just her bra. He went to the closet and pulled out his Mayday Parade shirt and put it over her head. She laid back down and curled herself into a ball. She felt him cover her with his down comforter. Everything smelled like him. It smelled so good.

She heard him walk into the bathroom and brush his teeth and use the toilet. She heard him come back into the room and kick off his shoes. She heard him undo his belt buckle and kick of his pants and then his shirt.

She smiled as she felt him climb into bed next to her, wrapping his arms around her. This was so comfortable, she thought. It just couldn't get any better than this. She turned over and faced him, feeling his breath against her face. Minty fresh. She leaned in and kissed him, feeling him pull her closer to him.

Her stomach was in butterflies. She hadn't been this happy in a very long time. She knew she was completely over Jamie. She didn't want him back in her life. He caused too much drama and trouble for her.

She leaned in closer to Alex, leaving no space between them. He kissed her forehead and then her lips, his breath warm against her skin. “I love you, Alex.”

She caught herself just as she was saying his name. Shit, she thought. What did she just do? She hoped he wouldn't take her seriously. She was so tired she wasn't thinking straight. Her stomach was in knots. She was falling fast asleep, but she was so nervous he actually knew what she had said to him.

“I think I love you, too, Bree.”