Heartaches Grow a Little Bit Stronger

Sitting there in the rather comfortable airport armchair, I watched as my band mates interacted with one another, either discussing the tour we had just finished wrapping up, or talking about their plans for the holidays. Across from me I watched as Kyle talked animatedly with Marc, either one of them compiling a list of their family members that would be joining them at their parents' house this year.

I frowned softly and couldn't help but wonder how he could seem so happy, when he hasn't talked to Alyssa for the past two weeks. For someone who says they love her so much, Kyle sure has a funny way of showing it. You would think that with the fight they had, that he'd have called her back ten minutes later apologizing to her.

For the past two weeks, Kyle has been oblivious to the fact that he's going to be a father. As far as I know, I'm the only one apart from Alyssa's family that she has told about the pregnancy. We've talked every other day since she told me, and she's confided in me the sort of things that she should be telling Kyle, such as her fears about that this pregnancy might end up like her first once.

I try to comfort her as much as I know how to, but honestly, its not my job to stay up late at night and assure her that everything will be alright ... it's Kyle's. Alyssa's one of my good friends, and I'll always be here if she ever needs anything, but Kyle needs to pull his head out of his ass and help her through this.

I licked my lips slightly and then set my things aside before I stood up, slowly making my way to Kyle. He quickly glanced up at me as I approached, but continued his conversation with Marc.

"Um, Kyle?" I asked. "Can I talk to you for a second man?"

"Oh, yeah, sure." He said, nodding his head as he stood up, and accompanied me in a general direction that was away from the guys. Once we were out of ear shot, we stopped and faced each other. "What's up man?" Kyle asked, eyeing me with his blue stare.

"Um ... have you talked to Alyssa yet?" I asked quietly.

At the mention of Alyssa's name, Kyle frowned sadly and shook his head. "No. She's been a moody bitch lately. I just wanted to take a little break from her, and then when we get home I was planning on taking her on a little getaway. The winter break for the university is coming up soon, and I was thinking that maybe we can go on a little road trip or something." He hesitated slightly before he asked. "What do you think?"

"Honestly Kyle, I think you should talk to her as soon as you can." I mumbled. "She has something she needs to tell you."

"Well, we'll be home in a couple of hours." Kyle said quietly. "Can it wait until then?"

"Kyle," I sighed, "aren't you the least bit curious as to why she's been so moody?"

Kyle shrugged his shoulders. "PMS?"

"For the past three weeks Kyle?" I asked. "And plus, doesn't she get Depo shots? Doesn't that stop like ... that menstrual stuff?"

Kyle wrinkled his nose. "I don't know." He mumbled. "That's girl stuff."

I nodded my head, agreeing with him before I sighed heavily. "Kyle, I ... " I trailed off, unsure as to whether or not I should tell Kyle the truth. I've stayed quiet about it this long, but Kyle had to know, and he had to be prepared for the next time he saw Alyssa.

"What is it?" Kyle asked quietly. "Alyssa told you what she had to tell me, didn't she?"

Slowly, I nodded my head. "She said it's best if you heard it from her, but, Kyle it's something kind of big."

"Tell me." Kyle insisted. "If it's something big, you'd better tell me right now."

"She's pregnant, Kyle." I mumbled. "That's why her emotions have all been out of wack, and that's why she hadn't talked to you for those two weeks. She had been running around with school, and doctors appointments; she either didn't have the time, or didn't have the energy to talk to you."

The whole time I was speaking, Kyle's eyes clouded over with a mixture of emotions that I wasn't quite able to make out. He lowered his gaze to the floor and shoved his hands into the front pocket of his sweatshirt.

"But ... why did she tell you and not me?" He whispered.

"Because you've been ignoring her calls." I said quietly.

Kyle nodded his head, though his gaze still had a somewhat far off look to it.

"Kyle, are you gonna be okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I just ... I just need to take some time to myself and sit down and think about all this." He mumbled. "This is just, honestly this is fucking overwhelming right now."

I nodded my head, knowing that if I had just found out from one of my friends that I was going to be a father, I'd be a lot more than overwhelmed; I'd probably be freaking out. Without another word to one another, we made our way back to the waiting area and then sat down. Kyle made up an excuse to finish up his conversation with Marc, and then pulled out his iPod before he put his headphones on, and sat there thinking to himself.

Silently, I did the same. About thirty minutes later, we had boarded our flight and had taken off. The flight itself was an hour and a half, but the time seemed to fly by and before I knew it, I saw the familiar sight of Dallas sprawled out beneath me as our plane descended.

We were off, and setting off to the baggage claim area within a matter of minutes, and each of the guys, save for Kyle and myself, were expressing their excitement of being home once again. As we approached the carousel that would have our luggage shortly, I saw a familiar figure there, already waiting for us.

When we got closer, Alyssa pulled her coat tighter around her body and stood up, slowly making her way toward us. The group fell quiet as Kyle passed everyone, meeting Alyssa at the halfway point. I held my breath, anxious to see how they would react. They simply stood there for a few seconds, staring at one another.

"You're pregnant." Kyle whispered.

Alyssa's green eyes shot in my direction momentarily before she looked back up to Kyle. "You didn't want to talk to me." She mumbled as two stray tears fell from her eyes.

"How could you let Caleb know that you were pregnant, before you told me?" Kyle questioned.

"I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen to me." Alyssa cried softly. "You ignored my calls, and never called me back."

"I know, but how could you let someone else know that I'm going to be a father, before I even know?" He asked angrily, not making a single move to wipe away her tears.

"Kyle, I needed someone to talk to!" Alyssa tried to reason. "I obviously couldn't talk to you; I needed someone to tell me that everything was gonna be fine, and that things will all work out in the end."

"But Alyssa, that's not just something you tell someone else, simply because I'm not available. This ... I should have been the first person you told!"

"You would have been Kyle, but you wouldn't talk to me."

"You should have waited then." Kyle insisted. "You have no right to go off and tell somebody else our business." He growled.

"Kyle, please." Alyssa cried. "Don't do this, not here, not now. Let's just go home and talk about this."

"What's left to talk about?" Kyle snapped. "Seems like you've been telling Caleb everything!"

"Kyle, don't." She sniffed. "Don't do this. I need you right now."

"Why do you need me? Obviously you found a perfect confident in Caleb."

Alyssa simply shook her head as some more tears fell, and she pulled her promise ring off of her finger, tossing it back at Kyle's feet before she turned around made her way through the crowd, leaving Kyle where he stood. He simply stood there as if his feet were glued to the floor, staring after her dumbly.

"Kyle, go after her!" Marc demanded, but he got no such response from Kyle.

Shaking my head in disgust, I shoved my way past everyone.

"You're gonna hate yourself for this, Kyle." I said meanly and I pushed past him, and caught up to Alyssa.

Wrapping an arm around her, I used my freehand to wipe away the tears that were falling. I whispered a few sweet words into her ear before I kissed her cheek gently. Alyssa didn't respond, but rather wrapped her arms around my middle, holding me tightly as she continued to cry to herself.

I bit my lip, knowing that she deserved better than everything that has happened to her over the past month. Kyle doesn't understand how much he'll be losing if he loses Alyssa.