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The next morning Alex and I sat on the couch holding hands and watching a soccer match on the bus’s television, bowls once full of cereal sat in Alex’s lap. I looked over when I heard the door slide and Charlotte ran out giggling, an exhausted Zach following behind her. Charlotte ran over and hugged my leg tightly before giving me a funny look.

“Mommy. Mommy! Why you hold his hand?” Charlotte asked, pointing at my hand intertwined with Alex’s.

I looked over to Alex, unsure of what to say. Giving me a smile, he leaned forward, handing me the empty bowls and picking up Charlotte, setting her in his lap. “Charlotte. I love your mommy.”

“I love mommy too,” Charlotte deadpanned.

Laughing, I tried. “Charlie, baby, do you know what a boyfriend is?” Giving me a funny look, I assumed she didn’t. “Okay baby. Remember when you watched Titanic with me; well what were Jack and Rose?”

“Oh! You and Alex are Jack and Wose!”

“Rose, her name is Rose,” I corrected her.

“W-Rose,” she attempted.

“Good! You got it, Charlotte.” I gave her a big smile and kiss on her head.

“Wait! Jack falls into the water,” she said, gasping, her eyes going wide. “I don’t want Alex in water!”

Alex laughed and hugged her tight. “I promise not to go into the water. So, honey bunny. Are you okay with me and your mommy being Jack and Rose?”

Charlotte was silent for a moment before nodding. “Yes, you can love my mommy.”

We broke the news throughout the rest of the day. Jack was fine with it but claimed that if Alex messed up, he would steal me away in a second. Everyone was happy and that’s how it went for the rest of the tour. I had almost forgotten about what was awaiting me back home. I remembered my situation with London the night before our plane ride back. I didn’t want to deal with him.

We landed at four in the afternoon. They boys were being held up at the security gate so Charlotte and I went on ahead. London was already there waiting at the baggage claim when we arrived. Charlotte struggled in my arms until I would put her down. Immediately she ran to London and attached herself to him. Wrapping my arms around myself, I walked alone toward the two. Reaching up, I gently tugged my hair, twisting a lock around my finger.

“Aimee, glad you’re back,” he said, smiling faintly.

“Thanks London,” I replied, awkwardly hugging him.

“We can talk later. For now, try to at least be normal,” London said, an annoyed look on his face. Sighing, I shook my head and waited for our bags. The bags came around before Alex and the boys could show up so we ended up leaving without getting to say goodbye. I sent Alex a quick text about it just before my phone died.

At the house, I unpacked our bags while London played with Charlotte downstairs. My mom had dinner ready for the four of us: macaroni and cheese for Charlotte while the rest of us had spaghetti and broccoli. A little after seven, Charlotte and I took our showers and I put her to bed with a story by eight like clockwork. I went downstairs into the kitchen and made myself some coffee, London sat on a barstool watching me intently.

“Where’s my mom?” I asked, pouring water into the coffee pot.

“She’s in the basement watching movies,” he replied. He drummed his fingers on the counter top.

Sighing, I tilted my head back before looking at him. “Okay, talk.”

He didn’t say anything for a long while. By the time he started speaking, I’d already made myself caramel flavored coffee and added some whip cream on top. “Aimee I’m always going to be here for you. I’ve thought about this for a very long time now and I think you should consider it. I want you to marry me.”

It was then I choked on my hot beverage, burning my lip. “What?” I gasped out, putting my cup down and grabbed a paper towel to wipe my mouth. “London, when did you decide this?”

“Before you left for Europe,” he replied, running his hands through his hair.

I was silent for a moment, staring into my steaming cup, the whip cream melting. “London, are you asking me this because you feel obligated?” I took the can of whip cream back out of the fridge and added more to my cup.

“I guess. I mean, I’ve always been there for you at the start and as Colin’s best friend, I feel that-” He was cut off as I sprayed whip cream all over his face. “Aimee! Are you being serious right now?” London wiped some cream from his face as he stared at me, seething.

“London, even though the sound of Aimee Vlachos is really awesome, this is why I couldn’t ever marry you. You wouldn’t make me happy,” I replied with a faint laugh. Leaning over, I wiped some cream off his face and ate it. “I’ve found someone who makes me happy and I wanted to tell you all day.”

He seemed dumbstruck by what I had to tell him. “Well, is it Jack?”

Shaking my head I replied, “No, it’s Alex and before you say anything, he makes me so happy right now.” Nodding, he gripped the counter tightly, making me sigh. “I know you don’t like it, but Lon, I’ve always loved him.”

“Even when you were with Colin too right?”

“You never forget the first person you love.” I went to the sink and soaked a rag in some warm water for London to wipe his face. “And before you say something about how shitty that is, Colin never got over Tabitha.” Tabitha, or Tabby as she was fondly known, dated Colin since the sixth grade until their first year of college. She transferred from Boston U to some small college in Pennsylvania where she and Colin were from.

“Well, I wasn’t going to,” he replied lamely.

“Good.”

We were silent after that, just staring at each other.

“Could I stay the night?” he asked slowly, stretching a little.

Thinking about it for a brief moment, I nodded. “Yeah, it’s getting late anyway.”

He got up and went upstairs while I stayed in the kitchen a while longer. The clock read 9:35 PM, making me sigh. I cleaned up the mess I made before walking into the living room. Just as I sat down, the doorbell rang. Letting out a frustrated sound, I peeked out the peephole and saw a familiar sight. Opening the door, I threw myself at him.

“Christopher Frazier!” I cried, kissing his face. “I hate you, you stupid jerk! Where have you and Jenna been?”

“Taking care of a couple of brats. How are you, skankapotamus?” he laughed, kissing my forehead. “Your mom called and said you were back. Jen’s with the kids, but she sends her love.”

Inviting him in, he and I talked for hours, London joining us at some point. London went to bed around midnight and Christopher left around one in the morning, leaving me to get myself into bed thirty minutes later. Just as I crawled into bed, my phone lit up.

43 MESSAGES

Cursing under my breath, I saw that they were all from Alex. Sighing, I called him. “Hey I’m sorry, I left my phone all day.”

“Thank Slash and Axl- finally.”

“You mad?”

“To be honest? No, but I can pretend to be.”

“Please don’t.” I smiled, amused.

“So what did London want?”

“Long story but in short, he asked me to marry him because he felt he needed to ask me.”

“I can kill him.”

“You can’t, and you won’t. I got it handled. By the way, it's crazy. You’ll never guess who visited me!” And into the crazy hours of the morning, Alex Gaskarth and I talked and talked.