This Is What Happens When Love Meets Destruction

Humming a quiet, random tune to myself, I watched Vinnie play with her puppy on the floor in the living room, while across the way, Casey and Jamie battled it out on the X-Box. The latter were deeply engrossed in their game, so I spent most of my time simply watching their sister. I couldn't help but smile to myself, seeing the sparkle in her eyes as she played a small game of tug of war with Diesel. At the same time, though, I couldn't help but wonder if I had chosen to take a chance with her, if I would be able to bring that same sparkle to her eyes by merely whispering sweet words into her ear, or looking at her a certain way.

I've seen Jack bring that look to her eyes many times over and he seems to do it effortlessly. I honestly don't know if I've ever made Amy shine like Jack makes Vinnie. And I can honestly say that I don't think Amy's ever looked at me the way Vinnie looks at Jack.

When I went to the animal shelter to get a puppy for Vinnie, a part of me did it with the intentions of making Jack jealous. I don't know why I did; he's my best friend after all and I'm glad that he's happy. I suppose I wanted to make him jealous, to compensate for the tinge of jealousy I feel whenever I see them together. I know that even after a month, Jack is still sort of upset with me, though he doesn't let it show that much.

"Alex, can you watch Diesel real fast?" Vinnie asked as she stood up. "I'll be right back." She muttered, and then hurried from the living room.

I watched her disappear into the hallway with a raised eyebrow, and then turned back to the puppy who was now sitting in front of me expectantly, holding the small rope toy in his mouth. I reached out, grabbing a hold of it, only to let it go suddenly when I realized it was soaked through with the puppy's saliva.

"Ugh," I mumbled, drying my hand on the side of my pants.

"Has Vinnie seemed to be acting different to you lately?" A voice asked.

I looked up, only to be met by the questioning stares of Vinnie's two older brothers.

"Um, no." I said, shaking my head. "She seems to be acting like she always does." I replied. "Why?"

Jamie shrugged his shoulders, while Casey tilted his head to the side, looking as if he were thinking to himself.

"I don't know," Jamie muttered. "She just seems like she's been ... off lately."

"Oh, well, I haven't noticed anything different." I said softly.

Jamie frowned to himself, but didn't say anything else as he and Casey turned their attention back to the television and resumed their game. A small frown adorned my lips as well, and then looked back to the hallway as if I were expecting Vinnie to walk back in any second. I'm not sure how long I sat in that position before I finally got tired and stood up. I carefully picked Diesel up, packing him along with me and then made my way to the bathroom.

The door was shut and the light was on, so I knocked gently on the door.

"Vinnie?" I asked quietly, "are you okay?"

"I don't feel so good, Alex." She mumbled. "I think I have a stomach flu or something."

"Can I come in?" I whispered.

"Doors open." She grumbled.

I tried the handle, and it turned easily under my hand so I went in, making sure to shut and lock the door behind me. I frowned to myself when I saw Vinnie kneeled down in front of the toilet, a nauseated look on her face as she looked up at me. I set Diesel down on the floor and he trotted over to Vinnie. She turned her slightly bloodshot eyes from me and ran her hand over the puppy's soft body once and then looked back to the toilet after he curled into a ball beside her knee, settling in for a nap.

"Oh, sweetheart." I whispered as I sat down on the edge of the tub.

Seeing that she was about to throw up once again, I gathered her hair and held it back, out of her face. When she was done, she flushed the toilet and got up to rinse her mouth out with some mouth wash. After splashing some water on her face, she came over and sat down between my legs, her back to me, and then rested her head against my knee.

"I feel gross." She cried softly.

"Do you want me to get you anything?" I asked quietly.

"Tea and crackers." She whispered.

"Isn't that what you usually have when you're trying to get over a hangover?" I asked quizzically.

"Yes." She muttered. "But it's the only thing I can handle when I can't keep anything down."

"Come on, then." I said, carefully taking her in my arms. "Let's get you up to your room, and then I'll go and round up some tea and crackers for you."

Like a little child, she wrapped her arms tightly around my shoulders and held my close as I packed her across the bathroom. I called Diesel, waking him up so that he would follow me, and shifted Vinnie slightly so that I could unlock and open the door. About a minute later, I was tucking Vinnie into her bed when she grabbed my hand, preventing me from moving.

"Go get Jack for me." She whispered.

"I was going to give him a call later when I was going to get your stuff." I replied.

"No." She said, shaking her head. "You two need to sit down and talk. You haven't had a proper conversation with one another ever since Christmas."

"We have too," I retorted.

"We haven't all hung out together ever since you bought me Diesel, with the intention of making him jealous." She snapped. "You two need to quit being pussies and sit down and talk."

"Fine," I mumbled, "I'll call him later, after I've gotten your tea and crackers."

"We don't have any crackers here, I ate the last of them yesterday." Vinnie replied. "And I want chamomile tea, not just any regular tea." She insisted.

I growled lowly and then pulled her blankets up, tucking them underneath her chin. "Fine." I muttered. "I'll be back in a little while with Jack."

Pausing only to pick up Diesel and set him on the bed with Vinnie, I exited the room and then went downstairs. As I entered the living room, Jamie and Casey both looked up at me, waiting for a 'status report' of their sister.

"She has a sort of stomach virus." I sighed. "I've been instructed to go out and buy her some chamomile tea, and crackers, and then bring Jack over. I'll probably be back in an hour or so." I told them.

"Okay." Casey mumbled, while Jamie merely nodded his head.

I grabbed my keys from the coffee table and about fifteen minutes later, after I had picked up some tea and crackers, I was on my way over to Jack's house. As giant raindrops splattered down onto my windshield, I frowned meanly at them as if they could see my expression, and then muttered a few choice words under my breath. Leave it to Vinnie to give me orders to go out in this weather; she knew I hated going anywhere when the weather was bad out.

I eased into Jack's driveway, and thought for a moment that no one was home until I saw the light on in his bedroom. Sighing heavily, I killed the engine and got out, hurrying to the front door. After knocking frantically on the door for about half a minute, I heard a pair of hurried footsteps approaching from the other side so I stood back, waiting for Jack to open the door.

After he opened it, he stared at me for a second or two in confusion, and then backed away, letting me in. "What's up, Alex?" He asked after he shut the door behind me. "I thought by the way you were knocking on the door that you were moments away from bleeding to death on my doorstep."

"Vinnie sent me over." I sighed. "She said that we need to talk."

"About?"

"About how I pissed you off on Christmas eve." I said simply.

Jack made a face and then frowned to himself. "Oh." Was all he said before he led the way into the living room. I followed suit, and then took a seat on the other end of the couch as him, but turned so that I was facing him.

"I'll have you know, Jack, that I didn't originally get her a puppy just to make you jealous." I started. "I just wanted to get her something that she had always wanted, and when I realized that you'd get jealous ... I guess it just made me want to get her a puppy even more."

"Alex, you still like her." Jack whispered. "Just admit it; you'll never get over her."

"I'll get over her in time." I whispered back. "I know that I was the one who pushed you two together in the first place, Jack, so I also know that I have no right to go around and do shit to make you jealous. You're my best friend, and I want nothing more than to see you happy, and if you're happy with the girl that I'm trying to get over, then that's fine. I've had my chance with her, and I blew it big time."

"I can't keep dating her, knowing that you're still hung up over her, Alex."

"Like I said, I've had my chance and I blew it." I said. "If you're thinking of breaking things off with her, don't. Don't you dare break her heart like that, Jack. She's happy with you. You don't see it, but I've seen the way she lights up whenever you're with her. These past few years I've known her, no one has ever made her as happy as you make her."

"Alex - "

"Look, I came to apologize, Jack. Vinnie said that we haven't hung out together since Christmas, and she's right. We've both been stupid lately. I don't want to fight with you over some puppy."

Jack sat there, staring at me thoughtfully before he finally nodded his head. "Yeah." He agreed.

"Okay, good, now you need to come with me because Vinnie wanted me to pick you up, and take you back with me to her place. She has some sort of stomach virus, and she's throwing up, and it's kinda gross." I sighed.

"Stomach virus?" Jack asked slowly, and I nodded my head. He bit his lip slightly, glancing down at his hands as if he suddenly found them extremely interesting. "Has Vinnie been ... acting different lately? To you?"

"Funny, because Casey and Jamie just asked me that same thing a little while ago." I said. "And no, she hasn't been acting any different lately. Why do you guys keep asking that?"

Jack frowned, and then turned his gaze back up to me. "She seems like she's been getting this mysterious 'stomach virus' every other day." He said slowly. "Alex ... I think that Vinnie might be pregnant." He whispered. "She's been ... having mood swings and stuff, and every time I try and ask her about it, she gets all bitchy with me ... " He trailed off, running a hand tiredly across his face.

Caught off guard, I merely sat there, looking at him as if I hadn't comprehended anything he had said. Finally, about a minute later, I came to my senses and shook my head. "Well ... you guys like ... use condoms and stuff, right? Has there been a time where you, I don't know, didn't use one?"

"Christmas eve." Jack muttered. "I was upset with you, and then that night I wasn't really thinking and I forgot to use one."

"Man, Jack." I said quietly. "I ... I honestly don't know what to tell you. Maybe we should just get to Vinnie's and ... " I trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Jack nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah." He mumbled. "Okay."

The ride back to Vinnie's was quiet for the most part, save for the sounds of the rain hitting the top of my car and my windshield. When we got back to her house, I saw that her parents were back home, and I frowned softly, unable to help but wonder how they would react if Vinnie was in fact pregnant. I parked behind Vinnie's car, and Jack and I hurried to the house to where it was warm.

I knocked once on the door and then let myself in. I glanced around and saw that the living room was empty, though Jamie and Casey's game was still paused on the television. Then, I heard the angered voices upstairs and my eyes grew wide when I heard what they were yelling about.

"I think that Vinnie's dad and brother's have the same idea you do, Jack." I mumbled before I led the way upstairs.

At the top of the landing, I looked straight ahead and saw Vinnie's parents, as well as her brothers gathered around the bathroom door.

"Victoria, open this door right now!" Her dad yelled.

"Dad, go away!" She screamed back. "Leave me alone!"

"Victoria, I swear if that boy got you pregnant, I'm gonna - "

"I'm not pregnant!" She wailed. "Go away dad!"

Vinnie's dad opened his mouth to say something else, but at that moment, he caught sight of Jack and me standing there, watching him with wide eyes.

"You," he growled, locking his eyes with Jack's. "Did you get my daughter pregnant?" He questioned.

"I-I, I don't know." Jack stammered. "I might have."

Vinnie's dad responded with a string of curse words, and made a move toward us, but Jamie and Casey were faster than him, and were up in Jack's face before I realized what was happening.

"Barakat, if you got our sister pregnant, we're going to kick your fucking ass." Casey threatened.

"For the last time, I'm not pregnant!" Vinnie yelled.

We all turned to look at her, and saw that she had finally emerged from the bathroom.

"How do you know for sure?" Her dad questioned. "You are going to take a pregnancy test right now, young lady." He insisted.

"Dad, I'm not fucking pregnant." She snapped. "I started my period two days ago, so piss the fuck off!" She yelled.

The color drained from her dad's face momentarily, before the blood rushed back, causing him to blush deeply. "Oh, uhh, well ... " he trailed off, muttering a few incoherent words under his breath.

"Now go away, all of you." She ordered. "Except for Jack and Alex. And as for the rest of you, you'd better apologize to Jack."

At her command, Vinnie's family apologized quietly to Jack before they filed down the stairs to the living room below. Vinnie stood there, a sour look on her face as she examined us.

"Did you two make up?" She asked.

Jack and I nodded our heads, not daring to say anything.

"Good." She said. "Jack, I'll meet you in my room real fast. Alex, can you make me some tea, please?"

"Of course." I whispered, and then turned around, leaving Jack and Vinnie alone on the top floor, all the while thinking to myself how each of our lives would have changed, had Vinnie really been pregnant.

Once in the kitchen, I opened the new box of chamomile tea I got, took out a single tea bag, and then opened the cupboard to put the box away. Seeing that there was another, unopened box of the exact same tea I had bought, I couldn't help but smile. Vinnie was probably the only girl who could make me do anything.