This Is What Happens When Love Meets Destruction

Frowning, I muttered a few choice words under my breath as I attempted to merge into the next lane. Seeing as how we were smack dab in the middle of rush hour traffic, this simple action proved to take a numerous amount of skill and patience. The result was a loud horn blaring from the car I had just cut off, which led to me rolling my window down sticking my hand out to flip them off.

"Alex, stop it," Vinnie snapped from the passenger seat. "You're going to start a road rage frenzy that will be all over the 10 o'clock news."

"Well, that guy's being a fucking douche bag!" I protested. "I've politely had my blinker on for the past five minutes trying to merge; it's not like I totally caught him off guard."

Beside me, Vinnie laughed softly in response and shook her head. "Roll that damn window up, Gaskarth before all that rain floods the car."

I did as she said, and then reached over, turning up the heater when I saw her shiver slightly. "Do you want my coat?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"I'm fine." She assured me. "I just got chilled by that one last blast of cold air that came in before you closed your window."

"Oh, well, sorry." I mumbled.

As silence fell upon us, I gripped the steering wheel tightly and did my best to focus on the road in front of me. However, seeing as how traffic was slowly inching along, I could only focus on the road for so long before I felt my thoughts drifting back to Vinnie. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye and saw her flipping through the newest wedding magazine she had picked up before we left for 'our' appointment.

She had scheduled an appointment with Nicholas to see this place as a possible venue for their wedding, and since Jack had a doctors appointment that he couldn't reschedule, Vinnie insisted that I go with her, seeing as how I was Jack's best man. Not really stoked to see Nicholas again, I hesitated before giving her a straight answer, suggesting that Lauren - or even Jamie - go with her instead. Of course, Vinnie was able to think up numerous arguments as to why they couldn't go, so I reluctantly agreed.

After picking her up from the hair salon she and Lauren had opened up together about nine months ago, we stopped by the gas station real fast and headed out, which brings us to where we are now. Our destination itself wasn't that far away from our current location, and from what I've seen in pictures, it really is a beautiful place.

"Thank you for coming with me, Alex." Vinnie said.

I turned and looked full on at her, seeing that her eyes had never once moved from her magazine. "Sure." I mumbled, moving my gaze back to the windshield, watching the rain fall in random patterns onto the glass.

"I know that you're not into all this wedding stuff, but I trust your opinion." She continued. "And plus, I love to see your reaction whenever Nicholas checks you out." She added with a teasing smirk.

I feel myself start to blush, and I turned my head so that she couldn't see my expression. "Bitch." I mumbled, though I didn't mean it.

Vinnie laughed loudly in response, "it must be nice to have someone other than those little teenies of yours checking you out, Alex."

"Vinnie, shut your damn mouth or else I'm just going to sit in the car the entire time once we get there." I threatened.

"No, Alex, don't." She pled with me. "I'm sorry, I was just joking with you."

"I know, I know." I said, turning my stare back to her. She had finally set her magazine aside, and as soon as I turned my head, her eyes locked with mine. "But no more of that; you've had your fun for the day."

Vinnie nodded her head in agreement and then reached over, turning on the stereo. "Yes, I have." She said. With that, she turned the conversation in a different direction, and we were able to pass the remainder of the drive chit chatting about various things. By the time we got to our destination, Chase Court, the rain had stopped and the sky had lightened up some. Even in the middle of winter, Chase Court was beautiful; I could only imagine how it would look in the middle of spring, when Vinnie and Jack were planning to have their wedding.

"I haven't even stepped foot outside of the car yet to look at the rest of the place, Vinnie, and already I can imagine you and Jack getting married here." I stated.

"Yeah?" She smiled. "I think you just might be right."

"Come on," I whispered, seeing Nicholas approaching the car, shielding himself with a large umbrella even though the rain had stopped. "Let's go check it out."

"Hello Victoria, Alex." Nicholas smiled, nodding to each of us in turn. "I'm afraid that we won't be able to see much of the gardens because of this weather, but there are a couple of windows inside that offer a beautiful view over the grounds. Shall we?" He asked, offering his arm out to Vinnie.

As Vinnie linked her arm with his, I fell into step behind them and cast my gaze around the front entrance. Once inside, Nicholas folded up his umbrella and set it aside in the foyer before he fell into tour guide mode, showing us around the place.

"Now, the only concern I really have about this place, Victoria, is the size of the ballroom." Nicholas explained as we entered a large room that was set up with a vast amount of round tables and matching chairs. "It might be a little small for the guest list that you and Jack had given me, but I'm told that there are some smaller tables available that seat the same amount of people as these bigger ones. If you'll excuse me, I can go and catch the young woman in charge of the arrangements." He said, and then he hurried off through a door opposite of the one we had entered.

Glancing around the ballroom, I nodded my head, liking how it looked, and then gazed across the way, watching Vinnie as she explored the room. After a couple of minutes of exploring in silence, she made her way back to where I had taken up residence beside a large window that overlooked the gardens in the back. My eyes followed her every move, and I couldn't help but notice that look in her eyes that said she had something on her mind.

"Alex?" She asked quietly, looking out the window as she spoke.

"Hmm?"

"Do you remember back in high school, and Jack, and my dad, and my brothers all thought that Jack had gotten me pregnant?"

I laughed softly at the memory of how angry Vinnie's dad and brothers had been, and how scared Jack was. "Yeah, I remember." I told her. "Why?"

Vinnie licked her lips slowly, and then looked up, locking her eyes with mine. "Because I think that I might actually be pregnant this time." She whispered.

"What?" I asked.

Vinnie sighed softly, knowing that I had heard her perfectly well, but she repeated herself nonetheless. "I said, that I think I might really be pregnant this time." She mumbled.

"Oh," I said offhandedly. "Well ... um ... should I offer you some congratulations?" I asked slowly. "Or ... are you telling me because you want me to tell Jack?"

"No," she said, shaking her head, "I'm telling you because you're one of my best friends." She sighed. "And I need someone to talk to about it. I would have told Lauren first, but I know that she would get all crazy with excitement and start bouncing off the walls. I don't want someone to get all excited and start bouncing off the walls, Alex; I'm scared to death right now, and I want someone else to be scared to death with me while I find out whether or not I'm really pregnant or not."

"Well, what about Jack?" I suggested. "If anyone should be scared to death with you, it should be him."

Vinnie was silent for a few seconds, thinking to herself before she sighed. "Jack really wants us to have kids, Alex." She mumbled. "I don't want to tell him, because I don't want to get his hopes up. What if I'm not really pregnant? What if it's just a false alarm? I don't want to tell him, and then see the look on his face if I tell him I'm not really pregnant."

A mixture of emotions flooding through my body, I reached over slowly and brushed my fingers through Vinnie's hair. "What do you need me to do?" I whispered.

"I need you to take by the hand and tell me that everything will be alright." She whispered back.

Lowering my eyes from hers, I looked down at her hand as I grasped it tightly, and then squeezed. "Okay," I said quietly, "it'll be alright, Vinnie. If you really are pregnant, everything will be alright. You and Jack will have a beautiful little kid, and you will be an amazing mom." I told her. "Everything will be alright."

Vinnie tightened her grip on my hand, and then sniffed lightly. Taking a chance, I looked up just in time to see a small, frightened tear escape and trickle its way down her cheek. Frowning, I reached up with my freehand and wiped it away before cupping her chin gently in my hand.

"Do you have a doctor's appointment already?" I questioned.

"No," she muttered thickly, "I've been too much of a pussy to call and make one."

"When we get done here, we'll call and make an appointment, okay?"

She nodded her head in agreement. "Okay." She whispered.

Taking a deep breath, I let it out in a soft sigh and then pressed my lips to her forehead. When I pulled away, I caressed her cheek softly with my fingertips. Seeing the soft intensity of her eyes, I lowered my hand and backed away ever so slightly before I lost control of myself, and did something that I had wanted to do for many years now. I had turned my head from Vinnie back in high school, and ever since then I've tried to get over her. I've dated different girls, I've even wrote a couple songs about two of them, but none of them were ever able to fill that empty void in my chest. The only girl who had ever been able to make me feel whole was currently engaged to my best friend, and may even possibly be carrying his child.

If only I could turn back time, and make different choices, but life didn't work like that. I missed my chance with Vinnie, and I had to get over it soon because in a few months time she was going to take someone else's last name.