Dirty Little Secret

My hands fumbled with the keys, and my stomach was in knots. Although my mind said otherwise, my feet led me into the building where he would be waiting for me. As I neared the entrance, my heart rate fastened but the thought of Capri made me go forward.

I clutched my bag and looked around for his familiar messy hair, but I couldn’t find him.

“Holly.” I turned to the voice, and saw Alex.

“What are you doing here?” I asked softly.

“Jack’s not coming,” he said, as he led me to a table.

I slid into the chair and cradled my stomach. “What do you mean?”

I heard him sigh. “I don’t understand what’s going through his head, but I do know that he’s not ready for this. I don’t think I’d be ready for this either, if I were in his shoes.”

I took a moment to process this, and I realized that he was right. “I think it was too early on in the relationship to tell him, but Rian was really persistent on me telling Jack. I mean, I don’t want to blame anyone for anything; Rian’s a cool guy.”

“Rian’s a helpful guy, but sometimes he can be overwhelming,” he said, “He means well. It’s just, this time he didn’t think it through.”

I played with my chipped nails. “When do you think I should talk to Jack again?”

“I think you should give him some time to absorb all of this information, and it’s best to let him come to you when he’s ready.”

We left it at that and went our separate ways. When I got home, there was a note on the kitchen table from Caitlyn, explaining that she was out for the day. After the conversation with Alex, I didn’t feel like talking to anyone, so I changed into my pajamas and prepared to curl up on the couch for the rest of the night.

I was just about to put in my favorite movie when the doorbell rung. I got up from the soft couch, with little trouble, and looked through the peephole. Surprisingly enough, it was my mom.

“Mom, what are you doing here? I thought you were visiting Tom.”

She pulled me into a hug. “I just thought you needed me more.”

I trailed behind her into my bedroom and curled up into my blankets. “So what have you been up to, Mom?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” she smiled, “But I was down in Florida with Tom. And guess what he told me?”

“What?” I wrung my hands. When it came to my older brother, Tom, news was never good.
My mom grabbed my hands. “He’s engaged!”

“What do you mean he’s engaged?” My eyes widened in disbelief. “Did you meet her? Was there even a ring?”

“Yes. Apparently, it’s legit and everything.”

I looked her in the eye. “Please don’t ever say ‘legit’ again.”

She laughed. “I’m sorry; I picked up some new lingo in Florida.”

My hand slid down to my stomach, and my mom quickly noticed. “What’s wrong, honey? Is it the baby?”

I shook my head. “No, nothing’s wrong. So tell me more about Tom and his fiancée.”

She gave me a stern look. “I know when something’s not right with my baby. Now tell me what happened.”

For the next hour, I told her everything that happened. By the time I finished, my mom had a look on her face that I couldn’t decipher. I tried asking her for advice but she kept on telling me that what Alex said was right, so I dropped the subject.

She made us dinner and left by the time Caitlyn was back.

“Hi, Holly!” she exclaimed.

I smiled. “Seems like you had a pretty good day today.”

“I did,” she hummed, “How are you holding up?”

I shrugged.

She knew me like the back of her hand, so she dropped her jacket and plopped on the couch next to me. “What do you say we have a marathon session of ‘The Office’?”