My Baby, My Darling.

My mind was clear, all except for the pounding of my sneakers against the pavement. I focused on my breathing. I quickened my pace, making sure to loosen my palms and keep my arms in as I swayed them close to my sides in a steady rhythm. I kept a mantra going, taking a breath every two steps and exhaling on the third. My lungs burned, but that hasn't been my concern for the past twenty minutes, it was my ability to successfully clear my mind like a blank slate. And it was working, everything was fine and I didn't think about anything, until I stopped running.

"Okay." Gabe heaved from beside me, leaning against the back of a nearby bench as he clenched his side, trying to regulate his breathing. "What made you become the bionic woman today? And why are we up so early? 6 AM is getting a little crazy, don't you think?"

I shook my head, ignoring him as I walked steadily on circles, stretching out my legs and slowing my rapid heart rate as I inhaled deeply, stifling a few coughs.

"I mean, I know this Saturday running thing was my idea and all, but calling me when I'm borderline hungover? Now that's just cruel. It's barely even daylight!"

I didn't respond to him, but instead bent over to touch my toes, stretching out my hamstrings. I spent last night tossing and turning, not able to fall asleep; especially with Dexter loudly snoring only twenty feet away from me. By the time my bedside clock read 5 AM, I was as awake as an owl on crack. I needed to do something, I needed to clear my mind. I tried to sketch, I tried reading, I even tried to solve crossword puzzles. However, nothing worked. I needed to get out of my apartment and distract my mind somehow, so I called Gabe. Although he was half asleep when I called, it didn't take much coaxing to get him to meet me at the park around the corner from my apartment.

"What did Dexter do?" Gabe heaved, taking a huge gulp of his water bottle as he eyed me warily.

"What makes you think Dexter did something?" I scoffed, leaning into a lunge.

"Clearly, you didn't just wake up this morning a woman marathoner for fun. I mean, you wouldn't even sprint like that if someone were chasing you with a knife. You were running from something, and I can see it, Che-Che." He said, gesturing towards my face with his free hand, "Something's on your mind."

I shook my head, licking over my lips before speaking. "He was being a complete asshole last night, Gabe."

"Seriously? On a scale of One to Kanye-"

"Fucking Kanye!" I hissed, taking a sip of my water. "He practically accused me of being an one of those slutty bimbo attention-whores and then went on to suspect me of cheating on him with Travis. Travis, of all people! Are you fucking kidding me?"

Gabe pulled his lips in a tight line as he shook his head, placing his water bottle on the bench. "I don't think he was in his right mind, Chels. Dexter isn't the kind of dude to cross the line like that. I mean, unless he was drunk out of his mind. Believe me, I've seen that guy pull some shithead moves when he's plastered enough."

"So have I." I nodded slowly.

"No, but you haven't really seen him like I've seen him. He tends to keep some sort of restraint when he's around you. You know, he doesn't drink as much as he usually does when you're with him. But last night, let me tell you, it was like the old Dexter was back in business! He was downing shots and chugging beers like there was no tomorrow."

"That doesn't make sense. Why the sudden change?"

"I don't know, Che-Che. But I wasn't going to be the one to object. I'm always down for a party, you know? Especially with the old Dex in action."

"The old Dex." I blinked, nodding slowly. "I guess I wasn't the only one that changed."

"What's that?"

"Travis. He told me that I've changed ever since I started dating Dexter when I saw him at a club the other night. That's actually what caused the fight Dexter and I had last night."

"That you changed?"

"No. That I saw Travis at a club."

"Oh."

"Dexter had it in his mind that we got together or something. That's why we were fighting."

"Well, he had good reason then. I mean, Travis is my bro pal for life, you know? But if I were dating a girl who was always hanging around some guy that she's known forever, I'd be pissed, too." Gabe shrugged, as if it were the most simple concept in life.

"But it's just Travis."

"Doesn't matter." He stated simply, "It's still a threat. And given the history between you two, Dexter probably sees it as competition."

"What history?" I scoffed.

"Nothing." He shrugged, quickly turning his gaze away from me and shaking his head. "Mind if we head back now? Homeboy needs to catch some Z's before his 10 AM class. And you need to go back to your apartment and have a talk with hungover Dexter. Lucky bastard is probably still asleep on your couch."

---

Dexter POV

It was a loud bang. In fact, it was a series of loud bangs. I don't know where it originated, but every disruptive clang seeped into my pores, causing my head to pound erratically. My mind hurt, my body hurt, my eyes hurt, everything at that moment in time hurt. It seemed as though someone was repeatedly beating my head with a hammer, a big one. And was someone sitting down on my head? I wasn't quite sure.

I slowly tried to open my eyes and immediately shut them once light had made contact with my iris. The bright spectrum of light only added to my nausea, causing my head to pound even more. At least I now knew no one was sitting on me, but I still had no idea where I was. I groaned loudly, gripping my head as I rolled over, immediately losing the support from below me and landing on a hard surface with a loud thud. I opened my eyes again and was now faced with hardwood floor and the underside of a couch. Where was my shirt?

I attempted to push myself up, rubbing my eyes and strongly willing the room with my mind to cease its spinning. I lifted myself to my feet and squinted my eyes as I examined my surroundings. I knew where I was. I was in Chelsea's apartment, but how did I get here? And why was I sleeping on her couch? I rubbed my temples, trying to rid my body of its massive headache as I stumbled towards her kitchen area, where the sound was emanating from.

She stood beside me, reaching into one of the many open cabinets most likely in search of her coffee mugs. However, her small frame only dropped in defeat upon the realization that her coffee mugs were nowhere to be found. She pouted in defeat, still not aware of my presence as she turned to look out her kitchen window in deep thought.

I took a moment to examine her, as beautiful as ever with her hair cascading down her back and yoga pants that flattered her hips so well that my mind would go wild from just one touch. I relished in the fact that I was able to call her mine.

"It's in your dishwasher, darling." I muttered from behind her, making my way over to her dishwasher by the sink and pulling it open, exposing all of her coffee mugs.

She furrowed her eyebrows, looking down at the contraption I had just unveiled to her as she began to pull out a few mugs and placing it onto the counter.

"I had no idea that thing was there. How did all my mugs get in here?" She huffed, already irritated by all the effort she wasted on looking in her cabinets.

I shrugged, "I think I washed all of them last night. I mean, I remember running a dishwasher in my dreams. It probably wasn't a dream, I guess."

"You do some pretty weird shit when you're drunk, Dexter." She scoffed, starting to pour a cup of coffee for herself as she joked half-heartedly. "Next time I'll leave out some laundry for you to fold."

I smirked, pecking her lips softly before leaning back against the counter. "What else did I do last night? The last thing I remember is going to that bar with Gabe."

She pulled her lips into a tight line, shaking her head slowly. "Well, for starters, we got into a pretty big fight."

I raised my eyebrows in amusement, "It must be pretty serious for me to wake up on the couch. Did I win?"

She scoffed, biting her lip. "This is serious, Dexter."

I shook my head slowly, complying with her serious tone. "Darling, I can't even remember where I left my shirt, much less an argument we had last night."

"I just, I need to know. Why did you drink so much last night? Do you remember that at least? I mean, I've seen you drunk before, but last night your common sense went out the window. You were honestly acting like the biggest asshole-"

"It couldn't have been that terrible." I smirked, rubbing the back of my neck.

"You practically called me a whore, Dexter. And then you accused me of sleeping with Travis." She hissed, slamming her coffee mug down onto the counter and gaining my full attention.

Did I really say that? I can't believe I said those things to her. If I did, I didn't intend to. Hell, I would never utter those words even in her general vicinity much less about her, to her face.

"Baby, did I really say that to you? I am so sorry." I let out a deep breath of air, dropping my eyes to the ground. "I just, I say some really fucked up things when I'm drunk and I really, I don't mean any of it. Especially with you. Shit, I can't believe I said that to you. I'm so sorry."

I looked up to meet her eyes, trying my best to convey to her just how genuinely apologetic I was. I was ashamed for how plastered I had gotten last night and that she was there to see it. I didn't intend for that to happen. I just needed to forget, to ease the pain. The last thing I needed to do was show Chelsea my bad side.

She merely looked into my eyes with the utmost concern. "What happened yesterday to provoke that behavior? I mean, I'm fucking pissed at you for all the crap you pulled last night, but I'm more concerned about what was going through your mind."

"I can't, I can't tell you, baby. I mean, I can't tell you in a way that would make you understand. You wouldn't understand." I clenched my jaw, averting my eyes from her curious brown eyes.

I was angry with myself, the situation I had gotten myself into. She would probably hate me if I told her what happened yesterday, before I went to that bar with Gabe. She would kill me, I already knew.

"Try me, Dexter. I promise I'll try my best to understand, but I need to know what happened yesterday. You were fine when we talked on the phone yesterday morning. Next thing I know, you're drunk dialing me at fucking 3 in the morning..."

I attempted to listen to her every word as her rant continued. But my hangover clouded my thoughts and caused every word to be a blur. I took in a deep breath, willing the room to stop spinning. I needed to tell her. I knew it would probably cause another fight, but I wasn't going to lie to her. Especially about this.

"I had lunch with Monica yesterday."

Her ranting stopped as she snapped her mouth shout, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "You, what?"

"It wasn't a romantic thing or anything." I explained quickly, putting my hands up in defense, trying to calm her thoughts, which were probably running wild. "I just, it was more like old acquaintances catching up-"

"She was your fiancé, Dexter. Fiancé." She spoke slowly, looking away from me as she sorted her thoughts. She moved past me, walking out of the kitchen an into the living room. It was then that she proceeded to pace. Shit, I was screwed.

I followed after her, "I know, I know. But it's all past tense. Believe me, I don't like her just as much as you do, even more than you do! I only agreed to have lunch with her because she said she had something important to tell me."

"So then, of course, you drop everything to go and meet her." She scoffed, throwing her hands into the air in exaggeration as she continued to pace back and forth. "You got on my fucking case for accidentally running into Travis at a club the other night. And here you are, sneaking around with your ex-fiancé, Dexter? Real classy."

I blinked, trying to calm myself as I took even breaths. "I wasn't sneaking around. She said she had something important-"

"Well, what was it then? What was so important that you needed to meet your ex-fiancé for lunch, alone, and keep it a secret?"

"She has a daughter."

And that's when she stopped pacing. Her back was faced towards me as complete silence filled the room.

"Darling?" I spoke softly, hesitantly.

Her voice came out slowly, almost above a whisper as her back stayed facing me. "Is it...is it yours, Dexter?"