Two weeks gave everyone time to think. You thought about your next move. You told your Mom everything and she held you as you cried after finding out that Matt's family knew.
You felt like you could feel everything and nothing at the same time. Your daughter had a sister, one she'd known her whole life. You couldn't think without imagining Alice being with Matt, the same way you had. Or Matt, being with someone else. What did you do wrong?
At the end of each day, your heart found home and that was what made this unbearable. Every time your son kicked, you thought of him. When you looked at Madison, you saw him.
The denial was the worst part. You hadn't been able to accept reality because that calls into question every single profession of love Matt ever made.
By Friday, you were able to function. You went to your shared home and sat in the car for forty minutes. You put your key in the door and entered for the first time in two weeks. It was like the events had stopped and never happened. You half expected Madison to come down the stairs, begging for love and kisses. You were ready to talk to him, to figure out what this meant.
Then, you noticed the jacket over to couch that belonged to Alice and the overnight bag at the end of the couch.
Alice was staying here.
This time, you threw up. You made your way to the downstairs bathroom as quickly as possible, spilling the rest of your stomach's contents into the sink.
You heard Matt rush in, holding your hair back as you emptied out what your Mom begged you to eat less than an hour ago. You could see the outline of someone standing in the doorway, you guessed it was Alice.
Matt did his best. He rubbed your back in an attempt to calm you down. You cried so hard that you fell into his arms. He felt like home and you needed a few minutes to remember the way he smelled, and the immediate comfort you found. It was when you lifted your head and flinched when he realised he crossed a line.
"Don't fucking touch me" with the help of the sink, you managed to pull yourself up. You held your bump as Matt flushed the toilet. Alice was wearing loungewear. Matt was unshaven, in his pyjamas. You looked between them and let out a scoff, walking back towards the front door, before turning around once more. "I'm gone for two weeks and you move in your other family while I'm doing everything I can to figure out if I could ever forgive you?" In rage, you rushed upstairs, grabbing another bag and clothes you had left. You turned around and saw Matt throwing clothes back into the closet.
"What are you doing!" You yelled. "Stop it!" You did your best to repack everything before Matt started again, his frustration evident.
"It can't end like this. Please. Just talk to me"
"You want to talk about it? You hooked up with my best friend the week of our wedding, you hid the fact you got her pregnant and you lied to me about it" Matt's face fell. The reality of it had plenty of time to sink in. "I thought we were it" He wanted nothing more than to yell and scream. They were it. You were it for him.
"I want a divorce" Matt shook his head in disagreement.
"No"
"No? What do you mean no?"
"I want you to come home. I want to fix this. I want to be there when you're stressed, I want to cook you and Madison dinner, I want to come home to you"
"Matt" you whimpered
"What do you want me to say? We made a mistake" He put his hands on his hips and shook his head. "We didn't want to hurt you. It didn't change how either of us felt. You were all that mattered to us"
