Reason

Chapter 8:

The doorbell rang loud throughout the house. Claire ran to the door and opened it. I could hear her saying hello to Ian and Allie and asking for the coats. I smiled; just like we rehearsed it.

I walked out of the kitchen with a smile on my face. My eyes traveled to Allie who was smiling. She was looking around our house and whispering to Ian.

"Welcome!" I said, trying not to sound too enthusiastic. I looked at Ian who had the same frightening face on as last time I saw him. He was smiling but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Thanks for having us over!" Allie said, walking towards me. Ian followed her and my heart started to pound.

"No problem. Ian, Tony's out back, grilling." I told him. Ian nodded and walked out of the room. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and lead Allie into the living room.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" I asked Allie. "We have water, wine, beer, and lemonade."

"I'll have some wine, please." Allie replied. She sat down on the living room couch and looked around.

I walked into the kitchen and got out two wine glasses. I popped the top of the wine and poured a half of a glass in each glass. I walked back into the living room and handed Allie her glass.

"Thank you." Allie said, taking a sip of her glass. "You have a beautiful house."

"Thank you. I decorated most of it. This also has always been the only house I've lived in since I've lived alone." I said, looking around at the brown walls and beige carpets. I loved the familiarity of my home. It contained comfort as the first year of living in Ranglewood was hard for me. I spent that year crying over everything. My family, Ian and for what I had done. I sometimes thought the only way for me to escape my pain was for me to die and I thought about it so many times. But Tessa and all my friends I made, helped me through that dark year and I eventually met Tony who turned my life upside down.

"I lived alone too," Allie was saying. "Well, it felt like it. I was a foster child and moved from house to house. I didn't feel like anyone cared about me. I shut the world out and that's really how I got my bad reputation."

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your parents?" I asked, taking another sip of my wine.

"They died in a car accident on the way home from a date." Allie said.

"I'm so sorry." I replied, looking down. This woman went through so much but still managed to keep her head up. How did she do it?

"It's okay. It's in the past. I've decided that thinking about it will only make me hate myself and I don't need to hate myself." Allie said. I looked at her with a smile on my face. I had hated myself since the day I did that awful thing and never forgave myself. How could I ever forgive myself for what I had done? Something like that could NOT be forgiven.

"So, tell me more about the triplets you are adopting." I said. Allie nodded with a huge smile on her face.

"Well, we finally found out their names actually yesterday so that was a super-duper accomplishment. The boys are Wyatt and Evan and the girls name is Bella." Allie boasted. She reached into the purse and pulled out her cell phone. She unlocked it and clicked onto her pictures. I watched as she swiped to the side and stopped at a picture of three, little children that looked exactly alike.

"Is that them?" I asked. The girl wore a beautiful, pink dress that reached to the floor and she held a teddy bear in her hand. The two boys were wearing jeans and a blue shirt. They were all smiling and giving the photographer a thumbs-up.

"Yes. I just can't wait to get them. It's eating me alive." Allie stated. She tilted her phone towards me so I could get a closer look. I smiled and squeezed her arm.