The Walter Boys Assistant

Chapter 18: Understanding

~Third POV~

Alex felt completely naked under Jackie's eyes. Having her back after being gone for several weeks was a surreal experience. The last time he saw her left him gutted and ruined. It only makes this moment so much worse for him.

"I love you."

The damn wedding fiasco. What the hell was wrong him? Anyone would know that wasn't the right place to say it. The right time. Wait, wasn't it? Was it too soon? Or did she not want to hear it?

His head is already pounding with turmoil and she has yet to speak another word from the moment she entered the room.

"Jackie, I-"

"Alex-"

The two start colliding words at the same time and Alex feels his hands begin to quake. His heart could burst right now - not that he would complain. He'd be out of his misery and not have to deal with the truth.

With the awkwardness of the situation, Jackie lets out a faint chuckle and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'll go first if that's okay?" She speaks. Alex waves his hand forward as an approval before tucking it under his arm.

"I owe you an apology..." She starts off, fussing her feet. "How I handled the situation - it was so unfair to you. To all of us, really."

"Cole told me he kissed you." He spoke. The words tastes like poison on his tongue. Their eyes met and his chest aches all over again. When would this end? How would it end? He wasn't sure.

"We kissed each other." She corrects and Alex slams his eyes shut at the confirmation of his deepest fears.

It was happening all over again. Another girl chose the great Cole Walter over the insignificant Alex Walter. The boy who doesn't fit in with the family - he's heard others say it. Kids at school were harsh, but typically, they spoke what they believed. He was starting to think they were right.

"Alex, look at me." Jackie begs. He staggers back into his chair at the touch of her hand on his cheek.

Jackie retreats a few steps, respecting his space. She needs to be delicate in this manner. A cornered dog will do one of two things: bite or submit. With how hurt he was, she wasn't sure he would take the ladder.

"I... You knew how hard this was for me with Paige." He begins while collecting air back into his lungs. "I thought you liked me-"

"I did - I do! It's just... God, it's such a mess," her voice cracks amongst words, "I can't explain it..."

"No." Alex snaps and her head jerks back to examine him. "I won't accept that. I deserve an explanation."

Who was this boy? He never took such a tone with her. Never before, anyway. It was always directed at Cole - never her.

It's only fair. What she did was something horrible. She knew it; knew she was worse than Paige by this point. After all she knew Alex has been through... She still chose to go for Cole.

The silence from Jackie speaks volumes and Alex scoffs, looking to his feet to try and keep the tears at bay. His heart was breaking even more.

"You're right. You do deserve that much." Jackie finally comes to respond. Alex does not look up. "The truth is - I felt safe with you. Comfortable. But things changed. This feud between and your brother became difficult to handle. Especially when I was in the middle and I wanted to fix things."

"Well you didn't do that. Did you?" He growls, shooting a deadly glare at her. The words strike true to the target: her heart. Despite this, she keeps herself composed.