Carrier (TPA2)

7:

    I take a seat at a booth in the corner of the pizza place. Artie's. That's the name of the place we're at. It's colors are red and green. The seats are red, and the tables have people's signifiers carved into them.

It's a family place. It's not busy right now, though. Everyone is either at school or work. The smell of pizza Saudi and melted cheese has already filled my nose since I've walked through the door.

My eyes focus on Alex who's walking towards me with two plates of pizza. The pizza is fresh, I can see the steam coming from the slices. He doesn't trust me. He has kept his eye on me since we left the house. He's afraid I'll run.

My stomach rumbles as Alex takes a seat across from me. He pushes a slice of sausage pizza towards me and I look down at it momentarily. I think about pushing it away, but I don't. I lift it to my mouth and take a bite.

He smiles. It's not a toothy smile, but it's a smile. "What does Chelsea do for a living?" I ask. Alex is taken off guard by my question.

"She designs clothes and schedules for a model. Why?" He asks. He takes a bite of his pizza. I can't help but notice the bone in his cheek pokes out when he chews.

"I don't know, it's just- don't you guys ever stay around each other for more than an hour?" I ask. I've only met her once.

"She has a busy schedule. She travels around a lot, yeah. We spend time together, but not the time I really want." He says.

"So, as in 'spend time together' you mean she won't sleep with you?" I ask. I sit my pizza down completely baffled by what he's saying.

He smiles a little, tilts his head to the side and nods his head. "Yeah." I don't know how I feel about that. I mean Ryan waited for me, but it didn't take me that long and I was simply afraid of him for the longest time.

"What'd you do to her?" I joke. Alex rolls his eyes and takes a bite.

"Nothing. She's just uptight." I smirk. I want to laugh at his words but I don't. I press my lips in a hard line to keep from doing so.

"Do you love her?" I ask. I'm pushing my luck. He furrows his eyebrows at my question. Alex thinks about it for a minute. He let's out a breath and shakes his head. No.

"I do care about her. I just- I'm not sure about loving her. Shes my mate, so of course I'm going to have feelings for her. They're more like a friend feeling than anything." He says softly. "Why do you care?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I'm just wondering. You guys don't share the same look in your eyes."

"And what look would that be, hmm?" He asks. I blink, take a bite of the crust. I look down to realize I've eaten most of my food. I sit there for a minute.

"I don't know. It's just this look someone gets when they see someone they love. Like when Ryan, he'd be so mad coming home from a meeting- then he'd see North or even me and instantly the glow in his eyes would change. You guys don't have that glow." I say softly. I push the plate away and rest my arm on the table.

"North?" He asks.

"Yeah, my daughter. She's a year and three months. Ryan didn't like the name at first, it's strange, I know. But who else names their kid North?"

He nods his head. "I also thought about the North Star and how you follow it to get back home." I mumble. He furrows his eyebrows and looks down at his plate. He's hardly eaten.

The clock on the wall tells me we've spent nearly two hours here talking. I feel my lip quiver talking about North and Ryan.

"Can we go?" I ask.

"Actually, I've got some stuff to lay on you." He says quickly. I furrow my eyebrows. "Stuff?"

"Rules, Taylor. Rules." He says. I nod my head slowly.

"Okay." I say. I can't tell him no. Mostly, because I'm afraid to.

"They're simple. The first rule is, you'll eat three times a day. It's not only for your saftey, but for the baby's. Two, your going to have to start sleeping with me. I know that's a lot to ask, but the baby needs to learn my voice and heart beat and know I'm the father. It's also to relieve some stress, because I know your not sleeping well at night. Three, you can't get attached to the baby. It's better for all of us. Can you do that?" He asks.

I let out a breath and think about it for a minute. Ryan and North creep into my mind. I furrow my eyebrows. I just do what he says and in a breeze I'll be back home to them. To my family.

"Yeah, I can do that."