Haunted Hearts || A.W.G || [Discontinued]

The Dog Park, Talking and Unexpected Statements || Chapter Fifty-Seven

"Cause after all this time, I'm still into you."

Emerald

"Emerald," Alex opens the door and sits down next to me. "it's not your fault, okay? Jack just took your affection the wrong way. You had nothing to do with it."

"Maybe if I hadn't done what I did, things could be different." I bury my head in my knees.

"Sure, it happened a couple times, but that was two years ago. You haven't done anything since then, therefore, none of the blame is on you. There's nothing to feel at fault or guilty about." He pulls me into his side and rubs my arm for comfort. "I love you, you know that, right?" He kisses the top of my head and I nod.

Once I gather myself, I pull away from him, "You smell like alcohol."

"Oh, sorry." He sheepishly chuckles. "I'll take a shower."

"Alex," I grab his hand, "I love you too."

He smiles and leans down, pecking my lips before going into the bathroom.

I end up falling asleep before he gets done.

~-~-~
"I invited Jack over so I can talk to him. I'm going to need you to make plans with Cass while he's here." He says from behind me.

"Yeah, sure. We can take the dogs to the park or something." I look up at him.

"I'll text you when he leaves, alright?" He gives me a quick kiss and walks into the other room.

I can tell he's really nervous but there's nothing I can do to make him feel better. He won't calm down until he hears the truth out of Jack's mouth. I call up Cassadee and we decide on taking all the dogs for a drive to a dog park a bit away from my house. She's going to be here in a couple minutes so I start gathering the dogs.

"Luna, Afro!" I call and my dogs come running. When I first moved in, Alex started calling Aphrodite 'Afro' and it's funny so I went along with it. "Alex, where's Baz and Peyton?" I stick my head into the kitchen.

"I think they're outside." He responds.

"Okay, thanks." I put the leashes on Luna and Aphrodite before grabbing two more for Baz and Peyton.

Once I get the leashes on them, I pet Sansa and Luci then head outside to wait for Cass.

When Cass arrives, the dogs and I pile into the car then, if almost on cue, my phone rings.

"Hello?"

"Hey," Brendon's voice comes through the speaker, "remember Sarah?"

"Your girlfriend? Yeah."

"Ex-girlfriend." He coughs.

"What? Since when?" I ask,  confusion in my voice.

"Well, I had a friend named Sandy since high school and just realized that I had feelings for her the whole time. So, I asked her out, she said hell yes, then I broke up with Sarah." He quickly explains.

"Oh, congratulations?" I say more as a question.

"Yes, congratulations. Anyway, whatcha up to?"

"About to head to the dog park with Cassadee."

"Oh," He drags it out, "can I meet you two up there?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Alright, see you in like, twenty minutes."

We hang up and I shove my phone back into my front pocket.

Alex

I'm so nervous that my heart is beating out of my chest and my whole body feels clammy. It's been about thirty minutes since Emerald left, which means Jack will be here soon. I'm sure that he feels worse than me, I mean, this is pretty nerve wracking. Right when I hear a car stop in front of my house, I know this is real and not just a nightmare. I take a deep breath and exhale when the door opens.

"Hey, Alex." He avoids eye contact and takes a seat right in front of me.

"Jack." I simply respond. "Let's just cut to the point. Are you in love with Emerald?"

He sighs. "Yes."

I close my eyes and take a deep breath then open them again. "For how long?"

"Since before what happened between us. I was really good at hiding it up until recently. I never said anything because you're with her."

"And I appreciate that, but I wish you would've told me earlier. Then I could've helped you move on."

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to move on."

I feel my hands get clammy and my stomach tie in knots. I bite my lip to suppress my anger. The last thing I want to do is yell, I want this to go as peaceful as possible. "Jack, you need to move on. She's my girlfriend and I eventually want to marry her. I did talk to her about this and she basically told me that she doesn't love you that way."

"I know she doesn't."

"Then why not move on?"

"Because she's just.. perfect for me, but she's also perfect for you. Time will tell what happens. You don't have to worry, I won't make any moves on her. The reason why I won't is because our friendship is more important and I absolutely refuse to do anything to jeopardize it." He stands up and walks to the door. "I'll see you around, okay?"

I stare at him in confusion and worry. He's way to nonchalant and calm right now. He has a habit of appearing this way but when he's behind closed doors, he breaks down.

"If you stay, I'll watch Home Alone with you." I bargain. I don't want him going home just to be upset for the remainder of the night. The least I can do is get him in a good mood before he leaves. He looks at me with a hopeful face and comes back, sitting next to me.

"You never watch Home Alone with me, so I couldn't pass this up." He chuckles. I smile and go to get the DVD with his words echoing in my head.

"The reason why I won't is because our friendship is more important and I absolutely refuse to do anything to jeopardize it."

Little does he know that yesterday I was drunk off my ass yelling at Brendon about him trying to take Emerald away from me. I called Jack an asshole and now that he said that, I feel horrible for it.

"I should be over all the butterflies, but I'm into you, I'm into you."

(Song: "Still Into You" by Paramore)

-- So, I don't have any chapters prepared for Spring Break and I feel so bad. There's three reasons why;  haven't had any motivation lately, I'm hanging out with my boyfriend a lot, and I'm trying to get straight A's in school like I did in Freshman year. I'm also graduating in early next school year (in my Junior year, not Senior) so I'm really making sure I have good grades. I've also been applying for jobs.

I'm really sorry about my very late updates. --