Alexis' POV
As the taxi pulled up to the address that Ryan had given me, I began to wonder why Ryan needed such a big house. I mean it was just him, so what use could he possibly have for all of the extra room?
When the taxi stopped, I paid the driver and grabbed my bags before making my way up to the front door. Just as I was about to knock, the door flung open and a dog went sprinting past me. I was soon faced with a tired looking Ryan.
"Hey." He said with a smile as he locked eyes with me.
"Hey." I smiled back, "I'm sorry I didn't call before I flew all the way here. I just couldn't handle them being there. You would think Anton would have at least asked before he moved her into MY apartment, but apparently not." I fumed as I could picture her shoes sitting next to his, in the spot mine would normally sit.
I hadn't realized I was crying until Ryan pulled me into a hug and told me not to. I didn't think I was upset about Anton and Neve being together. I was angry, sure, but was I really upset that he had found someone to make him happy? Or was I upset because it wasn't me?
As Ryan was pulling away from our hug, I felt a nudge at my leg and looked down to find the dog I had previously encountered looking up at me.
"That's Bailey. She loves new people." Ryan said before turning and heading back into the house, one of my bags in his hand.
I followed him inside only to be greeted by a cat, and then the sound of a crying baby.
"Shit, I'll be right back." Ryan dropped my bag before rushing upstairs.
I took the time to look at my surroundings. Dining room on the left, kitchen on the right, living room directly ahead. As I sat the bag i was holding down, I made my way into the living room. There were staircases on either side, leading up to the same very large landing at the top.
Ryan soon came in to view as he descended the steps, Max in his arms. Max had stopped crying at this point and was reaching up to play with Ryan's hair. I chuckled lightly at Ryan's facial expression when he felt Max pull at his hair; it almost looked like he was in pain from it.
"You alright there?" I asked with a slight laugh.
"Yeah, I just really need a haircut and Max is reminding me." He said as he reached the bottom of the steps, heading for the kitchen.
"So if you don't mind me asking, where's Alison?" I questioned.
"She uhm, she left." He mumbled.
"Left? To go where?" I was slightly confused.
"I don't know. She just left. She dropped Max off at Jackie's and then just disappeared." He was sitting Max down in his chair when his phone started to ring. I noticed him let out an exasperated sigh before pulling it out of his pocket and answering it.
"Hello?" He answered, not bothering to look at who it was.
He wasn't on the phone long, but looked a little less stressed when he finally hung up. He told me it was Ben and that he was on his way over because Alison had left him a note too and he wanted Ryan to see it. Within ten minutes, Ben was knocking on the door and I once again felt out of place.
I decided to take my bags upstairs to the room Ryan had told me I could use, leaving the two of them to talk. I didn't want to get in the middle of something that wasn't any of my business.
Ben's POV
The letter that Alison had left at my place left me in a tough place. She had asked me not to tell Ryan where she was going, but I don't think I could hide this from him. She just up and left him with their child, and I didn't think that was fair.
As I stood at Ryan's front door waiting for an answer, I ran through what I wanted to say to Ryan in my head. I hardly had enough time as Ryan answered almost immediately. As I walked through the front door, rather than say anything, I just handed him the note.
"Do I even want to read it?" He asked.
"She's in good hands, that's all I will say." I said as he took the note out of my hand.
As he unfolded the piece of paper, the worried look on his face disappeared and he almost looked like he found comfort in the fact that she had gone where she did, but he also looked slightly angry.
"This doesn't even explain why she wouldn't take Max with her. Why leave him with me? It's not like Mike wouldn't help take care of him." He said, clearly frustrated as he held the note back out for me to take.
"I have no idea. Maybe she thought you could use a little time with Max considering she had him to herself for the first year." I shrugged.
"Yeah, and who's fault is that?" He was starting to get tense.
"Look, just enjoy the time you have with Max. Don't worry about Alison because for all we know, she could be back next week apologizing for making the biggest mistake and she will want to move back in and be with you." I assured him.
"Well she's missed her chance." He said as if it were nothing.
"What do you mean?" I was confused at his words.
"Alexis is upstairs." He said as he walked towards the kitchen.
"Since when?"
"Like fifteen minutes ago or so. I guess Anton moved back into her apartment, with Neve mind you, and he never said anything to Alexis about bring her. So she felt uncomfortable there and decided to fly here. I told her she could stay here since Ali isn't exactly in the picture at the moment, we just haven't really had a chance to talk yet." He grabbed a banana and walked towards Max.
"I still find the whole thing kind of funny." I grinned.
"What?"
"When you first found out she was joining the tour, you were pissed. Then you started sleeping with her behind everyone's back, and now she's going to be living with you? Funny how things can change so much."
"Yeah, funny." He said as he gave Max a piece of banana.
"You alright?"
"How the hell am I going to do this? We eventually have to go back on tour so what am I going to do with Max?" He questioned.
"Did you forget I'm in the same boat? The only difference is I have to deal with it twice." I chuckled.
He looked up at me with a sympathetic look, "Sorry, I'm just not used to this yet."
"I know, and I mean I'm going to have my hands full with taking care of Jessie and Jace, as well as Bree, but if you ever need anything, just let me know. You're still my brother, even if you did sign those divorce papers. Never forget that."
"I won't. Thanks Ben." He finally gave a light smile.
We talked a little longer before I decided it was time to go back to the house to check on Bree and the babies.
AN: So sorry it has taken me so long to update. It's been a hectic few months and I haven't really had a lot of time to sit down and actually write, but I'm going to hopefully start using some of my free time to update a few of the stories a week. Hope you guess enjoy!
