Butterflies {Corey Crawford}

Salty

(I am aware that Brandon isn't on the team, but for this story's sake he is. Shoutout to KneelBeforeSaad ;))

Several Days Later...

Its 8:30 pm, Chicago time. Me and Corey and Fifty just walked through the front door of Corey's apartment. I take a deep breath and am comforted by the familiar scent of his home. I can hear the tv on in the other room and it smells as though somebody has just cooked. Corey drags all our bags inside, insisting I shouldn't lift anything. I'm only 4 months pregnant, I'm not useless yet. I hear a gasp and then feet barreling across the wooden floors. Alyssa appears in the hallway and Fifty barks as she nears me.

"Oh I missed you!" Alyssa shrieks, throwing her arms around me.

"Mhm!" I answer, glaring at Corey. He just laughs as he heads to our room.

"I was just leaving." She says and I nod, "Well, see you."

"See ya." I answer and she carefully leaves the apartment.

"That was weird." Corey says, reappearing from our room. I nod and roll my eyes. I grab my suitcase and wheel it down the hallway. I hear Fifty's paws pitter-pattering behind me as I walk. I set my luggage on the bed and open it up, putting clothes away. It takes maybe 20 minutes to get everything back where it belongs. I don't have too much stuff at Corey's anyways. I feel super out of breath so I sit on the bed. I'm sitting for a few minutes, just petting the dog when I hear footsteps. Corey pops his head in the room and smiles at me.

"Hey, I'm gonna run out and do some errands. Do you want to come?" He questions and I shrug, thinking.

"No I think I'm gonna hang out here." I answer

"Okay. I'll be back in a little. Love you." He calls, starting to walk away.

"Love you!" I yell. I flop backwards on the bed. I get comfortable and close my eyes, Fifty shifting closer to me. I lay, for I don't know how long, when I hear a thud, followed by Brandon cursing. I totally forgot he was here. I get up and slowly pad out to the living room. He's sat in the dark on the couch, covered by an emerald colored blanket, which looks too familiar. The tv lights up his face as he grabs his phone off the floor.

"Is that my blanket?" I ask and he jumps, finally realizing I'm there.

"Holy shit, you scared me." He breathes, laughing slightly. I chuckle and plop down next to him, stealing half the blanket.

"This is mine!" I gasp

"Yeah, sorry. I've been sleeping out here for a few days. I just grabbed it from your room." He explains, his tone becoming softer.

"What? Why have you been doing that? You could've slept in our bed." I say. I shift my body so I'm facing him. He shakes his head slightly and glances at the tv.

"Alyssa and I got in a huge fight on Christmas Eve." He replies quietly.

"Oh, over what?" I question

"She's just not being appreciative. It's all about her and never about me or what I need. I always ask her to do little things like help clean up or help with laundry or go to the store. All of which I do with her. But she always refuses and comes up with an excuse." Brandon explains and I almost laugh. I can see Alyssa being a brat and refusing to do stuff because she's 'pregnant.'

"You don't deserve that, Bran." I say, disappointed. He sighs, rubbing his hand against his chin.

"Honestly, Ev, I wanna break up with her. Like so bad. But I can't." He groans and I let out a little chuckle.

"Why can't you?" I question

"She's pregnant." He whispers and I roll my eyes.

"Brandon can you listen to me? I hate to be the one to tell you this and frankly I don't want to tell you this. I promised Alyssa I wouldn't but I hate seeing you like this. Alyssa isn't pregnant." I state and he frowns

"What? But she's gaining weight."

"Have you had sex with her since she's told you? Have you see her shirtless? Have you touched her stomach?" I ask and he slowly shakes his head. I stand up, pushing my blanket off the both of us and hold my hand out to him.

"Come with me." He hesitates but takes my hand, standing up. I pull him down the hallway and into his bedroom. I let go of him and get on my knees, looking under his bed. I see Alyssa's suitcase shoved all the way back against the wall and I grab it, pulling it out. Brandon sits beside me and watches me unzip it, opening the top. I move the clothes out of the way and reveal the set of four silicon baby bumps.

"What-" He breathes. He takes one of the bumps in his hands and examines it, "She lied?"

"Yeah she did. I'm so sorry Brandon." I whisper. He stares in the suitcase for a while, eventually putting the one he's holding back. I close the bag, shoving it aside. His breathing picks up and he clenches his fists.

"Hey," I sit up and put my hand on his shoulder, looking at him, "Relax okay? Don't do anything you'll regret."

"Do you know why?" He whispers, finally looking at me. His gunmetal blue eyes are glossed over, tears so close to falling down on to his cheeks.

"She told me that the test said she was pregnant, but it was wrong. And she had already told you and didn't want you to be mad when she took it back. So she just went with it. I've known for a month or two but honestly I just left it because I wanted to watch it blow up in her face when she didn't give birth to a baby in 9 months. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner." I explain and he just stares at me, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

"I knew she was selfish, but I didn't know she was that selfish." He answers, devastated. His voice is gravely and hoarse, the sound sending shivers down my spine. I wrap my arms around his shoulders, pulling him into a hug. He finally relaxes and allows himself to hug me back. He buries his face in my shirt, it slowly becoming damp with his tears. I fall backwards as he puts more of his weight on top of me. But I don't say anything, I just let him be as he squeezes my body tighter.

"What the fuck is going on?" A voice says, startling me. My head snaps towards the door and I see Corey, his eyebrows knotted together as he stares at us.

"Shh." I answer, putting my finger over my lips. I run my hands through Brandon's hair, hoping he didn't hear Corey. "Something happened with Alyssa, I'll tell you later."

"Well alright." He stares at us a moment longer before backing away. Brandon gradually calms down, his breathing slowing. Eventually he lifts his head up, looking at me.

"Are you okay now?" I question, giving him a small smile. He just nods, wiping his face. Without warning his face is inches from mine. He connects our lips, softly kissing me. His lips are salty from crying. It takes me a second to realize what's going on and I gasp, pulling away. He looks at me, his mouth in an 'o' shape.

"Brandon, what the fuck?" I ask

"Yeah what the fuck?" Corey is again stood in the doorway, his arms crossed as he stares at us.

(A/N: please don't forget to vote for my story if you like it and please, please share it. I promise I'm going to be updating much more frequently. I've made little changes in past chapters and I know this story has been around for a while, so it wouldn't hurt to go back and refresh your memory)