To Live and Let Go (Sequel to the Reckless and the Brave)

Replaced

"Uh, can I talk to you?" I said to Alex. He nodded, gulping.

"Jasey, why don't you, uh, go wait for me on the couch?" Alex suggested. Jasey gave him a suggestive wink and walked out of the room.

"Why the hell did you get back with that slut?" I whisper/screamed as she left the room and Alex shut the door, his face red.

"Well, I, uh," he started.

"Explain! I mean, I could understand if you got back with Lisa because she's worth getting back with and she doesn't cheat, but Jasey? Really?" He put his hands on my shoulders, patting them.

"Relax! It was a mistake. I was drunk, I had no idea what I was doing! She kind of got pregnant and said it was mine, so I had no choice!" He explained. I crossed my arms. "And when we found out that it wasn't mine she kind of got pissed off and said that I didn't love her. I really have no choice. I have to stay with her, even if she is a slut, and even if I kind of want to get back together with Lisa."

"So you're saying she was a one-night thing that ended up being more? And anyways, you could have just said that since it wasn't your kid it's not your problem," I replied.

"Well she did name the kid after me!" He said. "If I could find a way to take it back I would. If I had known that it wasn't mine in the first place then I would too. But I just have to act like I love her until she gets the real father back and then boom, problem solved."

"You should have told me," I replied. "Anyways, if the reason you're back with her is because of a kid, then why isn't it here?" He sighed.

"Lex is probably sleeping or something. No big deal. She's a kid, she probably sleeps all the time."

"And how old is she?"

"Five," he said quietly. "She's five." What a shocker.

"So you had sex with her five years ago, as well as the real dad, and she failed to make the connection that it might not be your kid?" He nodded.

"That's one reason why I didn't break up with her. I can't just hurt an innocent kid, and how am I supposed to explain to a five year-old that the person she's called Daddy isn't really her dad? How would you feel if I just suddenly came up to you and tried to explain to you that you're not my sister?" I sighed.

"Okay. I - I get it. But just please be careful," I said. "I'm not going to force you to give up the kid, or the girl. But just make sure you don't make the same mistake again." He nodded, pulling me into a hug.

"I'm not going to. I should have told you earlier, but I didn't really have time. Thank you for understanding. By the way, Jasey's dropping the kid off after school tomorrow. She stays with me until the weekend." He kissed the top of my head and walked out of the room. I followed, seeing Rian in the kitchen.

"I guess Alex explained about Lex," he said. "You look pretty frazzled." I nodded and he handed me a bottle of coke, which I opened and chugged about half.

"Yup. How did he explain it to you?" I said, sitting on the counter next to Rian as he pulled out some Oreos, and we quietly looked at them through the kitchen window.

"I didn't know until I found a five year-old banging on my drums," he replied. "But she's pretty cute, you can't stay mad at her for long. Especially not for her existance. She'll be good for Alex, believe it or not. Might be good for you too."

"Do you know who the real dad is?" I said. He nodded.

"Yup. It's Jack," he said quietly. I raised my eyebrows.

"Jack?" He nodded. "Our Jack?" He nodded again.

"Which is why Jack's moving in with us. So Jasey can still have her party, get-with-someone-new every night life, and Lex can have a good place to grow up. At least until we leave for tour next week. Still not sure if we can bring her or not," he said. "I hope we can. I don't know how the kid's lived five years. You know how Jasey is."