One Night...

Chapter 17

The evening after the Target trip was awkward and strange. Andrew helped Scarlett with her stuff like he always did, but then he rushed out the door, telling her he had to get to Shane's, though he hadn't mentioned having work when they'd talked earlier. She wondered if she'd done something to upset him, but she was so upset herself and confused about their relationship that she was almost relieved when he didn't stay to hang out as he generally did. She spent the rest of the night in bed, watching sad movies and eating ice cream as Kelsey unsuccessfully tried to cheer her up. Kelsey kept begging Scarlett to tell her what was making her so emotional, but Scarlett didn't want to talk about it.

Meanwhile, Andrew sped over to Shane's, his heart and mind racing. Scarlett had told him to date people. It was a punch in the gut and a serious reality check that, while he was utterly in love with her, she was focused on the baby. He'd misread everything that was between them. She wanted to be co-parents, but she didn't want to be with him. She didn't want to be with anyone, and it broke his heart more than he really thought was possible. He felt like a complete idiot. She'd told him from the start that she wanted them to be friends, and that's exactly what they were. She'd told him many times that he was her best friend. She'd been nothing but straight with him from the beginning, and he'd let his feelings for her and his ridiculous fantasies about them being some sort of couple override his better judgment. He felt sick inside.

As he sat at Shane's, head in his hands as Shane and Ryland listened, Andrew poured out the whole thing. "It's over, guys, she doesn't have feelings for me and she never will," he told them sadly. "She told me I should date people if I want, and that she wasn't going to." Andrew looked at them with the saddest eyes either had ever seen, and Ryland immediately patted his shoulder as Shane sighed. Shane had long feared something like this would happen. He loved Scarlett, he really did, but he thought Andrew was in over his head and not thinking clearly when it came to the mother of his child.

Ryland put his arm around Andrew's shoulders, trying desperately to console him. "Andrew, maybe it's not that she doesn't have feelings for you," the shorter man told his pal gently, thinking back to himself on all the talks he and Scarlett had had together while hanging out. "She broke off her engagement because her fiancée was a womanizing, lying man whore. And then she met you like two months later, and then all this happened with the baby. She's probably just not ready to date or put herself out there again," Ryland insisted, trying to make Andrew feel better. He knew Scarlett's intentions were good, and he refused to believe that she'd meant to hurt Andrew. "Scarlett loves you Andrew, I know she does. I think she just isn't ready to be, you know, in love with you." Shane looked at Ryland, not sure if they were doing the right thing by giving Andrew hope, and to his relief, Andrew shook his head a little.

"Why would she tell me to date then if she felt that way, Ry? She wouldn't," Andrew argued, rubbing his eyes wearily. Ryland took a deep breath, thinking it through. "Maybe she was trying not to be selfish? Maybe since she's not in a good place right now, she figured it wasn't fair to just, you know... I don't know, maybe she thought you'd be happy? She doesn't know you feel this way about her," Ryland pointed out, and Shane's anxiety started to heighten, worried Andrew would get hurt all over again.

"Well, I don't know. But I need to... you know, I just need to focus on the baby and everything and get over this thing with Scarlett. She wanted us to be friends, and that's what we need to be," Andrew said, trying to convince himself and his friends that he believed what he was saying. Shane nodded, patting his shoulder. "Yes, good for you Andrew, I agree with you. You need to just move on," he told him firmly, grabbing him a bottle of water out of the fridge as Ryland narrowed his eyes. "Listen, buddy, this has been a lot. Go upstairs, take a nap, try to decompress, OK?" Shane told him, and Andrew nodded vacantly, wandering upstairs to his room without saying a word. The minute he was gone, Ryland turned to Shane with anger.