The Rest of a Life

Chapter 8

The next morning, as Alex woke up on his ex-wife's couch, he felt bewildered and confused. Indeed, the night before, Jo had invited him to stay in Los Angeles for a few nights, explaining that they needed more discussion and time to explain themselves properly.

A couple of minutes after waking up, Alex made himself a coffee and like everyone else who has ever visited this house, he settled down in front of the beach. Staring at the waves and the sea allowed him to gain some serenity and have clearer ideas.

Although the fact that she allowed him to sleep in her house gave him comfort at heart, Alex was well aware that winning back the woman he was in love with was going to be a long and hard fight, which he wasn't sure he'd come out victorious.

Thinking about it, he started crying. He knew that he had hurt that woman and he blamed himself because that woman deserved to be happy, more than anyone else.

A few minutes later, Jo went downstairs to the kitchen and directly spotted Alex, who was watching the sea on the terrace. She was quite indecisive and lost in her reflections as she wanted to move forward and start a great love story with Avery, but at the same time, she still felt a lot of things for this man.

"Good morning." The young woman said, as she walked to the terrace.

"Morning," Alex answered, impressed by Jo's beauty, "how are you?"

"My sleep was pretty disturbed, actually, but I'm fine," Jo said, sitting down in a chair, "what about you?"

"Same."

These few words were followed by an awkward silence that lasted several minutes. Neither of them knew what to say at the other.

"Well," Jo concluded the discussion, "I'm afraid I'm gonna have to go. I have consults all morning, but you can stay here. You are home here."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, don't worry, I'll be here this afternoon so we can talk."

"Ok, as you want."

"Do you want me to ask Addison to come over and talk or have coffee with you?"

"That's a good idea, it could really be cool."

"I'll call her on the way to the practice. Well," Jo said as she took a look at her watch, "it's time for me to go."

Saying this, Jo stood up and to somehow show her support for the man she had been married to, she put a kiss on his forehead.

After his ex-wife left the house, Alex lay on the couch with his hands under his head and his eyes on the ceiling. He stayed in that position for several minutes or a few hours, he had lost all sense of time.

When he came back from his thoughts, he noticed that Addison had entered the house and that she was sitting in the kitchen, looking at him.

"Been a long time," Addison pointed out, "hasn't it?"

"I agree. It's almost a little weird..."

"Especially in those circumstances. To be honest, I thought I might see you again for a case or for a party."

"I thought it too, but life is always full of surprises."

"Seriously, how are you, Alex? Jo told me a little bit this morning about what happened with Izzie, but I'd like to hear it from you."

"Well, what I'm feeling is pretty confusing because I know I made a huge mistake in my relationship with Jo. I hurt her and so many people, including Meredith. I blame myself. I blame myself so much."