Never Say Forever (LAMS READERS CHOICE)

Chapter Three

Option One - "I'll call you back, Lafayette."

I stare at the man in front of me, not sure what to do. 

"John? Is everything okay?" Lafayette asks once again. "Okay, that's it, I'm coming over-"

"No, no no. I'm fine, I just-" I take a deep breath. "I'll call you back, Lafayette." I say before hanging the phone up. 

I set my phone down and look back up at the man in my house. It looks like Alex, but I know that's not possible. Alex is gone. 

"Who are you? And what are you doing in my house?" I demand. 

He frowns gently. "John, I- It's me." He says and I shake my head. 

"No, 'Me' is not a name." I say, backing up slowly so I could get closer to the baseball bat I kept in the corner. "Who are you, and what, are you doing in my house." I repeat. 

He seems saddened. "John, I think you know who I am. I.. I had to see you.."

I grab the bat and point it at him. "You're not Alex, Alex is dead. I watched him die, there's no coming back from what he went through." 

He holds his hands up, showing he wasn't going to fight back. He sighs softly. "John, I am Alex.. You didn't see me die, you saw me fall into the river-"

"There's no way he could have survived that-!"

"Did you ever find his body?" He asks, furrowing his eyebrows at me. "Did the officers who went "looking" for the man ever actually find him?" 

"I-"

"Tell me, was his body in the coffin you guys mourned over at his funeral?" He says while walking towards me. 

I drop the bat and stare at him, tears in my eyes. "N-no, it wasn't-"

"So how could you possibly know I was dead for sure?" He asks, now standing face to face with me. 

I look at him a bit longer before I burst into sobs, falling to the floor. I didn't know if this was just a cruel dream or a worse reality, but it hurt. It hurt to see him here, getting angry at me. Maybe it was a dream, and in the afterlife he actually is angry at me for not looking for him. I knew I should've went out and looked for him.. I knew it didn't feel right. 

He squats down and places a hand on my shoulder, giving me space to breathe, but still letting me know he was there. After a little while and after catching my breath, I look up at him. He was smiling sympathetically at me, but not like everyone else had. His was genuine. 

I take a final deep breath and then nod. "I.. We should go downstairs and talk." I say and he nods in response, helping me up and down the stairs. He sits me down on the couch and then looks at the kitchen. 

"I'll go make us some tea, yeah?" He suggests, and I give a small nod. 

He walks into the kitchen and I hug my knees to my chest. I give my arm a slight pinch, wincing slightly at the sharp pain. This was real, not a dream. I shake my head and look towards the kitchen, seeing the shorter man boiling some water on the stove. 

When he finishes, he walks back to me, two mugs in hand, and sets them down on the coffee table before sitting down next to me. 

"How are you here?" I ask bluntly. 

He sighs and looks to the side. "Yeah, I kind of figured that would be your first question.." He mumbles. 

"Well, obviously. I watched you get shot, I watched you fall into the river and not come up. How on Earth could you have survived that?" I ask.

"Truth be told, I almost didn't. The gunshot didn't affect me nearly as much as I thought it would, but yes, I almost drowned in the river." He starts fidgeting with his sleeves as he talks. "I blacked out from all the water and the current and such.. The next morning, I woke up in an unfamiliar home, somewhere South of the same river." 

"Whose house was it?" I ask. 

"It was a lovely family, a mother, a father, and a little girl, the same age as Philip it seemed. The father happened to find me in his morning stroll and brought me back to his house, where his wife nursed me back to health." He explains. 

I nod. "Okay.. And you've just been hiding out there ever since?" I ask, a bit of anger showing in my voice. I hadn't intended it, but this past month would have been a lot easier had I known Alex was alive. 

"Well, sort of. I stayed with the family for a week or so, and then came back. I found you guys, but I was too afraid to come up to you. I thought maybe it'd be better if I just.. Left, and never came back." 

"And yet, here you are." I scoff slightly. "You should've come back! I've missed you, do you have any idea the grief you caused me? The grief you caused your wife and kids?" 

"I want them to move on without me, John. I know it might take a while, but I really want them to just forget about me." He says. 

I raise an eyebrow. "But you're not dead. Wouldn't you want to get back to your family? They miss you gravely and-"

"No." He says simply, throwing me off guard. 

"No? What do you mean no?" I ask. 

He hesitates to respond, as if he were thinking of something to say. "I just.. I was going to go back, truly. But when I realized I didn't have to, I felt relieved. I don't have to go back to her, and she can raise the kids how she wants and-"

"Wait, what? You said you were happy with Elizabeth." I say. "Why on Earth would you ever not want to go back to her?" 

He shakes his head. "That night we went drinking.. We had just gotten into a huge fight.. It wasn't our first fight, but it was the first one that woke Philip up. He came in and saw us and started crying and I.. I couldn't face him or her after that.. So I walked out and called you and.. Well, you know what happened from there." 

My expression drops. "You guys were fighting.. That's why she kept blaming herself.. She never got to apologize and now she thinks you're gone forever-" I stand up. "We have to make this right, we have to tell Elizabeth the truth, you two have to make up and-"

"John, no! You can't tell her I'm alive, she's finally learning how to move past me. She'll feel even more guilty about going on that date." He says, standing up with me. 

I raise an eyebrow. "How did you know she went on a date?" 

"She was my wife, you think I didn't notice whenever her eyes wondered elsewhere? I simply gave one of her crushes the encouragement to ask her out. They would make a fine couple, and my Eliza only deserves the best." He states. 

I look at him in disbelief. "You are such an odd man.. Setting your wife up with someone new so you don't have to face her-"

"That is not why I'm doing this, John." 

"Then why?" I ask. 

"Look, my reasons are just that, mine. Now, you have to promise me you won't tell her or anyone else that I am alive. Please, you are the only one who can know about this." 

I stare at him a moment and sigh. "Fine. I won't tell anyone you're here, despite the fact that you definitely should." I cross my arms. "But you owe me an honest answer to a question." 

He looks to the side and then back at me, nodding. "Yes, yes I suppose you're right..Alright, one question, whatever you want, I'll answer one hundred percent honestly." 

Option One: "Who did you set Elizabeth up with?"
Option Two: "Why don't you want to see Elizabeth?"

Place your votes here ☞☞

Question: Do you guys think a week is a long time for voting to be open? Should I make it shorter, or are you guys okay with it staying open a week? (Don't just say it's up to me, this is literally a reader's choice book)

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