Never Say Forever (LAMS READERS CHOICE)

Chapter Eight

Option One: Take him to Eliza's house

I look at him and sigh. This was a hard decision, and he knew it. That's why he was pinning it on me, instead.

I shake my head and buckle my seatbelt. "I'm taking you back to your wife's house. That way I'll know. I'll know if you're real or not."

He sighs and buckles up, nodding as he stared out the window in front of him. "Okay.. As you wish, Laurens."

As we drove, I couldn't help but feel bad. I know I shouldn't, but I couldn't help it. He seemed so sad to be going back home, it made me want to turn around and take him to my house instead. But I couldn't do that. I couldn't willingly take him away from his family.

And who knows, maybe someday him and Elizabeth will separate. They'll do it in a peaceful manner, and Alex and I could..

Who am I kidding. That would never happen. Sure, they fight, but he would never want to separate from her. Not while the kids are still around.

I pull into Elizabeth's driveway and look over at Alex. "Are you sure about this?" I ask quietly, though no one was around anyway.

He sighs and looks down at his hands, fidgeting with his ring, before looking up at me with a sad smile. "This is what you truly wished from me, so yes, I'm ready."

"What are you going to tell her?"

"I.. I don't know.. The truth, I suppose."

"You mean the fact that you've been alive this whole time and have been staying away because you didn't want to be around her?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay, so the truth is messy, yes, but when is it not? I have to come clean to her, it's the only way we can fix our marriage."

"Is that even what you want?" I ask, frowning majorly at him. He looks at me in shock.

"Laurens, what kind of question is that? She's my wife, we have to fix it."

"If that's really what you wanted, you wouldn't have left for two months. You would have come back, or at the very least stayed when you came back the first time." I say, scoffing slightly. "You don't really want to make it work with her."

"Yes I do! How could you say something like that to me?" He asks, seeming somewhat angry.

"I'm saying this because I'm your best friend, Alex. I don't want to see you dive right back into something that doesn't make you happy! You don't have to be with her, you don't have to rekindle anything."

He points his finger at me. "You have no right to say those things to me, so no more. I'm doing what's best for my kids, and for my family, okay? It doesn't matter how I feel."

I sit in silence, just staring at him. This is only the second time I've seen him angry with me, the first being when he first came back. Being away from everyone else really changed him, and I'm having trouble believing it was for the better.

I nod slowly. "You're right, it's not my place." I say, turning back towards my steering wheel, looking straight ahead. "You should probably go to your wife now, she'll be happy to see you."

"John, please, don't be upset... This is just the easiest way-"

"It doesn't matter, Alexander. Just go, live your happy life." I say dismissively. He hesitates but sighs and exits my car. He looks at me sadly before turning and knocking on the door, probably so he didn't wake up the kids.

Eliza's POV

I stir awake, hearing a knocking on the door. I figure it's one of my kids coming in to say they had a nightmare, but I realize it was on the front door, not my bedroom door. I raise an eyebrow and sit up in bed, not sure who could be visiting at this hour.