Not What I Expected

Part 2

Nicole carried a sleepy Hudson up to Beth and Alex's front door and rang the doorbell. Her and Hudson had gone out for lunch and then they went to the Vancouver Aquarium before Hudson decided he was done and had a full on tantrum on the sidewalk beside their car. Nicole didn't blame her little boy. She felt like having a tantrum on the floor as well, but as a 35 year old woman she knew that a starfish on the floor was not going to help matters.

When she had showed up at her parents' house her mother could tell instantly that something wasn't right, but Nicole was in no mood to explain the situation to her. Nicole had just told her mom that she wanted to spend the day with Hudson and that everything was ok. She just wasn't sure how to tell her mom what was going on.

Beth opened the door and managed a forced smile at Nicole. Nicole noticed that Beth's eyes were red and her mascara was smeared slightly. She put Hudson down on the ground and he ran into the house squealing as he went to find his "Uncky Lex". Beth reached for Nicole's hand and led her into the house and they sat down on the couch in the living room.

"Beth, what's going on?" Nicole asked her, knowing that whatever it was, wasn't good.

It was silent after that. The living room was lit up by the sunshine flowing in, but it certainly didn't have the feel of a room being filled with sunshine and happiness. It was quite the opposite actually. The room felt dark and cold and whatever news Beth had been holding on to sure wasn't going to be cause for celebration. You could hear the happy squeals of Nicole's innocent little boy as he ran around the back yard with Alex. He didn't have a care in the world and he was oblivious to what was going on around him.

"Chad is having an affair," Beth blurted before slapping her hand against her mouth.

Nicole's heart somersaulted in her chest uncomfortably and she thought that she had misheard her best friend. She analyzed Beth closely and judging by the grief stricken look on her face, Nicole knew that Beth had said what she thought she said.

Nicole's hands began to shake and a cold sweat spread over her body almost instantaneously. This couldn't be happening to her. Beth had to have misunderstood whatever she heard or saw. Chad wasn't capable of such a cruel act. Nicole put her head in her hands and tried to process the information. She refused to believe it, she just couldn't imagine her husband being unfaithful to her.

"I'm sorry Nicole," Beth said quietly, "I know you don't want to believe that Chad is capable of this, but it's true."

"With who?" Nicole asked quietly.

"Anna..." Beth replied reluctantly.

The anger and rage that she felt flooded through every part of her and she could feel her face get hot. Nicole stood up and clenched her fists tightly as she looked over at her friend. She was definitely not expecting that blow. Next to Beth, Anna had always been a close friend of hers and she trusted her just as much as she had trusted Beth. Nicole never thought she would experience such betrayal, but clearly she had misjudged Anna's character.

"I have to go," Nicole mumbled as she grabbed her purse off the floor and walked towards the front door, "I'll come get Hudson in a couple hours."

Nicole walked out of the house and into the sunlight and despite its heat, she felt incredibly cold. She was angry, confused, lost, but most of all she had been betrayed and she wanted answers.

She made her way down the driveway to her car and when she reached for the door handle she felt a hand on her arm. She turned and saw Alex standing there, his eyes red and a look of concern on his face.

"You don't want to go over there right now," Alex said quietly, "I know you think you have it all planned out and you know exactly what you are going to say when you confront Anna. But what you will actually find when you get there will destroy you."