The Sun and the Moon

➸ Chapter Six: Confessions

Will

Allie's kneeling in front of me, her face mere inches from mine. Her hands are braced on either side of my face and her blue and grey eyes are intent upon mine.

"Listen, Allie, I get if you need more time. I just...I know it's a lot to deal with."

"You're not a lot to deal with. We all have our problems and if someone truly loves you, they'll stick by you. Through thick and thin."

Her voice tightens and her eyes are lit with a protective fire, one I've only ever seen her use in defence of Carter. Her eyes are so earnest, it's hard not to believe her.

"I should probably also tell you something," She says, hesitantly, her hands dropping from around my face.

Immediately, I miss her hands and the heady haze of comfort that accompanied them.

Allie continues, "Not long after you left, I-I met someone."

Convulsively, my hands curl into fists and I frown.

"We were just friends for a while...but then, it turned into something more. I liked him, but I wasn't over...I wasn't ready to love someone else. And one night we were ridiculously stupid and we..."

She cuts herself off, a faint blush on her cheeks, and I dig my nails into the flesh of my hand.

"I got pregnant," She whispers, her eyes still downcast. And the chasm between us widening and widening. Allie's stuck on the other side with an entire family that I don't know about.

"I have a daughter, her name's Zoe." Allie looks up for the first time, a slight smile on her face. The smile fades slightly as she takes in my clenched fists and frown. Slowly, she shifts forward, bringing us closer together. Her hands drift to mine and uncurl them, her fingers brush away the indents I dug into my palm. Before hesitantly tangling her fingers with mine.

"I know it's a lot to take in but I knew I had to tell you."

I nod slowly, not truly processing anything but the feel of her palm pressed against mine.

"Does she have your eyes?"

Allie laughs, her hand squeezing mine lightly in a silent show of thanks. I can barely imagine how hard it must have been to have a child when you're supposed to be starting your own life. That's when a thought occurs to me.

"Did the...are you...still involved with the father?"

"No, after I told him, he left." Her eyes flicker to me almost instinctually and I look down shamefully. I should've been there for her when he wasn't.

"Don't do this to yourself," Allie says, her voice soft as she traces small circles on the back of my hand. "It was all for the best that you left to recover," She laughs wryly, "That way you would focus on yourself instead of worrying about me."

"I'm always going to worry about you."

As she meets my eyes, Allie inhales deeply and turns away. She digs through her purse, a crease appearing between her eyebrows as she pulls out an envelope.

She hands it over, gesturing for me to open it when I hesitate.

Slowly, I pull the paper from the envelope. My eyes scan the document in front of me, instantly settling on Allie's name and then, I spot Ian Langley's name.

Ian's parents were part of the same social circle that Allie's parents and mine associated with. And these circles often held dry, monotonous parties, so anyone under the age of 30 tended to stick together. Allie and Bree had first met at one of these parties. But Ian...he had always hung around the fringes of our group. Never truly becoming involved or bringing attention to himself. So, of course, this just drew more attention to him.