Take Two: A second chance romance

Chapter 7: Alexis

“Lexi? Is that you?” I heard a voice say.

A voice that I never thought I would hear again. I turn and look into the same deep sapphire eyes that my sons have. The guilt, the hurt, the pain, the longing, the yearning all hit at once, but most of all my love for him flares to life. I look at my boys, a tear rolls down my cheek. I look back at Jay and can’t help but admire how much he has grown.

He is just as handsome as when I left, but he has a bit more maturity in his face. His black hair is a wavy mess that stops just below his ears, round eyes looking at me with disbelief and longing, his strong jaw and Roman nose. He's now roughly 6ft’5in. A body that’s built for sport. His t-shirt is tight enough that I can see the eight pack he has. I’m brought out of my thoughts by someone putting their hand on my shoulder. I realized that it was Jay.

“Jayden” I mumble. Still feeling shocked that he was in front of me.

“Can we talk? I have missed you so much. Please let me talk to you.” Jayden asks me asked.

Looking at the hope on his face, I know I owe it to Jayden and to myself to sit down and talk about what happened four years ago. It scares me, but the guilt I feel and the doubt I have is enough to make me finally take the step and listen to him, like I should have done four years ago.

“Sure, Jayden, we can talk. Is it OK if we go to the lake? Jax, can you take the boys home after dinner please?” I said.

“Can do, sis. See you soon” Jax says.

I can tell that Jax is happy that I am going to talk to Jayden. He had hated keeping this secret from his friends. Even though he hated that Jayden hurt me, he still thought I should have told him about the boys.

“Yeah, we can go to the lake,” Jayden says. A smile on his face.

Jax moves so I can hug the boys. I told them to behave for Uncle Jax and Uncle Aaron and that I would be back soon. I look at my family, Jessa winks at me, then I head out of the diner behind Jayden. I saw him waving to someone. I looked over and saw Jake sitting there. He sees me looking at him and gives me a small smile as I walk out. We head across the parking lot till Jayden stops at a black chevy truck.

He opens the door for me, and I hope in. He walks round the front of the truck and hops into the driver’s seat. He starts the truck and pulls out of the diner and heads to the lake. 10 minutes later, we are sitting in the gazebo where he proposed to me so many years ago.

Remembering that day now brings more tears to my eyes, and I can’t help but start crying. Jayden grabs me gently, pulling me into his embrace, rubbing my back and just holding me while I cry. I’m not sure how long I cried for, but it feels like it's forever. Once I pull myself back together, I wipe my eyes and stare out at the still lake in front of us.

“Jayden, I just need to say I am sorry for running and never allowing you to explain your side of what happened that day. I was so emotional and didn’t think before I acted. I just wanted to be away from here. I was hurting so much. I knew deep down that you wouldn’t do something like that to me, but the proof was saying otherwise.” I said with a sob.

“What happened that day, Lexi? You said I cheated, and you had photos. I never have and I never would have cheated. For 4 years I have tried to figure it out but come up empty-handed every time.” Jayden asks, holding my hand.

“I will start from the start and explain everything to you. About 2 months before I left, I started getting random messages sporadically saying that you weren't being faithful. I ignored them at first, as I knew that you wouldn’t do that to me. I didn’t say anything to you, as I just thought someone was playing a prank, a pretty f****d up prank, but I had worse done to me in high school, and that they were trying to get a rise out of me. A few weeks before I left, I started feeling really unwell. I assumed it was just due to exams coming up, and I was worried about Jessa, as she had been struggling a little at the time. The day that I left, I went to get some tests done as I was still feeling unwell. When my appointment was over, I found out that I was pregnant. I sent you a message asking if you had finished class and, if so, where could we meet, as I had something extremely important to tell you. I got a message back saying to meet you at the coffee shop near the college campus. When I got to the coffee shop, I saw you sitting at a table with Angie.”

A few tears came down my face when I said that b***h's name. That person is the absolute worst. The s**t she did to me in high school, all because she was jealous that I was with Jayden, was bullshit. But her daddy paid the school to make it disappear, so she won’t look bad in the future.

“I stood there for a few minutes, then I saw you and Angie kissing. After the months of messages that I had been receiving and then seeing them, Angie then looked up at me and smirked. My hormones and emotions went into overdrive, and I felt like everything was falling down around me." I whispered.