"Pete?" I asked into the phone. I hadn't talked to him since we broke up years ago, and now he was calling me. Something must be up. "Hey," he said smoothly and my heart melted at the sound of his voice. "What's up?" I asked, prancing around my bedroom and twirling my hair. "I've made it into Broadway." I landed on my bed and cracked a small smile. That was his dream. Broadway was his life goal. "Really? That's great!" "Yeah," his voice dropped and I could tell that something was wrong. "What's bothering you? You have everything you ever wanted!" And I'm stuck here in this hick-state, I thought to myself. "Maybe everything that I could achieve by my means, but not everything," he trailed off. What was he talking about? He had an amazing boyfriend who loved him, talent beyond no other, and the job of his dreams!

       "Pete, what the hell are you talking about?" I questioned, picking up a rubik cube from my bedside. He stuttered for a few moments before sighing. I could imagine him running a hand through that straight, black hair of his and smiled. Even after four years of silence, I still knew him pretty well. "I... I made a horrible choice leaving you four years ago," Oh no, I thought to myself, This is so not happening! "And, well, I want you back."

       I sat straight up and threw the rubik cube across the room. It hit a wall and made a soft 'thud'. "Ember?" he asked curiously, no doubt hearing the noise and thinking I fainted. I mean, what else would you do when the love of your life told you that he basically still loved you. I inhaled deeply, realizing that I hadn't been breathing a moment ago, and said, "I... I can't do that." Those words cut deep into my chest and I wished that I didn't have to say them. "What?" He was utterly shocked. "I-I can't take you back." I tried to hold back the tears, "You left me four years ago! If you had called me three years ago, you possibly could have stopped it, but-" "Stopped what? Oh please don't tell me-!" "I got married, hon," I began to cry, "I hadn't heard from you in years and I didn't even know if you even liked me.Last time I saw you, you had a boy-toy!" Silence. I knew it stung him, but it was the truth.

       "What's he like?" He finally broke the silence. "Medium-ish height. Taller than me for sure," I giggled, trying to cut the tension, "Straight brown hair like yours used to be. Muscles. About seven years older than me." "Not what I meant, and you know it. What's he like? How does he treat you? Does he whisper sweet endearments into your ear? Does he take you on picnics and you end up having a food fight? Does he hold you tight at night?" Tears were now coming out of my eye sockets like waterfalls. "Yes," I choked out, "All of that and so much more. He's amazing." "How so?" "He-" No. There was no way that I could say it, but I had to. "He met me at the alter." Pete was about to say something else, but I couldn't bare it. I shut my phone and buried my face into my pillow.

       The bedroom door opened, but I didn't look up. I didn't feel like it, and I surely didn't have the energy for it. I felt weight being added onto the bed and I rolled my head over to see who it was. "Are you okay, E?" a large man asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. I nodded weakly and he scooped me up into his lap. He arms felt safe and secure, like nothing could hurt me. I snuggled into his chest and began to cry again. He sat there and cradled me. He knew that this day would come; the day that Pete called. I was so grateful that Alex understood. After a few moments, Alex spoke up. "He called, didn't he?" I nodded, "Yeah." "What did you tell him?" "I told him what he wanted to know." I began to choke up and Alex stroked my hair. "No need to get upset, E. You knew this day would come. We all did. Even your son, Ethan, knew." "Yeah," I muttered, looking away, "but Pete doesn't know." "What?" Alex looked shocked, "You didn't tell him?" "How could I?" I exploded, "It's hard enough to tell the love of your life that you got married! How are you supposed to tell him that your husband died?"