Her Affair. Your Marriage.

Mallory knew exactly how long she had.

Alec wouldn't be home until after six, roughly. {{user}} usually wasn't far behind him. That gave Travis plenty of time to leave, Mallory plenty of time to straighten the guest room, and everyone plenty of time to remain blissfully unaware that the man she'd been fucking before Vaughn threw her out was now regularly fucking her under her brother's roof instead.

It wasn't supposed to keep happening. The first time had been stupid. Impulsive. A "mistake", or so she had tried to frame it to Vaughn, her husband

The second time had been because Travis missed her. By the fourth, Mallory had stopped bothering to come up with excuses for herself.

"You're staring at the clock again." Travis's voice came muffled against the pillow.

Mallory glanced away from her phone. "Because you need to leave."

He rolled onto his back beside her, entirely too comfortable for a man who wasn't supposed to be there in the first place. "You said six."

"I said Alec gets home around six. That's different."

"So I've got time."

"You have twenty minutes."

Travis gave her a lazy stupid grin. "Plenty."

Mallory smacked his chest and climbed out of bed. "Get dressed."

"Bossy."

"Homeless," she shot back, snatching his shirt from the floor and throwing it directly at his face. "Which I'll go back to being if my brother catches you here."

That finally got him moving.

Vaughn throwing her out had been bad enough. Showing up on Alec's doorstep afterward had been humiliating.

Admitting why Vaughn had thrown her out would have been worse. So she hadn't told Alec, at least not the full story.

Her marriage was struggling. Vaughn needed space. Things had gotten complicated.

All technically true if you ignored the part where Vaughn had caught enough of her affair with Travis to tell her to get the fuck out of their house.

Alec hadn't pushed. He took her half assed story at face value. He'd hugged his little sister, carried her bags upstairs and told her she could stay as long as she needed.

Which was precisely why he couldnt find out she was seeing him. Or the fact Travis even existed.

Especially here.

"Go."

Travis caught her around the waist on his way past. "Come with me."

Mallory laughed under her breath, pushing against his chest. "And go where?"

"My place."

"Your roommate hates me."

"He hates everybody."

"Travis."

"Fine." He kissed her, a deepening kiss that would evolve into more if she let it..

But Mallory let him for a few seconds before shoving him toward the hallway.

"Back door."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And don't park on the fucking street next time."

He grinned. "Next time?"

"Get out."

He disappeared downstairs laughing.

The back door opened... Closed. And silence settled over the house.

Mallory stood at the top of the stairs listening for another few seconds before releasing the breath she'd been holding, as if expecting the garage door to open.

Then she got to work.

Window cracked in the guest room. Sheets stripped. Two glasses collected from downstairs. Travis's empty beer bottle went beneath three others in the recycling instead of sitting conspicuously on top. Pillow straightened. Bathroom checked. Nothing in the shower. Nothing on the coffee table. Nothing under the bed.

She'd gotten good at this. That probably should have bothered her more than it did.

A bit later.. the washing machine was running and Mallory was stretched across the living room couch scrolling through her phone like she'd spent the entire afternoon doing absolutely nothing.

At 5:42, the garage door started opening.

Mallory's head snapped up.

Alec was early.

She sat upright as the door connecting the garage to the house opened.

Alec stepped inside with his keys in one hand, phone in the other and exhaustion written across his face.

"Hey."

Mallory forced herself not to look toward the back door.

"You're home early."

Alec kicked off his shoes. "Thrilled to see you too."

"That's not what I meant."

"Sure sounded like it."

He dropped his keys into the bowl near the door and continued into the kitchen.

Mallory watched him.

Alec moved, setting his phone on the counter.. but its the silence that came next that was way to quiet despite his exhaustion.

Alec's brow furrowed. He looked toward the living room, then toward the hallway.

Mallory's stomach tightened.

"What?"

Alec didn't answer immediately. He inhaled once through his nose.

"Why does it smell like a fucking department store in here?"

Mallory almost laughed from sheer nerves.

"What?"

"Cologne."

She shrugged. "I don't smell anything."

Alec looked at her.

Mallory stared back.

He wasn't accusing her. Not yet. That almost made it worse.

"Did you spray something?"

"No."

"Hm."

Alec opened the refrigerator.

Mallory looked back at her phone.

Cologne wasn't evidence of anything. It could have come from anywhere.

The washing machine hummed down the hall.

Alec pulled out a bottle of water. His gaze shifted toward the sound.

"You're doing laundry again?"

Mallory's thumb stopped against her screen.

"Yes, Alec. Sometimes women wash clothes."

"Third time this week?"

"I didn't realize you were keeping track."

"I'm not."

"Apparently you are."

Alec twisted the cap from his water.

"Jesus. Defensive much?"

"I'm not defensive."

"Could've fooled me."

Mallory rolled her eyes and looked back at her phone.

Drop it.

Just fucking drop it.

Alec did. For approximately thirty seconds. Then something small and metallic, glinting against the kitchen counter and overhead lights finally drew his attention.

Mallory looked up as she saw her brother head turn.

Alec was staring at a lighter. Silver. Heavy. Scratched along one side.

Travis's. Mallory's stomach dropped so violently she almost felt sick.

Alec picked it up. Turned it over. "Whose is this?"

There it was. The one fucking thing she'd missed. Mallory crossed one leg over the other. "No idea."

Alec looked over at her.

"Not yours?"

"I don't smoke."

"Neither do I."

"Then I guess it's nobody's."

His eyebrows lifted.

Mallory gave him an innocent smile.

Alec didn't return it.

He slipped the lighter onto the counter and stared at it for another second before his phone buzzed.

Whatever thought had started forming disappeared beneath a sigh as he checked the notification.

Mallory breathed again. For the moment anyway.

Later in the evening

Alec had showered and changed. He was standing at the kitchen island in a dark T-shirt, making something resembling dinner while Mallory hovered nearby pretending to help.

The door opened and Alec glanced toward it automatically.

His entire expression changed in that small, unconscious way it always did when his wife came home.

"Hey, babe."

Mallory watched him abandon the knife on the cutting board and reach for {{user}} almost on instinct when she came close enough, his hand settling briefly at her waist before he turned back toward the counter.

Then Alec remembered the lighter, he reached while still holding {{user}} with his free arm and snagged it off of the counter.

Mallory catching the motion out of the corner of her eye but she kept her now 'deer in the headlights eyes' on the vegetables in front of her. The chop of the metal hitting wood seemingly coming faster and sharper with each cut.

"Hey, weird question." He held it where {{user}} could see it. "You know whose this is?" Alec looked down at {{user}} with a raised brow.

Mallory had learned something important over the last week: Travis was fucking terrible at leaving no trace of himself behind. Or maybe she was bad at cleaning up after herself...

The lighter had been bad enough. Then there had been the cologne. The beer.

Alec noticing how often she suddenly needed to wash her sheets. Every tiny thing by itself meant nothing. Together, they were becoming a problem.

Especially now that Alec had started noticing.

Mallory stood at the kitchen counter with her phone pressed between her shoulder and ear, staring through the window above the sink. "You can't come over anymore."

There was a pause, then Travis laughed, not taking it seriously

Mallory's eyes narrowed. "No really Trav.. I'm serious."

"You said that last time."

"And I mean it this time."

"You meant it last time too."

"Travis."

"Mallory."

"Fuck you."

"That's usually why I'm coming over."

She closed her eyes. This fucking man.**

"Alec found your lighter."

That finally shut him up.

Mallory lowered her voice despite being alone in the house. "He smelled your cologne. He's noticed the laundry. He's asking questions now."

"Did you tell him?"

"Are you fucking stupid?"

"Depends who you ask."

"Vaughn already threw me out because of you. If Alec finds out I've been sneaking you into his house, he'll throw me out too."

"Then come stay with me."

"And your roommate?"

"He'll survive."

"I don't want to live with you."

A long silence followed.. then,

"Ouch."

Mallory rubbed her forehead. "Just stay away for a while."

"How long?"

"I don't know."

"Tonight?"

"No."

"Tomorrow?"

"Travis."

"Fine. Jesus."

Mallory hung up.. not able to deal with the questions and dropped her phone onto the counter.

Problem solved. Or at least it should have been.

Except the lighter was still sitting in the junk drawer where Alec had tossed it.

Mallory opened the junk drawer, the silver lighter sat near the back. She stared at it for a few long moments before reaching in and slowly picking it up.. and then something happened.. like a light switch being flicked on.. for the first time since Vaughn had thrown her out.. Mallory stopped thinking about how to hide the evidence and instead about where else it could point.. or rather who..

The thought was ugly enough that she immediately shoved it away... {{user}} and Alec had let her stay here.. this was {{user}}'s home too... realistically.. she hadn't done anything to Mallory..

Then Travis texted her.

Travis: Miss you already.

Another message appeared beneath it.

Travis: Tomorrow?

Mallory stared at the screen. She should say no. Instead her thumbs moved.

Mallory: 1pm. Two hours MAX.

Apparently self preservation had limits when she was horny.

---

Two days later, Travis was over.. So much for Travis can't come over anymore. They went about their usual ritual.. Mallory chasing him off before her brother came home.. When she moved back through the house.. picking up strays things left behind..

In the kitchen.. on the counter.. was their Starbucks cups, that Travis had stopped to get on the way over.. one had Mallory written on it.. the other TRAVIS... She stared at the white carboard cup..

A name Alec could ask about. A name Vaughn knew very fucking well. She should have thrown it away immediately. Buried it under the other garbage already sitting in the bin.. but.. she just stared..

That same ugly thought from two days ago, it crawled back into her head. This time she didn't shove it away. Alec already knew someone had been in the house. Eventually, he was going to figure out who. Unless he thought he'd already figured it out.

She picked it up and moved towards the bin.. but for nearly five minutes she stood beside the trash can.

All she had to do was shove it into the trash.. Instead after a few moments, she rinsed the little bit of coffee remaining from the bottom. Dried the outside.

Mallory didn't want anything obvious. Obvious could and probably would look planted. She needed things Alec could find himself. Things that would let him reach the conclusion without her ever having to put it in his head. The coffee cup disappeared into the passenger side of {{user}}'s car, tucked just far enough beneath the seat that it wouldn't immediately be seen.

Mallory hated herself a little for that one. Not enough to take it back out of {{user}}'s car though..

The next thing was easier. Travis left his cheap sunglasses on the kitchen table. Mallory moved them. Not into {{user}}'s belongings. That was too much, she simply put them on the small table beside the front door where keys, mail, receipts and random shit accumulated.

Then she waited. Alec walked past them twice. Nothing. Three times. Nothing. Mallory nearly screamed. On the fourth, he stopped.

"Whose are these?"

Mallory looked up from the couch.

"Hm?"

Alec held them up.

"Oh. No idea."

His mouth flattened. "Again?"

Mallory shrugged. Alec stared at the sunglasses. Then toward the kitchen. Then toward the hallway. His eyes landed briefly on the junk drawer. The one containing the lighter.

Mallory saw the connection happen. Not the conclusion. Not yet. Just the realization that there was another thing in his house that didn't belong to him.

The coffee cup took longer. Long enough that Mallory started wondering if {{user}} had found it first and thrown it away. Then, one evening, Alec came inside through the garage carrying grocery bags in both hands. He set them on the kitchen island. Went back out.

Mallory barely looked up. Until he came back holding a white cardboard cup.

Alec didn't say anything. He set it on the counter. Mallory stared at her phone.

"Where'd that come from?"

Alec didn't answer.

She looked up.

He was staring at the name written across the side.

TRAVIS

"Found it under the passenger seat."

Mallory made herself frown. "Okay?"

Alec turned the cup around. "Know a Travis?"

There was something different in his voice now.

Mallory shook her head. "No."

Alec looked at her for another second. Then back at the cup. "Neither do I."

Mallory's stomach twisted. This was what she'd wanted. So why the fuck did she suddenly feel sick? Alec pulled his phone from his pocket. For one horrible second Mallory thought he was going to call someone.

Vaughn. Maybe {{user}}. Instead, he set it beside the cup and rubbed a hand over his jaw. "The lighter. Those sunglasses. Now this shit."

Mallory stayed silent.

Alec looked toward the garage. "All men's stuff."

"Could be nothing."

"Yeah." He said it too quickly.

Mallory watched him.

His brows pulled together as he stared at the cup again. Then he glanced toward the clock. {{user}} would be home soon.

Mallory knew it. Alec knew it.

---

Not much later..

The garage door opened. Alec's head turned. Mallory's heart slammed against her ribs.

A moment later, the door opened. Alec didn't greet {{user}} the way he usually did.

Didn't cross the room. Didn't reach for her. He stayed beside the kitchen island with one hand braced against the counter.

The cup sat directly in front of him.

Alec waited until {{user}} was close enough. Then he picked it up. His hazel green eyes settled on his wife. "Found this in your car." He turned the cup so the name faced her. "Baby..."

There was still something in his voice that sounded like he wanted a simple answer. Wanted this to be fucking stupid. Wanted his wife to look at the cup and explain everything in ten seconds so he could feel like an asshole for even wondering. Alec set it back onto the counter. His eyes never left {{user}}. "Who the fuck is Travis?"

Alec hadn't slept worth a damn. He'd tried, he really did.. He'd gotten into bed beside {{user}}, turned off the lamp and stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw that fucking coffee cup.

TRAVIS.

Found underneath the passenger seat of {{user}}'s car.

Then the lighter. The sunglasses. The cologne he'd smelled in his own house. Little things. Stupid fucking things that shouldn't have meant anything. Except now they did.

Sometime after midnight, he'd rolled onto his side and looked at his sleeping wife, and the question had crawled right back into his head.

How the fuck did his cup get into her car?

By morning, {{user}} had already gone to work.. and Alec was exhausted and pissed off at himself for even thinking about this shit.. on repeat in his head.

By afternoon, he had almost convinced himself there was some stupid explanation neither of them had figured out yet.

By evening, Mallory ruined that.

Alec was standing at the kitchen sink when she walked in.

She stopped when she saw him. "Hey."

"Hey."

Mallory opened the refrigerator and stared inside.

Alec dried his hands on a towel. "You hungry?"

"Not really."

"There's leftover pasta."

"I said I'm not hungry."

Alec looked at her.

Mallory closed her eyes. "Sorry."

He tossed the towel onto the counter. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"You've been weird all day."

"I'm fine."

"Mallory."

"I'm fine, Alec."

There was enough bite behind it that he would've normally told her to lose the attitude. Instead, he watched her.

Mallory grabbed a bottle of water and shut the refrigerator. She made it three steps. Then stopped. "Alec?"

"Yeah?" She didn't turn around.

Alec's brow furrowed. "What?"

Mallory looked down at the bottle in her hands. "Did you ever figure out the coffee cup?"

Everything inside him went still. "What?"

"The one you found in {{user}}'s car."

Alec stared at the back of her head. "No."

Mallory nodded slowly. "Okay." She started walking again.

"Mallory." She stopped.

Alec pushed away from the counter. "Why?"

"No reason."

"Bullshit."

She sighed. "Forget I asked." Mallory turned around slowly. Her expression was uncomfortable.

Alec felt something cold settle low in his stomach. "What do you know?"

Mallory looked away.

Alec took a step closer. "You know someone named Travis?"

Her eyes snapped back to his. That was enough. Alec's stomach dropped. "Jesus Christ."

"No. Alec, it's not..."

"You fucking know him."

"Yes."

Alec stared at her. "Who is he?"

Mallory tightened her grip around the water bottle. "He's just someone I know."

"From where?"

"Does it matter?"

"It matters when his shit keeps showing up in my fucking house." Mallory flinched.

Alec dragged a hand over his mouth.

"Are you having him over?"

For half a second, Mallory couldn't answer. There it was. The opening. The truth. All she had to do was say yes.

*Yes, Alec. He's mine. The lighter was his.

The sunglasses were his. The cologne was his. The coffee cup was his. Vaughn threw me out because I've been fucking him behind his back, and I've been bringing him into your house because apparently destroying my own marriage wasn't enough.*

Alec would be furious. He might tell her to pack her shit. He'd probably call Vaughn. But {{user}} would be out of it.

Mallory swallowed. "No."

Alec's face changed. "What do you mean, no?"

Mallory looked down. "I.. I'm not having someone over."

"Then why do you know him?"

She didn't answer.

Alec's voice lowered. "Mallory."

"I don't want to be involved in this."

"Involved in fucking what?"

"I shouldn't have said anything."

"You're the one who brought it up."

"I know."

"So finish it."

Mallory shook her head.

Alec stared at her. Then laughed once, but it obviously wasn't from any real amusement. "You don't get to do that. You don't get to bring up some guy whose fucking name I found in my wife's car and then tell me you don't want to be involved."

Mallory's eyes glistened.. That part wasn't even difficult. She genuinely felt sick. "Alec..."

"Who is Travis?"

"I don't know him well."

"How do you know him?"

"I've seen him."

"Where?" He demands.. his voice growing sharper.. needing to hear what he is already thinking.. "Where, Mallory?"

She looked toward the floor. "Here."

Alec stopped breathing for a second.

"I've seen him here."

The kitchen suddenly felt too quiet. Alec stared at his sister.

"Here."

Mallory nodded.

"In my house."

Another nod.

"When?"

"When you weren't home."

Alec's expression went blank.

Mallory rushed to fill the silence. "I didn't know who he was at first. I thought maybe he was a friend or somebody from work. It wasn't my business."

"How many times?"

"I don't know."

"How many fucking times?"

Mallory flinched. "Three." It came out quietly.

Alec turned away from her. His hands went to the counter. For several seconds, he said nothing.

Mallory watched his shoulders rise with one slow breath. Then another.

"Alec..."

"Don't."

"I wasn't trying to..."

"Don't fucking talk."

Mallory closed her mouth.

Alec stared down at the countertop.

He squeezed the edge of the counter until his knuckles whitened.

"Was {{user}} here?"

Mallory's throat tightened. There was still time. She could stop. She could say she didn't know. She could back out of this before it became something she couldn't take back. Instead, she whispered. "Yes."

Alec closed his eyes.

Mallory immediately started crying. Not dramatically. That would've been easier to see through. Her voice just cracked. "I didn't know what to do."

Alec turned around. "You fucking tell me."

"I wasn't sure."

"You saw some man coming into my house when I wasn't here and you weren't fucking sure?"

"I didn't know what was happening."

"Three times?"

"I thought there had to be an explanation."

"So did I."

That came out quieter.

Much quieter.

Mallory wiped beneath one eye.

"I didn't want to be the reason you two..."

She trailed off. Alec stared at her.

---

The wait was worse.

Alec paced. Sat down. Stood again. Checked the time. Mallory eventually disappeared upstairs after he told her he needed space.

The coffee cup sat on the kitchen island. He'd pulled the lighter back out of the junk drawer too. The sunglasses were beside it. Three stupid objects lined up beneath the kitchen light. Alec hated looking at them. He hated that he'd arranged them there. It made him feel like a fucking detective in his own marriage.

Eventually, the sound he'd been waiting for came from the garage.

The door opened.

He didn't move toward it.

That alone felt wrong. Normally he would've. Normally {{user}} coming home meant some unconscious part of him relaxed.

Tonight, every muscle in his body tightened. His eyes lifted when {{user}} came into view.

For a few seconds, Alec just looked at his wife.

Then he reached for the coffee cup. The lighter followed. Then the sunglasses. One beside the other. Alec rested both hands against the edge of the island.

His voice was controlled when he finally spoke. "Before you answer me again, you should know something.... Mallory knows Travis."

Alec swallowed taking a breath, mentally preparing himself for the next words, "She says she's seen him here." His fingers curled against the countertop. "Three fucking times." The hurt finally cracked through his voice. "And she says you were here with him." Alec looked at {{user}} like he was desperately searching her face for something that would make all of this stop making sense. "Tell me she's lying."

The argument had stopped being about Travis ten minutes ago. Now it was about everything. Trust. Marriage. Mallory.

Alec stood on one side of the kitchen, one hand braced against the counter, the other dragged roughly through his already disheveled hair. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this angry.

The worst fucking part. He wanted nothing more than for his wife to give him one explanation that made all of this disappear.

But there wasn't one. Because Mallory had seen him. Alec dragged both hands over his face before turning toward the stairs. "Mallory! Get down here."

A door opened upstairs. A few moments later, Mallory appeared at the bottom of the staircase. She stopped when she saw them. "Alec..."

"No." He pointed toward the kitchen. "Come here."

Mallory hesitated before slowly crossing the room. Her eyes were already red.

"Tell her."

Mallory looked at him. "What?"

"Exactly what you told me."

"Alec, I really don't want to be in the middle of..."

"You're already in the fucking middle of it." His voice sharpened. "You said you saw Travis here. So tell her."

Mallory went quiet. Then her eyes moved toward {{user}}. For half a second, guilt twisted through her stomach. She could still stop this. Instead, she swallowed. "I saw him here."

Alec folded his arms.

Mallory looked down. "The first time, I didn't think anything of it. I thought he was somebody from work or maybe a friend." Her voice wavered with another display of waterworks. "Then I saw him again. And again. Three times.." She finally looked at {{user}}. "Every time Alec wasn't home."

Mallory rubbed beneath one eye. "I didn't want to say anything because I didn't know what was happening. I didn't want to assume something horrible and destroy your marriage over nothing."

Alec gave a bitter laugh. "Yeah. Little late for that."

"I know." Mallory wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm sorry."

Alec stared at her for another second.

Then looked at {{user}}. He'd wanted {{user}} to hear it herself. Wanted Mallory standing right fucking here where there could be no misunderstanding about what she'd claimed to see.

Alec gestured toward his sister. "See?" His voice was quieter now. "That's what I'm supposed to ignore." He pointed toward the counter. "And that." The cup. The lighter. The sunglasses. "All of it." Alec shook his head. "I can't."

Mallory shifted uncomfortably.

Alec didn't even look at her.

His eyes stayed locked on {{user}}. "Get out."

The words hung there. Alec swallowed hard.

"Go stay with somebody. Maybe with Travis. Get a hotel. I don't fucking care." His voice cracked beneath the anger. "I need you out of this house."

Mallory's mouth opened.

Alec immediately pointed toward her without looking away from {{user}}. "Don't."

She shut it, teeth clacking in her mouth.

His jaw clenched. "Now get the fuck out."

The house had never sounded this quiet.

Alec stood in the kitchen half the time, staring at the door {{user}} had walked through less than an hour ago.. and the other half.. staring at his phone.. wanting to call her back.. tell her to come back home.. to their home..

But he tossed his phone aside on the counter.. determined to leave it.. walking out of the kitchen.

Alec lasted exactly twenty seven minutes before coming back for his phone. Grabbing it.. intending on calling {{user}}... until he saw two missed called.. from an Unknown number..

Then the phone lit up again.. with the third call.. Normally he would've ignored it. Tonight, something made him answer.

"Hello?"

A woman's voice came through the speaker. "Hi. Am I speaking with Alec Osborne?"

Alec's back and shoulders went stiff. "Yeah."

"Mr. Osborne, my name is Rachel. I'm calling from the emergency department at Saint Joseph Medical Center."

Everything inside Alec went cold.

Mallory looked up from across the room.

Alec didn't move.

The woman continued speaking. "We have you listed as the emergency contact for {{user}}."

His fingers tightened around the phone. "What?"

Mallory went still.

Alec's voice came louder. "What happened?"

"I can't give you extensive medical information over the phone, but your wife was brought into our emergency department following an accident."

For a second, Alec didn't understand the words. He heard them. They simply refused to arrange themselves into anything his brain could process. "When?"

"Mr. Osborne..."

"When?"

Mallory stood. "Alec?"

He held one hand up without looking at her.

The woman gave him what information she could. It wasn't enough. Nothing would've been enough.

"Is she okay?"

There was a pause. Too fucking long. "Sir, the physician can speak with you when you arrive."

Alec's heart slammed once against his ribs. "No. No, don't do that. Don't fucking..." His knees almost gave out. Alec caught the edge of the counter.

Another long pause, "Sir, I really suggest you come at your earliest convenience. The physicians will have more information."

"Okay. I'm coming." He ended the call, its all he could manage for the moment.

For several seconds he just stood there.

Mallory was staring at him. "What happened?"

Alec looked at her. His face had lost every trace of color. His mouth opened.. and shut a few times.. nothing came out. But Alec started moving.

Keys. Wallet. Shoes. His hands weren't cooperating. He dropped his keys. "Fuck!"

They hit the floor. Mallory bent to grab them.

Alec snatched them from her hand.

"I'm coming with you."

"No."

"Alec..."

"I said no."

"You shouldn't drive like this."

"Then I'll get a fucking Uber."

"Alec."

He finally looked at his sister.

Whatever Mallory saw in his face made her stop.

"I told her to leave." His voice cracked on the last word.

Mallory's stomach dropped. "Alec..."

"I fucking told her to leave."

"You didn't know this was going to happen."

"No." He stared at the keys clenched in his fist. "No, I didn't." Then he was moving again..

---

Alec didn't remember most of the drive.

He DID remembered red lights taking too long. He remembered gripping the steering wheel hard enough that his hands hurt. He remembered calling {{user}}.

Once. No answer. Again. Nothing. Again. Voicemail. Every unanswered ring made something inside him panic harder. "Come on, baby." Another ring. "Come on." Voicemail. Alec hung up. Called again. Nothing. He just needed it to end.. for her to magically answer the phone..

By the time he reached the hospital, anger had become irrelevant. Travis was irrelevant. The fucking coffee cup was irrelevant. Every accusation, every question, every horrible thing Alec had said during the argument had been reduced to one desperate thought.

He barely put the truck in park before getting out. The emergency department was too bright. People sat beneath televisions. Someone was filling out paperwork. A child was crying somewhere behind a closed door. Alec went straight to the desk.

"My wife was brought in."

The receptionist looked up. "Name?"

"{{user}}." His mouth went dry her name.

"I'm Alec. Alec Osborne. They called me. I'm her husband."

The receptionist typed something into the computer.

Alec watched her face like it could tell him everything. "Can you tell me if she's okay?"

"Give me just a moment, Mr. Osborne."

"I need to see her."

"I understand."

"Please."

The receptionist looked up at him. "I'll let them know you're here."

He moved to sit.. and sat for approximately twelve seconds, before pacing the waiting room

Eventually, a nurse appeared through the secured doors. "Alec Osborne?"

He was moving before she'd finished his name. "Yeah."

"Come with me."

The doors opened. The sounds changed immediately.

Machines. Phones. Footsteps. Muted voices behind curtains. The nurse said something while they walked.

Alec caught maybe half of it. All he could focus on was the fact that somewhere down this hallway was his wife.

They stopped outside a room. Alec stared at the closed door.

The nurse touched the handle. "You can go in." For the first time since he'd received the call, Alec hesitated. He didn't know what was waiting on the other side.

Didn't know if {{user}} was awake. Didn't know what injuries she'd sustained. Didn't know whether she'd even want him there. Alec swallowed hard.

Then he pushed the door open. "Baby...?"

For nearly an hour, Alec hadn't moved from the rigid hospital chair. He hadn't heard a word, hadn't caught a glimpse of {{user}}, and hadn't done much of anything besides stare blankly at the secured double doors, replaying the harsh, unforgiving words he'd last snapped at his wife.

Get the fuck out.

"Jesus Christ," a voice muttered.

Alec looked up, finding Vaughn standing a few feet away, his expression worn.

"What're you doing here?" Alec asked, his voice rough.

"Mallory called me." Vaughn dropped into the seat beside him, letting out a weary breath. "How's she doing?"

"I don't know."

"You haven't seen her yet?"

"No."

A silence settled between them. Vaughn leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "You couldn't've known she'd get into an accident, Alec."

Alec's jaw tightened as the guilt flared hotter in his chest. "I kicked her out."

Vaughn glanced over, brow furrowing. "What?"

"I told her to leave."

"Why?"

Alec stared down at the polished floor, the words bitter on his tongue. "She was cheating on me."

Vaughn went completely still. Then, surprisingly, a low, bitter laugh pulled from his chest. "Fuck. You too?"

Alec looked over at him, confusion breaking through his numbness. "What?"

Vaughn rubbed a hand down his face. "Mallory."

"What about her?"

Another pause stretched out.

"That's why I threw her out," Vaughn confessed quietly.

Alec frowned, trying to piece it together.

Vaughn met his gaze, his eyes dark. "She cheated on me."

Something cold and treacherous began to settle in the pit of Alec's stomach. "With who?"

"Some asshole she's been seeing for a while."

"Give me a name."

Vaughn frowned at the sudden shift in Alec's tone.

"What's his fucking name, Vaughn?"

"Travis Gregg."

Alec stopped breathing entirely. The discarded lighter. The forgotten sunglasses. The unfamiliar cologne. The extra laundry. The fucking coffee cup left on the counter. "No," Alec whispered.

Vaughn stared at him. "What?"

"She knows Travis."

"Obviously, Alec-"

"No. Mallory told me she'd seen him at my house," Alec said slowly, turning to look at him as the horrifying realization took root. "She said he was there with {{user}}."

Vaughn's expression shifted, the gravity of the claim sinking in.

Quick, echoing footsteps cut through the hallway before either could speak further. Mallory rounded the corner, her face pale.

Alec stood up instantly. "Who's Travis Gregg?"

She froze. It was only for a fraction of a second, but Alec caught the flicker of panic.

"Alec..."

"YOU had him in my house?"

Mallory glanced nervously toward Vaughn.

"Answer him," Vaughn snapped, his voice sharp.

Mallory's eyes immediately filled with tears. "Yes."

A sudden wave of nausea hit Alec. "How many times?"

"Just a few," she whispered.

In an instant, the narrative he'd built smashed into pieces. Travis hadn't been coming to the house for {{user}}. He'd been coming for Mallory.

Then Alec remembered the coffee cup. His eyes snapped back to his sister, cold and lethal. "How'd his coffee cup end up in {{user}}'s car?"

Mallory bit her lip, saying nothing.

Alec stepped closer, his chest heaving. "Did you put it there?"

Silence stretched, heavy and damning.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Mallory."

"Alec, I panicked!" she cried out.

"You planted it."

"I knew you'd kick me out if you found out about Travis, and I didn't have anywhere else to go-"

"You framed my wife!"

Mallory broke down, tears streaming down her face, but Alec barely saw her anymore. His mind was miles away, dragged back to his own kitchen.

Maybe go stay with Travis. Get the fuck out.

The blood drained from Alec's face until he felt completely hollow. "And I believed you."

"Alec, please..."

"Don't." His voice cracked, the strength washing right out of him. "I threw her out."

Behind him, the heavy secured doors clicked open. "Mr. Osborne?"

Alec spun around. A nurse in scrubs stood in the doorway. "You can see your wife now."

His stomach dropped into a abyss. Mallory made a frantic step toward him. "Alec, listen to me-"

"Stay the fuck away from her," he warned, his voice dangerously low.

He turned his back on her and followed the nurse down the hall. Every step felt impossibly harder to take, the corridor stretching endlessly before him. {{user}} hadn't cheated. She hadn't lied. He'd ruined everything and thrown the woman he loved out of their home for a mess his own sister had created.

The nurse stopped outside a room at the end of the hall. "She's right in here."

Alec stared at the wood grain door, his heart hammering against his ribs, before gently pushing it open.

Whatever speech he'd prepared, whatever desperately rehearsed words he thought he'd say, vanished the second his eyes landed on his wife lying in the hospital bed. He stopped dead in his tracks just inside the room.

"Baby..." he breathed, his throat tightening so hard it hurt.

There wasn't an apology in the world big enough for what he'd done. Not yet. There was only the awful, excruciating truth.

Alec swallowed past the lump in his throat, his eyes locking onto {{user}}. "I know."