Nowhere But Up...
TWENTY-THREE
Rose's POV
Alice wouldn't look me in the eyes when she got home. She changed into her pajamas right away and dove for the fridge. 
Alice didn't like to eat in front of people. She said it made her feel fat. She poured a big bowl of fattening kids' cereal and plopped down on the couch next to me. 
Don't get me wrong, it was nice to see her confident enough to eat in front of me and my unborn child, but something was off about her.
"What are we watching?" She asked. 
"Some lame movie from the 90's." I said. She smiled and took a big bite of cereal.
"How'd things go with Justin?" I asked. Alice looked down at her bowl, gathering her words.
"It was bittersweet." She said after a moment.
"How so?" I asked. Now I was actually interested.
"Fun, but sad that you weren't there." She said quickly. I looked at her.
"Oh. Okay." I said. My phone buzzed in my pocket. Justin.
"Hello?" I said.
"Open the door, please." Justin said. I giggled and hung up while I walked to the door. I fixed my hair, then pulled it open.
"Hey." I said. Justin's hair was messy and he was in his pajamas. He half-smiled and glanced behind me, inside the room.
"Hey." Justin said. I stepped back to let him in and closed the door behind him.
"Did you tell her?" Justin asked. Alice shook her head.
"Tell me what?" I asked. I sat down on the couch.
"Rose, Alice and I..." Justin started, his eyebrows knitted together in sadness or worry.
"We kissed." He finished. He looked down at his feet and then glanced up to look at me.
"You what?" I asked. Had I heard him correctly?
"You cheated on me? With my best friend?" I asked. Justin looked up and shook his head rapidly.
"It wasn't like that... it was just a friendly mistake. We're not... we didn't... we wouldn't... Rose..." Justin reached for my hand, but I swatted it away.
"Get out." I said.
"What?" Justin asked. He looked at me, hurt. Alice stood up.
"It didn't mean anything. It was just to break the tension. A joke. It was funny at first, but now its really not. We're both really sorry." She said. Justin nodded his agreement.
I'd gotten all upset over something so tiny. Stupid pregnancy hormones.
"Justin..." I looked over at him. I gave him my I'm-so-sorry face and smiled.
"I should go." He said. 
I nodded.
"Night." He said. And with that, he shut the door.




**Author's Note: So, what do you think??? Feedback, please!