"Good morning!" Nick says happily as I open my eyes to find him watching me.
"OK. seriously, how many times do I have to tell you how freaky it is to wake to someone watching you?" I say, getting out of bed.
Nick laughs. "I'm sorry, baby." He jumps out of bed and wraps his arms around me. "I couldn't help it, you look so cute when you're sleeping."
I smile.
"You wanna order in room service tonight? Just the two of us?" he asks.
"Yeah. Definitely," I smile.
"Me and the guys have promotional crap all day so I'll probably be back around 6:00."
"Sounds good."
"I'm gonna go grab a shower, I'll be out in a few minutes," he says, walking to the washroom.
"K. I'm going to go get some breakfast," I say, pulling on my jeans.
I go down to the hotel lobby and find Carolyn and Alissa on their way to the elevator, having already had breakfast.
"Hey guys," I smile.
"Hey Ally," Alissa says with an odd grin.
"Hey," Carolyn says, smiling just as strangly as Alissa.
"What's with the smiles?" I ask, confused.
"Oh nothing," Carolyn replies with a slight laugh.
"C'mon you guys, what's going on?"
Alissa sighs. "OK." she says excitedly. "We'll tell you but you have to promise to not tell Nick that you know."
"OK..." I say with a bit of hesitation.
"Nick is going to propose to you tonight!" Carolyn blurts out, clearly excited for me.
"What? Where'd you hear that?" I ask, completely shocked.
"Nick told Howie, Howie told me," Alissa smiles.
"Oh."
"Never mind that! Can I be the maid of honor?!" Carolyn asks excitedly, grabbing both my arms.
"Yeah, C, of course."
"Yes! Omg, I'm so happy for you!" she beams.
I fake a smile.
"Ally, what's wrong? Aren't you happy?" Alissa asks, confused by my reaction.
"Of course I am." I pause. "I'm gonna go get some breakfast. I'll catch up with you guys later."
"See ya," Alissa says, not quite sure what to think.
I go into the hotel restaurant and see Brian sitting by himself at a booth in the corner. I grab a muffin from the buffet and go over to him.
"Hey Brian. Mind if I sit with you?"
"Of course not," he smiles.
"Thanks." I sit down. "So, how are you?"
"I've been better," he says honestly. "But I'm doing OK."
"I never got a chance to tell you, but I'm really sorry about you and Leigh," I say sincerely.
"Thanks," he replies. "You know Ally, I probably wouldn't be so hurt if she weren't with some other guy. But knowing that she was cheating on me just really breaks my heart."
I nod.
"But I put my faith in the Lord," he continues. "and know that what happened happened for a reason, and that there's someone else out there for me," he says, revealing his religious side.
"I'm sure you're right," I say, placing my hand on his. Suddenly, a feeling of guilt and sadness washes over me and a tear escapes my eye.
"Ally, what's wrong?" Brian asks with concern.
"Oh, nothing," I lie, wiping the tear with my hand.
"C'mon." He places his hand on my arm. "What's bothering you?" he asks, seeming very worried.
I sigh, and another tear falls from my eye. "Nick is going to ask me to marry him."
Brian looks at me, obviously a bit confused. "Isn't that a good thing?" he asks.
"It would be if I didn't feel like such an undeserving, lying, bitch," I say quietly, tears streaming down my cheeks.
"What? What are you talking about?"
I take a deep breath to compose myself a bit. "Do you remember that day when Nick got really angry at AJ in the entertainment room on the bus?" I begin.
Brian nods.
"Well, Nick was mad because he found out that AJ stopped us from getting married because he was in love with me."
"What?" Brian exclaims, shocked. "AJ was in love with you? And you and Nick tried to get married?"
"Yup," I sigh. "We went to Vegas to elope and AJ came running into the chapel to stop the wedding. He told Nick that there was something in the contract that says you guys can't get married until you're 23... But then Nick found out that that was a lie, and that's why he freaked out on the bus that day," I explain.
"Whoa," Brian says, seeming completely shocked by this information.
"After Nick found out that AJ was in love with me, he asked me if I'd felt the same and I said no. And he asked me if anything ever happened between us... and I said no," I say as tears stream down my face.
Brian puts his arm around my shoulders to comfort me.
"I lied to him, Brian. I was in love with AJ at one point... and when Nick and I were staying with him and Carolyn, he kissed me...Twice." I rest my head on Brian's shoulder. "But the whole time that I had feelings for AJ, I was still totally in love with Nick. I feel so guilty whenever I look into his eyes. I never wanted to lie to him but I was afraid I'd lose him. I love him more than anything." I start bawling and he hands me a napkin off the table.
"Shhh, it's OK..." Brian says comfortingly.
"And now Nick is going to ask me to marry him again and I don't know what to do. I don't want to start a marriage with so many secrets - I don't think I can live with the guilt any longer."
"Then tell him the truth, Ally," he says softly. "Confession is the best medicine for the soul."
"But he'll be so angry with me. What if I lose him? I don't know if I can risk losing him, Brian. I can't live without him."
"I can't tell you what to do, Ally... This is something that only you can decide. You've just got to do what feels right," he says wisely. "It's going to be alright."
I look up at him. "Thanks." I take a deep breath. "I still have no clue what I'm going to do, but at least I got that off my chest."
"Any time," he smiles.
I get up to go back to the hotel room. "Oh and Brian?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't mention any of this to anyone, OK?"
"Of course not," he smiles.
"Thanks," I say before leaving the restaurant. I go into the elevator and back up to our floor.
"Hey babe," Nick says as I come into the room.
"Hey." I force a smile.
"What's wrong? You been crying?" he asks with concern.
"What? Oh, no, I just sneezed," I lie.
"Oh."
"I gotta go. I'll see you tonight, k?" He smiles and kisses me before leaving.
"Yeah, tonight."