She Will Be Loved - Four

Four

"Jamie-Lynn?"
"...James?"
"Hey."
"What do you want?"
"Well, Jane's over my place at the moment, and I was wondering if you, Lauren and Alice could come over?"
There was a pause, then Jamie was back. "Yeah. Sure. I guess."
"I'm sorry about the other week, Jamie. Jane needed my help."
"It's okay. I get it. We'll be there in an hour."
"Okay. Bye."
There was a click, then the dial tone. I sighed.

An hour later, I sat once more in the lounge room, Jane next to me, half-asleep. Alex had spent the morning playing with the matchbox cars, creating extensive tracks and racing them. There was a sudden knock at the door, and Jane jumped, suddenly alert.
"I'll get it," She said, and opened it slowly, keeping the chain on the hook.
"Oh! Hi! One sec," Jane said, unhooking it and opening the door fully.
"JANE!" Alice, a tiny, skinny asian girl with bright blue hair, threw herself at Jane. Jamie-Lynn, a tall blonde, hugged Jane, murmering "It's good to see you again," Before the dark-haired Lauren walked in with a tense smile.
"Jane...I'm...s-"
Jane cut her off with a hug. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that you're here now."
"Alexxxxxx!" Alice waltzed over to Alex, lifting him up and hugging him.
"Aunty Aliceeeee!" He squealed with joy, laughing as she tickled him.
Lauren walked over to them slowly, staring at Alex. He squirmed from Alice's arms, looking up at her.
"Who're you?" He asked innocently.
"I'm a friend of your mother's...." Lauren said, still seemingly unable to believe Alex was in front of her.
"Alex, this is Aunty Lauren!" Alice proclaimed, hugging them both.
Lauren backed away slightly, walking back over to Jane.
"He's....big." She commented.
"He's 8 years old."
"Oh."
Another tense moment. This wasn't going well.
"Okay! Can we get over the awkward 'sorry i called you a whore while you were pregnant with your lovechild' part and start being BFFEAA again!?" Alice cried, hugging them both awkwardly.
Lauren looked up with a quick smile. "Yes, I believe we can."