"Cassie, how are you doing?"

She swallowed hard at the sound of Rogers voice on the line. "What do you want?"

"Look, I don't want to get back together but I do want to apologize. I treated you like shit and I'm sorry."

"I'm fine now, Rog. It's been a month since you made your decision and I've learned to live with it."

"So, you're doing okay?"

"I'm fine, couldn't be better," she lied.

"Well, that's really honestly the only reason for me calling. I have to get going.

Cassie heard the doorbell ring, breaking her out of a trance. "I have to get going too. I have company."

"You do?" There was almost a sound of amazement in his voice.

"Yes, there is life after Roger thank you very much." Without waiting for a good-bye, she hung up and made her way towards what she figured would be her destiny. As she saw it, her future lay in Nick's hands. Her body almost shook as she reached to open the door.

"Hey Cee Cee," Nick practically whispered.

"I thought you said you were gonna call."

"I got the urge to come over." He tried to smile, but found it almost physically impossible. "Can I come in?"

She stepped aside, watching his every move and falling for him with each step he took. "Do you want anything to drink?"

As soon as she asked the question, his mouth became dry. "Yeah I'll take a Coke."

He made himself comfortable on the couch in the living room, eyeing Cassie as she came towards him with the beverage. He stared harder, thinking about the fact that his child was inside this girl; his best friend. He shook his head, wanting to dismiss those thoughts. "So, how are ya doing?"

His thoughts were broken by her question. "Cee, we both know we're not here for idle chat. First, I need to know what you want. This baby is inside you. You're the one who'll be carrying him or her for nine months."

"Eight months now," she interrupted.

"Sorry, eight months. It's basically your call."

Her eyes began to water but she didn't want to break down. "No, you can't do that. You can't lay all of this on me, Nick! You have to tell me what you want and what you feel should be done. This is your baby, too!"

Surprising himself, he remained calm. "Fine, you wanna know my opinion? You wanna know what I want? I'm fuckin' nineteen-years-old and I'm not ready for a kid. I'm not ready to be a father. I barely have enough time for myself or my family much less a child." He kept his eyes locked with hers the entire time he spoke, not knowing what her reaction would be. "Is that what you wanted to hear? Are you happy now?" He heard his own voice crack and knew he'd better stop talking before he lost it. He was concentrating so much on the look in her eyes that he didn't even see what was coming. It was then that he felt the stinging of a hard slap on his cheek.

Cassie covered her mouth, not believing she had just hit him. She couldn't think of anything to really say, so she asked something completely shocking. "You want me to kill it?"

Just hearing her utter those words were enough to make his tears fall. "I don't know what I want," he whimpered, then leaned forward to embrace her tightly. He felt helpless. He knew neither of them was ready for a family. He was still planning on making albums and touring, managing Aaron's career and helping new artists as well. There was no way he was going to be able to achieve his goals and maintain a family as well.

"Nick, how can I possibly tell you everything I'm feeling?" He broke from her arms and looked into her eyes, waiting to hear any spoken words. "I love you. I haven't loved you like this forever, but I've longed to be back with you in that one night we shared. In that one night, when things were going so wrong, it all ended perfectly. Then we woke up the next day and things were back to becoming wrong again." She paused, wanting him to say something, anything, but he didn't. "What made you kiss me that night?"

He looked into her eyes, not even knowing how to answer. "You looked so pretty," he whispered. "I was lonely, you were lonely. My best friend was in the same kind of pain I was in. It only made sense to me, that night, to seek a comfort that I felt only you could give me."

"So, you used me?"

"No, I didn't use you. In my own screwed up way, I was trying to heal both of our heartaches and pain. When I looked at you sitting before me I never thought about the morning after. All I thought about was you and me."

She couldn't understand how it was possible for someone to melt your heart and make you mad at the same time, but its how she was feeling at that exact moment. "Nick, I'm gonna ask you one more time, do you want me to get an abortion?"