THE MUSIC NEVER
ENDS
©Mirandagk@aol.com
CHAPTER 7
"Ms. Connie! How are you doing?" Rachel yelled out as she ran to the front door to greet the older woman.
JC turned around and recognized Laura's mother immediately.
"Why look at you. You dyed your hair?" Mrs. Charles asked as she hugged Rachel tightly.
"Yeah. Just a hint of red. I had to do it for a part."
"It looks good." She said as she held the sides of Rachel's arms and got a good look at her.
JC was stunned by what he was seeing. Laura's mother seemed totally different from when he first met her. Maybe the arguments they all had months before helped with the metamorphosis. Mrs. Charles walked over to JC and hugged him lightly before whispering in his ear, "I see you found your way back to where you belong. I knew my daughter would be too much for you to handle."
'Nope. Same old Connie.' JC thought to himself. He watched the two women as the party went on and couldn't help but wonder why Mrs. Charles treated Rachel better than she treated her own flesh and blood. As the night progressed JC noticed Rachel and Rick in the corner arguing. He walked over to see if everything was ok. "I'm not doing it, Rachel. Get someone else to do your dirty work."
"Everything ok?" JC asked as he approached the siblings.
Rachel was startled. "Yeah, yeah...Everything is great." JC noticed Rick nod to him before walking away and heading towards the kitchen.
Mrs. Charles had noticed the same thing from across the room, but shrugged it off as a brother and sister not getting along as usual. A few minutes later Connie made her way into the kitchen with a few plates and glasses. She noticed Rachel's sister Janine sitting at the table drinking from a small glass.
"Hey Janine."
"Hey, Ms. Connie."
"You okay? I didn't see you much out there."
"Yeah. I'm okay." Janine decided to focus the attention away from herself momentarily. "How's Laura?"
Connie looked down at the floor thinking quietly to herself. "I honestly don't know. I haven't spoken to her in a long time."
"Busy with work huh? I saw her on tv the other day. She looks good."
"Well that's nice. I'm just glad that JC came to his senses and picked the right woman."
Janine started to laugh uncontrollably. "Geez...I didn't know you were this clueless about my sister."
Mrs. Charles watched Janine continue to laugh hysterically before finally asking her, "Are you drunk, Janine?"
"I most certainly am." she answered. "But trust me when I tell you...My sister is so conniving...That a lot of the things she has done would make even the devil himself blush."
"Why would you say something like that about your sister?"
"Because it's the truth..." Janine got up and started to pour herself another drink. "She uses people. And when she is done with them, she just throws them out as if they were garbage."
"I've never know her to do such a thing."
"That's because Laura would never let you ever see that side of my sister. Do you know how many things Laura has taken the blame for because of Rachel? How many jobs she has lost?" Janine began to give Mrs. Charles examples of what she was talking about.
Midway through the conversation, Rick came in and noticed Janine's blubbering. He walked over to her at the table and tried to help her up so he could take her to her room to sleep it off. Mrs. Charles just sat there stunned at everything Janine had told her so far. Janine hadn't even hit the surface of all of Rachel's endeavors.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Mom? You home?" Laura called out as she opened the front door. "Momma? It's Laura! You here!"
There was no answer. The car was still in the driveway, but no one was at home. She figured her mom and went out with her aunt. She placed her bag by the door and proceeded up the stairs to make sure that her mother was indeed out and not in distress.
When she finally reached her mother's bedroom she stood in the middle of the room and smelled the air. A light scent of vanilla filled the room. Her mother loved vanilla. Memories flooded back into her mind of when she was a little girl and would spend her Saturday afternoon's in her mother's room playing dress-up with her clothes and jewelry. She walked over to the large bed and sat down gently and remembered all the times when she would use it as a trampoline. She let her head fall back against the pillows and could smell her mother. She held the pillow tightly. Hoping that it would magically hug her back and tell her everything was going to be alright. She quickly came out of her daydream when the phone began to ring.
"Hello? No she isn't here right now can I take a message? Wait. Let me get a piece of paper." Laura shuffled around in the nightstand for a pen and pad to write on.
She closed the top drawer and opened the small cabinet below to search. She found a writing tablet and pen attached to it. After she hung up she ripped the paper off and went to place it back inside the cabinet. A large album slid out and fell onto the floor along with a large stack of CD's. Laura was surprised to see music of any kind in her mother's room...Especially CD's. She knelt down on the floor beside the cabinet to put everything back and noticed a small CD player inside. She pulled it out and shook her head wondering why her mother actually had a radio in her room. She pressed play to see what her mother had been listening to. She was shocked to find out it was a Krystal Harris CD. She had written a song entitled "Angel" for her album. She lifted up the large book and looked through the CD's that had fallen. A deep smile grew on her face when she noticed that each and every CD had songs she had written on them. She grabbed the oversized album and opened it up to the first page. Her mouth dropped open in surprise when she saw herself at 8 years old holding a trophy in her hand and smiling at the camera. She leafed through the pages and found tons of newspaper articles about herself inside. She flipped to the back and found the most recent ones with news of her deal with Michael Stewart. She flipped back and decided to start from the beginning and go through each page.
About 15 minutes later Laura was startled by a voice from behind her. "Laura? What are you doing here?" her mother asked as she walked into the room. She noticed that everything in her cabinet was out scattered across the floor.
"You have almost every single clipping of me in here." Laura commented as she looked up at her mother.
Mrs. Charles noticed that Laura had tears in her eyes. "Did you think that I was that heartless?" she asked.
"I didn't want to believe you were." Laura sobbed.
Connie didn't know how to react. She hadn't held her daughter in her arms in years. She slowly walked over to her and placed her hand on her child's back. "You're my baby...No matter how badly I have treated you in the past." her mother started to break down.
Laura lifted her arms towards her mother to hug her. Connie fell to knees onto the floor and embraced her daughter for the first time in years. All either of them could do was cry. Mrs. Charles repeatedly begged for her daughter's forgiveness.
"It's ok mom...Everything is going to be alright." Laura found that their roles had somehow become reversed in those few minutes.
Connie began to wipe the tears from her eyes and then jokingly said, "I see you have been gaining a little weight there." Connie poked Laura in the stomach and noticed that it was very hard. "Laura?"
Laura looked away from her mother towards the bed. Her mother grabbed her chin and made her look her in the eyes. "Are you....?"
"Yes." she replied with tears falling down her cheeks.
"What are the two of you going to do?"
Laura looked down at her stomach and said, "Well, me and the baby are going to-"
"I meant you and JC, Laura."
"There is no me and JC anymore, momma."
Connie got up and sat on the edge of her bed. "I know."
"How?" Laura asked as she went and sat next to her mom on the bed.
"I just came back from Janine's. They're having a small get together...To celebrate their engagement."
Laura looked down at the floor. "Oh."
Connie was shocked to find out that JC would just run out on her. "He doesn't want to have anything to do with the baby?"
"He doesn't know about it. I've tried getting in touch with him, but he won't return my calls and he sent back my letter I had written asking that he call me right away. I'm just going to have to do this on my own. Which doesn't seem like a bad idea anymore...Given the circumstances...How is he?"
"He seems fine. I didn't speak to him that much. I actually came home early."
"Why?"
Connie got up and paced the floor before looking at her daughter. "Answer me this, Laura...And be completely honest with me. When you were about 14, my favorite necklace went missing and you told me that you had accidentally worn it and lost it...Had you really done that?"
Laura was puzzled as to why her mother would ask her something that happened so many years ago, but decided to humor her. "No. Rachel had taken it. I didn't find out till after you had asked me about it. She told me she wanted to wear it for an audition for a play we had at school. I don't know what happened to it after that. She told me she lost it."
Connie reached down into her purse and took out the necklace. "I found this in her bedroom. You actually let me punish you for something she did?"
"I felt it was my fault to begin with. You really didn't give me a chance to explain either, so..."
Connie thought back and remembered that she didn't have much patience with her daughter after her father died. "I left early because Janine had told me a few things that I hadn't known before. I just didn't feel right being there, after I heard those things."
"What did she tell you?"
"Things that had happened when you guys were younger. Rick stopped her before she got a chance to get into your college years." her mother tried to joke. Laura smiled slightly. Well I hope it doesn't mess up your relationship with her. She has always thought of you as a second mother.
"I don't even know half the things she has done to you in the past and you still manage to be a friend?" her mother asked. Laura got off the bed and walked over to the rocking chair by the window and sat down.
"I just don't want my problems with her to affect your relationship with her. Those are two separate things."
"You're my daughter...What affects you, affects me. All the things that I have said about you...Things I thought you had done...How I even believed that you were capable of such things is beyond me. I've been looking for excuses to shut you out of my life more and more. Trying to erase the memory of your father from my heart and mind...What was wrong with me?" Connie was thinking out loud at this point.
All Laura could do was sit and listen to her mother ponder over all those years. She didn't want to tell her that it was ok that she had done what she did...As much as she wanted to, she couldn't. They both spent most of the night talking. Connie did her best to try and catch up on so many years that she had lost with her daughter.
The next morning Mrs. Charles woke up and found Laura curled up in a ball next to her. She smiled and kissed her daughter's forehead lightly, before heading downstairs to cook breakfast.
On her way towards the stairs with the breakfast tray there was a knock at the door. She placed the tray down on the table and went to answer it.
"JC...What are you doing here?"
CHAPTER 8
"Rachel wanted me to check on you and make sure you got home ok." he replied as he walked passed her into the foyer.
JC looked over into the dining room and noticed a tray of food. He had noticed the extra car sitting in the driveway and was curious as to whether or Connie had company. "Rachel said you left early last night. She just wanted to make sure that you were alright."
"Yeah...I'm fine." She replied as she watched him gazing around her house. "Are you?"
"I'm great." he replied, forcing a smile.
"I didn't get a chance to really talk to you last night. When is the big day?"
"We haven't really set a date yet."
"Taking it slow, I see." Connie motioned for him to have a seat in the living room. She sat down in the recliner and found herself starring at him. JC felt her eyes searing through him like knifes.
"So...How is Laura?" he asked, trying to break the silence.
"I have no idea. I was going to ask you, but when I found out about your engagement, I figured it wasn't the right time...Did the two of you split amicably?"
"We parted on good terms...."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Laura woke up feeling refreshed. She hadn't had a good night's sleep in ages. She smelled a faint scent of eggs and bacon and hoped that her mother was cooking for her. When she neared the stairs she heard her mother speaking. She thought she was talking to herself until she heard a familiar voice. She quietly inched her way down the stairs to get a closer listen.
"...Why did the two of you break it off?" Connie's attention was pointed out the window at a group of kids riding by on their bikes.
Being in the same room with her made JC's blood boil. He wondered to himself how she could be such a hypocrite. One minute she is basically telling him he made the right decision in leaving her daughter and the next minute she is suddenly acting like a concerned mother. JC rolled his eyes. "I'd rather not say." he replied.
"None of my business...Fair enough. Is it hard for you to being neighbors with her now?"
"Not hard at all. She moved."
Connie was completely shocked. "She moved?! I thought she loved that house?"
Laura hadn't gotten around to telling her mother and winced when she heard her reaction.
"She did." he replied as he looked around trying not to make eye contact with Mrs. Charles. He was doing everything in his power to keep his cool. He didn't want a repeat of what had happened the last time the two of them were alone together.
"Do you miss her?"
Laura bent her ear down more towards the room to hear what JC had to say in response. He didn't know if Mrs. Charles was sincerely asking him or if she was going digging for information to go back and tell Rachel. From what he had seen the night before, he was scared that she would tell Rachel if he confessed that he indeed missed Laura.
"No...I don't miss her." he stated with a blank expression on his face.
Mrs. Charles could tell he was lying. "You have a good poker face. I'll have to keep that in mind the next time you are down and we all decide to play some cards." she joked.
JC got up from the couch and didn't say a word.
"I won't keep you any longer." Connie said as she slowly got up from the recliner to walk JC to the door.
Laura quickly tip-toed upstairs so that she wouldn't be seen.
JC told her he would see her at the wedding if she decided to come. As he was about to make his way towards the porch stairs, Mrs. Charles called after him. He walked back towards her as she closed the front door slightly behind her. "I don't know what went on between you and my daughter, and frankly I don't care. But what I witnessed between the two of you in those 48 hours that you were here is not something that can't be reproduced...No matter how hard you try."
"Why are you telling me this, Mrs. Charles?"
"I know it seems far fetched for me to be coming out of nowhere speaking to you like this, but it's the truth. And I know just how stubborn Laura is...When she had made up her mind about something, that is it. I just...I just don't want you to miss out on anything..."
JC was completely confused. "What are you trying to say?"
"I'm just trying to say that...Our lives are based solely on choices and decisions we make. I just want you to be sure that this choice is the right one."
"You really are something else, lady. One minute you are scolding me and your daughter for being together, the next minute you are pretty much congratulating me on dropping her like a bad habit, and now you are wondering if I am with the right one? Now I see where Laura get's her logic from. You're whole family is screwed up." he said as he threw his hands up before making his way off the porch."
"Oh JC!" she called after him again. He stood there with his back turned to her and waited for her to say something. "I forgive you in advance." she smiled.
JC got into the car and slammed the door before speeding off down the street.
Mrs. Charles went back into the house and leaned against the door thinking to herself. "You didn't tell him did you?" Laura asked.
Connie was startled by her daughter's presence on the stairs. "No sweetie. I kept my word."
Laura smiled and thanked her mother before she headed back upstairs to lay down.
"Laura?" Her mother called after her. Laura turned around to see what she wanted. "I love you."
Laura smiled as she jogged down the steps and hugged her mother tightly. She had gone so many years without hearing her mother say those three words to her. In time, she convinced herself that she didn't need to hear it. But when her mother uttered the phrase she couldn't help but feel as if the weight of the world had temporarily been lifted form her shoulders. She sobbed quietly as her mother rubbed her head and held her tightly. "I love you too, mom."
Later on that night, while driving to the airport, Rachel leaned her head back on the seat, watching JC by the dim dashboard lights while he drove. She loved watching him. Thick brown hair, piercing blue eyes. She found him incredibly attractive with each passing day. Being with him again made her almost forget what she had given up so long ago. The way he moved, the way he talked. Chemistry. She felt it again. That chemistry that only she and him shared. JC glanced at her, and smiled.
"Where's our exit again?" he asked as he navigated with ease. "This seems like a longer drive back than it was coming here.
She nodded. "We get off at the next exit." She grinned at her mischievously. "If you're going to get me off by the time we get there, you're going to have to put in a little more effort."
JC rolled his eyes at her. "All I did was look at you."
She shook her head. "Yeah, but your eyes said it all...you want me. Just make a move."
"Not while I'm driving." He glanced at her.
She looked at him in surprise. "Why? I've gotten off while driving before."
"Yeah, but I don't know this area well at all. I don't want to kill us just because you have the sudden urge to cum, baby."
She nodded, imaging what that might feel like. She slid her hand into the thickness of his hair, toying with it while thinking about what he had said. The more he denied her, the more she was intrigued by the idea. They had many make out sessions in the car before. She snuggled up next to him, still thinking about it. It was late and dark, not very many people were on the highway. They still had a good thirty minutes before they reached the airport. She wondered when the next time they would be this completely alone together. She thought of Nikky and knew probably not for a long time. It took her five more minutes to make up her mind. She slowly slid her hand over his thigh, moving between his legs, pressing her hand against the bulge in his jeans, rubbing against him. He looked at her, raising his eyebrows at her. "What are you doing?"
She grinned at him. "Well, it is nice and dark out here."
"So?"
"So I miss him." she looked down towards his cock. "And I'm more than positive that he misses me...I can feel it." She fumbled with his belt and the zipper on his jeans.
JC wanted to stop her, but his body was begging to do the complete opposite. He eventually gave in and helped her unhook his belt and unbutton his jeans. She watched as he pulled his cock free of his jeans and boxers.
"Just promise me you won't wreck the car," she said as she wrapped her hand around him, loving to touch him.
She moved her hand up and down on him, watching his face in the dim light. She loved watching him as she touched him. He closed his eyes briefly as her hand caressed him. He couldn't stop himself from lifting his hips into her touch. Her touch felt so good. Her hand slid up and down his cock, paying special attention to the spot below the head where she knew he was the most sensitive. He was content to let her touch him that way. Rachel leaned up while still stroking him in her hand and licked his ear lightly before whispering, "You want to be in my mouth don't you, baby."
The words were like fire to a flame. He couldn't help but get chills down his spine and swallow hard trying to concentrate on the road. She smiled coyly when his reaction showed her just how much he wanted her.
Rachel leaned over and licked the tip of his cock, feeling him move his seat back a bit to accommodate her. Slowly she slid her mouth down his cock, taking him deeper into her mouth. She swirled her tongue around him, sucking gently, loving to feel him in her mouth. With a moan, he placed his hand on the back of her head, encouraging her. He had to fight himself from closing his eyes while he drove.
"You want me to take him all the way?"
He moaned softly as her warm wet mouth moved farther down, taking him as far as she could, all the way to the base. She had become a pro with his cock. She claimed it as her own so many times before. She squirmed in the seat, tightening her mouth on him, moving her mouth faster on him. She loved being in control. It always made her so horny to know that she was calling all the shots. Still she preferred being on her back with him on top of her, his cock inside her, their arms around each other, his chest against her soft breasts, her face pressed against his warm neck. She felt so close to him then. He ran his hand through her hair as her mouth slid up and down on him, her hand moving up and down. He squeezed the back of her neck as she moved her mouth on him, her teeth lightly dragging across him like she knew he liked. He lifted his hips up, forcing more of his cock into her mouth. She struggled not to choke as more of his cock entered her mouth. She was anxious to make him cum, to make him happy, to please him. She didn't want any of his thoughts drifting off to Laura and prayed that wasn't who he was thinking about as she pleasured him with her mouth.
She squirmed in her seat. And she was so turned on herself. She wanted to be touched, she wanted his cock inside her, thrusting inside her. His hand moved to her breast, pulling her bra up, then cupping them, handling her roughly in his excitement. He caressed her breasts, crushing them in his hands. He heard her moan around his cock. She was so aroused she thought she would start whimpering if she didn't get relief soon. She closed her eyes as his fingers found her nipple, pinching it between his thumb and finger. She heard him say her name, knew he was close and started moving faster on his cock, tightening her mouth around him. She loved making him cum.
Feeling him starting to orgasm, she kept her mouth locked on his cock, swallowing it all. She tried not to laugh when she felt the car swerve to the right. After she licked the tip of his cock once and sit up, he slid an arm around her, squeezing her to him and kissing the top of her head.
As he continued to drive Rachel knew she wouldn't be able to cool off. She laid back in her seat and unbuttoned her jeans. She smiled at him as she played with herself through her panties. "You're crazy if you think I was going to let you have complete control here." he smirked as he pulled her hand away and slid his hand down her pants, touching her.
She spread her legs, leaning against the car door to give him better access. She moaned as his fingers slid between her lips, touching her clit. He rubbed it gently, feeling her lifting her hips up into his touch. He took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at her. He continued to rub her, the jeans getting into his way. She whimpered in frustration. At this angle with her jeans on, he just couldn't touch her the way she wanted him to. She looked around. It was nice and dark. Pulling her hand away, she slid her jeans and panties down, and then leaned back against the door, spreading her legs. He went back to rubbing her, alternating between watching the road and watching her. After a moment, he sunk two fingers into her warm and wet center, his thumb finding her clit, feeling her instantly lift up, taking his fingers farther into her. He started thrusting his fingers in and out of her slowly, then picking up speed. As usual, his touch felt incredible. She loved being with him again.
She sunk farther down in her seat, closing her eyes, her mind totally blank except for the pleasure he was giving her. She moaned with ecstasy. After having JC in her mouth, it didn't take her long to get to the edge of orgasm. He pressed his fingers inside her deeply, rubbing her clit faster and faster, his fingers thrusting harder. She was soon writhing against his fingers. Feeling her tighten around his fingers, he knew she was close. "Cum for me." he commanded. His fingers combined with his deep voice telling her to cum was all that it took to push her over the edge. She cried out as the waves of pleasure washed over her. She leaned her head back against the window, trying to catch her breath. Slowly he pulled his hands away from her, smiling as he licked his fingers clean and watched her fix her clothes. All the frustrations of the day had disappeared...It had been a good night. After she had fixed her clothes, she laid her head down on his arm, taking his hand. Completely content, she whispered, "I love you." Snuggled up beside him, she led him to the entrance of the airport to head back home...Their home...Together."
CHAPTER 9
"Hey Momma, are there anymore tacks in the...Rick."
Rick smiled when he saw Laura enter the dining room. He noticed she was dressed in baggy sweats and a pink t-shirt. He also couldn't help but see the small bulge in her stomach. Rick did his best to look away from the sight. "Hey, Laura. How ya been?"
"I forgot that Rick was coming over to help me with the new blinds I bought for the dining room." her mother explained.
"It's ok. I could come back later or something." Rick said as he pointed back towards the door and was about to leave.
"No, no...It's ok. It will only take a minute, Rick. I wouldn't want you to have to come all the way back over here later on to do a 5 minute job." Mrs. Charles explained.
Laura sat at the dining room table and give directions to the two of them as they struggled to get everything centered over the window. Once they were finished Connie asked if Rick could run with Laura over to the store.
As Laura was driving she noticed his gaze was towards her abdomen. "What's wrong? Never seen a pregnant woman before?"
Rick shifted in his seat and watched her as she drove before asking, "Does he know?"
"You, Hallie, and my mother are the only ones who know...And I am hoping to keep it that way."
"Come on now..How long have you known me?"
"I'm sorry. I just don't know who to trust anymore."
After they stopped off at the store Rick took over the driving and brought Laura to a place she hadn't been in years. As they drove down the long pebbled pathway Laura's mouth dropped open in awe. They soon found themselves in the middle of a large clearing in the woods. When they were younger, it had been turned into a park and picnic area for the locals. She recognized the gazebo that was sitting near the large lake. Rick slowly pulled up in reverse almost to the edge of the hill that led to the lake and turned off the car. It was too cold outside to go and sit anywhere, so they decided to just sit in the car and watch the ducks from the back of the SUV.
He laid out the back seats and had Laura sit between his legs so she could lean back against him to be more comfortable. They both were silent as they just watched the still water and listened to the ducks squawking outside.
"You seem very deep in thought right now." he said as he rubbed the sides of her arms to keep her warm.
"I am."
"About?"
"Hmmm...It's not just one little thing...It's everything. My whole life up till this point."
Rick understood exactly what she meant and decided to reflect on his own thoughts. "My sister is a living, breathing, and walking train wreck."
Laura chuckled a little before leaning back against him more and saying, "It's not completely her fault. I can't blame her for everything that is wrong in my life."
"Yeah, but she has a big part in it, Laura."
"Ehhh...I dunno about all that."
"Even when you two are enemies you find some way to defend my sister."
"It's not that, Rick. You're sister is a good person...Underneath it all. She has a fucked up sense of reality, but besides that, she is pretty cool. We are inseparable when it's just the two of us, one on one. But when money and popularity get thrown into the mix, some people just become obsessed with having it and keeping it...No matter what."
Rick knew his sister had always fantasized about having the best in life and he knew just how determined his little sister was when it came to having what she wanted. He tried to remember back to the good old days before both women started the ride of their lives in the entertainment business. "You remember that time back in high school when Daryl Woodward told you that you couldn't play the piano for shit?"
Laura laughed at the memories racing around in her head. "And Rachel came out of no where and tackled him? All anyone saw was this tiny chick kicking this huge football players ass! It was hilarous! Or that time when..." Laura continued to recollect things from the past with her ex-love.
Once their laughter died down, Rick went to ask her a more serious question. "Do you think that one or both of you were in the wrong somewhere along the lines in this whole mess?"
"I go over it about a million times in my head everyday...Was I wrong to keep her secret? Was it right to betray one friends trust for another's. Should I have done the right thing...No matter what? Why did I cross that sacred line of friendship by getting involved with JC in the first place?" She took a deep breath before continuing. "I think in our own way we thought we were doing the right things. Rachel genuinely thought that the baby was Jerry's. But when Nikky was born and he had the blue eyes and the thick dark brown hair like JC's we both were worried. But by then it was too late for her to say 'hold on guys, I think there was a mistake.' JC had already kicked her to the curb and Jerry would have definitely thrown her out on her ass if she even mentioned doubts of paternity. Then you have the fact that she seemed to genuinely love Jerry. I don't know if it was because he spoiled her to death with all the attention and gifts or if it went beyond materialistic things. But either way, she adored him. At that point I didn't think that it would have upset her too much if something happened between me and Josh...Especially since it had been a year since they split. Being that your sister is an actress, pretending comes naturally to her. So while she is off pretending that life is perfect, I am trying to hold everything together and help JC deal with the breakup, help myself deal with these feelings I am not starting to have for him, and to top it off learning how to deal with this huge secret she begged me to keep."
"Seems extremely stressful." he sympathized.
"It was...It got worse when JC and I started seeing each other, cause now I had another secret that I needed to keep."
"He wanted to keep you a secret?"
"No, he wanted to tell everyone. And I was a big hypocrite for telling him that I didn't want all of that attention focused on us when the media found out, or having to hear our friends and family's opinions. Because it mostly was a fear of what Rachel would say. Dating your best friends ex-fiance is not something that is taken lightly between women. I knew I was in the wrong. But I couldn't help the way I felt about him...It just happened."
"So what you are saying in so many words is that JC walked out on you to go back to my sister because you kept a promise to a friend?"
"Yeah, that and the fact that he doesn't want to be a part-time father."
"Yeah, but what about this one?" Rick asked as he gently rubbed the side of her stomach. "He can't be a full-time father to both of them."
Laura shook her head, not really knowing what to say.
"Laura, he's going to find out about him or her sooner or later. A kid isn't something that you can really hide."
"I'm not trying to hide the baby at all. I'm just not going to chase someone who doesn't want to have anything to do with me. Rick, I tried calling and writing him. He won't return my calls and he sent back my letters. So what else can I do, but move on? I'm not going to spend the rest of my pregnancy stressing myself out over this...It's not good for me and it surely isn't good for the baby."
"I think if you really wanted him to know you'd try harder?"
"What? You want me to show up on his doorstep and point down and say surprise?"
"Honestly? Yeah."
"Well it ain't gonna happen. If he doesn't want to have anything to do with me then so be it. I'm not going to be the fool here."
Rick decided to back off the issue for a while. He didn't bring her out to the lake to argue. "You remember when we used to come here?"
"Yeah." she smiled. "I used to love coming here with you. It was so peaceful. Not to mention romantic as hell when it was spring time and the nights weren't too cold or too hot."
"Yeah, you ruined it when you brought my sister out here drinking one night. We weren't able to get rid of her after that." he laughed.
"Yeah we were wild back then." she grinned. "We always had each other's backs." Laura drifted off thinking back on their friendship.
"You miss her?"
"Well in my own way I do. I love your sister...Besides the fact that she sometimes reckless with her life and most often times doesn't make the right decisions and I am left trying to bail her out..."
"That's what I could never understand about you...Why did you keep bailing her out?"
"When you do something for so long, it just becomes common place. I didn't have any brother's and sisters. I didn't have many friends. I was always being teased because I was considered different or stuck up because of all the attention on my family or music...She knew how I felt. She could relate. And even now I don't hate her. And I miss Nikky like crazy."
After Rick updated her on how the baby was doing, they both decided to sit there and just watch the sun go down. They remembered back to better times. Times when they had been so happy with one another. Rick wondered what his life might be like had he not been so afraid of losing Laura to the business. He then asked himself if this could be his second chance at happiness with the girl he had always loved.