Inside, Angel and Howie were just talking, and the rest of them had gone out back to swim.
"So Angel, so how old are you?" Howie asked her.
"I'm twenty two. And you?"
"I'm twenty four. And your Linden's sister, right?"
"Yup. Everything seems pretty crazy around here, doesn't it?"
"No, it's just a regular day here." They both laughed, but stopped when they looked into each other's eyes.
"Well? Aren't you going to walk away from this loser?" Bobby asked Cassandra. "I would die if you said goodbye to me."
They both knew that they were making one last plea to Cassandra.
"I'm sorry," was all Nick could say.
"You would die without me?" Cassandra asked Bobby. He nodded his head, and Nick took a deep breath and held it.
Mercedes leaned over the sink and looked at herself in the mirror.
"This will either change my life, or leave it the same," she said aloud. She had carefully locked herself in the bathroom. She felt like crying. She didn't know what to do. Everything was wrong, when it had seemed so perfectly right a week ago. Jumping as the timer went off, she took in a deep breath. Mercedes looked down at the little thing that she was holding in her hand.
"This will either change my life for the good, or totally destroy it," she said crying. Just then she heard a knock at the door.
"Mercedes?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you okay?" she heard Brian say.
"Um, yeah," she said, her voice shaky.
"You sure? You don't sound okay."
"Yes, I'm sure." She knew that she was lying, and he had a feeling that she was, too. When he walked away, she quietly locked the door again to make sure it was locked. "Oh God," she gasped.
"Well?" Bobby asked, Nick still holding his breath.
"If you were the person that I fell in love with once and if you actually seemed to care about this, then I would stay. Nick seems much more sincere and I still love him, but Bobby, you will always be a part of me. You would die for me. Well then Bobby, have a happy funeral." She smiled at Nick and the two of them walked inside the house. Isabella and A.J. heaved a sigh of relief.
"You heard her," said Isabella. "Have a happy funeral!" and they, too, walked into the house. Bobby stomped his foot.
"My plan was working so well! Oh well, I guess that I'll just have to talk to Andrew again, and Mariah, and have him work on her."
"When?" Mercedes asked herself. "Always when-" she stopped when she heard someone coming down the hallway. She decided that she needed to emerge from the bathroom, and go back into her room. Actually, hers and Brian's room. She splashed cold water on her face, and wiped the tears from her eyes. She came out of the bathroom, and quickly ran into her room. When she got in there, she closed the door, leaned against it and banged her head against the door. "I can't believe this! This is not good! What's Brian gonna think?"
"What am I gonna think about what?" said Brian coming out of the walk-in closet.
"Um, nothing."
"Mercedes, tell me. What is the matter?"
"How do you know that something is the matter?"
"Mercedes, you're my wife, you can tell me anything! I know when something's wrong. Tell me what to do to make things right."
"Brian, nothing's the matter!" He walked over to her and pulled her close.
"I love you. I'd go anywhere for you, I'd do anything for you. You can tell me. I don't care what you did, and as long as you love me, it's okay to say anything to me."
"If I tell you, you'll be mad."
"I could never be mad at you."
"Yes you could. You'd leave me."
"Deep within my soul, I see that you're not being true to me. If you don't want to tell me, then that's okay. But my love is all I have to give to you and I think that that should be enough. Does it involve me?"
"Yeah."
"What else does it involve?"
"Me."
"Anybody else?"
"I guess you could say that."
"Well then, what is it?"
"Oh, Brian," she said. She took a deep breath and pushed him over to the bed. "You'd better sit down." Brian was getting kind of worried, but didn't show it. He sat down on the bed, and watched as Mercedes began to pace in front of him.
Bobby pulled out his phone, and dialed Andrew's cell phone number.
"Hello?"
"Hey Andrew, what's Mariah's number?"
"Why?"
"The plan has gone bad. I'm going to my last resort." Andrew gave Bobby the number. He hung up on Andrew's end, and dialed Mariah's number. Mariah was sitting outside and answered her phone.
"Mariah?"
"Yeah? Who's this?"
"It's Bobby. I need you to repay that favor that you owe me."
"Okay, what is it?"
"It's Nick and Cassandra. They're back together."
"I thought that she was with you already?"
"She was until that idiot, Nick, decided to have a change of heart and take her back."
"I'll see what I can do."
"You'd better, or I'll expose you for what you are."
"How am I supposed to hurt my sister like that?"
"I don't care how you do it. Just remember what your life used to be like before I found you."
"All right, all right. I never want to go back to that!"
Nick and Cassandra went upstairs to her room. They both felt like they were meeting for the first time.
"It's been so long," he said to her.
"I know, it feels so weird."
"You know something?" he said.
"No, what?" she asked.
"Everyday that you were gone, I would wake up and pray that you'd come back. Since you've been gone, everything has been going bad. I missed your soft touch and sweet kiss."
"What about Julie?"
"I started to like her, but it never got passed that. Somewhere inside of me, I knew that you would come back. Towards the end of Julie and I, she got so annoying."
"So what happened?"
"I just broke it off."
"How did you know that I would come back?"
"I didn't. I knew that I loved you and that I made myself believe that if you loved me the way that you said that you did, that you'd come back to me."
"You know what?"
"What?"
"Everyday I would wish you were there with me, holding me near. I went out of my mind thinking that you'd left my heart behind." Cassandra was sitting on the bed, and Nick kneeled in front of her, on the floor. "I'm begging you please, bring your sweet love back to me. Please come back to me. Late at night I would reach to hold you tight, but you weren't there. I know you still care."
"I do still care. I never stopped loving you." He said. She stood up and grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him to his feet. "I love you."
"I love you too. Can things ever go back to the way that they were?" she asked him hopefully.
"I don't know," was his only reply. She let go of his collar and let her hands drop to her sides. She looked down at the ground, realising her mistake again. He smiled and pushed her down on her bed, and kissed her.
Mariah was watching and listening outside the door.
"How can I do this to them? To Cassandra? She's my sister. I know in my heart that Nick is better for her and that Bobby is just a deranged ex-lover, but for the good of me, I can't cross Bobby. Not after all he's done for me. I can't let him expose me, I can't go back to my past." She continued to watch Nick and Cassandra kissing, until they got up and walked towards the door. She ran into another room and watched them. They walked out of her bedroom and closed the door. Nick started to walk down the stairs followed by Cassandra, but then stopped. He turned and backed her up the stairs and against her door.
"Nick, I've missed this. I've missed you. It's funny all the small things you miss. Like way you brushed your hair back. The sun on your face. The way you used to hold me, and all the things I should have told you." He kissed her hard. She moved her lips down along his neck.
"We have so much to make up for. So much lost time-"
"Hey Cassandra!" yelled Isabella up the stairs.
"What do you want?" she yelled back.
"Come help me with dinner!"
"Why?"
"Because Mercedes is at Brian's, Nicole is at Jonathan's, Andrew's not around, Howie and Angel are flirting on the couch, Coreene went out to dinner with Matthew, I don't know where Mariah is, and you are the only other one here who's not doing anything!"
"Wanna bet?"
"Oh, let's help, we have the rest of our lives to make up for lost time," said Nick pulling away from her and walking down the stairs. Cassandra thought about that for a second then called after him.
"What does that mean?"
"So what is it?"
"Um, well-"
"Just tell me!"
"Brian, I'm pregnant!"
"What?"
She started crying. "I knew it. You don't want it. Do you?" He got up and hugged her. She pulled away from him.
"I wasn't planning on it this soon, but I do want it. I was planning on it someday, and if that someday is now, then so be it," said Brian.
"Oh, Brian, I'm so sorry!"
"Don't be! I do want it."
"Really?"
"Yeah, and you're not the only one that had something to do with this." He smiled. She smiled back.
"When do we tell everyone?"
"I think that we should wait awhile."
"Okay."
"I'm gonna go get Andrew," said Cassandra.
"Do you want me to come with you?" asked Nick.
"No, I'll be right back."
"Are you sure you'll be right back?" Nick asked. Cassandra kissed him and said,
"I promise." Cassandra ran out the door, and across the street. She walked in the door and ran into Jonathan. "Hey Jonathan. Is Andrew around?"
"Yeah, he's out back."
"Thanks." She walked out the door and around the side of the house, but stopped when she heard Andrew's voice. "Who is he talking to?"
"Bobby, it's okay.....so she went back to Nick?.....that's what you hired me for.... you talked to Mariah right?.....well then if she knows what's good for her, she'll repay the favor.....don't worry, Cassandra will never know-"
"What won't I ever know?" Andrew hung up the phone and put it down. "Why were you talking about Mariah to Bobby?" she asked him.
"Uh, well-"
"Andrew, who's Sabina Gadeki?"
"Who?"
"You know who!" accused Cassandra.
"I have never heard that name before in my life!"
"You're not Andrew, are you?"
"Oh damn, she figured it out!" said Bobby entering the back yard.
"Bobby!" exclaimed Cassandra.
"You've surprised me again, Cassie. I didn't think you would figure it out so soon."
"And what about Mariah?" she asked.
"Why don't you ask her yourself?"
"Fine, I will! But then who is this?"
"Andrew."
"Not my Andrew!"
"Well, I have to give you that."
"Why?"
"We can't tell you that."
"And no one will believe you even it you told them," said Andrew. "I will bet you anything that Nick won't believe you either!"
"Yes he will!" said Cassandra.
"That little prick will only think that you're totally delusional because of you leaving him," said Bobby.
"That's not true! You know damn well why I had to leave!"
"Yes, I do know. More than you think," said Bobby.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Why don't you ask Mariah?"
"Fine! I will. Andrew, let's go. I'm going to prove to everyone that you're not Andrew."
"And I'm going with you to prove to you that no one is going to believe you. Not even Nick," said Andrew. Cassandra grabbed Andrew's hand and dragged him out the gate, across the street, and through the door of her house.
"Cassandra, you're back!" said Nick. "Hey Andrew. What's-"
"Nick, this isn't Andrew!" said Cassandra.
"Well then who is it?" said Isabella now curious.
"Where is everyone?" Cassandra asked.
"They're all out back," said Nick, "in the pool."
"Good, I want you two to hear this first," said Cassandra.
"What's going on?" asked Nick.
"This isn't Andrew. He was just hired by Bobby to look like Andrew, and somehow Mariah fits into this." Mariah, who was just coming down the stairs, heard Cassandra's words.
"Oh God, she's going to ruin everything. I have to cover it up somehow," Mariah thought to herself.
"Mariah!" Isabella said.
"I heard my name," she said.
"Mariah, who is this, and who are you really?" Cassandra asked her.
"What are you talking about? I'm Mariah, and this is Andrew, your best friend."
"Cassie, why would you say something like that about me?" Andrew asked.
"Because you're not my best friend! My best friend is dead!" Cassandra screamed.
"Cass, are you okay?" Nick said walking over to her and putting his arm around her. She shook away from him.
"Nick, Isabella! You have to believe me! This isn't Andrew! Nick, please!" she screamed as loud as she could, trying not to cry.
"I think that she's still in shock over thinking that I had actually killed myself," said Andrew. "I'm sorry, Cassie. I didn't know that I had hurt you so bad!" He hugged her tight, and whispered in her ear. "I told you so." Cassandra blinked hard. She wiggled out of his grip and faced Nick.
"Nick, you have to believe me! You have to! This is not Andrew!"
"Do you have proof?" he asked.
"Proof? Proof! You're asking me for proof? You don't trust me, you don't believe me? No I don't have concrete evidence. There! Are you happy? I said it. I don't have concrete evidence. There! But this isn't Andrew!" she cried. She ran upstairs and slammed her door.
"I think she's a little eccentric," said Andrew. Mariah, Isabella, and Nick nodded in agreement.
"Should I go talk to her?" said Nick. Isabella nodded. Nick ran up the stairs, and softly tapped on her door. "Cassandra?" he said softly.
"What?" she said.
"Can I come in?"
"Sure." He walked in and sat on Mariah's bed.
"Maybe I should have never come back," she said to him.