She numbly sat down on the bed and listened to her baby’s cries. All of a sudden, the reality of the situation hit her, and a sea of tears flooded her cheeks. She had just left Nick. She was alone with a baby. She was never gonna find another man because no one would want to date a single mother. Her mother would probably support her financially, but all her hopes of happiness were shattered.
She suddenly noticed that she wasn’t sure if the wailing breaking her eardrums was coming from Katelin or herself. It was so loud she barely heard the knock at the door. Oh, no way was she answering that. She was in the middle of a bad area of town, and she didn’t wanna know who was there or what they wanted. The visitor was determined, though, and knocked again, harder this time. Strangely enough, both she and Katelin quieted together. She let out a small greeting. “Who’s there?”
On the other side, a tall blond guy leaned his head against the door in relief. He had found her. “Michelle, it’s Nick. Let me in!”
“No. I don’t wanna see you,” she said weakly. She had obviously been crying…crying hard.
“Shelle…please let me in.”
“No way, Carter.”
“I was a jerk. I’ll never hurt you again. What can I say to make you let me in that door?”
“That doesn’t work. If I tell you what to say, it won’t come from your heart.”
“I love you,” he said desperately.
He listened closely for a response. Success! After a few seconds, he heard locks clicking, and the doorknob turned. She stepped aside to let him in. “What do you want?”
He drank in the sight of her. Her face was tear-stained, and her eyes were red. She was wearing an old tee-shirt of his that barely came down to her thighs. Her hair was all tangled and wild. Still, he could honestly say she was perfect. “I’m sorry,” he said softly.
“You’re gonna have to do better than that.”
After a moment’s thought, he gently placed his hands on her cheeks and pulled her face to his for a soft, gentle, loving, yet passionate kiss. “What about that?”
“Why do you do this to me?”
“What?”
She turned her back to him. “You tear me apart. No matter how mad I am at you, you always find some way to make me love you again. I hate you, Nick.”
“You know that’s not true,” he said evenly. She let out another sniffle, and he wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned his head on her shoulder. “I hate seeing you cry.”
She squirmed out of his grip. “It’s your fault.”
“I know. I’m an asshole. I screwed up.” He paused and began singing softly. “If I wasn’t such a fool, right now I’d be holding you. There’s nothing that I wouldn’t do, baby, if I only knew the words to say, the road to take, to find a way back to your heart.”
She turned around and met his eyes. “Don’t,” she whispered. “I can’t be mad at you if you sing to me.”
“What can I do to get to you and find a way back to your heart?” he continued. “Please, Michelle…I don’t think I can live without you.” A single tear rolled down his cheek, and she collapsed wordlessly into his arms. He held her close and stroked her hair. “Let’s go home.”