Christine’s eyes fluttered open and she smiled, remembering the previous night. “Nick?” she called cautiously.
“I’m right here,” he replied. He was in front of the mirror combing his hair. “Chris, we need to talk.”
“You’re right, we do,” she said. She sat up and pulled the covers around herself as Nick sat on the bed.
“About last night…” Nick trailed off, and several seconds passed.
“You’re going to say it was a mistake, aren’t you?” Christine whispered.
“Yeah.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“No, I’m not. I’m so sorry,” Nick mumbled, looking away so he couldn’t see the tears forming in her eyes.
“Damn it, Nick, why do you always do this? You promised me that it wasn’t a mistake last night. You told me it was right.” Christine began to sob.
“God, Christine, I’m sorry! What more can I say? I was wrong. I was caught up in the moment. I admit it. I was jealous. I-” Nick stopped before completing his sentence. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“Well, you did,” Christine muttered.
“You know I love you, Chris. I love you more than life itself, but I’m not going to let myself get hurt again,” Nick said determinedly.
“I wish you could just forgive me, but obviously, you can’t, so I’m going to Sandra’s room. Goodbye, Nick. You just wasted your last chance to get me back.” Quickly, she got dressed and left the room, slamming the door behind her.
Nick leaned his head against the headboard of the bed and closed his eyes in regret. It wasn’t his fault she was so tempting. Who are you kidding, Carter? You were wrong, and you know it.
Suddenly, the door opened and Christine, whose face was as white as a sheet, poked her head back in. “Nick, please tell me you used protection.”
Nick’s eyes widened. “Oh, shit…”
“Not again! Nick, you dumbass! I can’t believe it. You screwed me again…in more ways than one.”
“Damn, I forgot! The thought never even crossed my mind.”
“If I’m pregnant again, I don’t know what I’ll do,” Christine said, more to herself than to Nick. She began to cry, and Nick reached out to hold her, but she shrunk back. “Damn it, you’ve done enough. Don’t touch me!” She leaned against the wall and slid down to a sitting position, leaving Nick powerless to help her.
“I’m sorry,” Nick said sincerely.
“Sorry doesn’t do much now, does it?” she muttered bitterly. “How could you be so stupid?”
“I don’t know! You-we’ll figure out what to do, Chris. It’ll be fine,” Nick soothed. Suddenly, his fears of her being unfaithful melted away. “Let’s get back together. I still love you.”
“How can you even say that? NO! An hour from now, you’ll say it was just a mistake and that there’s never going to be anything between us again. No. I already got my heart broken three times by you, Nickolas, and I’m not going to let it happen again,” Christine said. She stood up and began to walk away, but Nick grabbed her shoulder.
“Wait, angel! Please! It won’t happen again, I promise! I am in love with you, and I will never, ever, ever hurt you again.”
Christine looked away and shook her head. “No.”
“What if you’re pregnant?”
“I can’t get another abortion. I’ll keep the baby and raise it, myself.”
That second, Nick’s heart split right down the middle. “We’d be a family, Chris. The baby would need a father. Please, let me be with you.”
After jerking out of Nick’s grip, Christine walked over to the window and looked out. “There may not even be a baby, Nick. We don’t know for sure that I’m pregnant. Hopefully, I’m not. As for you and I, we’re over. You said so, yourself, several times. Who am I to question your words?”
“But-”
“No. I told you before that you wasted your last chance. I’m not going to let anything happen between us anymore, Nick, because you’re just going to tell me it’s just a mistake. A fucking mistake.”
Nick watched as she left the room, tears streaming silently down his cheeks as he wondered again what he had gotten himself into, and what he could do to get himself out. It was only now that he realized he wanted to be back with her, now when he could do nothing about it. She wanted nothing to do with him anymore, and it was all his fault. A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, and Andrea stepped in.
“Don’t say it, Andie. I know how much I screwed up this time without you reminding me,” he muttered bitterly.
“Actually, I wasn’t coming to yell at you, even though you deserve it. I was coming to talk to you about Chris,” she replied.
“What about her?”
“I’ll get straight to the point. She wants you back. She doesn’t realize it right now, but she’ll regret saying no to you in a few hours. Don’t give up on her.”
“If I don’t give up, am I just going to get hurt?”
“No, Nick. I promise you that if you keep trying, you’ll get back together. She loves you so much, but her mind is elsewhere right now. She’s more worried about being pregnant than getting back together with you,” Andrea assured him. “Just give her time.”
“Thanks, Andie,” Nick said as she walked to the door. “Not just for telling me this, but for not yelling at me about what I did to her. I feel terrible.”
Andrea looked back at him. “Just give her time,” she repeated firmly. “She’ll come around.”