One Year Later; December 15 Nick had trouble getting up that day. All he could think about the night before was how today, a year ago, him and Morgan had made a mistake they would regret. At least, she would regret. If Nick could take back every word, every kiss, he wouldn’t. He still couldn’t get over how she had just left him like that. Alone. He was back to how it was before Jody. And after. He sighed and squinted at the digital alarm clock. It was 5:45 and the sun was just beginning to rise. Gabrial and Nick had scheduled 6:30 for their time to leave to drive up to the airport to go to Vermont with Rick, another one of their buddies for the Christmas vacation. They would be staying at Gabrial’s parents’ house for the two weeks and Nick knew Morgan lived nearby. He didn’t pretend to know what would happen if and when he saw her again but he knew he had to see her. He regretted letting her walk away and needed to make up for that this break. Yawning, he reluctantly got out of bed, shivering. It was freezing in the room and outside, it was snowing. The snow alone brought back memories of the time they had spent together. Pushing the thoughts out of his head, he took a hot shower and quickly changed. After grabbing his suitcase, he walked out into the hallway and locked his apartment door. That was one thing that he had almost immediately done when Morgan left. He moved out of the dorm and into a place of his own. He didn’t need the reminder of walking past her dorm room every day. Nick walked swiftly to his car, his wet hair growing colder and making him regret not wearing a hat. “ Shit,” He muttered as he fumbled with his keys and they fell onto the ground. Reaching down, he grabbed them and got in the car, later than Gabrial had wanted. Their flight was leaving at 8:15 but Gabrial was a worrywart. Nowadays anyway. As he pulled the car out of it’s space, he thought about how well Gabrial had taken his and Morgan’s breakup. He already had a new steady girlfriend. Nick reached over and turned on the radio, wincing as the stereo blared from lastnight’s little outing. Within minutes, he reached the school campus and walked inside. Most people were taking advantage of the chance to sleep in so the halls were quiet and empty. His steps clattered in the vacant hallways. “ Carter, hey. I was just about to call you. Ready to go?” Gabrial asked when Nick greeted him and Rick. “ Yeah. Let’s go,” They walked back outside and took Nick’s car over to the airport. A few hours later, when the plane was boarding, Nick inhaled deeply, wondering what he was getting himself into...
***** Morgan climbed blearily out of bed and hit the alarm button on the digital clock to stop the annoying ringing. She walked to Amelia’s crib and peered into it, checking on the infant. After making sure she was ok, Morgan climbed down stairs and into the kitchen. “ Morning,” She mumbled, going straight to the coffeemaker. “ Hey, Mor,” Her brother and his wife greeted her, looking up from their breakfast. “ Hungry?” Todd asked through a forkful of eggs. “ Nope. Just need coffee.” She poured herself a steaming cup and glanced out the window. “ Looks like a storm’s coming,” She commented. “ Yeah. Oh, Jake called,” Morgan looked up at the mention of her boyfriend’s name. “ What did he want?” She asked, reaching for the phone. Todd shrugged and sipped his orange juice. Morgan dialed his number but came up with the answering machine. “ Baby’s up,” Angela said sympathetically, knowing Morgan had been up with the nightly feedings. Morgan took her cup of coffee upstairs and rested it on the dresser. She reached over and picked the crying baby up. Morgan sat down on the rocking chair and gently rocked back and forth, calming Amelia as she realized Gabrial would be coming back today. She held her daughter as she felt a slight blush rise to her cheeks. What was she supposed to tell him about Amelia? Sure, her parents thought it was Jake’s and had reprimanded her for not being careful but they would be angry if they found out it wasn’t her boyfriend’s but instead the product of a one night stand. She sighed as her three month old gurgled happily, her mood changing. She would just tell Gabe that it was Jake’s. It would be easier that way. She held Amelia out and looked at her face, seeing Nick’s eyes looking back at her, smiling. A stab of guilt poked at her heart as she thought about him. She couldn’ t help but grin as the baby whacked her arm in the air, the tiny fingers curled up. Morgan stood up to change Amelia’s diaper, pushing away any doubts and thoughts she had...
