27th September 1995

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"Dear Lord, if this is false, I promise I'll never take another drop of alcohol in my entire life till the day I die."

Cassie was seated on the toilet seat, drenched in sweat with quivering lips, trembling hands, and tearful eyes. It was as though a drum-set had found its way into her chest.

She took out the stick she'd peed on, whispering her silent prayers.

Her eyes widened at the sight of the results. It appeared it was almost too late for prayers.

She was fucked!

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Cassie sat in the gynecologist's waiting room. She was fidgeting and puffing out air.

That test had to be wrong.

This could not be happening to her.

She was supposed to be at a modeling job and not at a hospital. She'd impulsively run here to find a solution to her problem because she didn't know what else to do.

Logan had disappeared, James was unwilling to see her let alone talk. She could not blame him. What she'd done was simply unforgivable.

Cassie was all alone. She felt so scared.

She rubbed her hand over her belly. Could there really be a life inside? It all felt like a nightmare she was desperate to wake up from.

She took a look around, to see the other women in the room. Most of them were staring back at her. Their cold, judgmental and disdainful glances augmented the pain in her chest.

Cassie could not take it anymore. She got up and hurried out in desperate need of some air.

"Hi." Cassie heard someone call her from behind as soon as she got out of the hospital.

She paused and turned slowly to face someone she never thought she'd see again.

The woman was strikingly beautiful with long black hair and green eyes. She was quite tall and slender and bore no expression on her face.

"I'm Logan's mother," she said.

She needn't have. Cassie could not forget the face that had tormented her for the past few months.

"Hi," she replied after mustering enough courage.

"What were you visiting the gynecologist for and why did you run away like that?"

"Huh?" Cassie's mouth hung open. "I was..." She took heavy breaths. "I just wanted to do like a check-up or something," she said with a shaky voice.

The woman hesitated, maintaining the stern look on her face before proceeding. "I understand that you had sexual relations with my son." It was obvious she was not going to beat about the bush.

Cassie looked down to avoid Logan's mother's intimidating gaze. She felt her cheeks go hot.

"Are you pregnant?" She asked, causing the girl to raise her head in shock.

How could she tell? Were the words "Cassie is pregnant" written anywhere on her face?

"I'm..." Cassie paused to breathe. She didn't know if to tell her the truth or not. But she knew she needed help. "I think so..."

Mrs. Richards sighed. "Is Logan responsible?"

Cassie pulled her hair behind her ears. "I think so..." She replied and looked at the woman, expecting some form of judgment. There was none.

"What do you mean by 'you think so'?"

"I don't..." Cassie wiped a stray teardrop. "I don't know how long I've been pregnant and..."

"And you've been seeing someone else?"

"No. Just my boyfriend, James... Ex-boyfriend. I should've been more careful. I was mostly drunk, I don't even remember..." She sniffed. It might have been better to avoid this conversation, but she was desperate and tired of the lies.

Mrs. Richards moved closer and placed a hand on her shoulder, which felt a little soothing. "It's sad. You're a beautiful, young girl with your whole life ahead of you and so is my son. He cannot be burdened by this."

Cassie helplessly stared at the woman who'd moved away and took out a checkbook from her bag and a pen.

"Have this." Mrs. Richards handed a cheque to her after scribbling a few words on it. "Get rid of that thing," she added, while the young girl watched her, dumbfounded.

Logan's mother pat her shoulder twice before walking away.

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"Cassie!" Trisha exclaimed, sitting up on the bed as soon as Cassie had barged in. "Oh my God! What happened to you?"

"I screwed up. I screwed up!" Cassie moved closer to Trisha and fell into her open arms, crying on her shoulders. 

Trisha had always been the one she went to when she had problems. However, these past few months had been different because they'd grown quite distant.

"What happened?" The redhead said after few minutes of rubbing Cassie's back in an attempt to calm her down.

Cassie sniffed. "I'm..." She paused and took a look around the untidy room filled with posters of tattooed rappers and the stench of weed. Lucky for her, Trisha's unnerving boyfriend was out. "I'm pregnant."

"What?" Trisha moved back to gain her balance from the weight of the shock. "How could you be so irresponsible?" She asked.

Cassie's eyes traveled to the ground and as though Trisha had sensed her distress, she moved towards her and pulled her into an embrace again.

"You'll be fine." She rubbed her back gently. "Have you told him?" Trisha whispered as she moved back a little to get a clear glimpse of Cassie's face.

"Who?"

"What you do you mean who?" She stared at Cassie, confused. "James, obviously."

"It's not..." Cassie paused. This was too hard and too complicated. "It might not be for James," she continued.

"What?" The girl in front of her was even more confused.

She pushed her black hair away from her face. "I had an affair. James found out. He hates me. Logan... They have both abandoned me." Tears strolled down her cheeks.

"Logan?" Trisha could not hide the fact that she was utterly disappointed as her hand traveled to her forehead.

Cassie wiped her eyes dry and took a glance around the shabby-looking room before staring bravely at Trisha. "I would've come to you with my problems earlier but all you've done these past few months is avoid me. It seems like you want to abandon me too."

Trisha shook her head. "No! I'd never do that." She took Cassie's hands in hers. "What are we going to do?"

"Logan's mother asked me to get rid of it." Cassie placed her hand on her belly and rubbed it gently.

What if this was the chance in her lonely life to finally have someone she could call her own. No matter how scared she was, she didn't want to lose it.

"Are you going to do it?"

"No. I can't."

Trisha was stunned. "But you can't take care of a baby. If Mrs. Miller finds out-"

"Who says she has to find out?" Cassie sat up and took Trisha's hands in hers. "I have saved up enough money from modeling. We could rent a place, even a small one. You can finally get out of here."

Cassie had expected that her news would bring some form of enthusiasm to Trisha but the girl looked even more disturbed.

"Uhm..." She gulped, shifting uncomfortably. "Sure. We'd get through this together." She gave off a fake smile.

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Logan sat quietly on his bed watching his mother walk into the room.

Whether it was a punishment or not, he'd been forced to move to his eccentric grandfather's farmhouse since the situation with Cassie and James.

It was both relieving and frustrating. As much as he wanted to see Cassie and tell her how much he loved her, he was not quite ready for the consequences of their actions and betrayal.

"How do you do?" His mother asked and a sigh was all he offered. She simply proceeded because she most likely didn't even care if he was fine or not. Every sympathy in her had been buried with her husband. "Hope your bags are packed."

He nodded. Even though he'd insisted otherwise, she'd demanded to accompany him to Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

Even though it was going to be a long day, he was a little happy he'd finally be out of her grip soon.

"Great." A smile tugged at the side of her lips for a second. She attempted to leave and then stopped on her track and turned back to face him. "You won't believe who I ran into at the hospital yesterday."

He looked sideways and rolled his eyes, clearly disinterested.

"Cassie or... Isn't what she's called?"

The name on his mother's lips had immediately summoned all his attention. His breaths quickened as well as his heart rate. "Really?"

"Yeah. Turns out she's pregnant."

"What?" He jumped up from the bed immediately. His pupils were dilated. His heart rate plummeted. He was struggling to take steady breaths as he stared at his expressionless mother. "Are you being serious?" He asked even bearing in mind that his mother had never made a joke in all the years he'd known her.

"Calm down, Logan. It's not yours. At least, I'm sure I raised you better than to have unprotected sex with some random girl."

Logan puffed out air. He wasn't the least bit relieved. He'd always tried to be cautious but he and Cassie had often gotten to levels of passion that would not afford them to think straight.

"It's James' then. Does he know?" He asked.

"Well, it could be James' or maybe any other guy she was sleeping with. Who knows what to expect from an orphan girl that lacks home training? I feel sorry for her."

Logan sighed deeply. He hated his mother talking about Cassie this way. She was not perfect, but she was definitely not a bad person. He loved her anyway, even with all her flaws.

"It doesn't even matter. She's getting an abortion. If you ask me, I think it's the best decision. Imagine the type of mother that kind of girl would make." She shrugged. 

"You don't know Cassie," he voiced out. His mother had gotten on his last nerve. "She's..." He stopped as a lump had formed in his throat. He could not believe all the despicable things his mother had to say.

"True." Mrs. Richards gave a gentle nod before attempting to walk out.

"Mom..." Logan called her with a quiet voice. She stopped and turned to face him. "Is she okay? Did she look okay?" He asked.

His mother smiled warmly, staring at him with her eyes which reflected his. "She'd be fine. Now, get some rest. You have a long day tomorrow."

Logan watched her walk out the door before he crouched on the floor and with his pillow to his face, he muffled some disgruntled screams.