Matt and Catherine returned to the latter's apartment, and Cath immediately flopped down onto the couch. "Kill me now," she mumbled into one of the cushions.

"Hey," Matt mumbled awkwardly, "I'm not feeling so well...I think I'd best head home...I won't leave if you need me."

"It's kinda late. You don't want to stay the night like we planned?" Catherine inquired.

"Josh might cry," Matt said with a small laugh.

Catherine didn't laugh. She instead pulled a pillow to her stomach and mumbled, "Alright."

"You need anything?"

"Yes, I need you. I need you to not leave," Catherine thought. She instead said, "No, I'm fine. You can go home if you'd like."

Matt gave a groan and flopped down beside her. "You need me, don't you?"

"Nah. If I stay like this for the next day and a half, I'll be alright," Catherine said with a weak laugh.

Matt frowned. "So, if your not...ya know...what's wrong?"

"The fabric on my shirt irritated it," Cath shrugged. "It's still bothering me."

Matt struggled to his feet. "I'll get your pajamas and some hot chocolate, alright?"

Catherine kissed his cheek. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Anything else?" Matt smiled weakly.

"I put my phone on the table," Cath replied, pointing to the item. "I want to text Mariah and let her know I'm alright."

Matt handed her the phone and a pair of pajamas, along with a cup of cocoa. "Alright," he sighed, "I'm outta here. I'll grab my stuff and leave."

"Okay," Catherine sighed. "Love you, Babe." She immediately turned on her phone and called Mariah's number.

"Cathy, are you okay?" Mariah asked nervously.

"Well, I'm currently on the couch and cannot move," Catherine laughed weakly, "but I'm fine. Matt just left. Mari, I think he's starting to remember Mel...I'm afraid. I don't know what to do. What if he remembers her fully? What if he doesn't want to be with me?...I love him. I can't lose him...I can't."

"Cath," Mari sighed, "Cath, he won't ever leave you. You're the only person who he trusts enough to help him through this. Josh will just try to shield him. These things take time, but if he's remembering Melody, it's because he's finally starting to let go and move on."

"Mari, you didn't see his face. He..." Catherine's voice broke, "he was...I can't even talk about it...I...I love him so much..."

Mari gave a little smirk. "So you've told me."

"I may not be able to see you, but I know what face you're making. Stop it," Catherine laughed. Her expression changed as she said, "It's just...I know I have a temper and it turns most people off. It's why I didn't have my first boyfriend until I was nineteen. I just don't want to lose Matt because of it...I can't help it. Unfortunately, I get it from my father...Lotte was the only one who truly put up with it. She was an angel...How do you know that it won't drive Matt away?"

"I don't," Mari admitted meekly, "but he's Matthew Collins. If anyone could be as angelic as your sister, it's him."

"I suppose you're right," Catherine sighed. "Anyway, it's almost two in the morning. I need to get some sleep. Listen, Kate's taking my place at rehearsal tomorrow, so don't be alarmed when I don't show up."

"Alright," Mari said softly, "I'll miss ya. Hang in there."

"Believe me, I'm trying. Oh, and if Josh asks about me or anyone, just say I haven't been feeling great but that I'm fine. I don't want anyone to know that I went to the hospital or anything. I only went for Matt's sake and I don't want to have to explain that. Okay?"

"Alright," Mari laughed. "Not like I'm talking to that freak of nature anyway."

"Hey, watch it. He's my friend too," Catherine said defensively. She sighed. "God, I need some sleep. I'll text you tomorrow."

—————

Matt threw his keys on the kitchen counter with a sigh. "Josh? You home?"

Josh peeked around from the corner and grinned. "Well, if it isn't my favorite my favorite burn victim!"

"You really felt the need to bring that up?" Matt asked with a sigh. "God, I'm so tired. I just left Cath. I had to take her to the hospital."

Josh's face contorted with worry. "Woah. Why?!"

"Her side was hurting. She had an accident a few years ago..." Matt explained the entire thing including Catherine's accident that occurred when she was thirteen.

"Man," Josh frowned closing his eyes in pain, "kids are mean. No one will tell me otherwise. Cruel, mean, little terrors."

"Not all, but a lot of them are," Matt sighed. "Listen, I remember her...Mel. I remember. Or at least, I'm beginning to. She died?" He asked, his voice breaking slightly.

Josh opened his mouth ajar and stared in terror. "How much do you know?"

"I remember that we were married and then she got in a car accident on the way to the hospital when I got burned."

"Oh," Josh whimpered, his stomach feeling sick. "That much?"

Matt buried his face in his hands. "Yeah."

Josh crossed his arms and gently rose to his feet, approaching Matt slowly. "Matt-"

"I shouldn't have left her," Matt mumbled.

"Geez, Matt," Josh groaned, placing a hand on his shoulder, "it wasn't your fault. None of it. I'll find the person who did this. I swore it to you then, and I will again now."

"No, I mean Catherine. I shouldn't have left her. She probably needs me," Matt sighed. "Does she know about Mel?"

"A bit," Josh nodded.

"Oh, great," Matt grumbled. "I'm going to bed. Today's been exhausting."

—————

The next day, Catherine woke up early and went for a run. Fortunately, the pain in her side had mostly gone away.

For the rest of the day, she sat around eating nothing but ice cream, and watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix.

Around eight at night, there was a knock on her door.

"It's open," Catherine yelled.

"It's unsafe," replied a man's voice.

Cath immediately spun around. "Caleb, what are you doing here?" She asked in surprise.

"I came to see you," Caleb explained. "Mari said that you hadn't been feeling well and I figured it had to do with your burn. Is it still bothering you?"

"Only slightly. Part of the pain was from dehydration," Catherine replied. "Come, sit."

"Okay. Gilmore Girls? What episode are we on?"

"The one where Rory starts dating Logan."

Caleb pretended to gag. "I do not like Logan."

"Excuse me," Catherine scoffed, faking offense. "I happen to like Logan, so keep your opinions to yourself. Zip it and sit."

"Alright," Caleb laughed.

After a few episodes, Caleb said that he had to leave, and Catherine walked him to the door and opened it for him.

Caleb slowly leaned down and kissed her gently.

"W-what was that?" Catherine asked nervously, pulling away from her ex-boyfriend.

"Closure," Caleb smiled. "I'll see you at rehearsals tomorrow. Kate won't be able to make it, you can be sure of that. Goodnight, Catherine Daei."

Catherine closed the door and leaned against it, clamping a hand over her mouth. "What have I done?" She muttered. She instinctively called Mariah. "Mari, I need you to come quickly. I just made a big mistake," Catherine said, her voice shaking.

"Did you try to microwave a metal pan again to make popcorn? I told you you can't do that, Cath. It's a death wish," Mari mumbled, stuffing a chip into her mouth and balancing her phone with her neck and shoulder.

"That was you, ya idiot," Catherine mumbled in frustration. "Listen, I need you to come over right away."

"It wasn't," Mari scoffed. "Look, I'm with Jeremy right now. We're walking the Seine."

"Caleb and I kissed," Catherine blurted.

"Yes," Mari laughed, handing Jeremy her purse and smiling at him flirtatiously, "every night for a week during rehearsals."

"No, this was a real kiss. He came to check on me and we watched Gilmore Girls and then he leaned down and...he...we..."

"Cath," Mari said slowly, "did he kiss you, or did you kiss him?"

"There's a difference?" Catherine questioned.

"A huge one. Which one is it?"

"I don't know. He started slowly leaning in and I guess I kinda...Oh, god, what am I going to do?" Catherine sighed, feeling like she could start crying at any moment.

"Okay, so he initiated," Mari sighed. "Did you kiss him back?"

"Maybe a little, but it was purely reflex," Catherine said quickly, biting her lip.

Mari gave a small scoff of a laugh. "Cath...girls who are in love completely with their soulmates don't kiss other guys unless there's some hesitation, some warning that's telling them it's not meant to be."

"But I do love Matt...I don't have feelings for Caleb at all, and he knows that. God, I'm such an idiot," Catherine sighed. "There's no way I'm telling Matt."

"Clearly some part of you is still holding onto Caleb," Mari noted. "Cath, covering this up isn't going to get you anywhere. The best thing you can do is be honest with Matt."

"Mari, it would kill him. He's already remembering Mel. He doesn't need girlfriend troubles on top of that. Besides, Caleb is a non threat...When we pulled away, I asked what the kiss was and he said 'Closure.' It's over between us. I'm not holding onto him," Catherine assured.

"And if Caleb tells Matt?" Mari asked slowly. "Listen, Cath, Jeremy wants to tell me something I really got to go."

"Fine," Catherine sighed. "Whatever. Bye." She flopped down onto her bed, face buried in her hands. "What have I done?" She asked herself over and over. "I'm such an idiot." She immediately texted Caleb, "Look, you CANNOT tell Matt about the kiss."

"I don't plan to," Caleb typed back. "It was just closure, Cathy. I'm not looking for a relationship. I just needed to kiss you one last time. Besides, you have nothing to worry about. I initiated it."

Catherine sighed and texted, "Yeah, but I kissed back a little."

"Barely."

"Look, just don't tell Matt, okay?"

"I won't. I promise."

"Thank you."

Caleb gave a sad little smile. There was his nervous Cath.

—————

"Hey," Matt texted. "Where are you?"

Catherine's heart rate sped up the second she saw the notification on her phone. "I'm at home," she texted back. "Why? What's up?"

"You want me to bring you dinner?"

"I ate," she lied.

"Listen..." Matt typed nervously. "I've been talking to Josh..."

"And?" Cath typed impatiently. She felt so afraid and didn't know why. It was one small kiss. It didn't last more than two seconds. There was nothing to worry about, right? "I'm being stupid," she thought. "I should just tell him about the kiss...No way. What am I thinking? He can't ever know."

"Catherine, can I come over?" Matt texted.

"I'm not feeling great," Catherine lied.

"Please."

"Matt." Catherine immediately turned off her phone. She didn't even wait for a response. Whatever it was, it could wait until morning. For now she needed her sleep. It had been a long day. She did some things she shouldn't have, and she needed to rest to be able to think clearly.