A/N: Thanks for reviewing, keep them coming! Hope you all had a great Christmas! (PS: It's sooo weird writing a summer story in the winter lol)
Ethan was at Nora's to visit Emma again but only this time, he brought Molly with him. The two had been dating all this time and were very happy.
"Do you think I can hold her?" Molly asked, smiling, but Nora wasn't sure. She wasn't about to let just anyone hold her baby. Ethan gave her a look and she sighed.
"Sure," She said, smiling. "Hold her head carefully," She said, as she placed the baby in Molly's arms.
"Hi," Molly whispered but the baby soon erupted in tears. "Oh," She said and Nora gently took Emma back in her arms.
"She gets like that with new people," Nora told her but Molly wasn't convinced.
"Um, you know what? I'm gonna go wait in the car, okay?" She said to Ethan. "It was nice seeing you again, Nora." She said and quickly walked out of the house.
"I'm sorry about that," Nora said but Ethan shook his head.
"She'll be fine," He said and Nora nodded. "How are you doing?"
"I'm okay," She nodded. "Starting to get my life back." She said and Ethan laughed. "You know, Emma's two months old today." She smiled and he nodded.
"How could I forget?" He said, pulling out a tiny, velvet box from his pocket. "I got her a present," He said and Nora smiled. "It's nothing much, just something to remind her of her parents…"
Nora opened the box, which revealed a tiny heart-shaped, golden locket. "Ethan," She breathed. "You didn't have to…"
"I wanted to," He smiled and she looked at him. "Open it." She did as she was told and one side was a picture of Nora and Ethan from when they were together and the other side was empty. "She can fill the other side with whatever she wants when she's older." He said and she nodded, still looking at it.
"Thank you." She whispered and he shrugged.
"Are you sure you're okay, Nora?" He asked. "You look a little… unhappy."
"Ethan, I'm fine," She told him. "I promise."
He nodded. "Well, I better go," He said and she looked at him. "Molly's waiting."
"Yeah," She nodded as he came closer to her. He brought his lips to hers and they kissed for a while.
She pulled away and looked up at him. "Ethan," She whispered.
"I have to go." He said and walked out of the apartment.
She shook her head and walked over to Emma, picking her up and holding her close.
Sophia walked over to the Portmans' and sighed when she saw that Jared's car wasn't in the parking lot, that probably meant he wasn't home again.
The door was unlocked so she let herself in, seeing Andy on the couch. Since their last talk, the two had become somewhat friends again but things were still awkward between them.
"Sophia." He nodded, not keeping his eyes off the t.v.
She walked over to him. "Hi, Andy," She smiled, looking around. No one was home. "Have you seen Jared lately?"
"No," Andy shook his head. "He's probably off getting high somewhere with my girlfriend."
Sophia closed her eyes and sat down on the couch opposite of Andy. "I can't believe I let this happen." She whispered and he looked at her.
"Sophia," He sighed. "This isn't your fault, it's Jared's… he should've had more self-control, this was his decision."
"Right," Sophia nodded. "I knew Jen was going to cause more problems for this family." She said and Andy nodded in agreement. She looked up at him, tearing up. "Do you think they're sleeping together?"
"I wouldn't be surprised." He shook his head and Sophia started crying. "Soph, don't cry, please, you know what you crying does to be."
"You're right, okay, I'm sorry." She shook her head, wiping the tears.
He tried distracting her. "So, what's new with you?"
She looked at him. "Um, well, I was at Andria's house last night and I met this new guy, Jesse, he seems really nice," She said and he looked at her. "Maybe a good way to get over Jared."
Andy laughed and shook his head then looked up at her. "I'll never be enough for you, will I?"
"Andy," She whispered. "You know I don't love you like that!"
"Well, I don't get why not!" He said and she looked at him. "I'm always there for you, Soph, always! Look what Jared's doing to you and you still pick him over me!" He shouted and she looked away. "I don't get you, Sophia Mendoza, you could be beyond happy with someone who loves you and treats you right but instead you pick a low-life druggie."
"Hey, that's your brother you're talking about." She interrupted and he shook his head.
"Yeah, some brother?" He said and she looked at him. "He knew how I felt about you, but he just had to have you!" He said. "And now that he got you, he runs off with Jen, another girl I had strong feelings for." He said and she lowered her eyes. "Don't you see the pattern, Sophia? Jared's not the right guy for you, I am, and one of these days you're gonna realize that but I won't be around when you do."
Sophia closed her eyes and a few tears rolled down her cheeks. "I'm gonna go." She said. "Coming here was a mistake." She said and then left.
Aidan was out getting ice cream with Noah but all he could think about was Mel. He hadn't talked to her since the night they kissed and she hadn't returned any of his calls.
He turned around and saw her paying at the cash and his heart almost stopped. She turned around and saw him, then she lowered her head, trying to avoid him but Noah ran up to her, hugging her side.
"Hey little man!" She said, happily and he smiled, letting go of her. "Have you been staying out of trouble and keeping away from firecrackers?"
The young boy nodded. "You should forgive Aidan," He said and she looked at him. "He's been really grumpy and mean lately!"
Mel laughed and kneeled down. "Well, we can't have that can we?"
Aidan caught up to them and Mel stood up. He pulled out a five-dollar bill and shoved it towards Noah. "Here you go, bugger, get whatever you want."
"YES!" He shouted, running towards the counter.
"Mel," Aidan started. "I'm sorry about the other night-"
"Hey, don't worry about it," She said and he gave her a look.
"Um, okay…" He said, wondering why she had forgiven him so fast. "Care to join us?"
"I'd love to." She smiled.