Chapter 4

By one o'clock, he was awake again. His mood was as black as it ever got, and he packed a bag for the gym with a string of curse words. Andy hit the pool first, and then the machines. Then he hit the showers.

He couldn't figure out exactly who he was mad at. Kate hadn't done anything wrong, at least not anything more than he had. And he couldn't be mad at her for stopping him. He was afraid to lose her, too. He resolved to just be mad at the world in general.

Katie had a miserable day. She maintained her professionalism with her clients, didn't let on about her own state of mind, but she was beside herself with grief. Andy meant the world to her, and she couldn't bear to think of life without him. She couldn't continue to lead him on, however. She forced herself not to text him.

She went to the movies to bide her time.

A week passed, and they still hadn't spoken. Katie was having dinner with her parents when Alex mentioned having a get together with the Logans. Both of her parents saw her reaction.

"What is it, Katie? Something with you and Andy?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Daddy."

Alex glanced over at her husband. "I guess we can just invite Mike and Carolyn, without the kids," she offered.

Bobby raised his hands in a "whatever" gesture. "How long as this been going on?" he asked, after a brief interlude.

"About a week."

Bobby looked over at his wife, who said, "You guys have had fights before. It'll pass."

Katie squirmed in her seat. It hadn't exactly been a fight. She really, really didn't want to talk to her parents about this. "I guess you're right, Mom," she finally said.

Darren set the baby in the playpen and picked up the phone. "Andy! How are you?" he asked cheerfully.

Andy changed the subject, talked about his job, and a new problem he was having with the mustang.

The baby started to cry, and Darren scooped her up, but he couldn't console her. Their conversation was coming to a close. Darren shouted to be heard over Lucy's cries, "Bring Katie over on Sunday—we'll have brunch."

"Uh, I… I'll ask Angela," he said.

Darren blanched. Shit, he thought to himself. "No, never mind. Just come by yourself. Whenever you want, man, I'll be here. I gotta go, I don't know what Lucy wants," he explained and quickly hung up the phone.

Andy hung up too, feeling rotten. He pulled up Angela's number on the speed dial and stared at it. She hadn't tried to call him in weeks. He was upset, but he wasn't going to be stupid. He clicked his phone back to the home display and set it down.

Even in the midst of her personal crisis, Katie was excelling at her job. She threw herself into her work, and she continued to impress her coworkers. If she needed a break, she went to the movies. Anything not to think about Andy.

It had been almost two weeks since they'd kissed, and neither had made contact with the other since that night. Buried in her new routine, she wasn't feeling the pain, but Dr. Goren knew she was only distracting herself, avoiding, putting it off. Katie ran her fingers through her tangled evening hair and sighed. Avoiding was good enough for now.

"What's going on with the kids?" Alex asked Carolyn, as they chatted in the kitchen over a glass of tea.

"Something's going on?" Carolyn asked.

"Katie was over the other day. She didn't want to see, or talk about, Andy."

Carolyn frowned. "We haven't seen much of Andy lately. I just thought he was busy working. I don't know, Alex. He hasn't said anything."

"A mystery," Alex said, with her eyebrow raised.

"Oh, it's probably nothing," Carolyn said. "They probably had an argument or something."

"But still, don't you want to know why? What it was about?"

"You've got too much time on your hands."

"Maybe so," Alex laughed.

Bobby's voice called frantically from the back stoop. "Alex! Carolyn! Call an ambulance!" Alex grabbed her phone and Carolyn ran out back.

Andy and Katie nearly ran into each other at the front entrance of the hospital. They stared at each other a second, and then Katie stepped aside so he could hurry in. She followed him.

Andy ran past the Gorens and in the direction Bobby pointed him, where he saw his mother standing by his father's bed in the ER. Katie jogged in, too, and threw herself into her mother's arms. Bobby, his face grim, rubbed her back.

Three hours later, Mike was moved to a room upstairs. It appeared to be a repeat of the last episode, and everyone was concerned. He was finally comfortable, dozing in and out in the hospital bed as the heart monitor blipped and the oxygen pumped under his nose.

Andy had spent most of the day consoling his mother, holding her, staying strong for her. He was terrified. As the evening drew near, Bobby and Alex moved in to sit with Carolyn, and Katie and Andy drifted out into a waiting room.

They still hadn't spoken. Katie had stood by silently for hours, worried, but knowing enough to stay back. Now she watched him sink into the vinyl couch and hang his head in his hands. Katie sat beside him and wrapped her arms around him, and he melted in her embrace. Andy cried, and she cried too.

"I'm so sorry, Kate," he said as he began to regain his self-control.

"I'm sorry, too, Andy," she said.

He put his arms around her and pulled her in tight. "I can't live without you," he said.

"Oh, Andy," she breathed, and she began kissing his neck. The kisses soothed them both, and soon, they were in a lover's embrace, mouths locked together and burning for each other.

Someone cleared his throat. The second time, they heard and broke the kiss. Bobby averted his eyes, not wanting to embarrass them further. "Andy, your Dad's asking for you."

In a split second he was on his feet and down the hall, leaving Katie to stare dumbly at her father. He shifted his weight on his feet. "So things are all right, now, I take it?" He prodded.

She cleared her throat and ran her fingers through her hair. "Yeah. I guess so."

His eyes flitted around the room, but he said, "Looked to me like you know so."

Katie sighed. "Daddy, please. I don't want to talk about it."

Just then, Alex walked in. She looked between the two of them. "What'd I miss?" She asked.

"I'm going to go get a soda," Katie announced and slid past her father and out of the room.