Chapter 11

Again, I don't own any of these characters

Cody is just sitting on his bed, staring at nothing in particular. What had just happened? Why did Bailey feel she had to do this? Didn't she understand that he would love her no matter what. And then there was Rebecca. What was her problem? Cody thought he had been perfectly clear to her earlier about where he stood. He had thought she was a good person. Why was she trying to destroy his life now? And the worst part about it was there was nothing Cody could do about it. Bailey wouldn't listen to him and he couldn't go set Rebecca straight. He sighed and fell back on the bed. The bed he would have to sleep in alone now. Why wouldn't it just swallow him whole now? He knew he had to do something, but what? Something inside of him was telling him that there was more going on than he knew. As he continued to ponder that, his thoughts were interrupted by a knock at his door. Could it be Bailey coming back? He leaped off his bed and darted to the door. However, upon opening it, he found Zack and Cassie instead of Bailey.

"Ohhh...Its you guys..."

Zack smirked. "Good to see you again too, bro..."

Cody sighed. "No offense, I was just hoping it was Bailey coming back..."

Cassie stared at Cody. "Why is she crashing in my room?"

"Its a long story..."

Cassie smirked. "We have time..."

Cody sighed and proceeded to tell Zack and Cassie everything that had happened that day and finished with his last conversation with Bailey.

"So, let me get this straight...this Rebecca girl states her intentions on you, so Bailey decided to move out?"

Cody nods. "Pretty much..."

Zack shrugs. "But why?"

"She says it her way of standing up and fighting for me..."

Cassie has been thinking. "None of this makes any sense...Wouldn't it be smarter for Rebecca to go after you behind your backs?"

"You would think it would..."

Cassie shakes her head. "She had to know Bailey would tell you...Unless..."

Zack looks to Cassie. "Unless what?"

Cassie pauses. "Unless that was somehow part of her plan?"

Cody rubs his eyes. "But that makes absolutely no sense...And its not like I was ambiguous when I told Rebecca how I felt about Bailey. Why would you want someone that you know for sure that their heart belongs to another?"

Cassie sighs. "That's just it, Cody...The heart wants what it wants..."

Cody gets frustrated. "I just wish I could go set her straight!"

Zack turns to his brother. "Then why don't you?"

"Because I can't...I'm a judge remember...no fraternizing with contestants..."

Zack grins. "Who say you will be? Maybe it was 'me' who went to talk to her?"

Cody looks to his brother. "Huh?"

Zack laughs. "Dude, we used to pretend to be the other all the time...'Zack' will go talk to Rebecca while 'Cody' is here with Cassie as an alibi..."

Cassie turns to her boyfriend. "Zack...that's genious!"

Cody pauses to think. "I guess it could work..."

Zack grins. "Of course it will...You go do that, and we'll be right here. Once you get back, we'll know better where to go from there..."

Cody stands up and is about to head out to find Rebecca. He is about to leave the cabin, when he turns back. "Thanks...I really appreciate your help..."

Zack smiles. "Any time, bro..."

With that, Cody is off.

Outside Rebecca's Cabin

Rebecca has just returned to her room. She pauses and reflects about everything that has happened that day. Why had she let herself get talked into that creep's plan? She now regretted it, but she was at a point of no return. If she didn't follow through with it, Josh had guaranteed that all the plans she had made for the future would go up in smoke. And if she did, she would be trying to ruin someone's life who had done nothing to her. It was no wonder that Bailey had threatened to make Josh's life miserable. He deserved it! And as far as Rebecca could surmise, all Bailey had done was love and be loved by Cody. Rebecca sighed when she thought of him. He had done nothing wrong either, but here she was trying to mess with his life as well. Cody had made it clear to her how he felt about Bailey. She had let the fantasy of what life would be like with someone who was so sweet and thoughtful mess with her mind. Upon reflection, Rebecca could really see that her ex had done a real number on her. She could only shake her head when she felt that she wasn't alone. She turned to her side and there he was.

"Cody, what are you doing here?"

Cody smirked. "You seriously have to ask that question?"

Rebecca sighed. "I know you must be upset...Why don't we talk inside my cabin?"

"No thanks...What I have to say won't last long and I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea..."

"Cody, I'm sorry..."

Cody is angry now. "Who do you think you are?"

Rebecca is taken aback. "What?"

Cody presses on. "What right do you have to try to interfere with my life and Bailey's life?"

"Cody..."

"I will tell you this right now, so listen closely...I will never ever be with someone like you! You know how I feel about Bailey! I told you so! But that didn't stop you did it..."

"Cody..."

"What? You have a reason why you are doing this? I would love to hear it!"

Rebecca sighs. "I know you're angry...And if I was in your position, I know I would be too. But I have my reasons for doing what I'm doing..."

Cody smirks. "And I bet they're good ones too..."

"You don't understand. My last boyfriend was a complete jerk..."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"I'm getting there...I finally broke up with him, but he still wouldn't leave me alone. Finally, I was forced to get a restraining order against him. But, the memories kept flooding my dreams. I would wake up in a cold sweat almost every night. I thought I was going to go crazy until about a month ago..."

Cody sighed. "What happened then?"

"I was in another beauty pageant and one of the other contestant's name was Tyreesha. I know, its not a very common name, and I hadn't heard the name since I had met you in Boston...But immediately upon hearing it, I thought of you. I hadn't thought about you in years, but then there you were popping back into my head. And I remembered the sweet guy who was willing to throw the pageant to help me. I remembered the kind person who was always so nice to me. The thought of you gave me hope again...

"Well, I can understand that I guess, but did you ever give any thought to the life I've lead since I last saw you?"

Rebecca is pleading. "Cody, you have to understand, even thought I thought of you, I knew the odds of me seeing you ever again were slim to none. As far as I knew, you were still in Boston, and I had no plans to ever go back..."

Cody pauses. "I think I get it...The idea of me was more of a stand in to let you focus on instead of constantly thinking about your ex..."

Rebecca smiles. "Exactly...It gave me a reason to remember that not all guys were bad and that there were some good ones out there..."

Cody sighs. "While I appreciate the compliment, that still doesn't excuse what you said to Bailey..."

Rebecca sighs too. "I know. Its just when I saw your brother in the lobby, the fantasy turned into a reality. When I heard that you were here, I guess I lost my head for a little while..."

Cody sighs and rubs his neck. "But you have to know that there is no reality between us. My heart belongs to and will always belong to Bailey..."

Rebecca nods. "I can see that...But the thought of you with her threatened to destroy my fantasy..."

"Rebecca, I hate to say it, but that's not my problem..."

"I know...but if you knew what had happened, you would understand..."

Cody shakes his head. "I get it, he was a jerk who didn't know when to let go..."

Tears begin to form in Rebecca's eyes. "No, you don't...Cody, he used to hit me! I know I should have gotten away from him, but I thought he loved me...It wasn't until...It wasn't until..."

Cody is stunned. "Until what?"

"Until he tried to rape me then I knew I had to get away!"

To be Continued...