A/N: Chapter is shorter than I wanted it to be, and that frustrates me to no ends, but…it is a chapter no less.

Casey POV

I swallow nervously as I raise my fist to knock on the door. My hand trembles noticeably as I lightly not and step back to patiently wait to see if Alex is going to answer. My breathing is ragged as I anticipate the dreadfully long moments, wondering whether or not she's going to open the door.

Moments pass and to me they seem like hours, but soon I hear the locks turning on the other side of the door and I brace myself for whatever I'm about to be hit with. When the door swings open, I am met with a pair of tired, angry, and frustrated blue eyes that look cold and distant as well as lost, confused, and hurt.

Alex narrows her eyes into thin little slits behind the frames of her black rimmed glasses that I have literally only ever seen her wear one other time. "What do you want." She questions, her tone low, deathly, and filled with pain.

"Al…I—I am so, so sorry." I gasp out, knowing that she knows everything by now. It's been all over the television, the internet, the radio. I just had to pose for some stupid magazine cover shoot photo with Jake so it'll soon be hitting the stands as well. "Please. Let me in so maybe we could talk about this?" I plead, my heart sinking just a little lower when I see her stony expression remain in place. "Alex please. I'm begging. I just really need to talk to you. Please."

She stares at me with that same fearless expression before she quickly spins on her heel and retreats back into her apartment. I heave a small sigh of relief as I step over the threshold and close the door behind me. I step through the foyer and into the living room where I see her standing completely rigid in the center of the room. I walk fully into the room where I am standing maybe a few feet away from her and I try to begin with something, anything, but unfortunately, I have no idea what to say.

"You wanted to talk, so talk." She says coldly. I swear I can feel her stare boring into me intensely like a billion blazing knives.

I stare down at my shoes and try to keep my emotions in check. "I wanted to tell you. I really did. But I couldn't get a hold of you anyhow and I just…I'm so sorry."

"You're getting married." she says quietly, not in the form of a question, but rather a statement. "You're engaged to someone else…"

"I—I know Alex, I know and I just…I'm so sorry." I whimper as I felt tears welling up in my eyes. "I didn't mean for this to happen like this. My father…he found out about us, and he made all these threats and I just…I'm so sorry. I don't want to marry Jake and frankly, he doesn't want to marry me either, but my father…"

"See that's your problem." Alex snaps in a tone that I've never heard before which definitely startles me. "Forget you're father Casey. So what he doesn't approve of me. I kind of figured that he wouldn't. I mean…I might not be able to take care of you like I probably should be and of course you are way out of my league, but that doesn't mean that I don't love you with all of my heart, soul, mind, and body. I just thought none of that mattered because we love each other. But I guess I was wrong."
My eyes widen in fear and I quickly shake my head at her assumption. "Alex, I do love you; more than I've ever loved anyone before. Please don't doubt that I love you, but my father…he's my father Alex. I want to make him happy, and I just…I can't have everything."

She snorts humorlessly and shakes her head as she looks away from me. "You're right, you can't. You're engaged Casey; this is a huge deal to me. And why do you have to make your father happy? Why are you letting him run your life? You aren't a puppet so stop looking at him like he's your puppet master. It's like…it's like he has strings attached to you and when he decides he wants you to do something; you do it. It's almost like he pretty much owns you. Y-you don't have to listen to him Casey. We could go away together and make our own lives. You don't have to stay here and live up to your father's standards. We could go away and make a life together; just you and me."

A tear finally breaks past my emotional barrier and I shake my head at her words yet again. "I can't Alex, you know I can't. I can't just leave my parents like this. They both expect so much from me and that's why…that's why I can't just leave. Please understand. I don't want to get married. We could still see each other in secret and we could…"

"I don't want to be anyone's dirty little secret anymore Casey!" she shouts which startles me once again. I don't want to have to sneak around anymore. I want the world to know how much I love you. I want to walk down the street and hold your hand or kiss you when I feel like it. Forget what anyone else thinks because they don't matter. What matters is how much I love you and I need you…"

"I…I'm sorry Alex. I never meant to hurt you like this…"

Her hard gaze breaks as tears slowly make their way down her cheeks. "I gave you my everything Casey. I—I told you about my childhood, my life, I opened up to you! My first time with anyone was with you because I thought it'd be special because I just love you so much it hurts. I opened myself up to you, and that's something I've never done to anyone else before in my life. I opened up and I let you in. We can forget about your father. We don't need him."

By now I realize that I'm crying and biting down on my lip so hard that I draw blood. "Alex I'm sorry…can we just work this out?"

"I won't be your side secret while you are engaged." She says sternly before she shakes her head, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. "I can't be the other woman. Please…don't do this to my heart."

"Time Alex. Please give me time. I need to figure things out." I plead. I feel like I'm going to be sick, but right now, I'm determined not to.

Alex's hurtful gaze turns cold once again yet I can actually see tears at bay for her. "Fine, then leave." She says coldly even though her voice cracks on the tale end of the sentence. "Don't stay here and torture me like this any longer."

I want to argue with her, but I can see that she's struggling with her emotions, and she really wants to be alone at the moment. I look at the folded papers in my purse and take them out before I walk over to her coffee table and place them there. "These are for you." I say quietly before I straighten up again. "You can look at them when I'm gone."

She stares at me unmoving as I make my way to her door. I send her a small smile as I open the door and step out into the hall. When I make my way back down to my car, I finally let all of my emotions consume me and I sob long and hard against the steering wheel.

Alex POV

I grip my steering wheel so tightly that I can see the veins in my hands straining against my sink. My heart is thumping loudly and it feels like there are a billion bass drums in my ears keeping an erratic yet constant rhythm. I reach over to the passenger seat and pick up the papers that Casey had left at my apartment not even two days ago.

I glance at the papers for a long moment before I shove them into my back pocket and exit my vehicle. I adjust my hoodie against the sudden cold breeze although my attempt proves futile and I soon find myself shuddering against the cold.

Making my way up the stone pathway, I try to mentally check all of my emotions making sure that they are all where they are directed and supposed to me. I swallow thickly and gaze up at the house as I reach the front door, and before I lose all of my nerve; I ring the doorbell. The bell is rather loud even from the outside but with how large this house is, I'm sure it has to be loud so it can be heard all over the place.

Even though I'm only kept waiting a few seconds, it feels like hours to me and I actually consider turning around to leave. As soon as I'm about to consider sprinting back to me car, the door opens and I feel like I am literally met with the fifteen year old version of myself. The girl and I stare at each other for a long moment before she is the first one to break the silence.

"You…you look like me." she says quietly as if dumbfounded that I've found my way to her doorstep.

"No…you look like me." I reply with a small shaky of my head as her steely blue eyes continue to rake over me with curiosity.

She stares at me for another long moment before she slowly begins to back into the house. "Mooooom…." She calls out into the house, leaving the door open with me standing on the porch. I don't know whether that means I can come in or not, but I take a chance and step into the house, making sure to close the door behind me.

I follow the sound of the teens hurried footsteps and I catch up with her just as she's entering a large room with a taller blonde woman wearing a curious expression. The woman's gaze snaps towards me and her look of confusion quickly turns into one of surprise as if she's seen a ghost or something.

I clear my throat awkwardly and shove my hands into my pockets. "Hi…" I begin, having to clear my throat again to make my voice more suitable.

"I'm…uh…I'm Alex."

The woman stares at me for the longest of times before she slowly crosses the room and continues to stare at me. Well gee, now I finally see where I got my eyes from.

"Alexandra, is it really you?" she speaks as the mere question is going to cause me to just vanish on the spot.

I swallow thickly and nod my head, losing all of my cool in a manner of seconds. "Y-yeah…"

"It's been a long time." Well no shit lady.

"Twenty six years is a long time." I respond tersely, all of my anger emotions beginning to surface at once. My eyes flicker towards the teenager who quickly recoils under my harsh gaze. "That your kid?"

The woman nods at my question and briefly looks back at her daughter. "Yes…that is my daughter McKenzie."

"What makes her so special." I ask angrily, refusing to try and mask my emotions any longer. I can see her expression turn into that of shock as if she briefly doesn't understand the question, so I repeat it again. "What makes her so special and so…different."

Isn't it funny how I have refused to call this woman 'my mother'? I refuse simply because I can't do it. She hasn't been there for me at all, and there is literally no way I can accept her as a parent.

"What makes her so different that she deserved a loving family while I was left to rot alone?" I spit angrily, clearly startling the both of them.

"Alexandra, please don't think that way." Veronica pleads, trying to calm me down even though this is pretty much the calm before the storm for me. "I never wanted to give you away."

I snuff irritably and shake my head as a bitter chuckle escapes my throat. "Which is why I am standing here at twenty six years old finally coming face to face with the woman who gave birth to me. You didn't care."

"That's not true!" she screeches as tears spring to her eyes. "I've always cared! I've thought about you every single day since that horrid day that I had to give my child away."

"DO NOT call me that. Do not call me your child because you are not my mother. A mother is someone who would do anything for their child, that's what a mother is. I waited for you. My entire childhood consisted of meaningless hopes that one day you would come and take me away from that place that I had to grow up in alone! I wasn't even adopted by anyone else! While I'm literally having to take care of myself, you are out having another bastard child with your bastard husband!"

Veronica's eyes harden in anger despite the tears streaked down her cheeks. "You WILL NOT talk about my daughter in that manner. She has nothing to do with this and I will not stand here and allow you to degrade her because of your jealous rage."

"Jealous?!" I shout, my anger starting to get the best of me. "You think I'm jealous of her!? I'm not sure what would be worse, growing up alone knowing you didn't even want me, or growing up here STILL with the knowledge of knowing I was unwanted. YOU WERE SIXTEEN! Clearly I was nothing more than a mistake. A mistake that neither you nor your husband was willing the live with!"

"That's not true!" she whimpers shaking her head vigorously. "You weren't a mistake and I didn't want to give you away. I tried my hardest, please understand that I did."

I narrow my eyes and my gaze flickers to McKenzie once again and pretty soon all of my anger is channeled directly at her. "How does it feel finding out you've been living a lie?! Know that you got lucky to be the spoiled rich brat of the family?!"

"Alexandra, you need to calm down." Veronica exclaims hysterically as she places both of her hands on my shoulders. "I wanted to keep you but your father he wouldn't…I tried everything that I could but we were so poor and I couldn't support a child at my age. I tried so hard I did."

My father. It's his fault that I am completely alone. It is entirely his fault that all my life I've felt like a pathetic orphan who no one wanted. I grit my teeth in anger and see a man slowly enter the room out of the corner of my eye. I see Veronica and McKenzie's eyes flicker to him as well and I know exactly who he is; that bastard.

That bastard standing on the other side of the room is the cause of my pain. He is the fucking reason that I am the way I am and the very fucking reason that I have lived my life without a family.

I don't feel like myself anymore. I feel like I am looking at the world through a red colored glass. I have never felt more hatred and anger towards anything or anyone in my whole entire life. As I said before, I've become a completely different person and my actions are no longer rationalized.

Blindly utilizing my intense training, I quickly draw my service weapon from my holster and spin around quickly, aiming the fire arm dead at his chest. I see the surprise written on his face as I don't fire yet he takes a stumbling step backwards.

I grit my teeth so hard that I feel like they're going to shatter completely inside my mouth. I hate him and I want him to die more than anything right at this very moment. I tighten my hold around my gun and stare straight into his frightened eyes.

"Give me one good reason on why I should not kill you right now."

Sheesh, major, major, MAJOR cliffie right here! I even surprised myself with this one. Leave your feedback?