I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling. I had gone home. I had no choice. Like I told Jessica, I had nowhere to go. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. I opened them again when I realized that it was 11:00 in the morning. And I'd never in my life been farther from sleep.

I picked up the phone and dialled Carter's cell phone. It rang and rang but no one answered.

Over the next two days I called him constantly. He never once picked up. The next time I saw or heard from him was at the hospital. I was walking by an empty exam room and he grabbed my arm and pulled me inside.

"Carter!" I cried happily.

He looked at me sadly. "Hey," he said, trying to smile. "Uh, Jessica's pregnant," he said.

I snorted. "Yeah, so she says."

Carter frowned. "She wouldn't lie about it, Abby. What could she possibly have to gain by lying?"

"YOU!" I said.

"Only for a little while, though. I mean, it wouldn't take long for me to realize there is no baby," he said.

"It's already taken you too long, Carter."

"Why don't you believe her?" he asked.

"Three reasons, really," I said, sitting down on a bed. "First of all, the look on her face when she told me. If she is pregnant, she couldn't care less about that baby. Second, why did she wait until now to tell you? Why didn't she tell you the instant she found out? Third, and most importantly, wasn't she out drinking with her friends three nights ago? I don't think you're supposed to drink if you're pregnant." I said this last remark sarcastically.

Carter rubbed his forehead. "Abby . . ." he said.

I looked at him expectantly. He didn't say anything. "My advice to you is to get some real proof, Carter. Take her to a pre-natal exam. And if she isn't pregnant, and you still wanna be with me - because, Carter, I'm really starting to wonder if you do or not -then we'll talk."

******************************

I sat on the roof, nervously biting my nails. "What's wrong?" a voice behind me asked. I jumped.

"Hey Susan," I said, lighting a cigarette. "What makes you think something's wrong?"

She sat down next to me. "You're biting your nails," she said. "You don't normally bite your nails."

I wrinkled my nose. "It's complicated," I said. And it was complicated. For her to understand what was wrong at that exact moment would require me telling her everything. I didn't have the energy to get into it.

Susan nodded. "Well, I'm here if you want to talk."

I closed my eyes. I had to tell her. I had to tell someone or I'd explode. "It started when Carter showed up with Jessica," I said and launched into a condensed version of the events of the past week. By the time I finished, Susan was stunned. "They're at the OB-GYN right now," I said.

Susan rubbed my shoulder. "God, Abby," she said. "That sucks."

I laughed bitterly. "Yeah, no shit." My cell phone rang. I looked at it. "It's Carter," I said.

"I'll be downstairs if you need me," Susan said, and left me alone on the roof with my ringing phone.

I took a deep breath before I answered it. "Hello?" My voice was shaking.

"Abby, it's me," he said. I couldn't hear any emotion in his voice. It occurred to me that whether, or not Jessica was actually pregnant, it was a bad situation for Carter either way. If she was pregnant, he doesn't get me. But if she wasn't pregnant, he doesn't get a baby. A baby he wants so badly. Suddenly, I felt very selfish for hoping she had been lying.

"So," I said. "How did it go?"

He sighed and I knew that whatever he had to say, it wasn't gonna be good.

REVIEW! Yay! OK, I'm gonna write the next chapter RIGHT NOW and post it tomorrow. I'm evil, I know. Teehee.