A/N: language warning! (for all the sensitive people out there...)

CHAPTER FIVE - My Business

It was dusk and the sun was setting when I finally made it back to the hotel. I didn't know how I was going to face Pete. I knew he'd call me a coward – and really, how could I blame him?

I sighed and hesitated before I knocked on the door of our room. Pete answered the door with a worried look in his eyes. He didn't say anything and before I could get one word out, he drew me close and tightly wrapped his arms around me. I closed my eyes and just felt glad that I was back in his arms.

"Don't ever do that to me, Cass," he said, in a hushed but strong tone. "You got us worried. We didn't know what to do after you ran out and we couldn't find you."

"I'm sorry," I apologized sincerely, removing myself from his embrace. "I just didn't – Wait." I stopped mid-sentence and considered what he had just said to me. "'We'? Who's 'we'?" I took a step around him and pushed the door wider. Sitting on the couch was Craig, holding a cup of coffee. He looked up at me, with obvious concern in his eyes. My heart jumped to my throat. I immediately turned around, but Pete chased me down the hallway and gripped my wrist.

"No. You can't do this again."

"I can do whatever the hell I want to," I shot back, wrenching my arm from his grip and turning to face him. "Why did you have to invite him up here?" He looked at me squarely in the eyes and said,

"I told him, Cass. I told him everything." I stood there, completely shocked.

"What the hell, Pete?! What made you think you had any right to do that?!" I yelled. "This is my business! Mine!"

"You made it my business when you asked to come with you. When you asked me to be there and support you," he replied strongly. The anger I was feeling blurred my thoughts. I was steaming mad and said the first thing that popped into my head.

"Fuck you, Pete."

The moment those words were out of my mouth, I wished I could take them back. The strong look in Pete's eyes turned into sadness as I desperately looked at him.

I knew better. Our relationship wasn't anything like this. Any argument we'd ever had in the past had never gone this far – never resorting to name- calling or emotional abuse to purposely hurt the other person.

"I-I didn't mean that. I'm sorry," I immediately said, tearful and reaching for his hand. All my anger was gone in a blink of an eye and I realized that I didn't care about anything else besides making things all right with Pete – the only person who really mattered to me.

I could mess up everything else in my life – just not us. The idea of us together meant the world to me.