Chapter 5

"Oh…my…god…" Marissa breathed out, as she saw what was in Alex's father's hands. It was a boy…a young, healthy, adorable baby boy…he looked to be about 2 years old, and he was sleeping. He was lightly snoring, and as the Californian sun shone through the door onto his face, Marissa saw that he had Alex's features down to a pat.

"…Nathan…" Alex said mournfully.

"He's getting older Alex; he's learning how to speak, how to walk, heck, he even inherited your passion of music. Quite the set of pipes on this guy…"Alex's father joked as he set him down on the couch.

"Michael, stop this nonsense. We did not come here to joke around, we came here for business."

"Ah, of course mom. Business, business, business; it's always about business with you, isn't it?" Alex said, her voice surprisingly full of malice.

"Well, it is a matter of business. You have to take responsibility for your mistakes instead of running."

"God mom, have you even realized that the thing I'm running away from is you!"

Before the argument could get along any further however, they soon heard a small giggle. All three heads turned as they saw that Marissa had little Nathan on her lap, playing with him while Nathan was wearing a huge smile on his face. Nathan had Marissa's pinky in his palm while she was simply bopping him up and down, earning a fit of giggles from the small boy.

Everyone continued to stare at the fact that the little boy bonding so easily with Marissa, when he still didn't even trust Alex's mom (but who did?). For the first time since Marissa realized that Nathan was awake and started playing, she also realized the room had become silent, excluding Nathan's laughter. As Marissa looked up, she realized that now that the spotlight was on her.

"Oh…sorry…I can leave if you want Alex…" Marissa said, picking up Nathan with her, since Nathan wasn't relinquishing his grip on Marissa's hand and hair anytime soon.

"No…no it's okay Marissa, you stay…" Alex said gently, but soon turned on her mother. "You however, can leave…now."

"Fine…we're leaving. But I'm telling you right now, we're leaving, we're not coming back, and from this point on…" Mrs. Kelly started, whipping out a number of sheets, "This baby is your responsibility now. Live with it!"

Mrs. Kelly thrust the papers into Alex's hand, and stormed out of the apartment. As Alex looked down in disbelief at the papers, her father came up to her side and threw a supporting arm over her shoulders.

"Don't worry sweetie…" he whispered into Alex's ear. "I'll be sending funds every month, and don't you dare say no, because I've already started." He handed Alex an envelope of money, gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead, and left the house, closing the door gently behind him.

Alex continued to stare at the papers, and to Marissa's confusion, sank down onto her knees and started to sob openly. This action shocked Marissa, since never had she even seen a single tear cross Alex's eyes before.

As Marissa looked on in confusion and shock, little baby Nathan simple looked sad and guilty. He struggled in Marissa's grip, causing her to put him down. He soon started to waddle up to his mother, and laid his head down in her lap. As Alex looked down in shock, the next three words out of his mouth shocked both Alex and Marissa.

"I'm sorry mommy…"