Chapter Sixteen: This Is How A Heart Breaks

A/N: The title of this chapter is taken from Rob Thomas' song. He owns the lyrics in here too.

"What's wrong?" Manny asked Chris. She knew it was going to be bad. "You can tell me."

"It's about Sera," he said and paused. Manny's heart sank, but she kept a straight face. "I've ruined everything," he said, putting his head in his hands. He was trying not to cry.

"Just tell me Chris. Whatever you did, there's no changing it. So you might as well just say it," Manny said and rubbed his back. Chris took a deep breath and let it out.

"It all started the day that Lily and Lucas were born," he began, looking at his sleeping children. When I left the hospital, I drove over to the Daniels' house and got all of my clothes. I borrowed some money from Spinner and left for New York. I didn't stay with any relatives because I knew that someone would find me. So, I stayed with my best friend, Mike. His parents were away for a few months, traveling on business. All I did was mope around the house, or lay in bed all day. After I had been there for a month, Mike decided to have a party with all of my old friends to try and cheer me up," he paused once more.

"What happened at the party Chris?" Manny asked him, afraid of the answer.

"Mike's idea didn't work, and I got more upset, thinking about how much I missed you, but I couldn't go back because I was afraid. So I found some beer in the refrigerator. I drank about four or five of them, I don't remember. I stumbled back to my bed where Sera was lying, and she was drunk too. The next thing I knew, I woke up next to her. I knew then and there that I had to be with you, so I came back home. Manny, I'm so sorry…" he trailed off.

"You had sex with her, didn't you?" Manny asked, tears forming behind her eyes.

"Yeah, I did. But that's not the end of it. She's here Manny. She moved to Toronto to be near me," he said.

"Why? Is she in love with you or something?"

"She wants me to be near our son," he finally said. Manny was speechless. She stared at Chris with her mouth open, and tears pouring out of her eyes.

"How does she know it's yours?" she whispered.

"I'm the only one she's ever been with," Chris answered. "Manny, I'm so sorry; I didn't know anything like this was going to happen. I love you, and always will."

"You of all people should know that I hate secrets Chris. Whether you knew she was pregnant or not, you never told me about sleeping with her. Maybe if you had told me the day you came back, I would have the strength to forgive you," Manny said.

I never wanted to hurt you. I…" Chris tried to say.

"Get out."

"But Manny, I…"

"Get out!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

And I'm steady but I'm starting to shake
And I don't know how much more I can take

Chris got up and pulled his suitcase out from under their bed. He started packing up his clothes, and Manny kept her back to him the entire time. When he was done packing, he walked over to Lucas and Lily's cribs and kissed them both. He tried to kiss Manny one last time, but she turned away from him. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he said one last thing.

"I love you Manny." Chris walked up the stairs and out of Manny's life.

This is it now
Everybody get down
This is all I can take
This is how a heart breaks.
You take a hit now
You feel it break down
Make you stay wide awake
This is how a heart breaks.

For the next two days in school, Manny would not even look at Chris. She knew from talking to Marco that he was now living with Sera in her apartment. Sera didn't go to DCS at all because she had to drop out of school to raise the baby. He was a month old. It was now their graduation night and Manny was talking to Emma and Jimmy before they got started.

"How are you holding up Manny?" Emma asked her.

"I'm fine Em; really," she lied.

"Stop lying. You look horrible," Jimmy told her.

"Gee, thanks Jimmy. That makes me feel great," Manny said sarcastically.

"Sorry. Actually, I've been wanting to tell you something," he said. But before he could, Spinner yelled to him. Both he and Hazel were there to see Jimmy graduate. Hazel was now five months along, and she was getting big. "I'll be right back," he told her and walked away.

"You miss him don't you?" Emma asked her best friend. She noticed that Manny was staring at Chris.

"Not really," Manny lied. For a moment, Chris turned and they made eye contact. He was going to walk over but decided not to when she looked away. Just then, Mr. Radditch came over and told them to go stand in their spots. Mr. Armstrong was calling names and presenting the diplomas. Manny clapped as hard as she could when Jimmy's name was called, and again when Emma's was. When they called Chris' name, (which was somewhere in between her two friends) she held back tears.

Then she turned and looked into the audience. She spotted Spike, Snake, and Jack there for Emma. Next to them were Heather, Jason, Jayden, Caleb, Anthony, Quinn, Lily, and Lucas. Paige, Avery, and Jake were there too. Then she saw Chris' parents sitting with Hazel and Spinner.

"Manuela Santos," Mr. Armstrong announced her name. Manny snapped out of it and proudly walked towards him. She took her diploma, shook his hand, and walked off the stage. After everyone's names had been called, all of the graduates went outside to talk to their friends. Manny got her pictures taken with Emma, Jimmy, and the Daniels family. Her parents never showed up, but she didn't care. Chris came up to her and asked her to pose for a picture with him, and she agreed. After the picture was taken, she walked away from him, got into her truck with the twins in the back, and cried.

A knock on her window caused her to jump. She turned and saw Jimmy standing there. She rolled the window down.

"Sorry I scared you," he said.

"That's okay. Do you want a ride home?" she asked him.

"Sure," he said and climbed into the truck. "How does it feel to have graduated?" he asked her as they pulled away.

"Nothing really special," she said and shrugged.

"Well, I'm glad it's finally over," he said. He noticed that she was very upset. "Did you want some company tonight?" he asked. Manny thought for a minute and almost accepted. Then she remembered that she was having a sleepover.

"Emma, Paige, and Avery are sleeping over. It's sort of a girls' celebration thing. I'd invite you, but I think you'd be really bored," she said.

"Yeah, I guess so," Jimmy said, his spirits sinking. He wanted to tell her something, but decided not to. "Well, here is your invitation," he said, handing her a card. They had just pulled up to his condo, and he got out of the truck. "It's for my graduation party, in a week," he told her. "Just to warn you, Chris is invited too."

"I'll definitely be there," Manny said and gave him a weak smile.

"I'm glad to hear that," he said. "Bye." He shut the door and walked away. He turned to wave as she drove away. "I love you Manny," he whispered, but she obviously couldn't hear him.