Chapter Thirteen: Last Night (Part One)

Can you feel the rain
Can you feel the cold surround you
You and I are the same
Perfect in our own weird way

I woke up on Friday morning, thankful that it was almost the weekend. I got ready for school, and Danica still wasn't awake yet. Lately, she's been sleeping in. After I ate breakfast, I still had twenty minutes before school started. Jay walked right into the house and down to my room while I was getting Dani dressed.

"We have to talk Jay," I said, sitting down on my bed. It became the place where things always got discussed. He sat down beside me and took Danica, holding her close, and kissing her on the forehead. It was so strange to see this side of him; but so comforting at the same time.

"What's up?" he asked when he realized I was staring at him. I sighed and bit my lip. I didn't know how he was going to take this.

"Jay…this is your last day," I said.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I found a day care for Danica. I won't need you to watch her after today," I explained.

"How could you do that to me?" he asked, tears in his eyes. Wow, I didn't think he'd get this upset.

"It's not fair that you're helping raise her when you're not her father Jay! She doesn't need to grow up with someone who won't always be there. You don't need this either!" I yelled. Danica started crying and I took her from him.

"I want to help!" he yelled back. "I love her!"

"She starts on Monday. Bye honey," I whispered, kissing her, handing her back to him, and leaving.

Do you believe that things can change
Do you believe they stay the same
'Cause I don't need your light to light my way
I don't need it I'm wide awake

"Emma, why weren't you in school yesterday?" Mr. Armstrong asked me at the end of class.

"I was sick."

"Well, you missed your makeup test," he said.

"Shoot! I forgot about it," I groaned.

"Why didn't you just tell us you had a baby? Surely we'll all do our best to help you," he said.

"What?" I yelled. "Who told you?"

"Ms. Santos was worried about you. She…" I cut him off.

"Manny told you? I can't believe her! I don't need special treatment okay? I just want to get through my last year!" I yelled.

"There's no need to get so upset. I'll schedule you another makeup."

"I don't want another one! I'll just take the failing grade okay? I don't want everyone knowing about my daughter, which is why I never told Manny in the first place. Can you promise not to tell any of my other teachers?" I asked him. "Please. I don't want people to pity me or something just because I'm a teenage mother."

"I'm sorry Emma; we had a staff meeting yesterday. They already know," Mr. Armstrong told me.

"Ugh! I don't believe this!" I stormed out of the room and into Media Immersions, five minutes late. Dad saw me crying, so he didn't say anything to me about being late.

"What's wrong?" Manny asked as I sat down next to her.

"You told everyone!" I hissed. "I can't believe you!"

"I only told Craig," she said, knowing very well what I was talking about.

"And Mr. Armstrong, who told the rest of the teachers and the principal!" Manny covered her mouth with her hand.

"I'm so sorry Em! I didn't mean to. And I didn't know he was going to tell!" I could tell she really meant it.

"I guess I can forgive you." I wiped the tears off my face and directed my attention at my website, which was due at the end of class.

The only other interesting thing that happened during the day was auditions for Pirates of the Caribbean. I wasn't all that prepared, because of course, I forgot. But I think my audition went pretty well. All I had to do was make it through study hall, and then the list would be posted.

I rushed out to the main hallway as soon as the bell rang. People were crowed all around the list. Some were laughing and yelling in excitement, others turned and walked way, either crying or pissed off. As soon as the area cleared a bit, I approached the list. Looking at the very top, I found Captain Jack Sparrow, traced the line with my finger, and ended on the name James York. Wow, I never expected JT to try out for that part.

Taking a deep breath, I found Elizabeth Swann. Doing the same as before, I traced the line. The name at the end was…Emma Nelson! Yes, I got the part! I mentally jumped for joy, and then scanned the rest of the list with a huge smile plastered on my face. William Turner…Oliver James. Oh. My. God. This cannot be happening. The smile left my face.

"You don't look very happy for someone who just made the female lead in a play," someone said. I turned and found myself face to face with Oliver.

"Go away," I said, turning around and heading for the main doors. I walked out onto the steps, knowing full well that he was following me.

"Emma, please. I need to talk to you. Give me a chance to explain!" he begged.

"Explain what?" I asked, whirling around to face him. "That the entire time we were together; everything was a lie? That you had a girlfriend and a son? That you never even loved me? It was all a lie Oliver!" I yelled. I turned around, determined to leave, when he grabbed my arm.

"It wasn't a lie! I never loved Brooklyn!" he yelled. "I was going to break up with her the day she told me she was pregnant. But I couldn't abandon my own child! I stayed with her for Maddox. When I met you, I fell for you. Hard. And I didn't want to lose you. But you left. And when Brooke told me that she was moving here; I was so excited. I knew that I would finally get the chance to tell you everything. I never knew that she'd end up being a good friend of yours before I ever got the chance to tell you! I love you Emma!"

"How can I believe that?" I whispered, tears forming behind my eyes for the millionth time that day. Oliver leaned towards me, putting an arm behind my back and pulling me closer to him. Then he kissed me. It was the kiss I had remembered from L.A. The one that made me fall in love with him in the first place. I felt my knees get weak. Throwing my arms around his neck, I ran my hands through his hair and pushed my tongue into his mouth. It was so nice to remember what love felt like. When we pulled apart, both of us had huge smiles on our faces. This is how it used to be.

"I gotta pick Maddox up at daycare, you want to come?" Oliver asked me.

"What about Brooklyn? If you love me, what are you going to tell her?" I asked, not even answering his question.

"I don't know Emma. Look, I do love you, but I don't think I can just walk away like that, walk away from my son and his mother," he said.

"You mean you're going to stay with her? Even after that? After what you just told me?" I asked, tears forming once again.

"I don't know what else I can do," he said, sighing.

"Leave her! Come and be with me and Danica," I said. "You can still see Maddox! You don't have to stay with someone you don't love."

"Emma, I can't do this right now. I have to go get him. Can you come by my apartment later so we can talk some more?" he asked.

"I guess so. Oliver, you need to tell Brooklyn about us. About what happened last year," I said before turning around and walking away.

Can you feel me breathe
Can you feel the heart that's beating
I'm sick and tired of feeling
The candle burn inside me

When I got back home, Jay wouldn't talk to me. He kissed Danica goodbye, hugged her, and then left. I thought I saw a tear in his eye, but maybe I was just imagining it. I feel bad doing this to him. And I know Dani loves spending time with him, but I think it's better that I ended it sooner rather than later.

I didn't want Jay to feel like he was Danica's father; because he's not. I know that I'm not going to have her real dad be in her life, but I wanted Oliver to be her father figure. He's been with her since she was born, and he only missed out on a month and a half. I'm doing the right thing; aren't I?

But then something occurred to me. What if Oliver doesn't come back to me? The kiss we shared made me fall for him in an instant. But what if he chooses to stay with Brooklyn out of loyalty? What am I thinking? I can't afford to let my life revolve around 'what if.' I made the right decision. I can't play house with Jay when I want Oliver to be the one that's there. And it's not fair to Danica to have all these people in her life come and go. So I ended it before she was old enough to remember.

I waited as long as I could before I headed over to Oliver's apartment. That ended up being only about a half hour. I put Danica in her car seat and went to his place. He let me in on the first knock, and I set Dani down in the playpen with Maddox before running over to Oliver and kissing him. He showed me the apartment, ending the tour in his bedroom. We sat on the bed across from each other, talking.

"So, that guy that you kissed the other day. Was he Dani's father?" he asked me. I shook my head. "So, what? You used him to make me jealous?"

"Yeah, I guess so," I replied.

"Does he know that?"

"Yep. He's just a friend," I assured him.

"So, which one is the guy you told me about? I forget his name…" he trailed off.

"You wouldn't know him; he doesn't go to our school anymore," I told Oliver.

"Have you told him about his daughter?" he asked.

"No. I can't, it's complicated."

"The guy has a right to know that he has a child. Why can't you just tell him? It doesn't mean that he has to be a part of her life. That's what I'm here for." He flashed me that gorgeous smile of his. I was just about to answer him when the phone rang. Oliver got up and went into the kitchen to answer it.

"That was Brooklyn. She's coming over. You better go," he said when he came back into the room.

"What?" I asked. "But I just got here!" I pouted and tried to kiss him but he pulled away.

"I have to do this on my own okay? I'll call you later." He kissed me on the cheek and led me back to the small living room.

"You're going to tell her about us?" I asked.

"Yeah, I guess I'll have to," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Hurry! I don't want her to catch you here. I'll call you tomorrow okay?"

"Fine. I'll talk to you later then," I said, picking Dani up and resting her on my hip.

"Oh wait! You were just about to tell me why you haven't told her father about her," he said. I was hoping he would have forgotten about it.

"I can't tell him because…" I trailed off.

"Because why? Just tell me!" he practically begged.

"Because he's marrying my best friend!"

A/N: There you have it: I finally revealed the father. Well, technically I didn't, but I'm sure you guys get the idea. Just about everybody guessed it already anyway! And Libby: you figured out a bunch of stuff in your review for chapter 4! Thanks to all my reviewers…I love getting the reviews! The song is "Last Night" by Ryan Cabrera, and he owns it. The reason I didn't put any lyrics at the end this time is because this is only half of the thing; I'll finish it off next chapter, ending it with the rest of the song. I have to admit that I watched that Disney movie Twitches with Tia and Tamara Mowry and Toby was in it…he was a random trick or treater person lol. And to fluffymellow: it was a new episode of ER that Sean was on…the newest one on last Thursday.