Chapter Five

Neela was flicking through the various cable channels when she heard Altheas outrageously fake laughter echoing through the apartment, and she groaned quietly to herself. Here we go again.

Next thing she knew they were both flying into the room, Althea still in a fit of giggles, while Ray was attempting to catch up to her.

"Ray stop that I mean it!" She said, flicking her blonde hair behind her shoulders.

"You're not trying that hard to stop me now are you?"

Oh please, thought Neela, rolling her eyes and averting her gaze back to the TV.

Unable to help herself though, she turned back round. Her question to why it had gone so quiet was answered.

"That's ok. Don't mind me!" she piped up eventually. "I'll just be leaving now!"

Ray glanced up at her guiltily. "Neela! Man I'm sorry, you been there long?"

"Long enough," she muttered, standing up. She had to try really hard from saying anything else.

"Hey, it's ok, you so don't have to leave Neela," put in Althea. "I mean, you were here first right? And this is your place to…Ray, we can just go back to my apartment right?"

"No it's fine," Neela succumbed to her better nature, after much inner debating, and stood up. "I guess I can….I've been meaning to catch up with Abby. I'll see you guys later."

Hastily grabbing her purse, she walked out before either could protest anymore. Because the truth was, Althea was actually a decent person. Much nicer then other girlfriends of Ray's she'd been introduced to. But Neela just….hated her. For some unexplainable reason, she hated her more then anyone she'd ever met in her life…and she'd met a few people she hated, Ray among them.

Once outside the apartment though, she didn't head for Abby's.

She eventually found herself in a quiet café on a side street she hadn't even noticed was there, and she'd been living in this neighbourhood how long? Well, it was as quiet as she was going to get in Chicago.

She took a window seat. Taking out a couple of magazines from her bag that she'd bought earlier, she began to try and read. This was so stupid. She literally had nowhere to go, and she'd been kicked out of her own home…no matter how unintentionally. This wouldn't be happening if she was involved with someone, but of course, Ray had to get there first didn't he?

For the first time in a long while, she felt homesick. Back home in London, she'd known everyone in the area surrounding her home. She couldn't' take two steps down the road without stopping to say high to someone. And if she ever had family troubles, she just had to go round the corner and her friend Lila would be there for her. She had known Lila since school, and they had always shared everything.

What was with this trip down memory lane? It was her decision to move to America. Better opportunities. She had spent so long trying to win her family and friends over with the idea, and the money she earned here was even helping her family. So….how could she be complaining about her life?

"ready to order?"

The voice startled her out of her reverie. The waitress stood there impatiently, tapping her pen on her pad of paper.

"Oh right, umm…" She hesitated. Was coffee such a good idea? "Tea I guess."

Ok, so the success and work area of her life were fine. But she was lonely. And the news she was pregnant only added to that fact. She still wasn't properly coping with the idea well at all. And worse still, she couldn't tell anyone about it. Not Susan, or Abby, or Sam. Nobody could know.

Because of course, the first person who should know, would be Ray. Neela wasn't that much of a bitch that she would never tell him. But first she had to think if she was going to actually keep the baby, and then work up the courage to tell Ray her decision.

And the fact that everyone around her seemed to be happy lately didn't help. It had started with Carter rushing off to live with Kem in Paris, then there was Susan and Chuck…..and now Ray and Althea.

It was all grating on her nerves just al little bit. But she had been feeling this way for a while hadn't she?…it was part of the reason things had got so out of control with Ray in the first place right?

"Its guy trouble isn't it?"

It was a different waitress this time. She placed the tea in front of Neela and smiled sympathetically.

"How can you tell?" asked Neela.

The girl shrugged and took a seat. Normally Neela would have protested but…at this point, anything to distract her was a good thing

"Believe me, I've seen that look a thousand times before now. You'll be ok you know, you're not the only one."

Neela sighed. "I wish it was just guy troubles."

The waitress frowned. "Work then I take it? Sorry…I don't mean to pry…"

Neela waved away her concerns. "It's ok. It's just…personal."

The waitress nodded. "I'm Tracey by the way."

"Neela."

"Cool name. You from around here? Don't think I've seen you in here before now."

Neela shook her head. "I've been here a while."

Tracey sighed. "Well...better get back. It can only get better from here on right?"

Neela cringed at the cliché, but forced a smile anyway. "Thanks."

She still couldn't believe that she was in this situation. She was pregnant. Another life was growing inside of her right now, someone she would be responsible for. Was she ready for all of that? And then there were other issues…if she decided she wasn't, could she go through with an abortion? Would Ray want that?

She sipped her tea as she continued to think, she was so lost in her thoughts she didn't even hear the crash of thunder outside.

She knew she didn't have much time to decide.

Standing up she hastily left change on the counter. "You sure you don't want to call a taxi? It's pouring out there?" asked Tracey.

"No thanks, I'll be fine."

But she wasn't fine. Once out of the café, she ran as fast as she could, looking around wildly for a pay phone. When she found one on the next block, she dived in and dialled a familiar number.

"Hello?"

Her father's voice sounded faint and so far away. She tried to talk to him, but no words came out. And that was strange enough. She had always gotten on well with her family, had nearly always been able to talk to them about her problems. But this was so different to anything she'd been faced with before. She hung up abruptly.

Just go back, she told herself. There is no earthly reason that you should be out in the rain while someone whose only likely to be involved in your life for the next few weeks sits warm and comfortable in your home.

But another thought came creeping up, shocking her more then anything else had this whole shocking month. Althea shouldn't be there at all, because she, Neela should be. She should be the one going to dinners and movies with Ray, she should be the one everyone at work was talking about, she should be….

Another crash of thunder and lightening made her jump. No way Neela, she told herself. There is no possible way you are falling for Ray Barnett!

But wasn't that the truth? If she really thought about it, if she were really honest with herself, it was the truth.

Her being lonely, even her being pregnant were all side issues now. How long had she felt this way? She didn't have a clue. She knew that she had indeed felt something for Michael Gallant. And when he had last come to visit her in Chicago, she had been overjoyed to say the least. She had loved him. But since then, the letters and phone calls had been less frequent, and they had both realised that was how it was going to be unless he quit the army and moved back to America. And Neela knew Michael wasn't good at quitting anything unless he had to. So they had both agreed to go their separate ways, otherwise it would be too painful.

But after a lot of crying and thinking, she'd come to realize that It wasn't as painful as she had thought it would be. Maybe she had just loved the idea of him. After all, wasn't he supposed to be perfect? Doctor, soldier, both smart and good looking. They could both have an actual conversation. And he was the kind of guy her parents would love. And she was just right for him to. Same kind of background, same interests. But that right there was what had really driven them apart in the end…because when he called it off, she knew neither had been as surprised as they should have been. They had both been infatuated with the idea of a perfect relationship. But of course nothing can really be like that.

And then there was Ray…..her total and complete opposite.

As she neared their apartment, the rain was pouring so hard that she could barely see a few inches in front of her. But suddenly she heard the screeching of car tires behind her.

Blinking her eyes repeatedly to clear her vision, she managed to glimpse a couple of teenagers running across the road, and she held her breath as she saw the car heading towards them. Luckily one of the teenagers stopped and pulled the other one back, the car swerving around them just in time.

Relief swept over Neela as she turned to open the door.

"Hey…wait a second!"

She turned to see the teenagers hurrying up behind her. One was a girl with shoulder length blonde hair, she looked about sixteen. The guy was older, seventeen or eighteen, she couldn't tell. His hair was dark, and both had dark brown eyes. They also looked as wet as she felt. They had two bags full of their belongings between them and looked like they had been travelling for days.

"We're here to see Ray?" the girl questioned. "Ray Barnett…he still live here?"

Neela opened her mouth but for a moment she was actually speechless. "Uh…sure. Yeah, he lives here. Whose asking?"

"Look lady, we're drowning out here ok? Can we save the small talk until later?" This from the guy.

Neela rolled her eyes. "I'll get Ray…hold on."

The girl reached forward and grabbed Neela's arm, taking her by surprise. "No, we have to get inside now, it's important. Please?"

Neela gestured for them to follow her up. "Hey Ray, you better have an explanation for this!" she called out to him.

Ray appeared from his room and for a moment she didn't take in his appearance. "They say they know you?" she questioned him.

Ray looked over her shoulder and his eyes widened. "Danny? Jessica? What are you guys doing here?"

Neela raised an eyebrow. "So …they do know you?"

"Yeah we…they're my cousins. Guys this is Neela Rasgotra," he hastily introduced them.

Then Neela noticed that all Ray had on were a pair of jeans. No top at all. Her breath catching slightly, she looked away quickly before he could see her reaction.

"Is it ok if we stay here?" Jessica asked, her eyes wide, trying to look as innocent as possible.

"Look…does Tom and Elena know you're here?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Like hell. They think we're staying at a friends."

"Ok …you can stay for tonight. But I do want answers from you after you're all sorted got that? Bathrooms down the hall. You can put your stuff on the sofa."

"Thanks Ray, you're the best!" exclaimed Jessica, with a smile.

He and Neela watched her head to the bathroom, and Danny promptly sat down in front of the TV.

"Before you say anything," Ray interrupted. "The only reason I'm letting them stay is they're family. They're obviously in trouble and I want to help them out, is that a crime? I'd do the same for you!"

"Ray? What's going on?" Althea's voice from his room was the last thing Neela needed.

"Fine. But I'm sorry…Althea can't stay here as well Ray."

He nodded. "Be right back."

Neela looked around feeling like a stranger. "Make yourselves at home!" She said finally to herself. "This weekends going to be so much fun!"

TBC

Won't be updating until next week sometime, going away for a long weekend on Thursday, so no computer unfortunately. Until then, hope you enjoyed this. (By the way, hope i spelled Neela's last name right?) Thanks again for your reviews!