Chapter 7

When James returned home that evening he found Sandie in her room, she had been crying. He walked in and sat on the bed next to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Greg," she said, sitting up.

"What happened? Did he hurt you?" James asked, ready to kick his ass if needed.

Sandie wiped her tears with the back of her hand, "He's pissed at me, mad that I chose you over him, that we are having a baby together."

James placed his hand on her leg, "Everything's going to be okay," he told her.

"Will it?" Sandie asked. "Lisa's right. I'm not ready for a baby."

"I can help you," James reassured her. "We're in this together."

He kissed her cheek, then told her, "Let's go out to eat."

Greg stormed into Lisa's office and slammed the door behind him. She looked up.

"What do you want?"

"Did you know that your sister is pregnant?"

"So she told you, huh?"

"You knew and didn't tell me?"

"It wasn't my story to tell," Lisa told him. "I personally don't think she's ready."

Greg was pacing the floor and Lisa had to tell him to sit down. He sat but only for a moment then he was right back to pacing.

"What's the big deal, Greg?" Lisa asked him. "Jealous that she's having this kid with James and not you?"

He stopped pacing and glared at her.

"Sandie is my girl!" He told her.

Lisa sighed. She didn't think he would get it through his thick skull that Sandie belonged to no one, all she did was play games. She was putting the two best friends against each other, causing tension in the hospital whenever they had to work together. Lisa regretted ever bringing her here. But on the upside, her sister was clean now and with a good guy. Lisa became jealous, how was it that her sister got everything? She had both men wrapped around her finger and a baby on the way. She has no job and a criminal background. Lisa sighed again.

"Greg, do you even love her?" Lisa asked him.

Greg stopped pacing, "Of course I do," he told her.

"Then you need to prove it."

Greg thought about this then left the office. He didn't know what else he had to do to prove to her that he loved her. He gave her everything, drugs, alcohol, the party life. Why is she settling for a boring life with James? Then he wondered if she really was pregnant or lying to him. He needed to talk to her. He snuck out of work and headed over to her apartment.

Sandie was in the living room going through some bags of baby clothes that her and James had bought earlier. She was hesitant about getting them but he insisted. "It's still too early yet," Sandie had told him.

Greg knocked on the door and Sandie walked over to answer it.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him.

"We need to talk," he said as he walked into the room.

He saw the baby clothes on the table, picking up a onesie, he looked at it then back at Sandie.

"You really want your kid to wear this?" he asked sarcastically.

Sandie walked over and took it from his hands, placing it back onto the table.

"What do you want?" she asked him again.

He sat on the couch and gestured for her to do the same. Sitting next to him, she could smell his aftershave mixed with bourbon. Oh how she loved that smell! It started to turn her on, her body tingled and the only thing she wanted to do was take him then and there! She had to stand and walk away before she did.

She walked into the kitchen to be away from him. She still loved him but differently than she loved James. She loved them both for different reasons. Greg watched her from the couch, she could feel his stare and before she knew it, he was behind her in the kitchen, his arms wrapped around her. He kissed the back of her neck and her whole body was set on fire. She had to get away from him!

She turned and broke from his arms. She started to walk away but he caught her.

"Don't walk away from me," he begged her. He pulled her close and kissed her. This time she kissed him back. He pushed her up against the wall, his body pressing into hers. His kisses made her weak and she wanted so much more! She tried to resist him, pushing him away but every time, he caught her and pulled her back to him.

"You said you wanted to talk," she told him between kisses.

"I do," he replied, "but first…"

His hands went up her shirt grabbing at her breasts, she moaned. She closed her eyes and let him have at her. He took her to the bedroom where he removed her top and slipped off her bra. He sucked on her breasts, her moans making him weak. Sandie couldn't resist and before she knew it, the two of them were making love.

Afterwards, the two of them dressed and went back to the living room. Damn! Sandie thought, he still knows how to get to me.

"So what did you want to tell me?" Sandie asked him.

"I want you back," he told her.

Sandie looked at him, confused. "You're the one that kicked me out, remember? The second I told you I was pregnant."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have," Greg told her. "Please, just come back to me. You know I have what you want, and today just proved it."

He's right, thought Sandie, no matter what, it'll always be Greg.

It wasn't long before Sandie was back to dating Greg which had Lisa and James concerned. They didn't know what they had to do to keep those two apart, they were worried about the baby. Both of them had tried talking to and reasoning with her but to no avail. Greg would rub it in James's face whenever he saw him at work that he had won, yet again and would be helping Sandie raise his child. James was angry, he didn't know what he had to do to make Sandie his, no matter what, she always ran back to Greg. James had told her he loved her, helped her get clean, helped her prep for the baby and she still ran back to him. He was frustrated. He turned to Lisa for help.

"I'm at my wit's end," he told her.

"I get it," Lisa tried to console him, "but it's no longer up to us."

"That's my child!" James shouted, "no doubt he's going to get her hooked back on drugs. I can't risk that!"

"There's only one thing left that we can do," Lisa told him.

Elliot sat at his desk one afternoon going over some paperwork when his phone rang. Answering it, he was surprised to hear from Lisa, Sandie's sister.

"Lisa," he said, "How are you?"

"I'm fine," she told him, "listen, we could really use your help with something."

Elliot listened while Lisa told him about Sandie being pregnant and they were afraid she was going to go back on drugs. They didn't know what else to do, they were worried about the baby.

"So what exactly do you want me to do?" Elliot asked her.

"I want you to arrest her," Lisa told him.

Elliot was shocked. Why after all this time and after everything they've done to keep her out of prison would they want her to go back, especially being pregnant. He told her that he couldn't and perhaps he could come and talk to her. Lisa agreed and Elliot hung up the phone.

Elliot was wondering what he just got himself into. He hadn't seen Sandie in months and now she's carrying someone else's child. Was she still obsessed with him like she was before? Or has she moved on? Why was he even thinking about her? Dammit! He hadn't thought about her since she left and now one phone call and he was getting all worked up just thinking about her.

Sandie had Greg pinned to his chair, his tie holding his wrists together. He was turned on by the fact she wanted to get risky while he was at work. She kissed him and he kissed her back. He wanted to touch her but couldn't, she slid down to her knees and started to undo his pants but before she could do anything, her sister walked in.

"This is a place of business, not a whorehouse!" Lisa declared.

Sandie stood up and glared at her sister.

"Really? Don't you ever knock?"

"I don't have to, it's my hospital!" Lisa told her.

Sandie frowned and untied Greg. "Guess we'll have to play later," she told him. Then she purposely bumped into her sister on the way out the door.

Sandie ran into James on her way out of the hospital.

"Sandie," he said.

"James."

"How's everything?" he asked her. His heart still broken from the fact that she went back to Greg.

"Fine," she replied.

"You're not using again, are you?" he had come right out and asked. It was his child and he wasn't going to sugar coat it.

"James, darling, how dumb do you think I am?"

He wanted to make a comeback, but he kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to fight with her. So he just asked her,

"Do you want to grab a cup of coffee?"

Sandie smiled and they headed towards the cafeteria where James bought them both a cup of coffee. They sat down at a table and he reached for her hand.

"Sandie," he started. "You told me that you loved me, do you still mean that?"

"I do, James," she told him.

"Then why go back to Greg? Why risk everything we have for drugs?"

"It's not just about drugs," Sandie told him.

"Then what is it? I'm tired of losing you. I've loved you from the first day I met you. I don't know what else to do," he hung his head down and Sandie felt bad.

"James, I never meant to hurt you. I never wanted to, I still don't. I just don't know what it is with Greg, I can't help myself."

"You keep saying you don't want to hurt me but you do, every single damn day you're with him."

James looked like he was about to cry, she reached over and took his hand.

"I'm so sorry," she said. She stood up, walked over to him, placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him and he kissed her back.

"Baby," he said, standing up and placing his arms around her, "I love you more than anything and I just want what's best for you but I really don't know what else to do."

Then he let her go and he walked away.

Sandie sat at the apartment, ignoring all calls from Greg. What is it about him that I can't stay away from? She thought. She didn't know what else to do, she was having James's baby but she was dating Greg. She hated herself, she thought that perhaps if she just left, things would be better. She stood, went to her room and started packing her things.

"What are you doing?" James said from behind her.

"I'm leaving," she said, not looking up.

"Why?"

She stopped what she was doing this time and turned to him.

"Because I don't want to hurt you anymore. You and Greg are best friends and I've done nothing but come between you both."

"Where will you go?" James asked as tears stung his eyes.

"I don't know."

James walked over to her and pulled her close. "Don't go," he whispered, then he said, "Marry me."

Sandie sat at the bus station, ticket in hand. James's voice still in her head. "Marry me." He had caught her off guard but she didn't say no, she just told him she needed time to think.

"Where will you go?" he asked her.

"Back to New York," she replied.

Elliot was meeting her at the station when she got there. She had called him and asked if he could pick her up and he agreed. She never even said goodbye to Greg or Lisa.

The bus came and she boarded, taking one last look before heading back to New York.

Elliot paced the floor at the bus station. What am I doing? He asked himself. He stopped pacing when he saw her walking towards him. She looked beautiful! Sandie was glowing, must be the pregnancy. He thought.

"Hello, Elliot," Sandie said.

"Hey," he replied.

"Thanks for picking me up," she told him.

"No problem. Where do you want to go?"

Sandie thought for a moment, she wasn't sure. She didn't have any place to go.

"Just take me to a hotel," she told him.

Elliot drove her to a hotel near the station where he worked. He gave her some money just to get her by and told her to call if she needed anything.

"Thank you," Sandie said and kissed him on the cheek. Immediately, Elliot's entire body felt like it was on fire and memories of the two of them came rushing back. Shit! Thought Elliot, I need to get out of here. But it was too late, he found himself walking her up to her hotel room and closing the door behind them. He ran his fingers through her hair and pulled her to him. He kissed her forcing his tongue into her mouth. Sandie was caught off guard but kissed him back.

She pushed him up against the wall and undid the buttons on his shirt. She ran her fingers down his chest making him moan. Elliot undid the zipper on her dress and let it fall to the floor. He had forgotten how beautiful she was. He kissed her neck and worked his way down her belly to her panty line, then he removed her panties revealing her womanhood. He grabbed her ass and pushed his mouth to her. He flicked his tongue over her curves and inside her. Holy shit! Sandie thought. She almost came immediately. She ran her fingers through his hair while he continued pleasuring her. He had forgotten how good she tasted, he wanted to be inside her again.

He stood up and took her to the bed, he undid his pants, releasing his hardness. As he kissed her, he entered her. Sandie gasped, she had forgotten how good he felt. He pushed slow at first, then faster and harder until they both came. One last kiss and Elliot stood up, he fixed himself up. Sandie lay in bed watching him.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" she asked him.

As much as he wanted to, he needed to get back to work. And he needed to get out of there before she tempted him any more. He said goodbye and headed out the door.

The next few days were pretty quiet for James. Even Greg didn't give him a hard time when they saw each other at work. The baby items that Sandie and James had, he packed away for if and when he saw her again. He tried to call her a few times but it would go straight to voicemail. He figured she just needed time but he made it clear to her that he would be there to help her out.

He sat in his office trying to get some work done when his phone rang. He answered it and was surprised to hear it was Sandie, she sounded upset.

"Baby, what's wrong?" James asked her.

He tried to understand her but she was crying too much, something about the pregnancy and how she needed him. She gave him the address to the hotel where she was staying, he said he'd be there as soon as he could and hung up.

He hurriedly went down to Lisa's office, knocking on the door, he walked in before she could say "come in." He told her that he had to take the rest of the day to head to New York, that Sandie was in trouble. She told him okay and he left, heading to the bus station to take the first bus out.

Sandie sat in her hotel room, Elliot sat next to her, holding her tightly. A knock at the door and Elliot got up to answer it. Needless to say, tensions were high when James saw Elliot in the same room as his girl but he didn't say anything. He saw Sandie had been crying, he walked over to her and sat down next to her. Elliot told them to let him know if they needed anything and he left the room.

"Baby, what's going on?" James asked her.

Sandie stopped crying long enough to catch her breath, she wiped her tears and turned to look at him.

"I'm not pregnant," she told him.

"What?" James wasn't sure he heard her right. "What do you mean, you're not pregnant?"

"I mean, I'm not pregnant. We're not having a baby."

James was confused, "What happened?"

"I don't know," Sandie said, "something about a chemical pregnancy and drugs."

Sandie started crying again, James just held her. He was in shock, one minute they were going to be a family and the next minute they weren't. He didn't know what to say to her, he just let her cry. She eventually fell asleep. James tucked her in and sat in the nearby chair, he was trying to process what happened and why Elliot was even there.

He stepped out into the hall and made a call to Lisa. He told her what happened and that he was going to be bringing her back, even if it meant losing her to Greg again. Lisa tried to argue with him about it not being a good idea but he just wanted to be there for her regardless.

He hung up and went back into the room. He sat down in the chair and closed his eyes. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

It was dark when James woke, he looked at his watch and saw it was after eight pm. He looked over and saw that Sandie was no longer in bed. He became worried then the door opened and she walked in carrying a brown paper bag.

"Hi," she said.

"How long was I out?" he asked her.

"A couple hours," she told him.

"I brought food," she said.

James looked at her, she didn't seem upset any longer. Her eyes were red but he figured it was from crying. She sat the bag down and started removing containers of Chinese food.

"Are you hungry?" she asked him.

James realized that he was hungry. He stood and walked to where Sandie stood, he put his arms around her and kissed the back of her neck.

"I love you," he told her.

The next morning, James and Sandie were on a bus back to New Jersey. Sandie reluctantly agreed to go back with him. Arriving at the apartment, Sandie headed to her room, James following behind.

"Babe, talk to me," he told her. "My offer still stands, I'm willing to marry you, baby or no baby. I just want you in my life."

Sandie turned to face him. "I need time, James."

He told her he understood and left her room. Sandie knew that she was just going to end up hurting him again but she didn't know what else to do. "You deserve better than me," she said out loud.

The following day, Greg was making rounds at the hospital when he thought he spotted Sandie. He walked down the hall to try to get a closer look, sure enough, there she was! He hurriedly made his way down to where she was, blocking her way.

"Greg," she said when she saw him.

"Hey beautiful," he replied back. "Long time, no see."

"Yea, I was out of town," she told him.

"You here to see James?"

Sandie shook her head, "I had an appointment. I was just leaving."

"Wait," Greg told her, "You wanna grab a drink later?"

Figuring she was no longer expecting, she told him, "Sure."

James watched from the balcony as Greg and Sandie stood nearby talking. Dammit! He thought, his jealousy getting the best of him. He continued to watch even after Sandie left the building. Greg looked up, saw James and smiled. James could've sworn it was the most evil smile he'd ever seen coming from him, almost as if to say "ha ha, she's mine again."

That night as James arrived home, he saw Sandie getting ready to leave.

"Where are you going?" he asked her, although he already knew.

"Grabbing a drink with Greg," she replied.

She kissed him on the cheek and headed out the door.

Greg was waiting at the bar when Sandie arrived. She sat down next to him and immediately was served a drink, which she drank right away and ordered another. Greg watched, shocked.

"Bad day?" he asked.

"Bad week," Sandie replied.

"Wanna talk about it?" Greg asked her.

"Not really," she said as she downed another drink.

Greg was impressed, he hadn't seen her like this since before James got her clean.

"I have something for you. If you want it," he told her, pulling a small baggie from his pocket.

Sandie was tempted, especially after everything that's happened. She took the bag from him and placed it in her purse. "Later," she told him.

The two of them sat there drinking in silence. Greg took her by the hand,

"Let's get out of here," he said.

They went back to his place where he took the drugs from her purse and gave them to her. Sandie hesitated for a moment before taking a sniff.

"That's my girl," Greg told her. He sat down beside her on the couch, placing his hand on her leg, instantly sending shivers throughout her body. She knew being with Greg was a bad choice but she didn't care, she turned to him and said,

"James proposed to me."

"What did you say?" Greg asked her.

"I told him I'd think about it."

Greg didn't want to give her that chance to think about it, so he reached over and pulled her close, kissed her. Sandie didn't hesitate to kiss him back and before too long, they were getting hot and heavy. Sandie led him to the bedroom where they spent the night in each other's arms.

James woke the next morning to find that Sandie had never come home. Her room was empty and he knew right away that she was with Greg. He was hurt that after everything they've been through that she would go back to him. He was at the point where he was about to give up on her.

He got to work just as Greg was getting there.

"James," he said with a huge smile.

"Greg," James said unenthusiastically. "Did Sandie stay with you?"

"She sure did," Greg said beaming.

Ugh! I don't even want to know. James thought.

"She told me you proposed."

"Yea, I did. Look, Greg, we both want what's best for Sandie but I'm at my wit's end with her. If she's going to be with you, you need to promise me you'll take care of her."

"Don't worry, I've got her."

James wasn't so sure about that.

The next couple days became a whirlwind of emotions for Sandie. Greg had her hooked back on drugs, they went back to partying and clubbing all night. Greg would come into work drunk and late. James became distant and started spending more time with Lisa who was in the process of adopting a child. This made Sandie angry and she did everything she could to come between them.

"Why do you care who I spend time with?" James asked her one day. "You're always with Greg. I can't wait around for you anymore."

"I don't want you with her," Sandie pouted.

"And I don't want you with Greg, but here we are! Look at you, you're a mess. Back to your old ways, I see. I don't want you around if you're going to be like that," James told her, choking back tears. Deep inside, he still really loved her and it was killing him to fight with her.

"Okay then," Sandie said, "I'll see you around."

And with that, she left the apartment.