I go through my day making it to lunch, but my butt is dragging. I feel so drained. Once again, Liam's words come back to haunt me.

"What makes you think you can do this?"

I don't want him to be right. I refuse to let him be right.

"Hey, girl. Glad to see you here," Olivia says, coming up and giving me a slight hip check.

I smile at her and then yawn. "Sorry," I say.

"I should hope so. I would hate to think I'm that boring." She laughs. "Seriously though, Cat, are you doing okay?"

"What have you heard?" I ask. Her expression is so solemn. I know she must have found out about the ambulance.

"That you confronted Liam, passed out, and they whisked away you from the school in an ambulance. It's kind of hard to keep such news under wraps around here. Plus Alex told me, when I came back to see if you needed help to break everything down. He texted me you were okay so I wouldn't worry."

Okay, maybe she heard a lot more. "They told me my blood pressure was through the roof, which is why I fainted. I'm good now, just tired. I guess I've been pushing myself a little too hard."

"And Liam?" Olivia prompts.

"What about him?"

"I really thought you knew, Cat. I wouldn't have broken it to you so carelessly if I had thought for even a moment that you didn't have a clue."

"It's not your fault, Olivia. I knew it, deep down. I just didn't want to admit it."

"So you two..."

"We're done."

"Wow! Hard to imagine... You two have been inseparable since I've known you."

"Things change, I guess."

"Alex is pretty cute," she says, giving me a nudge with her elbow.

"Yeah, I'm not going there."

"Why not, Girl? He is so into you. I don't think he took his eyes off of you for more than like three seconds the entire fundraiser."

"You're delusional," I tell her, but I can't help but wonder if it was true and if it was, why would he pretend to be interested in me? Maybe it was just concern. Maybe he feels responsible for me.

"I'm just telling you what I saw," Olivia says, waving her hands in the air in surrender, letting me know she was backing off, which I appreciate.

"Oh, by the way. The vote was unanimous. We've kicked Jenny out of the sorority house. I mean, she is still part of the sorority, just not living in the house anymore."

"What?" I say, truly shocked. "Why?"

"Truthfully, none of us like her. She's a constant drama bomb just waiting to go off. Everyone normally walks on eggshells around her, but when she pulled that stunt with the fundraiser and nearly lost us $2500, we let her know exactly what we thought. That's when she went off on all of us, so we kicked her out."

"Well, I guess if the vote was unanimous, there isn't much need for me to get involved. I really can't say I'm saddened by the news."

"But this could mean good news for you, Cat. Now there's an opening at the house. I'm not entirely sure where you've been hiding since you left Liam, but if you want to come home to the Chi Omega's we'd love to have you there."

I am truly touched by her offer. "I may have to take you up on it. Right now, however, I'm staying with a friend. Don't wait for me. If another girl needs it, just give it to her."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, besides, I'm in my last year and have so much work to finish in order to graduate. With all the activities you ladies host at the house, I'll get nothing done."

"That's true," Olivia concedes. "Buy you lunch?"

"Are you sure?" I ask.

"Sure, I'm sure. Do you know how rare it is that I get to steal you from William? He usually has you locked in. Where is he, by the way?"

I laugh. "He's not in school today. Not sure why? I'm planning on stopping by after classes to check on him."

We get our food and grab a table in the cafeteria. Olivia finds us a sweet spot near the windows. I always love watching the hustle and bustle on the grounds below. There is a companionable lull in the conversation until Olivia pipes up with...

"Got any plans for next week?"

"Next week?" I ask.

"Winter break?" Olivia says to me as if I've really lost it. I'm inclined to agree with her.

"Winter break..." I say. Panic sets in. Winter break means going home. Going home means facing my parents. Facing my parents means telling them I'm pregnant. OH MY GOD! Before I hyperventilate, I take a few deep breaths.

"You're looking a little green around the gills, Cat. You're sure you're feeling well?"

I take a drink of my juice. "I'm fine," I say over-enthusiastically.

My phone vibrates, making me jump. I look at it and find I have a message from Alex. I also missed a call from my OB, who must have called while I was in class.

"I'll most likely head home," I tell Olivia, putting my phone away.

"Me too. I think if I even try to do anything else the rents will disown me."

I laugh. "Yeah, same here."

"A warm beach somewhere sounds so much better though, doesn't it?" Olivia asks with a dreamy look on her face.

"It sure does," I tell her, thinking the further from home the better.

Olivia looks at her watch. "I gotta get a move on to my next class. Glad we caught up, Cat," she says, gathering up her things and throwing her trash on the tray.

"It was fun," I tell her, "Leave it. I'll grab it. Thank you so much for lunch."

"You're welcome. See you around, Cat."

"Yeah, see ya."

I pull my phone out and I listen to the message from my OB. "Hey Cat, I see I don't have to tell you the good news, but I'm concerned about that blood pressure so I've made an appointment for you on Wednesday after class hours. If this time isn't good for you, you can call the office to reschedule. Otherwise, I'll see you then."

Next, I playback Alex's message.

"Hey, Cat. So, sorry to worry you. I guess I'm not used to following up with someone as to my whereabouts. I should have thought of that, though. Well, I'm good. No need to worry, but I may not be around for the next couple of days. However, if you need anything, just call. Okay, Cat? Later- Bye."

I will be on my own, alone. I can't say for sure if that's the reason my heart plummets or if it's from knowing that Alex is staying with William for the next couple of days. At least that is what I assume he is doing. I decide to not interfere.

My original intention was to give William the notes I took in class, but the thought of seeing them together is just not something I want to deal with right now.

The rest of my day is uneventful. I spend my evening catching up on my work. It feels really weird being here in the apartment without Alex. Being alone with my thoughts isn't too awesome either. My mind is plagued with what to do about school, about the baby, about telling my parents, and about Liam. None of this is going to go easily, of that much I am certain, but having to do it all on my own hurts.

If Liam had chosen differently, perhaps I could be happier about this pregnancy, excited even. It would be so much easier to face my parents if we were together as a united front. Not to mention, my father loves Liam and would most likely jump for joy at the idea of me having a baby with him, even out of wedlock.

Wedlock? It is such a weird word. Like to get married somehow requires you to lock-in. And what are you locking into? A dungeon? A prison? A favorable rate of exchange? I guess I'll never know.

It's likely I may never get married. It will certainly be a lot harder now to get someone to give me a chance when I come to the relationship with an additional person. I shake my head. One problem at a time, Cat. Right now you need to stick to the ones that are actually based on reality.

I wonder what my mom will think of all of this. I know that, even if she disapproves, she won't say a word. Instead, she'll simply take a 'What's done is done' outlook. Or is it 'Don't cry over spilled milk?' Either way, she'll act like she's cool with it until she gets the time to process it and figure things out.

She's always trying to fix me, while my father believes I'm just a lost cause.

"Yeah, this winter break is going to be just funtastic."

I finish up making dinner when Alex comes in and slams the door. It makes me jump. He doesn't even say anything to me. He just mumbles to himself and storms into the bedroom. I don't know if I should follow or just stay put. He seems really out of sorts.

I decide to stay where I am, but make two plates of food. Since I really suck at cooking for one, I had made enough for him, anyway. A few minutes later he emerges, showered and slightly calmer.

"Sorry if I startled you. I didn't stop to think that you'd be here," he tells me, but he's obviously still upset about something.

"Stir-fry?" I offer. 'There is enough for two.' I put the plates on the counter. "Also, I am an excellent listener, you know? Do you want to talk about it?"

His shoulders slump slightly, and he takes a seat. I put two glasses of water and silverware down as I join him.

"So, what's wrong?"

"William!" Alex says, spearing his food and shoving it into his mouth.

"William?"

"He thinks I'm so dumb, that I can't read the writing on the wall. What does he expect me to do? Nothing! I'm just supposed to stand by knowing how he feels and just what?!" he grumbles.

I'm not sure I'm the person he should talk to about this, but I choose to stay silent and just listen.

"He knows how much I care about him, but sometimes I swear I hate him," Alex says, shaking his head. "Even though he knows, he continually pushes me away. He actually kicked me out! Can you believe that?! Who does that to someone they supposedly care about?!"

I know this is a rhetorical question, so again, I say nothing.

"He wants to be alone he tells me. Like I'm not hurting, too. But no, it's all about him. It's ALWAYS about him. No one else has any feelings, whatsoever!"

"Perhaps, if you let him be, he'll come around on his own," I offer, knowing that's how I handle William when he gets in one of his moods.

"Yeah, maybe you're right, but you know William. If something is going on with you, he's right there in your face, annoyingly so. Like how he's being right now about you and me. I told him nothing is going on. Does he believe me? NO! Have I ever given him a reason not to believe me? NO!"

"You and me?"

"He's so jealous, you know, and I get that, but REALLY, some space would be nice." Alex eats a little more of his food. "Okay, you need to cook more often, because this is delicious. Maybe you can even show me how to make some of this stuff some time?"

"Yeah, sure," I say, but my mind is buzzing with the load of information he just dumped into my lap. "Maybe I can talk to him?" I offer.

Alex looks up at me in surprise. "You'd do that for me?"

"Of course I would," I say, hoping I sound more confident than I feel. "After everything you've done for me, it's the least I can do."

"Thanks, Cat! Maybe you can get him to see sense. I know I've tried, but I'm done."

"If he's not in class tomorrow, I'll stop by his place and we'll... chat."

Alex leans over and kisses my cheek. "You're an angel, Cat." He takes our empty plates and puts them into the sink. "I gotta get to work. See you in the a.m.?"

"Yeah, be safe out there," I say as he grabs his stuff and heads for the door.

"Thanks for listening, Cat. Sweet dreams!"

I try to smile. "Sweet dreams."