Part 16 - Chapter 1 - The Choice for Love

"Lucy! How are you?" Eileen greeted her friend with a hug as she was let in the front door. "It looks like motherhood is treating you well."

Lucy laughed. "I'm fine. I think I'm doing well with the whole motherhood thing, but I will be glad when I find a nanny to help."

"Have you started interviewing?"

"Not yet, but I've started asking around. There really isn't a hurry. It's going to be awhile before I'm able to go back to work anyway."

"Where is the baby? I'm anxious to see him."

"He's upstairs in the nursery," Lucy said as she led the way. "Come on up."

"Here he is," Lucy said quietly as she and Eileen approached the crib.

Eileen peered over the edge of the crib at the baby. "Oh, he's so adorable. Can I hold him?"

"Of course," Lucy smiled. She reached into the crib, picked up the baby and set him in Eileen's waiting arms.

Eileen cooed at the baby and cuddled him in her arms. "And his name is Stuart?"

Lucy nodded. "Yes. I thought that something should keep my family's name since your father renamed the company."

"Yeah," Eileen said quietly, hoping this topic of conversation would quickly pass.

"I don't mean to speak badly about your father, but I don't understand how he could have done this to my family. I know what my father did was wrong, but Arthur promised he was going to keep quiet about this. How did it end up as front page news?"

Eileen shrugged. "I don't know. I'm sure he had his reasons. This situation hasn't been easy on him either. You do know that he resigned from the company?"

"I heard," Lucy said as she turned away and busied herself by straightening a pile of baby clothes stacked on the changing table. A moment of silence passed before Lucy quickly turned around again. "A few years ago would you have ever imagined it would be like this? I still have trouble believing my dad stole money from the company and that someone murdered him."

Eileen grew tense. "Have there been any leads about your father's death?"

Lucy shook her head in frustration. "I don't know. The police won't tell me anything."

"Maybe it's for the best . . . Are you sure you really want to know?"

"Yes! I need to know the truth about what happened, for justice and for my own peace of mind. If you were in my place, wouldn't you want to know?"

Eileen sighed. "Probably, but I wonder if knowing the truth might be more painful than not knowing."

"Maybe at first, but I will be relieved when this case is solved and the person who killed my father is in jail where he belongs." When Stuart started to cry, Lucy took him from Eileen. "It's time for his bottle."

Hector sat at his desk in the office, sorting through a stack of papers in front of him. He quickly scanned the desktop for a pen to jot down a note, but didn't see one handy.

As he searched his pockets for a writing utensil, Hector's hand brushed across a folded scrap of paper. Curious, he took it out of his pocket. Once he saw it, he recognized what it was before he even unfolded the note. It was the piece of paper Eileen had dropped on campus.

He stared at the words again and shook his head. He couldn't believe Eileen was involved in something like this.

"Hector," Amanda called out as she approached him from behind. He jumped and quickly folded the paper in his palm. "You're needed in the boardroom."

"I'll be there in a minute," he said and placed the paper back in his pocket.

When Hector walked into the boardroom, Arthur was seated at the head of the table with Andrew and Lawrence on either side. He took a seat next to Lawrence, as Amanda sat next to her husband.

Arthur cleared his throat and began the meeting. "The board has reached a decision and I wanted to be the one to make the announcement to you all. The board was unanimous about who the officers should be, but they were split on which should be president and which should be vice president. By a two to one vote, the company's new vice president is Andrew."

Andrew looked surprised for a moment before turning to Amanda with a proud smile. He expected her to be happy for him, but instead she pouted and glared across the table at Lawrence and Hector.

Hector and Lawrence watched Arthur anxiously as he continued. "And the new president is Lawrence. Congratulations."

Hector blinked. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. "You're kidding me, right?"

"I'm afraid not," Arthur replied.

Wordlessly, Hector rose from his seat. He shoved his chair towards the table and stormed out of the room.

Andrew watched Hector's reaction with a satisfied smirk. As he stood to offer Lawrence his congratulations, Amanda quietly slipped out of the room.

Part 16 - Chapter 2 - The Choice for Love

"Amanda, there you are. I wondered where you disappeared to," Andrew said as he returned to the front of the office. When she turned around and faced him with an angry glare he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Do you even have to ask?" she snapped.

Andrew sighed heavily. "Can't you just be happy? This promotion wasn't the one we were hoping for, but it's good news for us. Soon we'll be able to afford a house of our own and we can start thinking about having a baby."

Amanda shrugged, reluctant to agree with him.

"And like I said before, better Lawrence than Hector. By the way, where is Burgess?"

"He stormed out of the office as soon as he heard the news."

After Hector left the office, he started walking. Blinded by his fury and disappointment, he didn't think about where he was going. He just walked.

Eventually he found himself at the lighthouse at the edge of the bay with nowhere else to go, unless he wanted to swim out to sea, an idea that wasn't completely unappealing to him at the moment. Instead he flopped down on a nearby bench and stared numbly across the water.

He felt sick as he thought back over all of the things he had done to get ahead. He had tried everything, and none of his efforts had gotten him anywhere. He was still in the same place he had started while everyone else was running past him. Nothing he had done had mattered. How had everything gotten to this point? How had it gone so wrong?

"Hi."

Chad looked up from where he was lounging on the couch to see Audrey standing in the doorway. He raised himself to a sitting position. "Audrey. What are you doing here?"

"Justin told me you were staying with the Burgess family. I wanted to stop by and see how you were feeling."

Chad motioned for Audrey to take the seat next to him. "I'm fine. The doctors didn't want to send me home alone in case I had a concussion or something, but I'm doing ok. How about you?"

Audrey sighed and managed a slight smile as she sat down next to Chad. "I'm just glad that this whole ordeal is finally over."

"Yeah, I heard the police finally caught Lauren. Apparently, she's caused problems in the past with other people and had a few restraining orders put against her, but nothing that's gone this far. They're going to send her to a maximum security mental institution."

"Good." Audrey frowned. "Let's not talk about it. I just want to put this whole thing behind me."

Chad turned to Audrey and looked at her affectionately. "Then what do you want to talk about?"

"I just wanted to see how you were. Since I've done that, I should go." She started to stand.

"Hey, wait. Why don't you stay? I'm supposed to take it easy for awhile and I could use some company more than anything."

"I would, but I've got to get to the office and try to reschedule the appointments I missed."

"Well, I'm glad you came by. It reminds me of the way things were between us . . ."

"When I said I forgive you, that doesn't mean I've forgotten all about the past."

"The past wasn't all bad, we had some good times, remember? And it would still be good if I didn't let things get out of control. That's not going to happen again. I'm done with the drugs and the partying for good. I want to give us a second chance."

Audrey rose from the couch. "I don't know, Chad. I don't know if I can do that again. I've got to go." She walked to the door without looking back.

"Eileen, is that you?" Arthur called out as he heard someone enter the house.

A moment later Eileen walked into the living room. "Hi, Dad. I didn't know you were home. I thought you would still be at the office."

Arthur frowned and changed the subject. "Where have you been?"

"I went over to Lucy's to see the baby." She paused hesitantly. "We talked a little about her father and the company . . .She seemed upset about it coming out in the papers. I think you should talk with her."

Arthur mumbled an noncommittal reply. He knew she was right, but he didn't have the energy to talk about what had happened.

"I'll see you later, Dad," Eileen said as she started out of the room.

"You're going out again? It seems like you're never home."

"I just stopped by to get my books. I have to go to class."

"Eileen, wait a minute. I've been meaning to talk to you about this. I've noticed you've been going out a lot late at night."

"I've been meeting with friends to study," she answered nervously and moved towards the door. "I've got to go. I'm already running late. I'll see you this evening."

Hector hesitated before walking back into the office. He hoped he could sneak back to his desk without seeing anyone, but he wasn't so lucky. Andrew and Lawrence were standing near the entrance talking when he came in.

He braced himself and tried to walk past without a confrontation, but Andrew wouldn't let him pass.

"There he is. Where did you disappear to?" Andrew taunted. "You left without congratulating us."

"Shut up," Hector mumbled and continued walking.

Andrew looked amused. "Is that all you have to say?"

Hector stopped abruptly and glared at Andrew. He opened his mouth to speak, but Lawrence cut him off.

"Andrew, why don't you start moving into your new office and let Hector get back to what he was doing."

Andrew shrugged. "Sure."

Hector glared at Andrew as he walked away, vengeful thoughts in his mind. When he turned around Lawrence was watching him sternly. Hector let out a sigh of frustration. Feeling trapped, he went back to his desk and got back to work.

Part 16 - Chapter 3 - The Choice for Love

"Mrs. Smith?" Blaine asked as he walked into the orphanage's director's office. "I'm Blaine Kitteridge."

"Yes, I remember," she greeted him warmly as she rose from her desk to meet him. "You came here before with Reese. Did you find the person that you were looking for?"

"Yes, we did."

"That's wonderful. How did it go?"

"It was . . .difficult for awhile there, but it worked out fine. She got her inheritance and met her half-sisters."

"I'm so glad it worked out. What brings you here today?"

"It's about Reese," Blaine began. When Annie's smile faded, he had a feeling she already knew exactly what he was going to ask. "She's really bothered about not knowing anything about her past or who her parents are."

"Yes, I know," she replied with a sad sigh.

"I mean, she's done a lot of research and still hasn't found any leads. I was hoping that you might have some information, anything that might give us a clue where to look."

"I know you mean well, but I can't tell you anything. I'm sorry."

"I understand if you can't tell me, but what about Reese? Doesn't she have a right to know?"

"Mr. Kitteridge, Reese has approached me about this before and I have my reasons for not telling her. She has done so well for herself. She graduated from high school early and went on to college and then law school. I feel that she's better off not knowing the details of her past. I hope you understand, I have always had her best interests at heart."

"So do I," Blaine insisted. "This is really important to her. If she just knew the truth she could put this search to rest."

Annie looked doubtful. "I'm sorry, Mr. Kitteridge, but I made up my mind. I can't help you with this."

"Thanks anyway," Blaine said with disappointment as he turned and left the office.

"Hi, Alma. I hope you don't mind my dropping by like this. May I come in?" Vanessa asked shyly from the doorway.

"Of course," Alma said and stepped aside to let Vanessa into the house.

Vanessa took a deep breath and got right to the point. "I was hoping I could talk to you about why I decided to sell the house and sign the Boardwalk over to Lawrence. I have reasons for making the choices that I did and I think if you and Amanda heard them maybe you wouldn't be so angry with me. But if you don't want to hear it or see me at all, I understand."

Alma sighed. "I'm not angry . . .I don't care about the house or the inheritance. It's just been kind of a shock. I'm sorry I threw you out. I don't want you to think that. . ." she trailed off.

Vanessa smiled. "I'm glad. I really do want to have some kind of relationship with you and Amanda. Even if we never get close enough to feel like family, I hope that we can at least be friends."

Alma nodded, but looked doubtful. "I don't think Amanda feels the same way."

"I know. I thought we were finally starting to get along. . . she really doesn't like me, does she?"

Alma shrugged.

"Alma . . .this may be too much to ask, but do you think you could talk Amanda into meeting with me? If she's not willing to talk with me, then maybe you can talk to her for me. Maybe it won't make any difference, but I think she deserves to know why I gave to Lawrence but not to both of you."

"I can't promise she'll listen, but I'll see what I can do."

"Hi Blaine," Reese greeted him as she let him into the house. "I'm almost ready. I'll just be a minute."

As Reese scurried back to the bedroom, Blaine took a seat in the living room.

"I would have been ready, but I got held over at work," she called out from the other room.

"Busy day?"

"Very. How was your day?"

"Alright. I had a talk with Annie Smith today?"

"What?" Reese walked back into the living room to make sure she had heard correctly. "Why?"

"I wanted to see if I could find out anything about your past."

Reese smiled. He was so sweet for trying, but she didn't get her hopes up. "She wouldn't tell you anything, am I right?"

"You're right."

"I've been trying to get her to tell me for years, but she's secretive about it." Reese sat down on the couch. "The more evasive she is on the subject, the more I want to know the whole story."

"I think she does know the truth. There's got to be a way to find out what it is, even if she's not going to tell us." After a moment of thoughtful silence, Blaine stood up. "We'll figure out something, but in the meantime we have a party to go to. Are you ready?"

"I'm ready."

Part 16 - Chapter 4 - The Choice for Love

When the doorbell rang, Cassandra stood slowly from the couch. She was expecting company, but somehow she didn't think the person outside was who she was waiting for. When she opened the door, she discovered she was correct.

"Vanessa, what are you doing here?" Cassandra greeted her former stepmother with a hug.

"I was in the neighborhood and I decided to stop by and see how you were getting along." As she stepped inside she noticed the front room looked different. "You've redecorated. The place looks great, hun."

"Thanks, it was my mom's idea."

As Cassandra spoke, Serena emerged from around the corner.

"Hi, I'm Vanessa. You must be Cassie and Zara's mom." Vanessa stepped forward and extended her hand in greeting. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"Serena," she said. She warily took Vanessa's hand in a limp handshake, before taking a step back.

Vanessa smiled weakly. She was starting to get used to awkward social situations. "I was just telling Cassie I love what you've done with this room. I always hated how plain it was, but I never had the chance to redecorate."

Serena nodded slowly. "I should thank you for letting us live here. It is very generous of you."

"Think nothing of it, hun," Vanessa said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I'm glad that you and Cassie have a place to stay, besides I couldn't keep living here . . . there's too many memories."

The expression in Serena's eyes seemed to soften a bit. "I feel them too."

While Serena and Vanessa chatted, Cassie answered the door. Her guests had arrived.

"Hi Blaine . . . Reese." She hadn't specifically invited Reese, yet she wasn't surprised that she showed up. "I'm glad you could make it. Come in."

"Hi, what are you kids doing here?" Vanessa interrupted as she approached the group. She hadn't seen Reese and Blaine since she returned to town and settled her inheritance at Reese's law office.

"I invited them over for dinner. Why don't you stay too?" Cassandra asked.

"I'd love to, if you don't mind."

As Vanessa chatted with Reese and Blaine, Serena and Cassandra listened in on the conversation. Serena paid close attention to Blaine while Cassandra tried to gauge her mother's judgement of him.

When she heard someone on the front porch, Cassie jumped up from her seat. As she walked towards the door, Zara entered the room followed by James.

"Hey. I hope you don't mind that we're crashing your party," Zara said. "We were going to go out, but there isn't much going on tonight."

"Nothing that compares with the company of the lovely Cassandra."

At the sound of James' voice, Reese looked up. Remembering him from their run in at the coffee shop, she squinted at him and wondered what he was doing there.

Cassandra laughed. "How can I resist flattery like that? Come on in."

As James and Zara joined the party, Blaine struck up a conversation with Serena. "How have you been doing, Serena?"

"I've decided to start a home business, reading fortunes."

"Fortunes? That's interesting."

"Would you allow me to read yours?"

He shrugged. "Sure, why not."

"Give me your hand."

Cassandra, taking an interest in what was going on, took a seat behind her mother and watched closely while Serena examined Blaine's palm.

"Your heart line is very strong. I can see that you are faithful and devoted in relationships. And your life line . . .it breaks, but-" Serena stopped short. Suddenly she saw a flash of orange before her eyes and felt a wave of heat on her face. Her fingers felt like they were burning and she quickly dropped Blaine's hands. She blinked a few times before the brightness faded and the room seemed normal again. "but that could mean several things. Excuse me."

Cassandra followed her mother into the kitchen, where Serena was pouring a glass of water.

"Mom, what's wrong? What happened out there?"

Serena stared forward and ignored her daughter's questions. "Forget about him, Cassandra."

"What? Why? What did you see?"

Serena turned away. "I see a difficult and painful future for him and heartache for the woman who loves him."

"Tell me what you saw exactly," Cassie insisted.

Serena shook her head. "I don't want you to suffer. If you win him, your life won't be easy."

"Worse than what my life has been so far?"

Serena studied Cassandra carefully, weighing how much she should tell and how much her daughter could take.

"Is everything alright?" Blaine asked as he entered the kitchen. "You both ran out of the room so fast."

"Sometimes my mother gets a little overwhelmed."

Serena nodded. "I'm fine. Don't worry."

"What about you, Cassandra? Are you ok? You seem a little upset."

"Yeah, sure. I'm ok. Thanks for checking on us."

"No problem."

As Serena slipped out of the room, Cassandra took advantage of the time alone with Blaine. "So what's new? How is school going?"

Meanwhile, in the living room, Zara tried to get a conversation started again. "Weren't you at the Searing Indifference concert the other night?" she asked Reese.

"Briefly."

"Wasn't it awesome?"

James, who had been listening in on the conversation, laughed. "She wouldn't have liked it."

"Excuse me?" Reese spoke up. "What would you know about me?"

"Nothing . . .except I bet I can guess what kind of music you like. It's my one area of expertise." His grin was met with a skeptical look from Reese. "Here, let me prove it." He crossed to the piano and sat down to play.

James ran his fingers over the keyboard before playing an easy, mellow tune. Vanessa, recognizing the song, jumped in, adding the words to James' melody.

When the song was over, Zara applauded and James swivelled on the piano bench to face Reese.

"How did I do?"

"Not bad." Reese shrugged.

"I suppose I should take that as a compliment."

"You should. That sounded great," Zara spoke up. "Maybe you and Vanessa should record a song together."

"I'd love to." James smiled at Vanessa. "But I'm still caught up in a legal battle from my last partnership."

"Oh, right." Zara nodded.

Reese gasped. "Wait . . .are you James Spencer?"

"So you've heard of me?"

"Yes . . ." She didn't want to tell him that she was representing his former partner in the lawsuit. In fact, she wasn't comfortable being in the same room with him. "I should go see what's keeping Blaine," she stuttered and hurried out of the room.

"Are you going to have a graduation party?" Cassandra asked.

"I don't know. I haven't decided yet."

"You should. It would be fun to get all of your friends together before you all leave college-"

"Blaine," Reese interrupted as she walked into the kitchen. "I think I'm ready to go."

"Already?" Cassandra asked. "It's still early."

"I'm sorry. Thanks for inviting us, but I think I should go."

"Alright," Blaine agreed. "This was fun, Cassie. We'll have to do it again sometime. Bye." He waved to Cassie and Serena, who was entering the kitchen, as he and Reese walked out the other door.

Cassandra glared at Reese's back as they walked away. She couldn't believe she had done it again. Just as she and Blaine were having a good time together, Reese had to whine about going home and drag him away. The girl was really getting on her nerves.

"You really like him, don't you?" Serena asked quietly.

"Yes."

"Despite my warning?"

Cassandra hesitated. "It can't be all pain and unhappiness, can it?"

"No. You could be very happy together, for awhile, but something lies ahead for him that will bring sorrow for all around him," Serena warned. "Are you willing to take the bad with the good?" Cassandra nodded, too overcome to speak. "If you're sure, I'll help you."

Part 16 - Chapter 5 - The Choice for Love

"Mr. Vanderburg. You have a visitor," Justin announced as he walked into the Burgess' living room.

"Thanks," Chad replied. He rose from the couch and walked into the foyer. When he saw R.J. waiting for him, he was filled with a sense of dread. "What are you doing here?"

"I think you know."

Chad grimaced. "Let's take it outside. No one here needs to know our business."

Chad followed R.J. outside and they walked around to the garden at the side of the house.

Chad turned to face R.J. ready to accept whatever was in store for him. "Ok, so what's it going to be? What do you want from me?"

"I want my money back. I want every penny you took from our company," R.J. said in a deliberately calm and even voice.

Chad shrugged. "I don't have that kind of money. I gave up everything I had to pay off my debts."

"You haven't paid them all. You still owe me."

"Look, I would make up for it if I could, but I have nothing that's worth anything to you. Besides you've recovered from what happened. You've got your new company now. Do you really want to risk that by going after me?"

"Don't play that game with me," R.J. warned. "I was the one that was wronged and I am more than willing to take that risk to get what is owed me from you."

"So what do you want from me then?" Chad asked again. "You want to threaten me? Torture me? What?"

R.J. thought carefully before choosing his next words. "I want you to leave town. If I ever see you here again, you'd better have the money or I will make sure, one way or another, that you've paid me back in full. Until then, stay out of my sight." With those last words, R.J. turned and walked back towards the street.

Over dinner, Edward talked about his day at the hospital. He couldn't help noticing that Alma was too distracted to pay attention to the conversation.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't keep going on and on about things that must be boring to everyone but me. How was your day?"

"Fine, the same as usual," Alma replied. "Except that Vanessa stopped by . . ."

"Is that good or bad?"

"She wants me to speak to Amanda for her. She's still determined to get on Amanda's good side."

"Are you going to talk to her?"

"I said I would, but I don't know what good it will do. Amanda can be so stubborn."

Edward smiled. "You have to admire a woman who knows her own mind. At least I do."

Alma concentrated on the plate in front of her as she pushed at her food with her fork. "It's not always easy."

"Alma . . ." Edward began slowly. "I'm not trying to pressure you. I don't want to make that mistake again. Think of us as just dinner companions, if you like."

"You haven't changed your mind about wanting a family?"

"No. I've spent a lot of time alone and I want someone to share my life with, a wife and children-"

"How many children?"

Edward thought a moment. "Maybe two. A boy and a girl would be nice."

After their date, Edward drove Alma home and walked her to the door. They lingered on the front porch for a moment.

"I had a nice time tonight. I feel like . . ." He wanted to say he felt like they had gotten much closer, but he was worried about sounding too forward. "like we really had a chance to talk."

Alma nodded. "I'm glad that we did."

"We'll have to make a habit of it, then." As he leaned forward to kiss her goodnight, Alma demurely turned her face to the side and his lips landed on her cheek.

Edward stepped back and cleared his throat. "I'll give you a call tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Hey Audrey, can we talk?" Chad asked as he stood in the doorway of the Jordan's apartment. In the hours since R.J. had left him, Chad had considered his choices carefully and had reached his decision.

"Sure. Come in and have a seat."

"This won't take long. I just wanted to say goodbye. I'm leaving again."

"What? You can't leave now. You just got out of the hospital. We were just getting along again."

"R.J." he answered simply.

Audrey sighed. "How long are you going to keep running? For the rest of your life? And I was starting to believe that you'd changed."

"I have."

"Then start acting like it."

"What do you expect me to do? Pay R.J. money that I don't have? Wait around here for him to come up with some other method of payment? I'm not going to stick around and take the chance that you or anyone else around me gets caught up in this again. I have to leave. It's my only choice." He paused, but Audrey looked away and said nothing. "I just wanted to let you know before I took off."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too," he said, giving her a hug. They stood together for a moment before he finally stepped back. "I should go. I need to get packed. Take care of yourself, ok?"

Audrey walked Chad to the door and watched from the doorway as he disappeared down the hall.

"Audrey?" Jordan walked in from the kitchen. "Is everything alright?"

She didn't answer.

"Audrey?"

"Hmm?" she finally said in a distracted tone before turning from the door. "I'm fine," she said and walked past him towards her bedroom.

Part 16 - Chapter 6 - The Choice for Love

Justin went into his room and changed clothes. He was just starting to read a book, when he heard a commotion coming from Audrey's room. When the noise continued, he decided to investigate.

"What's going on?" he asked as he walked through the open doorway into Audrey's room.

She barely looked up from the open wardrobe in front of her as she hastily stuffed articles of clothing into an open suitcase. "I'm leaving. Chad's going away and I'm going with him."

A dozen questions were going through Justin's mind. "Are you sure that's wise?"

Audrey stood from where she was knelt on the floor. "Honestly, I don't know, but it's what I'm going to do."

Before he could protest, she stepped towards him and looked him in the eye. "Please don't try to talk me out of this."

"I won't. This is just sudden. I'm not sure what to think."

"I know this seems completely rash and I know that Chad and I have had a rough past, but I still love him and I can't take the idea of losing him again."

Justin shook his head and opened his mouth to speak, but Audrey wouldn't let him interrupt.

"He's my guy. The one that no matter what happens, in my heart I know I would do anything for . . .I know it sounds crazy, but can you understand that at all?"

Justin nodded. "I think I can."

A sudden knock on the front door, made Audrey jump.

"That's probably Lawrence," she said, moving towards the door. "I called and asked him to meet me."

"Go talk to him. I'll help pack," Justin offered.

"Lawrence, thanks for coming over," Audrey said as she let him into the apartment.

"What's going on?" he asked with concern. She had seemed so urgent to speak with him in person.

Now that they were face to face she was finding this more difficult than expected. "I'm so glad you could come. If you hadn't, I don't know when we would have the chance to see each other again."

"Why not?"

"I'm leaving town tonight . . .with Chad." She paused, bracing herself for Lawrence's reaction, but she was caught off guard by what he said next.

"Chad's leaving town?" he asked.

"Well, yes . . ."

"He didn't say anything about quitting his job with the company."

"It all happened very suddenly . . . Anyway, Lawrence," Audrey said, trying to get back to what she wanted to say. "I just had to let you know that I think you're a great guy and I enjoyed the time we spent together. But even with all of the history Chad and I have, a part of me never stopped caring about him and I feel like I need to be with him. I'm sorry."

"I understand," he said after a moment. "It's ok."

"Really? Are you sure?" Audrey asked.

Lawrence nodded. "I enjoyed spending time with you too, but I wouldn't stand in your way."

"You are so sweet," Audrey said as she gave him a hug. "I hope we see each other again someday."

"So do I. Goodbye and good luck."

As soon as Lawrence left, Audrey hurried back to her room to continue her frantic packing. She had to catch up with Chad before he left.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Justin asked as he helped Audrey load her luggage into her car.

"Yes, I'm sure . . .Thank you so much for taking me in and just being there for me. I really appreciate it."

"Do you have any idea where you're going?"

"None, but it doesn't really matter," she said with a smile. "But I'll call you when I get there, ok?"

After hugging her brother goodbye, she got into the car.

"If you ever need me, I'm still here for you."

She nodded quickly and waved goodbye before pulling out of the driveway.

Meanwhile at the Burgess' house, Chad was saying goodbye to Hector.

"Are you sure you have to go?" Hector asked. "You have friends here and a new job. If you need a place to stay, you're more than welcome to stay here as long as you want. Are you sure you want to leave all that?"

"It's tempting, but I think this is for the best," Chad said. He didn't want to go into all of the details about what had happened between him and R.J., but he was having trouble coming up with a better reason for leaving. "Bay Pointe is a nice town, but I don't think it's the place for me."

Hector shrugged. "Alright. Well, give me a call sometime when you get settled."

"Will do," Chad promised.

Hector walked Chad to the door and lingered in the foyer as Chad walked out to the street. He wasn't so sad about Chad leaving, they were the type of friends who met once or twice a year to catch up and reminisce before going their separate ways, but he suddenly felt like he was losing his last friend in town and his only ally at work.

He hadn't realized how much he had been counting on Chad. Now he had the support of no one.

As Chad put his luggage into the backseat of the car, another car pulled up behind him.

"Chad, wait," Audrey called out as she ran towards him. "I'm so glad I'm not too late."

"Audrey, what's wrong?"

"I was wrong. I think you have changed and so have I. We've both grown up and I think we can make it work this time. As much as I wanted to, I don't think I ever really stopped loving you. What we had is worth at least a second chance. That's why I want to go with you."

Audrey paused, catching her breath and waiting for his response, but Chad didn't say anything. Instead, he pulled her close and kissed her.

"Then let's go."

Eileen looked over her shoulder as she opened the front door. She was hoping to sneak out without attracting too much attention. Her dad had already been questioning her about where she went at night and she really didn't want to tell him. When she turned and saw someone standing in front of her on the porch, she gasped and jumped back.

"Oh, Lawrence," she said nervously. "I'll go get my dad."

"I didn't come here to talk to your father. I came to see you."

"Oh. Me? Why?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something alone, if that's alright."

"Fine." Eileen nodded, her voice high and nervous. After that embarrassing moment at the hospital she had managed to avoid Lawrence completely and part of her had hoped she could continue to avoid him indefinitely.

Lawrence waited until they had walked around the corner of the house to speak. "I've been thinking about what you said at the hospital-"

"Please don't mention it." Eileen cringed. The thought of her confession was still a source of embarrassment. "I don't know why I said that. I was just upset about my dad, I guess. I wish we could just pretend it never happened."

"Really?" Lawrence asked. "Because, if you hadn't changed your mind, I was going to ask if you wanted to go out to dinner with me."

"What- What about your girlfriend?"

"She wasn't the one for me . . .Are you interested or should we add this conversation to our list of things to forget about?" he asked, tensely waiting for her answer.

Too nervous to come up with any of her usual flirty banter, Eileen simply asked, "When?"