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Something weird was going on. Nick was sure of it. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to figure out exactly what it was that was going on. Brian and Kayla had been acting strangely ever since he had hooked up with them at the airport; too many pointed looks and sideways glances for his liking. He had a sinking suspicion that their strange behaviour had something to do with him, but of course neither one of them was admitting to acting oddly. In fact, they both appeared to be avoiding him. Kayla hadn’t even shown up for dinner, claiming that Liliana was exhausted from the trip and that she had too much work to do.

Nick frowned as he stopped outside of Kayla’s room. He really had no idea what he had done to upset her. After a few more seconds of contemplation, Nick raised his hand to the door and knocked softly. He could hear Kayla rustling around on the other side and a few seconds later she pulled open the door and gave him a small smile.

“We have to be quiet. Liliana’s finally asleep.”

Nick nodded his understanding and followed Kayla into the sitting area. The door to the bedroom was slightly ajar and Kayla closed it tightly as she passed, making sure to check that the baby monitor was turned on.

“You look busy.” Nick took in the papers that were spread out across the coffee table as he spoke.

“I don’t mind taking a break.” Kayla grinned. She dropped down onto the couch and closed her laptop before turning to Nick. “What’s up?”

“Nothing.” Nick lowered himself onto the couch beside her. “I just thought that we could hang out.”

“Oh.” Kayla glanced quickly at the mess of papers. “Okay.”

“Have I done something?” Nick couldn’t help but notice that Kayla had yet to look him in the face. “I know I said that I would try and get back to Kentucky in time to make your flight, but there was an issue with the moving company and then the guy at the storage unit ...”

“I’m not upset with you.” Kayla interrupted. “I promised Brian that I would explain something to you, that’s all.”

“Okay.” Nick could feel himself getting antsy as he waited for Kayla to continue. The look on her face definitely wasn’t confidence inspiring.

“Do you remember earlier when you asked me why I knew how to speak French?” Kayla took a deep breath. “I told you that I learned French in high school, but the truth is that I was enrolled in a French Immersion program since the first grade.”

“Okayyyyy” Nick looked at Kayla in confusion. “That’s what Brian wanted you to tell me?”

“My parents put me in French Immersion because I grew up in Ottawa.” Kayla continued. “Brian saw my passport when we were at the airport and discovered that I was – am – Canadian.”

“That’s nice?” Nick raised his eyebrows. “I think that I’m still missing something.”

“Brian is a bit upset about the fact that I didn’t mention that I’m not American.” Kayla admitted. “I think he’s under the impression that I’m hiding something.”

“Well, are you hiding something?” Nick had a feeling that there was more that Kayla needed to say. “I suppose it is a bit strange that you never brought up the fact that you used to live in Canada, especially because we’re currently sitting in a hotel room in Montreal. What about Liliana? Where was she born?”

“Here.” Kayla sighed. “She was born in Ottawa. I moved to Kentucky a week after I delivered.”

Nick quickly sifted through all of the time that he had spent with Kayla. He could distinctly remember her becoming very defensive when he had alluded to the notion that she had a northern accent during their first dinner together at the Olive Garden. Other than the fact that Liliana’s dad wasn’t in the picture, Nick came to the startling conclusion that he knew next to nothing about Kayla’s personal life.

“This is also probably a good time to mention that my full name is Makayla.” Kayla fiddled with the strings on her sweatshirt as she spoke. “My last name is actually my mother’s maiden name. I legally assumed her former surname right before I moved to the States.”

“I think that you better start from the beginning.” Nick mumbled. He leaned back against the sofa and positioned himself so that he was staring her directly in the face. “Don’t leave anything out.”

Kayla took another deep breath and lifted her eyes to Nick’s. “Lily’s father is in jail for attempted murder and assault charges. Not for anything that he did to me, but for something that he did to a couple of high profile gang members.”

“Your ex was part of a gang?” Nick’s eyes were wide. “Jesus Christ, Kayla ...”

“No.” Kayla placed her hand gently on Nick’s arm to silence him. “My ex wasn’t in a gang, but he was heavily into drugs. It started out innocently enough; a hit of weed here and there, nothing extreme. By the time I became pregnant with Liliana, he was out of control and into some pretty intense stuff; heroine mostly. The pregnancy wasn’t planned. Actually, Lily was conceived on a night when he was so high that I’m surprised that he was even capable of getting it up, let alone conceiving a child.”

“Why didn’t you leave?” Nick shook his head. “Why would you even let him – why didn’t you push him away, tell him to stop?”

“It wasn’t that easy, Nick.” Kayla held tight to his gaze. “I couldn’t just pick up and leave. He was in debt to a tough bunch of guys; he owed them tens of thousands of dollars for drugs and he had no way of repaying what he owed. Those same guys knew who I was and they would have come after me if I had left him, because I was the one who was giving him the money to repay his debt.”

“So, why didn’t you just give him the money and run? Why did you let – how did Lily ...” Nick trailed off.

“He would get so angry when he used.” Kayla’s eyes took on a faraway look. “It was easier to just give him what he wanted. Resisting always turned out to be more painful than letting him have his way.”

“You said that he wasn’t in jail for anything that he did to you.” Nick could hear the anger rising in his own voice. “It sounds like he should be.”

Kayla shook her head softly and squeezed Nick’s arm. “I consented to him that night. Once he found out that I was pregnant, he went on a two day bender. It was during that weekend that he got into a fight and tried to take out one of the gang members that he owed money to. By the time the case went to trial and he was convicted, I was already eight and a half months pregnant. I kept a low profile, had Liliana, and then arranged for my aunt and uncle to bring me to Kentucky.”

“And you changed your name.” Nick finished.

Kayla nodded. “I didn’t want there to be any record of me or Liliana leaving the country. I changed my last name and started going by Kayla instead of Makayla. My aunt and uncle helped me establish myself in Kentucky and one of my former co-workers helped me make the transition to C.P.S. in Lexington. I used to work for the Ministry of Child and Youth Services in Ottawa, so it was a relatively easily changeover. I’ve applied for dual citizenship, but my application is still pending.”

“I don’t know what to say.” Nick looked down at Kayla’s hand that was still resting on his arm and frowned. “‘I’m sorry’ doesn’t seem sufficient.

“There’s nothing to say.” Kayla gave him a small smile. “I didn’t tell you so that you would feel sorry for me. I told you because it didn’t seem right to keep it from you anymore.”

Nick’s frown deepened. “Why didn’t you tell me this before? Why did you wait until Brian called you out at the airport?”

Kayla hesitated. “Peggy and I ran your background check a few weeks ago. When I saw the charges; the drunk driving, the drug possession, the assault on a police officer, I panicked. It all just seemed a little too familiar.”

“That’s in the past now!” Nick felt himself becoming frantic. “I know that I made some bad choices, but I’ve turned myself around.”

“Nick.” Kayla slowly raised her fingers to his lips and urged him to stop talking. “I only know who you are now. I don’t know anything about who you used to be. I know that my reservations are unwarranted. I know that the words that I saw on that piece of paper don’t define you.”

“But you’re scared?” Nick’s face fell even further. “You think that I’m too much like your ex. You think that I’m going to lose control and hurt you.”

“No.” Kayla shook her head. “I don’t know exactly how I feel about you at the moment, but it has nothing to do with what I read in your background check. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about all of this sooner. I didn’t mean for the situation to manifest itself into this big secret; that part of my life is over, forgotten. Being forced to come back across the border for this trip has helped me see that. ”

“What do you mean that you don’t know how you feel about me?” Nick gently grabbed Kayla’s wrist and pulled her fingers away from his mouth. He licked his lips as he leaned closer.

Kayla hesitated. “I like you spending time with you, Nick. That hasn’t changed.”

Their faces were so close that Nick could feel Kayla’s breath on his skin. It was warm and smelled slightly like spearmint. Her eyes closed as their lips touched and he delivered the long, lingering kiss that he had been dying to give her for weeks. His senses surged at the feel of her lips on his, and as much as he wanted to continue, he pulled back.

The taste of Kayla’s lip-gloss lingered on his lips as Nick moved away. “Do you remember when I jokingly asked you to tell me the name of your favourite Backstreet Boy?”

Kayla nodded. “Yeah.”

“Do you remember when you lied and told me that it was AJ?”

A grin spread across Kayla’s face. “Yeah.”

“Who is it?” Nick kept his face only inches from hers. “Don’t lie to me this time.”

“You.”

Nick shook his head. “I told you not to lie.”

“What makes you think that I’m lying?” Kayla held tight to her smile. “We’ve been leading up to that kiss for weeks.”

Nick continued to shake his head. “I can tell by the way that you kissed me that you’re not feeling the same way that I feel right now.”

Kayla’s smile faltered. “It was you. It was always you.”

“Who is it now?” Nick softly moved a piece of hair off of her forehead. “It’s not me anymore.”

“Nick, I – I never meant – it was never my intention to hurt you.” Kayla’s face fell. “In the beginning, I wanted this just as much as you did. Up until the moment that you kissed me, I thought that maybe I still wanted it.”

“I saw this happening, but I refused to believe it.” Nick admitted. “I’m not upset.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Kayla quickly reverted to ignorance as a defence.

“It’s time to come clean, Kay.” Nick smiled. “Who is it now? Who’s the one you want?”

Kayla’s voice was so soft that it was barely audible. “Brian. I want Brian.”