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Continued...

With hands that are trembling with force, Rick sets the letter down and looks around the room. His mind floods with the horror that he could actually be responsible for raising his little girl all by himself. While Valerie and the rest of the family would surely step in, there would be a great absence that only a mother could fill. Right now there was no need to be selfish and to think of this ultimate burden; he could only feel for that precious little girl that was sleeping in the next room.

He fumbles around his pocket for a moment until he finally reaches for his cell phone. He quickly flips it open and dials Kayla's number. Perhaps she had thought things over and changed her mind...perhaps she was already a million miles away.

Rick curses and stomps his feet when he sent to her voicemail. There is just no way that Kayla could be capable of something so...so horrible. There was no way that Kayla would abandon her own daughter. It just didn't make any sense to him at all. 

He soon scrolls down until he stops at Liz Bryant's number and quickly presses the call button. If anyone could offer sound advice it was Liz.

"Liz, thank God you answered!"

"Rick, are you okay? What's wrong?" Her mind fills with worry at the sound of Rick's tone.

"It's Kayla...she's gone" Rick forces himself to mutter.

"What do you mean she's gone? Where is Haylie?" Liz rises from her seat in her penthouse.

"Haylie is sleeping in her room. Val is here- apparently Kayla called Val over to watch Haylie and told her to give me a note that was sitting on my nightstand. I just read it and I am speechless...she's really gone, Liz."

"Just hold on right there. Kayla may be a lot of things, but she's not one to leave her daughter behind and abandon her family. She's a strong woman, as much as I may have to admit it, and she'd fight for her family. She wouldn't do anything to break it apart."

"I know, Liz! I know...that's why this has me so worried."

"I'm sure you just need to relax and give it a few days. I'm sure she's staying with Emily and her mother and she just needed a breather. You know how that woman gets worked up," Liz explains. "She can act irrational at times and say things she might later regret."

"I hope you're right, Liz. If not, I don't know what I'm going to do..." Rick fights the tears that are beginning to appear.

"It's all going to be okay, Rick. I'm here for you. Just get off the phone with me and call Emily or Vanessa. I'm sure they'll know exactly what's going on."

"Alright, Liz...I appreciate you being there."

"I'm always here for you, Rick. You know that. You can call me day or night...I'll always be here."

______________________________________________________________


Scene: The Castro District of San Francisco. 

"Sh...Shane. Hi again" Jason stammers.

"Hi again. Are you here for the meeting?" Shane asks as he looks back at the entrance of the building.

"Uhm, yeah...I suppose so."

"Do you know someone that's positive?" Shane inquires.

"Yeah, I do...he's pretty damn close to me." Jason slowly gets out.

"Oh, well I actually have been coming here for years. It's a great group- for those who are positive and friends and lovers of those that are as well."

"Thanks. I'm glad to hear that."

Jason can't stop from looking towards the ground. As if some gravitational pull was forcing him to peer at the ground, there was just no way that he could look into Shane's crystal blue eyes. There was no way that he could tell Shane what he had- even though he knew that Shane was positive as well.

"Look, Jason, you can tell me..."

"Tell you?"

"Someone really close to you?" Shane raises a brow, as if he knew instantaneously that Jason was lying.

"Okay...I'm positive. I came here because one of my sisters really wanted me to meet some other people who were positive as well. In fact, she and one other person are the only ones that know at this point. I've been bottling it up inside for months and I just feel like I'm going to explode."

"Hey, hey...it's okay," Shane embraces Jason with a hug. "I was in the same boat for quite some time. Then I found this place and I was able to come to terms with what I had- and I met some amazing friends that are positive as well."

"Really?" Jason sighs, completely relieved that he was able to divulge his fears to such a stranger.

"Trust me, we can talk all about it. Why don't we have coffee after the meeting? You really look like you could use a friend right now."

"That I could."

"Lets go in then. It's not going to be as scary as you think." Shane does his best to relieve Jason of his fears.

"Okay."

As Jason slowly follows Shane into the building, he is instantly mesmerized by the number of people in attendance. There had to be nearly thirty people in the room. Some were grabbing coffee and chatting, others were intently sitting in their seats waiting for the meeting to start. He did notice that quite a few were giving him the eye- probably as they did mostly to new members who they were unsure of. For some reason, Jason was able to let out a deep sigh of relief as he and Shane took their seats. He was now surrounded by people who cared; he was surrounded by people who understood.

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