Bracing himself, Nick paused outside the door to Veronica's apartment. Gathering courage for what he had to do, he reluctantly knocked on the door. He heard her shrill voice call out.

"It's Nick, Veronica. We need to talk," he called back. He heard a serious of bangs and thumps, until she finally came to the door, looking surprised and unprepared for his visit, with messy hair and wearing only a bath robe.

"Uh…Hi, Nick. What are you doing here?" she asked slowly.

"We have to talk," he said brushing past her and walking into her apartment. And stopped cold at what he saw.

"Nick, listen, I've been meaning to tell you for awhile that things just aren't…" she trailed off. Nick was still stunned at what he was seeing. There was a man, who wasn't wearing much, asleep on Veronica's bed.

"What's going on here, Veronica?" Nick said, astonished.

"Well…" she trailed off.

"You cheated on me?" he asked, trying not to laugh.

"Cheated is such a harsh word…but yeah, you could say that. So I guess you want to break up?" she asked, smiling. Nick was incredibly astounded at this girl. She had been playing him!

"Yes, you could say that. To think of everything that I sacrificed for you…God, I hate you," he said, matter-of-factly.

"I expected this. Well, it's been nice knowing you Nick. And please don't come around begging for me to take you back, because you're just not my type," she said. Nick laughed at her egotism and turned and walked happily out of the apartment.

* * * *

Cairo was shoving clothes into her suitcase, rather disorganized. She paused to observe the shaking of her hands, and looked despairingly into the mirror. She had huge dark circles under her eyes, her hair was a dull mess, and her skin was pale and gaunt.

Sweeping stray hair out of her eyes, she sighed. It had been a rough couple of days. But soon you won't have to worry about this anymore. You're going home, she told herself reassuringly. She heard something downstairs, and curiously, went downstairs to investigate.

At the bottom of the stairs was her sister. Trista. Cairo was completely shocked to see her.

"Oh, hi Cairo. You didn't answer the door, so I just…let myself in," Trista said nervously.

"Why are you here?" Cairo demanded, completely shocked.

"Lacey called me. I had to come when she told me…" Trista trailed off, obviously uncomfortable under Cairo's hostile glare.

"What exactly did she tell you?" Cairo demanded.

"About Nick. Oh god Cairo, after everything I did…I want you to be happy and if you can't be because of what I did…I could never forgive myself," she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"You should have thought of that before-"

"I know. Oh god, I know. And everyday I have a constant reminder of the mistakes that I've made. My children, my babies, I never see them. They'll grow up with a broken family because of me. Everyday, I have to get up and look in the mirror and realize that I hate myself. If I could go back and change it, I would. But I can't. And neither can you. So stop living in the past, when you have a future waiting for you," Trista pleaded.

"Stop being so melodramatic, Trista. It never suited you. What you did, I'll never be able to forgive you for. Never. I'll never forget it, either," Cairo said, disgusted by her sister's passionate plea.

"Cairo, you love him. He loves you. What are you afraid of?" Trista demanded.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Cairo demanded, her temper breaking.

"Because it's true. You're terrified at the thought of falling in love again. And that's my fault. Please…don't loose him because of me," Trista pleaded.

"Why are you here?" Cairo yelled.

"Because I love you. And I was hoping that I could convince you not to throw something wonderful away, because of me and Brad," she said, turning away.

"Don't you realize? It's not about you. It's always been about Brad. Always. He told me he loved me more times than I can remember. And he lied every single time. I can't…every time someone says 'I love you', it's a painful reminder that the first time I heard it, it was a lie," Cairo said, trying to control her sudden tears.

"If you loose Nick, that bastard wins. Brad wins. Because he still has control over you. Carrie, please, don't let him win anymore than he has. He won with me. I lost everything. Don't let the same thing happen to you," Trista said. She turned around and touched Cairo's shoulder, looking at her little sister's face. She smiled slightly, then turned around and started to leave. Cairo watched her retreating form for a minute and then called out.

"Trista!" Trista turned around hopefully. Blinking back her tears furiously, Cairo gathered up the strength to say what she had to.

"Goodbye, sister." Trista burst into tears and they hugged each other.