Sometimes I feel so insecure And love so distant and obscure

 Cade knew he was in too deep. Why was he doing this? Of course, Maisy asked him this at least a couple of times a day, but she needed him and here he was in North Omaha with her, hiding out. He guessed.

Yes, he didn't stay in Paris. It was the plan. It is a beautiful place to visit, but even there he knew he was out of his element. Even so, his parents thought he was still there. Taking a selfish gap year, of course.

True, he hated not being on scholarship. Still, it wasn't what he thought it would be. A part of him envied Mercer more than he would ever know. Mercer was finding his passion and Cade needed to let him succeed. Yes, he'd worried about his health, but from the looks of things Mercer was capable all on his own. It was Maisy that needed him.

They'd been friends since the moment they met. That was high school. He was fond of her memories, yet always felt she never really had family. And things seemed to have gotten better for her. However, he knew she really wanted to be into fashion and as much as she'd gone to New York City set on that dream. It didn't happen.

Instead, she got sucked into something strange by her so-called theater friend to be a surrogate to none other than some pop stars from an Asian country. Oh, they had the money all right. They could give her everything if she'd just have a child for them.

Maisy texted him early on about this. It wasn't long until he was calling her, and listening to it all the ugliness of this new life plan. It wasn't pleasant. He knew of her pain, physically, and emotionally. Yes, maybe he was more than a friend now. 

They could just be distant friends, consoling each other. She'd make him laugh about how lousy he was at French. Cade could have easily found a sugar daddy, but he didn't want that.

She was there for him when there were nights, he'd text practically a novel about how much he missed his Mercer. She'd been a true friend always giving him strength when he needed it. Honestly, he loved her messages and if she didn't text, he was worried about her every hour of the day.

Then came the day when she told him she was all on her own. No one wanted this baby after all. The Super Star couple split and went back to their home country. 

"I don't know what to do?" Maisy was in a fix. She'd have to be on Medicaid. 

Cade felt certain he did the right thing. He flew back to New York City to be with her those last few weeks before she had the baby.  Thankfully, they had enough money to get back home. Although, Maisy wasn't herself after having the baby. She didn't want to see anyone.

"Everyone is going to hate me," she was so sad and out of it.

"No, they won't," Cade kept telling her. She was a warrior, and she would be a good mother. But it was true she hated herself the most. Still, he felt it was best if they were on their own. Maybe by summer, things would be better. 

Cade started working at the lab in the Veteran's Hospital. It was not the most pleasant job, but he was managing.