~KAHLAN, KATE, AND CARLY~
“I can't… I can’t believe,” my voice trailed off as I stared at my mother. I dreamed of this moment, and what I would say. Dreamed? I dreamed of this… this surprise that was supposed to be happy… but that’s not what I was feeling. I thought that when this moment occurred, I’d run into my mother’s arms, hug her tightly, and tell her how much I missed and loved her. But none of those actions had entered my mind. I was supposed to be happy, but instead I was furious. “You have some nerve showing up here.” Kate stares. Carly stood by and watched, trying to understand.
“I know I haven’t been around,” Kate started, “And believe me when I say I am sorry. But it doesn’t matter where I’ve been, what does matter is that I am here now.” I stood tall.
~JUSTIN AND KAHLAN~ I woke up to the sound of running water from above my head. It was really hard for me to open my eyes, they stung and felt so heavy, but somehow I did. I looked to the right and saw that the sun was about gone, and the moon would soon be up in the sky. I knew I didn’t lie down by myself, but I sure did wake up alone. The living room light was dimmed and the other surrounding areas were in darkness. I could only make out the outline of furniture and objects. I climbed to my feet and stretched. “Justin?” I said softly, feeling a bit scared to leave the light, but I did. I made my way upstairs, following the water sounds. I entered the bathroom in my bedroom, where I saw Justin dipping his hands into a halfway full tub, with plenty of bubbles and red Candles that I never use. They were a gift from Angie. It was one of the last things she had gotten me. “Justin?” His head quickly turned to face me. “You’re up.” he said, climbing to his feet, flashing a slight smile.
~THE MEIR FAMILY~ The Meir family sat down for dinner. Ella stared at her children. Every child had that look of worry displayed on their faces. She was their mother, why couldn’t she help them like a mother should be able to? Lately she had been feeling as if she had failed as a parent. Brooke and Micheal played with their food pushing around their peas and mashed potatoes. Damon just stared off into space. The silence was uncomfortable.“What’s going on?” Ella asked, not being able to handle her children’s sadness. They all looked up as if just now acknowledging that there were other people sitting at the dining room table. Brooke was the first to respond.“I’m just not hungry right now,” she murmured. Micheal nodded his he
~KAHLAN AND DAMON~“How long have they been out there?” Carly asked Justin as they watched through the kitchen window. Damon and Kahlan appeared to be in a very heated conversation. Carly had to sneak out of her house just to be there for Kahlan. Her father was pissed at her, but had no time to give her a good talking to, or ground her because he was too worried about his new girlfriend.“Not that long,” Justin murmured. Carly could see worry on Justin’s face. She just wasn’t sure what he was worried about. Was he worried about Kahlan and what she might do because she was so angry? Was he worried about Kahlan because of what Damon might do because he was so persistent? Or was he worried that their heated argument would somehow show the lust they still had for each other?“He said he w
~KAHLAN, CARLY AND JUSTIN~ “What’s all this?” Justin asked when he came down the stairs to see me putting the food into serving trays. I smiled. I had planned on serving breakfast in bed but with the smells coming from the kitchen, it seemed everyone hopped out of bed in hunger.“It's breakfast,” I answered with a smile, “I’m a great cook.” Justin smiled. He had tasted her cooking plenty of times and not once has it ever been a disappointment.“No doubt about it,” Justin replied. “How are you feeling?” I looked at him, still smiling.“I’m feeling great,” I answered. Justin walked into the living room to grab his tennis shoes, w
~THE HANCOCKS~Mya sat across from her dad. There was silence as she tried to put her thoughts together and change them into words. She did want to apologize to her dad, but at the same time she still had so much anger in her heart. “Mya,” Paul said, looking very impatient. She stared. “Dad.” That was one of the first things that Paul was happy to hear. His daughter was back to acknowledging him as a father. “I want to apologize for acting the way I did towards you and Julie and Amy. I just want you to understand how bad it hurts to know that you weren’t who you were supposed to be. I never expected any of this, I always thought that you were my real father and it made me sick to know that you weren’t, but after a while I realized that you were my father and you always will be. And I am so sorry for how I was acting.” Dad looked at her and then smiled. When he first told his girls the truth, he knew they were going to be mad. The way Mya acted completely blew him out of the water. T
~JUSTIN~Justin crept into his home; he wanted to be sure that he didn’t wake anyone up. All he had to do was quickly change his clothes and go outside to meet Kahlan, who waited patiently in her car. He heard the washer and dryer in the basement, and knew his legal guardians were already up and about. Just as he made his way up the stairs to the second floor, his grandmother called his name. “Justin,” her voice sounded quiet and nasally, “is that you?” He turned to see a tiny old woman standing at the foot of the stairs. She took her glasses off her face and set them on top of her head full of grays. “You don’t have to sneak in,” she said, “but the least you could do is call and check in, let us know that you will be out all night and that you are safe”. Justin looked. “I’m sorry to worry you grandma.” She chuckled. “I’m not the one who was worried,” she answered. She was referring to his grandfather. He sat in the living room all day, half dressed most of the time, eyes glued to
~KATE AND CARLY~“Tell me about her,” Kate replied as she sat next to Carly on the couch. Robert had decided to give the girls space. All Kate wanted to do at this moment was to know her daughter through Carly’s eyes. Carly smiled.“She’s great. I don’t know what else to say. She likes to cook; she seems to love pasta and Chinese food. She has sarcasm that can keep you laughing. Oh, and she used to be a gymnast. Which helps her on the cheerleading squad. Well, after I made her try it out.” Kate smiled. Wow, the older woman thought, she knew her daughter once upon a time, but now she grew up and with that, comes change.“What about a boyfriend?” Kate said, “Does she have a boyfriend?” Carly’s mind automatically went to Damon, but that’s not a respons
~THE BOYS~Chad Worthy, Brandon Yaught, Christian Tyler and Jason Flemming tossed the football back and forth between them as they discussed how high maintenance girls were.“I don’t think they’re that bad,” Jason replied, “They have expectations and not many men follow them.” Chris laughed.“You’re only saying that because you have a girlfriend. And you two are still in the honeymoon phase. Just you wait, your girl will start asking for small favors that will gradually get bigger over time.”“Then she’ll start asking you to change little by little. And these are things that make you who you are,” Brandon pitched.“And then you will understand why