I knew that I shouldn’t be here. But I had to see her. I haven’t seen her since 11 years ago. What happened on that day still haunts me, and I know that it always will. Heaven knows when it will stop. It probably never will. As I waited, the flashbacks started.

I was about 8 years old, doing my homework. It was in our old apartment, but I don’t know if my “family” moved out yet. In my room, there were a few posters of my favorite band, The Beatles, and some posters of my favorite cartoon: “Calvin and Hobbes”. Those two characters grew up with me and they always helped me feel better whenever I was sad. On the corner of my room were my bed, with blue sheets and a white pillow. Alongside it was some bookcases with my all-time favorite books. On the corner diagonal to the one my bed was my desk. There would be my desk, made of wood and my light stand on one of the corners. On the wall in front of me was a mirror. My parents told me: always look into the mirror and see who you really are. So, I would always look into the mirror. There, I would see a strawberry-blonde boy with bright blue eyes and freckles on his cheeks. I was always happy with my appearance…. except for my freckles. So, going back, I was in my room, doing homework. My parents were at the hospital; my mom was having my sister. My grandparents were staying with me, and they would be on the phone every 5 minutes, wondering what was happening. Soon, around ten, I was in bed and my grandparents rushed into my room.
“It’s a girl, but… your mother,” my grandma said, tears falling.
“What?” I asked.
“She didn’t survive.”
I shook my head. “No. No. Please. NO.”
“I’m sorry, child.”
The day after was a horrible day for me. My dad came back, everybody was cooing around the new baby, and my feelings were mortified. I didn’t even know what was going on; just that there was a new baby and that my mom had passed away. Every time I tried to touch her, my Dad would glare at me and say, “Noah, you know better than that. Go into your room. Now.” And I would be grounded.

My dad’s mood wasn’t that much better after my mom passed away. He’s been very short-tempered and inflammable. I would be standing in my room not doing anything and he would stomp in, and be shouting at me, claiming that I “didn’t do my homework” when I didn’t have any. Even if I tried to protest, my dad wouldn’t allow it. Nothing was allowed in this house anymore. I would be abused. My life soon became fruitless.

After a month this had been going on, I finally had enough. I would be getting slaps and bruises just because I played with my toys that would “Hurt the baby” and my dad was getting more and more malignant to me more than ever. My feelings were hurt. Not just hurt, but badly hurt. I knew that I had to escape. With the family phone, I dialed my friend Daniel.
“Hey, Daniel.” I said once he picked up.
“Hi. What are you doing?”
“I need to escape. My family is being extremely hostile to me because of the baby.”
“Gather your money and just get out of there!” Daniel suggested. I took this into account but then shook my head.
“What about shelter? Where will I stay?” I countered.
“Come on, you can just go to a restaurant or something. You have money, right? Gather up your money and whatever you need and put them in a duffel bag. And then escape.”
“What?”
“Yeah. Then get a work at a restaurant, I don’t know, maybe McDonalds and then tell them that you need a job for a school project or something, and then you can buy a apartment.”
“That’ll take a long time.”
“Nah, You’ll be fine.”
And it actually was true. I escaped that night, at 12:00 AM, with a duffel bag that had a lot of my clothing, food and water, and $5,000 I stole from my dad. I looked around, trying to find a place that was open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and a place that wasn’t as inflicted as McDonald’s. Soon, I came across Carl’s Jr. Not much better than McDonald’s, but what choice did I have?
I entered the building. The restaurant was clean, not at all like a fast-food restaurant.
“Excuse me?” I called out.
“Yes?” a spirited voice answered.
“I need to get a job here for a school project. Do you mind if you can employ me here?” I asked, walking towards the voice.
“Yes, Just let me take a look at you.”
I walked in front of the voice and saw myself standing in front of a lady, with red hair and hazel eyes.
“Your age?” she prompted.
“8.”
“Only 8?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Why are you here so late?”
“I forgot about my project… until I woke up in the middle of the night.”
“Why do you have a duffel bag?”
“Clothes, just in case I get cold.”
“Hmmm… are you good at speaking to people?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Selling?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“How good?”
“Fair.”
“Alright. You’re hired. I see you tomorrow?”
“Can I come at 3:00 PM everyday to 6:30PM?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, can I just know how much I get paid?”
“That’ll depend on if you are wayward or not.”
“Okay. I will see you tomorrow, ma’am.”
“Call me Karina, by the way.”
“Okay.” I nodded at the lady-Karina- and headed outside. It was about 2:15 in the morning, I just had to figure out where I had to spend my night.
“Um, excuse me, are you looking for somebody?” a voice interrupted my thoughts.
I looked down. My sister. Oh Lord, she looked exactly like me, before I changed my appearance.
I sighed. “No, I was just wondering…” I couldn’t finish. I was wondering if you still remember me. I thought.
“Wondering what?” she asked.
“Never mind. Here, I’ll move.” I didn’t want her to answer. I didn’t want to hear her answer.
I opened the door for her and moved out of the way.
“Thank you.” she looked at me in the eyes. I winced. I wanted to look away. I needed to look away. Those eyes… they were so much like my mother’s, and mine. My eyes aren’t as blue anymore, but her eyes are sharp icy blue.
“No problem.” I answered. I watched her walk inside and my mind went void. I knew I shouldn’t have come.

I stood staring at the wall, until I was convinced that I was going completely mental and that the teenager wasn’t there anymore. I mean, it was obvious. He was there one second, gone the next. Who knew where he would appear next? I don’t want to find out anyway.
“Nicole, are you still thinking about that teenager?” Hailey asked once the oration was done.
“Yeah. I mean, I just saw him a moment ago. I don’t know why. I think that there was an anecdote between us or something…”
“Honestly Nicole. I bet that there is nothing between the teenager and you. Why would he even be interested in you in the first place?”
A flicker of uncertainty passed through me.
“I know that it seems weird and I do think that it’s weird too. But I just don’t understand why I feel that way, if I ever do.” I said.
Catherine looked at me. “Hey. Look, I’m really sorry, but I have to ask you this question. Are you just pretending to see a teenager to get attention?”
I looked sharply at her, and she looked away. “Catherine, honestly? Why would I even want to get attention? What makes you even say that?”
I knew that I was trying to be tactful. I was trying. But not hard enough. Anger was pouring out of me.
“Seriously. Why would I want attention? Do you think that YOU would want to get attention when there is a teenager outside and you feel connected to him and you’re sharing it with your best friends? No. I don’t think so. I would really, really appreciate it if you guys would actually try helping instead of saying that what I am saying is false, because I am guaranteeing you, it is NOT!” I wasn’t entreating. Anybody would know that I don’t entreat. I knew that I had mauled them. I didn’t want to, but it was the only choice. I turned to Catherine.
“I’m sorry, but what you just said is all fallible. Alright? You two both know that I hate getting attention. Why even mention it in the first place? You guys aren’t counterfeit friends, are you?” I asked.
“Look. Nicole.” Hailey gently said. “I don’t know why Catherine asked that question, but I’m pretty sure that she didn’t say that to get you mad. We both know that this is a ultimate, and substantial for you, having a stranger by your sides at all times. We both know its hard.” she pointed a look at Catherine.
Catherine spoke. “Nicole. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get you pissed. I apologize. I swear, Hailey and I will both do anything and consolidate our powers to get the stalker off you. Okay?”
I took a deep breath and calmed down. “Okay. I’m only being docile and letting you two dominate me because I trust you, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. We know that you love us. Now can we get to our classes?” Hailey smiled.
I rolled my eyes. “Fine.”
“Your fickle personality is very nice, Nicole.” Catherine said. “I like it. You change your feelings easily.”
“Is it because I was the one who got mad at you?” I asked.
“That’s a small iota of it. I just like that you can forgive people easily. That’s the good part.”
“Or you’re just being a fugitive and trying to get away with everything you did.”
“Oh Nicole, honestly?”
“What?”
“I’m just saying that I like you personality and you’re like being all negative about it.”
“Is there a problem about being negative?”
“No..”
“Good.” I tampered.
“Honestly.. Nicole. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings or anthing. Really.”
I glanced at her. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I mean, you’re like one of my best friends. It’s not like you’re mean or grimy. Right?”
I shrugged. “Sure.”
“So potientially, you’re my best friend. Okay? Don’t feel bad.”
I smiled. “Catherine, you’re so gullible. It’s like you came from a rural place. Of course I know that you’re my best—or rather I’m your best friend! DUH!”
She smiled. “You’re so radiant, Nicole. You’re a really good friend.”
“Aww.. thanks.”
“So.. you guys, I’m going to be calling out your names, and you will be getting your schedules. Okay? Now this sheet of paper will determine which math class you are in as well… 6A being the lowest and 6C being the utmost… alright?” Mrs. Hubert announced. She browsed through her stack of papers and then grabbed a folder.
“Okay. The first one: Catherine Appleton!” she called out.
I smiled at her. “Go Catherine!”
Catherine seemed a little reluctant to go up and get her piece of paper, but she stepped forward. Mrs. Hubert handed her the paper and then Catherine went back to us.
“English, History, Science, Religion.. where’s math?” Catherine murmured to herself. “math… math… MATH!” she whispered to Hailey and me excitedly.
“Which class?” Hailey asked.
“Math 6B.”
“Not bad.” I shrugged.
“Next up, Henry Bengurt!” A cute brown hair boy with hazel eyes went up to get his sheet of paper. Immediately, he began searching for math with his friends.
“I bet that he’s in 6A.” Hailey said.
“Hailey, stop being so mean to your twin brother.” Catherine said.
“What? Just stating the obvious.”
“The obvious?” Catherine asked, her eyebrows rasied.
Hailey rolled her eyes.
“Next up, Hailey Bengurt!”  Mrs. Huburt announced.
Hailey whispered, “Wish me luck!”
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Henry elbow his friend, Jack.
“Math.. math… aww dang it, 6B! I so wanted to be in 6C!” Hailey was frusturated.
“Whatcha get Hailey? 6A?” Henry called across the room.
“No, 6B. I bet you got 6A!” Hailey responded.
“No, actually, thank God, I’m not in the same class as you either. 6C!” his face was full with pride.
“What?”
“Wow… you are such a dupe. DUH! I’m in 6B!” Henry responded.
Hailey scowled. “I will get vengeance on you, I swear.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”

“Nicole Tresher?”
I stepped forward prominently. I took my schedule and hurried back to Hailey and Catherine.
“What class?” Hailey asked impatiently.
“Um… wait…” I looked through my list for the Monday class:
Science 6A
P.E. 6_
Social Studies 6C
Spanish 6B
Math 6C
English 6C
Religion: 6C
Math was… “6C!” I said in a dynamic voice.
“What?” Hailey said.
“I can see the preview of your math class: You raising your hand every five seconds.”
“What?” I whined.
“Yeah. It’s quite inimitable. You raising your hand..”Hailey said.
“Okay, you guys, that’s the end of the list, so please go back to your seats.” Mrs. Hubert prescribed.
My hand shot up.
“Nicole?” Mrs. Hubert called.
“Can we have something like a class party? To celebrate?”
“I will think about that pending tomorrow. Then I shall tell you the answer. What is the party about?”
“Just a new year.. a new school life.. in general, but okay.”
“Class, I have to tell you something very important. Last year, an anoymous kid was kidnapped from here to across the library. Nobody knew what happened to him, only that he was never seen again. From then on, we eradicated the option to go to the library. I know that this is all very new to you, but this is the only way right now. This is a makeshift until we hire a crossguard. We are scrimping this the very best we can, and we will do whatever we can to let you guys go back to the library.” Mr.s. Hubert put on a grim face. “Any questions?”
“So this is only for right now? It’s marginal?” Henry asked.
“Yes. It is.”
I nodded to myself. This made sense. It was actually a quaint idea. But I had a better idea.
“Why shouldn’t we snare the kidnapper?”
“I don’t know the reason for that, Nicole, but I’m sure that we will soon.”
For the first time in my life, I doubted my teacher.

Nicole. Oh my precious sister. Do you still remember me? I thought to myself over and over again. It’s been ages since I saw you. I shivered and started walking out of the school campus. I knew that I shouldn’t have been here. I knew I shouldn’t have visited. But honestly, I still don’t get why… why I came. Maybe it was the urge to see one of my family members. To see that they maybe cared about me. To see that they still remember. Because, I know, even if my dad doesn’t remember me, hates me, abused me, and even wanted me dead, I will always remember him. I shook my head. You shouldn’t be thinking about these things. I told myself.
I fished my phone out of my pocket and browsed through my contacts. There he is! Daniel Po. I called him.
“ ‘Sup? Did you go see her?” Daniel picked up.
“Yeah. I guess.” I responded.
“What do you mean ‘you guess?”
“No, it’s just… I mean, we had a dialogue with each other and everything, yeah. It’s a little awkward.”
“Bro, I totally understand what you mean. Wanna come over for a drink?”
“Yeah. Why not?” I answered.
“Good. See you in 5?” Daniel questioned.
I glanced at my clock. “Make it 10.”
“Yup. Good to go. Cya.” Daniel said. It was a little hard to make out what he was saying, there was some kind of clamor in the background.
I hung up, and scurried over to Daniel’s house. It was less than a block away. I grabbed Daniel’s house keys and threw myself into the house.
“Uh, Daniel? You in here?” I asked.
Daniel came out of the kitchen.
“Heyy! Good to see you so…” he trailed off.
“Upbeat? Happy? What?”
“I don’t know. So, did the disguise work?”
“It worked well enough. She didn’t even recognize me.”
“Eh. Who cares. You at least got to see her.” Daniel said. “Come on, wanna play Wii? Maybe Mario Kart.”
“Okay. I’m good with that.”
Daniel and I stood up and walked over to his room, where a large TV was set on the wall. My friend grabbed the remote control and turned the TV on. He inserted the Mario Kart © game chip in and then switched the TV station. We simultaneously grabbed our game controller and started to pick out our characters.
“Hah! Look, I’m Peach. You should be Mario.” I said.
“And then, they can start…” Daniel trailed off, looking at me mischievously.
“Smooching! But, seriously, dude. I’m not gonna start smooching you. That would be wayy too weird.”
“Agreed.”
“Or, I can be Baby Mario, and you can be Mario!”
“And then, we can be akin.”
“Yes!” I said.
“But, no. I wanna be Yoshi.”
“Yoshi sucks.”
“So does Baby Mario.” Daniel argued.
“Nevermind. I’m choosing Luigi. Are you still gonna be Yoshi?”
“Yeah. Let’s start playing.”
We chose our track (Rainbow Road), and started playing. I started in 12th place and Daniel in 11th.
“Not fair. How come I start in 12th?”
“Well, at least I’m not last.”
“Suck you.”
We started off. I was soon 3rd, and Daniel was 5th.
“I toldya, I’m better than you!” I said.
“Nope!”
“Yes.”
“Nope!”
All of sudden, the TV power went off. There was something off about the power.
“Hey, what happened?” Daniel asked.
“I dunno. Let’s go to my apartment instead, it’s cozier.”
“Fine. But I’m having a talk with my mom about this.”
As we walked out the doorway, I felt the hair on my neck prickle. My mind started working on a brillant plan. I could finally, FINALLY tell my sister who I am. I could finally get my family back.
I can finally get somebody to love and to live for. Because, I’m tired of living like this.

“Oh my god. I just finished Legend  by Marie Lu! Day is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!” Hailey babbled.
“Is Day your new crush now?” I asked sarcastically.
“Kind of. He’s a criminal.” Hailey said.
“A criminal?” Catherine exclaimed. “Who would fall in love with a criminal??”
“Me.” Hailey replied casually.
“What happened to Zach? Your old crush.” Catherine asked.
“Eh. Too dumb.”
“He’s the smartest one in our whole school!”
“Catherine, do you like him now?”
“Eww, no! I heard that he picks his nose.”
“GROSS!” all three of us shouted.
We were in Hailey’s room at her house. It was a tradition for all three of us to go to Hailey’s house after the first day of school, so Dad shouldn’t have to worry about me.
“Hey. Nicole. It’s surprising you don’t have a gigantic crush yet.” Hailey said.
“What? Why?”
“You usually have one at the very beginning of the year. Probably a newbie. A little fledgling.”
Henry poked his head through Hailey’s door.
“Can you guys please stop talking about crushes? It’s driving me nuts.”
“Nope.” Hailey replied.
“No.” Catherine said.
“Who would?” I asked.
Henry sighed. “Wanna know my crush?”
“Nope.” Hailey said.
“Eww!” Catherine said.
“Actually, yeah. Let’s hear it.” I protested.
Henry grinned. “My mom.”
“EWW!” we shrieked.
“You’re actually lucky you have a mom.” I murmured after a while.
Hailey hugged me. “It’s not your fault yours died. Remember? My mom said that she was like a mom to you too.”
“I know.” I said. But the feeling, I knew, was never going to go away. At least, not until I actually get somebody else than my dad. My dad was okay, but not the BEST single parent.
Henry came over and sat across from us. “Whatcha wanna do?”
“Who invited you to come and play with us?” Hailey said.
“Go away!” Catherine added.
I came flying to Henry and tackled him. I slid under his weight and pushed him towards the door and kicked him out. I slammed the door shut and locked it.
“Hah! Take that you little brat that has a crush on his mom!” I said.
A murmured voice came through the door. “I’ll get you bawk, I promiwse!” Henry said.
“Let’s see that happen.” Hailey snorted.
Catherine looked towards the door curiously. “Huh. He’s so stupid, I don’t think he can even get revenge on us that well.”
“I heard thawt!” Henry called through the door.
“Good. At least we know you’re not deaf.” I retorted.
“Why are you guys so mean?” Henry asked.
“I don’t know… why do you want to hang out with us?” Hailey responded.
“Henry, do you have a CRUSH on one of us?” Catherine asked.
“Ooh… who is it?” I added.
“If I ask you guys to please, please, please shut up, will you listen?” Henry responded.
“You’re the one whose talking to us.” Hailey said.
“LET ME IN!” Henry shouted.
“No.” the three of us replied.
“The CHN is not allowed to let boys, especially gross ones like you, into Hailey’s room.” I automatically said.
“So, therefore, you must stay out there in the cold, dark livingroom, feeding on trash.” Catherine automatically added.
“We are very sorry for the inconvience, (NOT) and hope that you can see us later.” Hailey responded.
“Have I mentioned how much I hate you guys?” Henry asked.
“Then why should we let you in?” Catherine asked.
Henry sighed. “Nevermind. Talk to me later.”
“NOT!” all three of us shouted.

Soon, at 5PM, my dad came to pick me up. I hugged him and said good-bye to Hailey and Catherine. As soon as we got into the car, I started talking to my dad.
“Hey Dad.” I said.
“Yes, honey?”
“Why did my brother run away?”
“I don’t have the answer for that, sweetie. I don’t know why he was so unhappy.” Dad sighed.
I patted his arm. “Maybe, just maybe, he will return!”
“I don’t know. That’s very unlikely.”
“Hey, do I… do I look Mom?” I ventured.
Dad always hated talking about Mom and it was a very special topic for him. He usually never responded to any of my questions about her, and would often tell me that he didn’t know. Surprisingly though, he responded.
“Yes. You do. You have your mother’s eyes and her cheekbone. You look exactly like her.”
“I’m sorry to ask, but.. what exactly happened to her?”
Dad stiffened. “She passed away.” he said softly.
“I know that, but like.. why?”
“You would be very upset if I tell you, Nicole.”
“Please tell me!”
“I can’t. You would blame it on yourself.”
I sighed and turned around to face the back, and nearly shrieked.
The teenager was sitting in the back seat, looking straight at me.

I reached out to grab my sister’s shoulder. Don’t say anything. I spoke to her telepathecally.She looked at me, her eyes bewildered and then shook her head silently. What was she trying to say? She was going to do something about this whole thing?
“Nicole? Is there something wrong?” Dad asked.
Nicole shook her head. I smirked. So loyal. It must run in the family. “No. I… uh… just gotta use the restroom.”
I stifled a laugh. Nicole snapped her head back at me, eyes glaring.
What do you want? she said telepathecally. Nicole jumped. She must not know that we’re telepatheical. I mean, it’s not unusual or anything, but not many people have that gift.
You just spoke to me telepathecally. I replied.
Can anybody else hear us? she asked.
I shook my head.
Who are you? Nicole asked.
I’m not allowed to say.
What do you mean you’re not allowed to say?
My identity has been my secret.
Can Dad see you?
Ha! No. It’s just something I put on.
Put on?
Yeah. Like a piece of clothing? I gently teased her. Nicole faced the front and sighed.
“Honey, do you need to go badly?” Dad asked Nicole.
“Quite. Are we almost home?”
“Yeah. Just hold on a minute.”
Hey. Can I stay at your house for tonight?
I don’t even know who you are! Nicole responded.
Maybe… just maybe I can tell you.
You can? I thought your identity was your secret though.
But a few close friends of mine knows.
Like who?
You don’t know them.
I saw you today. At my school. Nicole said. What were you doing?
I looked out the window. If I tell you who you are, will you let me stay at your house and PROMISE not to tell anybody about me?
Nicole thought for a moment. Sure.
Sure? Only sure? Please, you gotta promise.
Okay. Fine. Cross my heart, hope to die and poke a needle through my eye.
I snorted. Little kids’ stories. Anyways, do you promise not to tell?
YES!
Okay. Have you heard about a criminal named Noah?
I don’t think he did much to our country, but yes I heard of him.
What do you mean I didn’t do much to the country? I did a whole bunch!
Wait. I didn’t do much to the country?  Nicole demanded. I HAVE A CRIMINAL SITTING IN MY CAR!
I told you to be quiet! Jesus Christ. Yes. I’m him. And I’m also your brother.

Chapter 7: Nicole
You’re my brother? I choked out.
Yeah. Go ask Dad.
“Hey Dad, what was my brother’s name?” I asked.
“Why?” he responded.
“I just want to know more about him.” I replied.
“Noah.”
I stiffened and felt like the air was knocked out of me. “Oh. Okay. Thanks. Are we home now? I really gotta go.”
“Almost. Hang on.” Dad said.
I… why did you run away?  I asked Noah.
Maybe you should ask Dad about that too. Noah said quietly.
I already did. You were there too.
I’m not going to tell you. Like Dad said, you’re gonna get upset.
HOW? I mean, Mom died, yeah. I know that. But why am I going to get upset?
Fine. I’ll tell you. For the first time, Noah’s voice was harsh and cold. Wanna know the whole story? Okay. Mom died giving birth to you. Then, I was abused by my dad because I was “hurting” you with my toys. I was so upset with my life that I decided to run away to my friend’s house.
I turned around to face Noah. Geez. I’m… I’m so sorry. I didn’t know that.
Noah looked away, avoiding my gaze. I.. Nevermind. It’s over and it’s history now.
I sighed softly to myself. I… I could ask Dad is you could stay.
Oh lord, NO! No matter what you do, you CANNOT tell anybody about me.
“We’re here!” my dad announced.
I jumped out of the car and Noah silently slid out of the car. I c***ed my head. I don’t think anybody else could ever see him but me.
Did you make yourself unseen to everybody but me?
No. I get to decide who gets to see me and who doesn’t.
Why don’t you want Dad to see you?
Why would I? He abused me.
Well, you can stay for the night.. if you really want.
Noah’s face brightened up. Really? Do you still have my old room?
We started walking towards the house and into my room.
Um.. your room?
Yeah. It used to be right here. Noah walked the opposite way of me. He walked into a vacant room. I had been restricted there since I was little. I had no idea why… until now. Noah smiled and opened the door. I finally saw what was inside.

I walked briskly towards my own room. I had missed it so much, and now, I finally got the chance to see it. It was the only place I could seek peace. I felt the excitement rise inside my body as I walked into the room. Only, I was met with disappointment. There was almost nothing left. There was my Beatles poster, two of my favorite books, and the mirror. I flipped on the lights and walked towards the mirror. I really hated my disguise. Black hair, blue eyes. Would Mom approve of my appearance? She never liked the idea of dying your hair or anything like that… so it probably means that she would defintion disapprove. But, if she survived, maybe things were a little better. I might not be a criminal, but I might have a happy, normal family.

So… do you like it? Nicole cautiously asked.
Like it? Ha! Of course not! This… this room is…. trash.
Trash? Dad kept it locked up for years. I wasn’t allowed inside at all.
Now you know why.
Nicole approached me, step by step. I looked at her, surprised. Nobody would get this close to me except for Daniel. She looked at me in the eye. Then, all of sudden, she rushed forward and hugged me around my waist. Surprised caught me, and I nearly fell over.
I’m so sorry. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Nicole said, over and over again.
For what? I asked.
For everything Dad did to you. For not understanding you… just everything.
I blinked the tears back into my eyes. Then, I gently wrapped my arms around my little sister.
It’s okay. I replied softly.
Nicole looked up at me. Are… you sure?
Of course I am. There’s no need for you to apologize to me. You did absolutely nothing wrong to me.
Nicole smiled. She looked exactly like Mom. Come on, you can sleep in my room tonight.
I thought for a moment, and then shook my head. No thanks. I’ll just sleep here.
Nicole glanced up at me. Are you sure?You yourself said that this room was trash.
I nodded. I’ve slept in worse places.
Well, I still want to show you my room. Follow me.
Reluctantly, I got up and followed Nicole. Only then did I realize how tall she was. I’m nineteen years old and was about 6 feet. Nicole is only 11 and already about 5 feet 1 inch tall. I’m not sure if I really like her being so tall.
Nicole, reaching her destination, turned around and smiled at me. Tada! My little special room.
I stepped inside. Everything inside was all so.. pink, pink, pink! She had pink walls, a pink bed, even a pink desk. On her walls, there were posters of The Neverending Story, Michael Jackson, Taylor Swift and… and a family picture of me, Mom, and Dad. And, we were all smiling. I walked towards the picture and Nicole scurried in front of me.
Oh, I’m so sorry! I should have realized, oh no, I’ll take this off. Nicole blabbered. She reached for the photo. I stopped her.
No need. I’m not gonna stay here anyways.
You’re not? Nicole asked.
I shook my head. Sorry, kiddo. This house isn’t just full of happy memories.
Nicole looked up at me, tears in her eyes. Oh, okay. Uh, it’s 7 o’clock. I have to do my homework. I’ll be in here if you need me.Good bye. Nicole pushed me out of her room and closed the door. I stood still, dumbfounded for a moment. What did I do wrong? I shrugged and went back to my room. I stood at the entrance for a moment. This room sure needed cleaning. I went downstairs and got a broom. Luckily, Dad was too busy watching drama to see a floating broomstick. I crept to my room and started sweeping. I started humming to myself as I did so. The room wasn’t so bad. Maybe I could live in here. Maybe I could say sorry to my dad and live with a happy family again. I shook my head. What the heck am I thinking? I shouldn’t be thinking these types of “happy thoughts”. I definitely cannot stay here, no way José. This place is too full of bad memories. Why should I stay in a place where there are bad memories? My other apartment actually has GOOD memories, not bad ones. Daniel and me playing games, us having fun and practically, my whole life is in there. I cleared my mind and began sweeping again.

I sniffled and got out my phone. There was a text from Hailey.
H: Hey… what’s up? ☺
N: Nothing much. Why?
H: Just asking.
N: Okay. There has to be a reason why you are texting me like this.
H: Yeah. There is. But I don’t know if I should tell you.
N: What the heck Hailey! Just tell me.
H: Fine. Henry told me something.
N: What’s the something?
H: He has a crush.
N: I know. On his mom.
H: A real one.
N: On who?
H: THIS IS WHY I’M NOT TELLING YOU!
N: Henry doesn’t want you to tell me?
H: Yes.
N: Well tell me anyways—I won’t tell him.
H: Not a smart idea.
N: Hailey, you brought it up, you are going to tell me who it is.
H: Fine… so forceful.. you know?
N: TELL ME RIGHT NOW!
H: Okay. Henry.
N: Yes…
H: Has.
N: Yes…
H: A.
N: Yes…
H: Crush.
N: YES!!!
H: On.
N: JUST SAY IT!!
H: Fine. Promise not to freak out?
N: Oh, I’m not going to like this, huh?
H: I don’t think so.
N: OMG, is he like gay or something?
H: What the heck? NO!
N: Then who is it?
H: Wait for it, wait for it.
N: Hailey, I’ll kill you.
H: Fine. Let me say it on the group chat.
Sighing, I left the chatroom and logged onto the group chat. I found Hailey waiting for me. Luckily, she and Catherine were also texting so Catherine was on the right page as us.
C: Tell us, Hailey.
H: Fine. Henry has a crush on…
N: I’m losing my patience!
H: YOU!
N: ME?
C: OR ME?
H: Nicole.
N: …
C: Oh Lord.
H: It’s all he talks about. Nicole is so cute! Nicole is amazing! Nicole sounds beautiful!
N: …
C: I can see it! NICOLE <3 HENRY, HENRY <3 Nicole!
N: Ew.
H: Don’t be mean to my brother!
N: Now, you’re being a hypocrite.
C: Tsk tsk.
H: Anyways, I gotta do my homework. Cya tomorrow?
N: YUP!
C: As always.
haileybengurt1029 logged off.
nicoletresher0912 logged off.
catherineappleton2819 logged off.
I threw my bed on the phone, excited at the same time while I was kinda feeling weird. I have never had a boy have a crush on me before. Just then, I heard a voice in my head.
Uh… Nicole?
I didn’t respond.
Nicole.
I tried to ignore it.
NICOLE!
What do you want? I responded angrily.
Why are you mad at me? Noah chided.
Why do you think I’m mad at you?
Because I’m leaving you?
Well you know the answer. Leave me alone.
Okay…
I sighed and shook my head. I picked up my phone from my bed and thought about texting Henry. But then, he would get mad at Hailey. BUT THEN, I just might have a teeny weeny crush on him as well. I smiled and opened a chat with him. And I made it private.
nicoletresher0912 logged on.
N: Hey Henry.
N: I have a question for ya.
henrybengurt7810 logged on.
H: Hey Nicole. What’s up?
N: Do you have a crush on me?
H: Okay. That was a really broad question. Define “crush.”
N: Let me rephrase it. Do you like me?
H: As of right now?
N: Duh!
H: No.
My thoughts clouded. But Hailey just told me her brother liked me!
N: Henry Bengurt. Don’t lie.
H: Fine a little.
N: Okay.
H: What about you?
N:What about me?
H: Do you have a crush?
N: Yup!
H: On who?
N: Somebody at school.
H: Me?
N: Nope!
H: Uh… ☹
N: Sorry.
H: It’s okay.
N: I gotta go. See ya.
H: Bye.
henrybengurt7810 logged off.
nicoletresher0912 logged off.

What is my sister so busy doing? I can hear some of her thoughts. I heard: crush. Henry. Hailey. Catherine. Crush. Haha. That is really one subject I always thought about. In high school, or rather, when I was at the age of high school, I took on a girlfriend. We couldn’t meet each other that much, per se, but we met whenever we could. But our relationship stopped because I found out that she was cheating on me. That freak. I rolled my eyes.
Hold on. You never told me about your “love story”. Did you? Nicole asked.
Why should I?
Because I’m your sister.
My love story is none of your business, thank you very much.
Hmph!
That is so babyish. Did you just get mad?
I might have.
I have a question for you.
Yes?
Whose Henry?
There was silence on Nicole’s side.
Why? she finally answered.
Because I heard his name in your thoughts a lot.
Oh. He’s a boy that likes me.
Do YOU like him back?
Nope!
Yes you do.
I actually don’t, so seriously, be quiet.
I heard your thoughts. I’ll repeat them: I might like him a teeny weeny crush on him as well.
Gosh, Noah! Mind your own buisness!
The same applies to you.
Bye.
I snorted and sat down on my temporary bed. I should text Daniel. He will get worried about me. Which is very unlikely so.
Noah: Daniel.  I have a new wish.
Daniel saw my chat and replied immediately.
D: What is it?
N:I dunno. I just have a wish.
D: You can’t have a wish if you don’t know what it is.
N: Yes you can.
D: How?
N: All you need is a little bit of pixie dust!
D: That’s trash, Noah. You’re acting like you’re in love with Tinker Bell.
N:What if I am? And also, Peter Pan said that. 
D: Gross. I’m going now. Bye.
N: Adios!
I sighed again and shook my head. Why is life so difficult at times? Well, actually, that was a pretty dumb question. Of course, life is difficult for me. Why for my “family?” Not that I care of course. I laid back on my “bed” and closed my eyes. A flashback started.
It was about four years before Nicole was born. I was four years old. It was December 16th. I woke up, startled by a nightmare that our family was going to break apart. Nobody was going to be happy anymore. Mom entered the room, eyes wide with shock.
“Oh my goodness, Noah! Are you okay?”  Mom pushed back my strawberry-blonde hair. She looked into my eyes. Her eyes were warm brown.
“Yeah.” my voice was shaky. “Just a nightmare.”
“Oh honey. Don’t worry about those nightmares. They aren’t going to hurt you. You know that, right?”
I nodded slowly, registering what she said steadily. “Yeah. I guess so.”
Mom’s eyes brightened up. “So… guess what?”
“What?” I said, happily.
“It’s snowing outside!”
“Really?” I looked out the window, visibly excited. My mom was right. It was snowing. There were layers of snow on the ground.
“Yippee!” I screamed. “Can we go outside? Please?”
“Honey, it’s only 7:00 in the morning. Let’s eat breakfast and then go outside, okay?”
I nodded. “Alright. What’s for breakfast?”
“Waffles!”
I smiled and hugged her. Mom hugged me tightly back.
My dream wavered a little and it displayed another scene. It was right before Nicole was born. Or rather, right before Mom went to the hospital.
I awoke to cries of pain and discomfort. I ran out to see Mom and Dad, packing. Mom’s head was sweating, and my Dad’s face was panicked.
“Noah! You’re awake!” Dad said. “Call grandma. Tell her that mommy has to go to the hopsital.”
“Okay.” I nodded and ran to the phone. I dialed my grandma’s number and waited for her ot pick up. She answered at the third ring.
“Hello?”
“Grandma!”
“Oh, hi Noah!”
“I think you have to come to our house.”
“Why?”
“Mommy has to go the hospital.”
“Oh. Okay. I’ll be right there.”
About five minutes later, there was a knock on the door and Grandma went into the house, while Mom and Dad went outside.
“Wait!” I cried. “Mom!”
Mom looked back, pain clearly in her eyes. I rushed over to her and hugged her. “Bye Mom. I love you. I’ll see you with the new baby. Okay?”
Mom nodded. “I’ll see you then, I promise. I love you.” Mom hugged me and went out the door.
I love you. The three words rang in my ear again and again. I woke up. I love you. I could still hear her. I angrily sat up. I’ll see you then, I promise. Mom was wrong. She never saw me again. She didn’t keep her promise. I wiped my eyes and looked at the clock. 1:15 AM. I had fallen asleep. I love you. I love you. I love you. The words never left my mind.

At about 11:00, I fell asleep. I had finished my homework, eaten a bar for dinner and texted Hailey and Catherine. And then, at 1:15, AM, I woke to somebody screaming. I looked around my room. Who could be screaming a the moment? I knew that my dad never screamed. I came to one conclusion. Noah. I didn’t know whether I should go to comfort him or not. He was my brother. But he was also getting on my nerves about the “Henry Crush” thing. Deciding that I would be a good little sister, I walked over to Noah’s room.
I opened his door, and it creaked a little. “Noah?” I whispered.
What?
Um.. are you okay?
What makes you think that I am not okay?
I heard you screaming.
Noah snorted. Why would I scream?
I shrugged. Realizing that he couldn’t see me, I spoke again. Nightmare? How am I supposed to know?
What you said is very, very frivolous. You do realize that, right?
Whatever, I’m going back to sleep.
I walked out of Noah’s room and trudged back into bed. Before I even hit the blankets, I was asleep.
“Nicole! Wake up! Time for school!” I heard Dad calling.
“Okay! I’ll be there in a second!” I muttered as loudly as I could.
“Honey, you’re already late!”
“FINE! WAIT A SECOND PLEASE!” I screamed.
I stood up, and walked over to my closet. I chose a cute black top and jeans. I would wear black Vanns with those. I then walked to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and hair and washed my face. I looked at myself in the mirror. It was so funny, I looked NOTHING like Noah. Well, maybe except the eyes. I could see my blue in his. It was obviously a residue from my late mother, Dad was boring brown eyes. I sighed and went to the kitchen, picked up a banana, and walked out the door. Second day of middle school. BORING!
The moment I reached school, I saw Hailey and Catherine waiting for me. I knew exactly what topic was on their mind.
“Hey Nicole! Good morning, Mr. Tresher.” Hailey greeted me.
Catherine nodded to Dad and hugged me.
“Well, sweetie, have a good day.” Dad said.
“Yeah. You too.” I replied.
Hailey dragged me away before I even finished the sentence. “Well… so what do you think?”
“About what you told me yesterday?” I asked.
“Yup.”
“It’s probably not true. Well…”
“Finish your sentence.” Catherine muttered.
“Okay. So I texted Henry right after you told me the big news. He said that he had a little crush on me, not much.” I told them as we started walking towards our room.
“Nicole! Why would you text Henry about that?” Catherine wailed.
“I wanted to make sure!” I protested.
“Well, Henry did tell me that you guys texted and that you had a crush on somebody at the school. And you didn’t bother telling us. Nicole, spit it out. Who do you have a crush on?” Hailey demanded.
“Well, it is somebody in our grade. But I don’t know if you guys know him.” I answered honestly.
“Nicole. We know everybody in the grade. Our grade is teeny! So… who is it?” Catherine asked.
I’m listening Nicole. Noah said in my head. Tell your friends who you have a crush on.
How can you listen to me?
Because your thoughts are processing everything you just said. So… I could hear you.
“Okay. Here’s the deal.” I  said after a moment. “I… don’t really have a HUGE crush on him. It’s minor at the moment.”
“Who??” Hailey said. I could see that she was literally dying to know.
“Uh.. his name is Nick. Brown hair, brown eyes, a bit of a tan.” I cut off as we opened the door and entered our room. Henry eyed me curiously. “And…. he’s really cute.” I gushed.
“Poor Henry.” Catherine said.
“Yeah. For the first time in my life, I feel bad for him.” Hailey agreed. “You have NO idea how crazy he is over you.” We sat down in our seats and I rolled my eyes.
“Well, sorry, Nick has my heart.”
Are you going to introduce me to this new “Nick”? Noah asked.
Why?
Oh… I just might become his brother-in-law.
Oh my gosh. Noah. Shut up.
Fine. I was just wondering. Noah left and I could feel the emptiness in my head.
“There’s something bothering you.” Catherine mused.
“And what makes you think that?” I asked.
“I don’t know. There’s suddenly long pauses while we speak and you suddenly go off into your own world. Is there something bothering you? You can trust us, you know. Is it that strange teenager yesterday?” Catherine asked.
I stiffened. “No. And there’s nothing bothering me, thank you very much.” I said rather coldly.
Hailey’s expression of concern made me deplore my words. I immediately wished that I could take them back. But, obviously and unforunatley, I couldn’t.
Hailey started nodding. “What Catherine is saying is true. You have been different today.”
I sighed.
Don’t tell them. Noah said.
They’re getting so close… Soo close to the reality!
Please. Don’t.
I can trust them!
Nicole. What did I make you promise yesterday?
Fine. I won’t tell them. If they figure it out themselves, I’m not lying.
Deal.
“See! You’re pausing, blanking out again!” Catherine pointed out.
“It’s nothing. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I replied calmly.
“I came up with a hypothesis. Nicole, something happened after you left my house yesterday. If it was something good, you’d tell us. I know you trust us enough for that. If there was something bad, I wish you’d tell us, because I’m hoping you would trust us enough for this. But my thesis for the ‘bad thing’ is that the teenager that was outside yesterday is still on your mind. Am I right?” Hailey prompted.
Now I’m gonna say yes. I told Noah.
I meekly nodded.
“Are you going to tell us what happened with the teenager?” Catherine asked. She looked at me straight in the eye.
I cringed. “No. I swore not to tell. But you guys can keep guessing and I’ll tell you if you are right or wrong.”
NICOLE! Noah’s voice boomed inside my head. What are you doing?
I’m not telling them. I’m dropping hints.
“Everybody head back to your seats, I have something important to tell you all!” Mrs. Hubert announced.
I glanced at Catherine and Hailey. “I’ll talk to you later.” I promised. They both nodded.
Nicole. You are sooo dead.
Oh no! I am sooo solicitous. I responded with mock sarcasm.
I actually am serious. I heard the deadly annoyance in Noah’s voice.
So I’m supposed to be scaraed?
I guess. That’s really up to you. In my opinion.
Noah. Can you now tell me about your love story? I told you about mine.
Your teacher is talking, Nicole. You should be listening.
I sighed. Mrs. Hubert was saying, “So now, we cannot use the library anymore for the whole year. I’m very sorry for the inconvience, students, but that’s how the rules are now.” I gasped. The library was closing?
Noah. Did you hear what Mrs. Hubert said? Why is the library closing?
I was busy talking to you, Nicole. Noah reminded me. How could I have been listening, when you weren’t?
Fine.
Somebody prodded me on the side. I looked to my left and saw Catherine poking me.
“What, Catherine?”
“We gotta go. To our first class.”
“Okay. Where’s Hailey?”
“Right here.” Hailey’s voice sounded behind me. I turned around and saw Hailey, trailing behind us.
“Can I start guessing now?” Catherine asked.
I nodded without enthusiasm. “Sure. Go ahead.”
“Okay. Is the teenager still on your mind?” Hailey started.
“What is this, an interrogation?” I asked, jokingly, trying to avoid the question. Hailey’s glare made me sigh. “Yeah. He is.”
“Does he have something to do with your attitude today?” Catherine asked.
I nodded again.
Whoa. I’m causing you to have an attitude? Noah asked.
Shut up. I responded to him.
“Okay. Does the teenager have something to do with you?” Hailey added.
“Define “Having to do with me”.” I ordered.
“Like as in, bothering you or something.” Hailey answered.
“Not really bothering, but yes.”
“Keep walking.” A voice ordered from behind our backs. We all turned around and saw Nick’s group of friends trudging behind us. I felt my face flush and we obeyed them.
“Okay… so Catherine, remember how Nicole told us about her mother and her brother?” Hailey inquired.
“Actually, yeah! Does the teenager have something to do with your brother?” Catherine asked me.
I held my breath. “Nicole. Breathe.” Hailey told me. I let out my breath and nodded to Catherine’s question.
“I know!” Catherine exclaimed. “The teenager killed your brother!”
“Whoa. No. No.” I said frowning.  “I already would have told you then.”
Catherine’s face fell. “Oh. Is the teenager your brother, then?”
I started hyperventilating. Hailey and Catherine knew that the topic of my brother and my mom was a really touchy subject for me.
“Yeah.” I answered.
“Oh! That’s really… nice.” Catherine said.
We finally arrived at our first class, English.
“Can… I talk to you later?” I asked my friends.
“Yeah.” Catherine said.  Hailey nodded. We all went to sit in our assigned spots and I immediately zoned out.
Sorry, Noah. They guessed.
I know. But you kept your promise.
Yeah. Can I ask you a question?
You already did, but sure.
Where are you right now?
Oh… in my friend’s house.
Okay. Can I ask you another question?
Yeah. Go ahead.
Why don’t you want to stay? At our house, I mean. I already know you answered this question, but I still really would appreiciate if you made an effort to stay.
Without Dad knowing? Nah.
No. You can tell him. And we’ll be united. And… we’ll be a happy family.

Chapter 12: Noah
And… we’ll be a happy family. Nicole’s voice ringed in my ears. Us? A happy family? I shook my head, immediately knowing that that was trash. Of course we can’t be a happy family! Why… I… I’m a criminal! I shouldn’t be housed by my happy family of a dad and a sister!
“Hey. Noah. Are you okay?” Daniel asked me.
“Yeah… Why?” I asked him back.
“You were silent for a long time. You were talking to your sister, weren’t you?”
“I might have.” Unlike Nicole’s friends, Daniel knew everything about my sister. He’s been friends with me since I was a child.
“You’re such a horrible liar. Yes you were. What did she say?”
“She asked if I could stay with her.”
“At the house?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s not a bad idea. Go do it!”
“But Dad. Nicole wants me to tell Dad about myself.”
“Ooo. That’s a picky topic. Isn’t it?”
I nodded. “You know I can’t face my dad. And, I’ve kinda gotten close to my apartment.”
Daniel chuckled. “Yeah. That’s for sure.”
I sighed. “What do I do now?”
“Wanna know what I would do right now, at this second?”
“What?”
“Change your hair back. It’s temporary dye anyways, it will wash off.”
I shrugged. “Yeah. I guess. If you don’t mind, I’ll shower here.”
“Yeah. Go ahead.”
I went into my bedroom. Although it was Daniel’s apartment, I practically had my own bedroom because I was over so many times. It was the same with Daniel. He had a bedroom at my place as well. I pulled out some clothes and headed to the bathroom. Again, I had my own shampoo and body wash in Daniel’s bathroom. I was unfortunately really picky about what shampoo and body wash I use when I shower. I turned on the water and waited for it to heat up. I then took off all my clothes and slipped into the tub.
The feeling of the hot water on my skin was relaxing. I haven’t taken a shower for about three days, and my skin was all greased up. I started washing my hair and felt the heavy color rinsing out. I shivered.
A few minutes later, I knew that I was all clean. I turned off the water and reached for the towel. Once I got the hang of it, I wrapped myself into the towel and walked out into the bathroom. The mirror was fogged and you couldn’t see anything. I wiped the mirror and saw that my hair was strawberry blonde again. I sighed and took a closer look at myself. You could tell that I was Nicole’s brother—I was the exact spilting image of her. I scrubbed myself dry and put on my clothes. Then, I examined myself in the mirror. I looked like a normal teenager. The type that girls would fall for.
“Hey Noah, are you almost done?” Daniel called out.
“Yeah. Why?”
“I kinda have to go pee.” Daniel said.
“Okay. I’ll be out in a sec. Wait, there’s a bathroom in your bedroom.” I replied.
“Right! I’ll be right back.”
I grinned to myself. Back where? Back here? I cleaned up the bathroom and walked out to the living room. Daniel had beat me there.
“Whoa. You look so young.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“Do you want to look young?”
“I don’t know… kind of?”
“Well, you look like your sister. How’s that?”
“Ouch. That hurts. That means I look like my mom.”
Daniel rolled his eyes. “So is looking like your mom a bad thing?”
“Well, it depends how your mom looks like. Like, if your mom looks too girly, then, you look too girly. That’s not a good thing if you are a boy.” I replied.
Daniel snorted. “Sure. Sure. So, how are you going to respond to Nicole?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. It seems like she’s too eager for me to join Dad and her. But I can’t. I mean, the world doesn’t evolve around her, right?”
Daniel nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah. That makes sense. How are you gonna tell her, though?”
“I can’t tell her. I’ll just have to keep on holding it off and off. And then, I’ll run off like I did when I was eight. Besides, I have a home waiting for me. I got close to my apartment.”
Daniel socked me in the arm. “You shouldn’t torture her as much. Honestly, what did she do to you?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I guess I should tell her sooner or later, but still, I can’t stay with Dad.”
Noah… are you still there?
I stiffened.
“She’s calling to you, isn’t she?” Daniel guessed.
“Yeah. When she’s supposed to be at school.”
“Tell her to stop.”
“I don’t want to sound too harsh.”
“Just do it and tell her that you will continue your conversation later.”
“Fine.”
Noah?
Nicole, you’re in school. You should be focusing.
I know, but –
No buts. We’ll continue the conversation later.
Okay.
With satisfication, I felt Nicole trying to pay attention to her teacher.
“It worked.” I said.
“See! It’s beneficial to both of you!” Daniel exclaimed.
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah? I still have to think about what Nicole offered.”
“You said that you were going to say no. Are you going to say yes now?”
“I don’t know! Dad might still accept me. Who knows?”
“If I were you, I wouldn’t do it.”
“Why?” I challenged.
Daniel fell quiet. “See? I told you, there’s really no specific reason why I shouldn’t ask Dad to let me back into the family!” I exclaimed.
Daniel opened his mouth and closed it after a second. He tried again. “That’s not what I’m saying, Noah, and you know it quite clearly. I’m saying, do what you want, I’ll still be your friend, no matter what, but I’m saying that you should… just stick with me.”
I laughed. “Are you saying that I shouldn’t ask Dad just because you want me around?”
Daniel silently nodded.
I ruffled his hair and answered, “Just because I’m with my family, doesn’t mean that I won’t be with you. Remember, Nicole has school and Dad has work, I won’t have anybody to be with. I can always come to you.”
“I know. And that’s true. I just don’t agree with staying with your Dad. Remember what he did to you when Nicole was born?”
I shuddered from the memory. “Yeah. I know. I’m not exactly on good terms with him, but what can I say? It’s in the past, and as far as I know, I should just ignore it.”
“He might still abuse you.”
“Daniel.” I warned him.
“What? I’m only saying. Fine. You go ahead and live with him. If you get abused and get bruised every single day, don’t come to me.”
I stared at him with shock. “Are you saying that our friendship is over once I join my family?”
“No! No. What I’m saying is that… Oh Noah, it’s so hard to explain! I want you to be happy, but at the same time, I want you to be here with me!” Daniel wailed.
“And I will! I will be with you and I will be happy.” I assured Daniel.
“No! I mean, well, I know you would be with me, you love me too much as a friend for that,” Daniel smirked and I grinned. “But I don’t know if Nicole and your Dad will make you happy.”
“Have some faith in my Dad. He’s the one who made me happy for eight years.”
“What about for the last eleven years?”
“Okay, those were hard. But still, I got over them. I’m a tough guy.”
“I know that, Noah! God, just listen to me! Okay. Here’s what I want. You can go ahead and talk to your Dad and Nicole if you want. And if they accept you into your family, that’s fine by me. If they don’t, well, you know where to come. And, when they accept you into your family, and they make you unhappy, you come here. Okay? No exceptions. Just give me a call and I’ll pick you up. I still remember your address.”
I smiled and clapped Daniel on the back, and he winced. “Okay. I got you. My address, you still remember? I don’t. Remind me again?”
“Okay. It was 15789 Homestown Avenue, Glenwood Park, WY 78302.” Daniel recited to me.
I nodded as I wrote down my address onto my hand. “I gotcha.” I looked at Daniel. “I don’t know for sure if I’m gonna ask Dad, so don’t you start worrying about me. Okay?”
“Yeah. Sure thing.”
I glanced at the clock. About 2:00 PM. “It’s about lunch time. Wanna head out for some food?”
Daniel grinned. “What kind of food?”
“Hmm…. I don’t know. What about some pizza?”
“Yeah. That place called Petty Pizza? It’s amazing. Have you been there before?”
I shook my head. “Nope. Never heard of it.”
“Never?” Daniel shook his head in disbelief. “Gosh, you are missing out on life!”
I glared at Daniel. “Of course I have. I lived for eleven years without my family.”
Daniel flinched, “Sorry. I forgot. I was joking.”
I rolled my eyes. “I call driving.” I pointed to Daniel. “You suck. You failed your driving test five times!”
“And what about you?” Daniel snorted.
“I passed, first try.” I said, pleased with myself.
“Oh please.”
“Yes, Daniel? You said please, which you never do.”
Daniel socked me in the arm.
“Ow!” I said, rubbing my arm.
“What? You a little witty scaredy cat?” Daniel started cooing.
“Jesus Christ, shut up.” I said.
Daniel smirked and said, “Let’s go.”
“Yeah. Let’s go, Daniel.” I said sarcastically.
I shook my head as I read the menu. There was nothing good to eat. I mean honestly, who would eat at Petty Pizza’s?
Class over. Tell me what you think. Nicole said.
Uh….
Noah.
Yeah?
Please. I want to know.
I’ll think about it.
You have five minutes.
Nicole.
Fine. I’ll give you ten.
How about this. Tonight, you can sleep at my apartment. Tell Dad that you have a sleepover or something. Then, we’ll talk about it.
You have a house?
Duh! Where would I be for the last eleven years?
I thought you were a criminal!
Well, yeah, but I still have a house!
Oh…. Well, are you going to pick me up for school?
Why not.
Okay. I still have to call Dad, then.
Then call him!
Okay! Sheesh.
Daniel shook my arm. “You gotta order.”
“Oh.” I looked at the waiter. “Sorry, I’m just gonna have a regular pizza with cheese and a hard crust.”
“All right. Any drinks?” the waiter asked.
I mused for a moment. “Coke.” I decided.
The waiter nodded as she jotted it down. “Right. Anything else?”
Daniel and I shook our heads.
“May I have your menus, then?”
We handed her our menus.
“Thank you. Please let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks.” Daniel said.
The waiter went away and Daniel glanced at me. “Well… you didn’t say thank you!”
“Sorry, I hate manners. I love being plain rude.”
Daniel shook his head. “Wow.”
My phone buzzed. “Who could it be?” I wondered to myself.
“Maybe Nicole.” Daniel offered.
I shook my head. “She’s in school.”
“Huh… okay.”
Come meet me outside Petty Pizza’s front door.
My eyes widened in surprise. “Dude! This person knows I’m in here.”
“Lemme see.”
I handed Daniel my phone.
“You should go.”
“No way. I first have to know who the person is. I’ll text the guy back.”
Who are you?
You should know me.
Identify yourself.
Why?
I’m not meeting you then.
Fine. But Noah, you should know who I am.
Um.. is it prone that I should know who you are?
You decide.
Fine. I don’t know you.
Noah! You know me!
Who are you?
Gosh, I’m one of your old friends. Jonas.
Jonas! Is it really you?
Hey, buddy!
I looked up to Daniel. “It’s Jonas.” I told him.
“Jonas? From 8th grade?” Daniel shakes his head in disbelief.
“I know! But how does he know I’m here?”
“Let’s go outside and talk to him.”
“Alright. You stay here. Just in case the food comes.”
“Fine.”
I stood up and made my way outside. There was a boy with brown hair and brown eyes. He was tanned, and was smoking.
“Jonas!”
“Hey Noah! I read about you in the news. How come you get to be famous?”
I rolled my eyes. “I stole from a bank. That’s not something to be proud of.”
“Whatever. So.. what’s up?”
“Two things. One: how did you know I was here?”
“Easy. I saw Daniel’s car and saw you guys going into that restaurant. I haven’t seen you in ages… you look nice by the way.”
I socked him in the arm. “And when did you start smoking?”
“Like since last year. Why?”
“It’s not good for you.”
“That’s why I’m doing it.”
“Um… okay. I guess that was pointless to talk about, then.”
“You bet it was!”
“Yeah…”
“So… what’s up with you?”
I hesitated. “I don’t know, exactly. My life’s been taking weird turns . I don’t even know what I should do right now.”
“I bet! I don’t know what I should do or don’t do either.” Jonas’s phone rang. “Friend calling. See ya.”
I nodded. “Bye.”

“Nicole?” Hailey’s voice said.
“Yeah? What happened?” It was lunch at school. Hailey, Catherine, Henry, Nick, and some of his friends and I were sitting at one table.
“You zoned out.” Catherine said, looking worried.
“Is it…. Your brother?” Hailey quietly asked, so none of the other boys could here.
I buried my head into my arms. “I don’t know. I feel like something’s off. But I don’t know what it is. Somebody help me!”
“Woah. Nicole, you’re over reacting.” Nick said.
I glared at him. “You can shut up.”
Hailey nudged me. “Not nice.”
“You’re never nice to me, Hailey, so you don’t get a say.” Henry said.
Hailey rolled her eyes, and then averted her attention back to me. “Nicole…”
I looked up wearily. “Yes?”
“Do you want to go home?”
I looked shocked. “NO! It’s only the second day of school!”
Nick nodded. “I know. It’s the second day of school, and I’m already tired. I mean, honestly.”
I shook my head. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I knew that.” Nick replied.
“Whoa… you’re that smart?” Hailey asked.
Nick glared at her, and she smirked.
“Nicole…” Catherine said, patting me.
I sat up suddenly, making Catherine jump. “I’m okay.” I announced. “Nick’s right, I’m overreacting.”
“To what?” Henry asked.
“None of your business.” Hailey retorted.
“I wasn’t asking you.”
“Fine, ask Nicole.”
Henry looked at me. His baby blue eyes gazed right at my piercing blue eyes. “Nicole, what’s wrong?” he asked soothingly.
I looked away. “Nothing.”
Henry looked doubtful, but didn’t push it. Nick did. “Nikki,” he said, calling my nickname, “Tell me what’s wrong. Please?” His brown eyes widened. I blushed.
“No thanks.” I replied, feeling hot.
Hailey and Catherine bit their lips, trying not to laugh, and I kicked them under the table.
“So, are we playing Zombie Tag today?” I asked.
“Yup.” Zach, Henry’s friend answered.
I nodded. The rules of Zombie Tag was simple – one person was It. Then, once they tag another person, they both become It. The game ends when everybody is It. In the next round, the first person tagged in the previous game is It.
I stood up, and threw my plate away. The rest of the group followed me to the Field, where we played. The Field is a private playground for my middle school. You line up at the Gate, and go down the trail to the Field. At the Field, there’s an enormous field, (duh) and a playground up some steps. Beyond the playground were the basketball courts.
The boys and the girls raced out onto the Trail and onto the Field. The rule was that the last person to the playground was It. I was on the Track and Cross Country Team—I had long endurance and was almost never It first. I led the group, slowly lost my position to third and moved up to second. Much to my annoynce, Nick was first. We reached the playground while waiting for everybody else.
“Nicole.” Nick said.
“Yeah?”
“Seriously, what’s wrong?”
“Seriously, why do you want to know so bad?” I asked mockingly.
Nick shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe because you’re my friend. We’re a part of the group, you know. Hailey, Catherine, you, me, Henry, Zach, Matthew, Hunter, Max, and Jackson. We’re a team. A group.”
I smiled. “Thanks.”
“No prob.”
Everybody else arrived onto the field. The last one was Matthew, so he became It. I sprinted away to the furthest tree possible and rested for a while. The tree was beautiful. It was an Oak, and its leaves were bright green. The tree trunks had big wrinked lines in it, proving that it was very old. Suddenly, there were crackling noises of leaves. I froze. Matthew was a few feet away from me.
I made a dash for it, knowing I wouldn’t survive. But, just in case, I gave it a try. I sprinted across the field and up to the playground. I glanced every once in a while, knowing that he was hot on my tracks. I thought about everything but running. I knew that my body was going to get used to it, putting one foot in front of the other.
I faltered. Something was wrong. I don’t run like this. It had only been a minute or two since I started running. I cleared my head and ran around the playground, still putting one foot in front of the other. My lungs burned. I gasped for breath and continued running. I finally hit downhills. I sprinted down as fast as I could, but I ended up tripping over my shoes and a huge rock in the middle.
I felt myself falling towards the ground, as if it was in slow motions in a movie. My hands reached out, trying to control myself, but I knew they wouldn’t do anything. I would just hurt myself even more. Nevertheless, I didn’t have myself in control. I let out a shriek as I tumbled towards the ground.
I knew the moment I hit the ground something was terribly wrong with me. I couldn’t breathe and I knew my head had hit something hard.
“Nicole!” Matthew shouted to me. “Oh my god, are you okay?”
I tried to say something, but I tasted blood in my mouth. I bit my tongue.
“I’ll get the rest, okay? Stay here. Don’t move!”
I snorted. As if I could. I stayed there, looking at the sky. It was a beautiful blue. It reminded me of Noah’s eyes. I jerked back into reality. I still had to call Dad. About my “sleepover”.
“Nicole!” Hailey said. She kneeled next to me. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I said hoarsely. “I guess so.”
“Oh Lord, you’re a mess.” Catherine said, looking worried. “Should I get the teacher?”
My eyes widened. I hated being sent to the Nurse. “No. Don’t you dare, Catherine.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
“Nicole? God, you look like an apparition. Are you alright?” Nick asserted . His head came into the view. He was biting his lip—a habit that I always loved.
I nodded. “Yeah. Hailey,” Hailey looked at me. “Could you help me up?”
Hailey reached out for my hand and grabbed it. With a grunt, she pulled me up. The moment I stood up, I had stars in my eyes. I wavered a little, and Catherine reached out to steady me.
“Nicole! Oh God. You’re bleeding on your legs!” Henry exclaimed, coming over to examine me. He had a lot of worry in his eyes. I felt pity for him. I could never love him back.
“I’m fine.” I said for what it seemed like the millionth time. I marched up the hills and went to the girl’s bathroom. I got some towels, wetted it and started washing the blood off my legs.
I looked at myself in the mirror. Nick was right. I did look like a ghost. I shivered. I fixed my hair into a straight and tight ponytail and washed my face. The water ran brown with grit and dirt. I washed my legs again and walked outside. The sun felt good on me.
“Let’s keep playing.” I announced to the group waiting outside.
“Are you kidding? No!” Catherine exclaimed.
I glared at her. “I got only a boo-boo. I’m not gonna die.” My eyes softened, and so did my voice. “I promise.”
Nick shook his head. “Nope.”
I sighed. “Please?”
“Nah. Let’s sit down and gossip. That’s more fun anyways.” Hailey said.
Max and Catherine nodded.
“Fine.” I huffed. We walked over the the picnic tables on our playgrounds and took a seat.
“So… Nicole. You seem a little off today.” Zach observed.
I rolled my eyes. “Thank you for noticing.”
“No, honestly.” Hunter said.
“I know.” I sighed. “I can’t figure out what’s wrong with me.”
“What happened at the hill?” Jackson asked.
“Well, I was running away from Matthew, and I felt out of breath and tired. All of a sudden, I was tripping over my own feet and tripped over a rock.” I summarized.
Catherine looked at me worridley. “I have a bad feeling about this.” She said, exchanging looks with Hailey.
“Nicole…” Hailey started, but I stopped her with a look. Not here, not now. Especially not with all the boys.
“I think we should get you a band aid.” Nick told me.
I glanced down at my knee. “Yeah. It’s bleeding.”
You’re hurt? Noah’s voice popped into my head.
I stiffened. Hailey glanced at me. Yeah.
What happened? How?
Stop being so overprotective of me. It’s because I fell.
On what?
Over what, actually.
Fine, over what did you trip over?
I tripped over a rock.
A rock?!?
It’s not a big rock.
So? You got hurt!
I’m not dying!
“Nicole. You gotta talk to me.” Hailey said.
“About what?”
“You’re still zoning in and out.”
“Okay.”
“So… talk.”
“I don’t want to talk. Hailey… don’t. Let’s play Truth or Dare instead.”
“Fine. We’re play Truth or Dare!”
“Alright!” Catherine hooted. “I’ve got a couple good dares!”
“Oh goody.” I snorted.
“Whose first?” Hunter asked.
“You.” Jackson said.
“Okay.” Hunter surveyed the circle. Hunter was a boy with a light tan and brown hair. Unusually, he had hazel eyes. More unusually, they matched his hair perfectly. His eyes landed on Matthew. “So… Matthew, Truth or Dare?”
Matthew bit his lip, thinking. I thought about my choices. I would usually do Dares, or sometimes, Double-Dares, if I felt up to it. There was no way I was doing Truth today. But I again thought about the rules. The rules implied that you had to do at least two dares and two truths. There was a denial for only a truth, but no denials at all for a dare.
“I’m going with…” Matthew said.
“Yes?”
“Truth.”
“Oh goody! Um, in this group, among the girls,” Hailey, Catherine and I rolled our eyes, “Who would you ask out to the dance?”
“Hunter! The dance is like two months away!” I reminded him.
“I know. It’s just a truth anyways.”
“Um… probably…” Matthew looked at the girls. I was the one with strawberry blonde hair, piercing icy blue eyes and freckles. Hailey had light blonde hair and green eyes that was always pulled up into a ponytail. Catherine had dark hair and brown eyes.
“Catherine.” Matthew decided. Catherine blushed and I burst out laughing.
You would want Nick, huh? Noah asked me.
Stop asking me! You never tell me what happened with your girl.
I didn’t have a girlfriend.
Lies.
“Okay. Matthew. Your turn.” Catherine said, still hot in the face.
“Um…”
“Ask a girl!” I reminded him.
“Okay, then, you. Nicole. Truth or Dare?”
If I choose truth and they ask me about you, can I tell them about you?
Why?
I can’t keep the secret in anymore.
Are they trustworthy?
Yeah.
Just keep it in?
I can’t! It’s hard, and they’re my friends.
Fine. But tell them not to tell anybody else.
Okay.
“Truth.” I said, trying to look confident.
“Um..” Matthew said. “Why are you so jumpy today?”
“Define jumpy.”
“Not your normal self.”
I sighed. Here it goes. I told Noah.
Nicole! Don’t!
I trust them.
Please…
Noah. Trust me with this.
But…
Noah. It’s gonna be alright.
I’m not a baby. But are you serious about them being… trustworthy?
Yeah.
Make them swear.
What?
Swear that they WON’T tell anybody. Especially since I’m a criminal.
Okay.
“Nicole?” Matthew asked me. “See? You’re zoning in and out again. Don’t ask, the boys have noticied. For sure.”
“Well, I’ll tell you guys. But, see, you have to swear not to tell anybody. Please.” I must have looked desperate, because they nodded.
“Go on.” Nick told me.
“Well, so you guys know that my mom passed away, right?” I started.
They all nodded.
“Okay, so I also had a brother. You guys know that as well.”
They nodded again.
“My brother ran away when he was eight, nobody knew why. I don’t think my dad even knows if he’s still alive. But then, yesterday, when I was coming to advisory, I saw a strange teenager outside the window. He had black hair and blue eyes. I thought for a moment that he was familiar, but then, told myself to forget about it. I mean, it was the first day of middle school, and I was pretty excited. The teenager was blocking the door, so I asked him to move. He looked at me for a moment, and the look in his eyes, it was full of longing or something. I couldn’t tell. I asked him to move, and he kindly obligied. He even opened the door for me. So once I walked inside, I told Hailey and Catherine about the teenager outside. Apparently, they couldn’t see him, but I could. I looked the second time, and he was gone. But I was still unconvinced and I looked outside the third time once advisory was over. He was outside the window again.”
The whistle blew. We all got up and started walking down the trail. I started to speak again.
“I was then, completely convinced that there was something wrong with me. But during school yesterday, I didn’t see him again. It was like I’ve seen an apparation. I soon forgot about it. After school, we went to Hailey’s house and my dad picked me up at five. I was in the front seat and I was talking to Dad. Then, I looked around again, and I saw the teenager seating in the back seat.”
Zach groaned. “Another mystery story?”
“Shut up, Zach.” Hailey said. “I wanna listen.”
“No, it’s not a mystery.” I replied, frowning.
“Just continue.” Henry said.
“Okay. So, I saw the teenager and I was aghast.” I continued, obeying Henry. “And suddenly, he was speaking to me inside my head. We could speak telepathecically, and we could also hear some of what we’re saying right now.”
“So he knows that you’re talking about him?” Nick asked.
I nodded. “So, the thing is, that teenager is my brother. The one who ran away when he was eight. And his name’s Noah.”
“Woah! Like that criminal dude? It would be so awesome if it was actually him!” Max replied.
“It’s him.” I confirmed. “So, he said that he was my brother and we had talked for a bit. Then he told me why he ran away.” I paused. “My mom died giving birth to me. And when my dad came home, with me, he wouldn’t let Noah do anything with me. He started to abuse Noah. And he got angry. He stole some money from my dad and ran away. He got a job and started working, and pretty soon, he got a good life starting. He lived like that for the past eleven years and he decided that he wanted to visit me. So, he came over to school yesterday and saw me, secretly. I’ve been begging him to stay, but he doesn’t want to. He’s gotta think it over. I’m going over to his apartment today and sleeping there. We’re gonna talk about it, and hopefully, he will.” I finished.
“Wow. That’s quite a story.” Hunter said.
“Yeah.” I replied.
“I have a question.” Matthew asked. “How come you can see him, and we can’t?”
“Apparently, it’s something he put on.”
“What? Like make-up?”
“Clothing.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. I have Social Studies. Hailey, what do you have?” I asked.
“Math.”
“Well, I’ll see you after school, okay?”
“Yeah! See you then!”
“Wait. Can we meet your brother?” Jackson asked.
I bit my lip. “I don’t know. I’ll ask.”

I pulled up the curve, waiting for my sister at her school. I checked my clock. Precisely 2:58. I have two minutes before they would come out. I looked down at my hands, which were filed down to skin. I had a couple rings on my fingers, and a small tattoo on the wrist of my left hand. It was of the cross.
I checked myself in the mirror. My hair grew. It was up to my shoulders, and I knew that I had to get a haircut. I jolted out of my thoughts as the bell rang. Children ran from their classrooms, and I immediatley spotted Nicole. She was walking with her friends, towards her locker. I kept my eyes on her while she got our her books, put them in her bag and said good-byes to her friends. It was a Friday, they wouldn’t see each other.
I watched with disdain as I saw Nicole hug Hailey and Catherine. (I think they’re Hailey and Catherine). She came over to my car and sat in the front seat. I saw her as she buckled her seat belt and got herself adjusted.
“Aren’t you too light to seat in the front?” I asked.
“No, I’m average.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Huh… okay.”
Nicole was quiet. I knew exactly why. She was waiting for me to start. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
“It’s funny to hear your voice.” Nicole said, as we drove out of school.
“Is it?”
“Yeah. It sounds different than your telepatheical voice.”
“Huh.”
Another awkward silence. None of us wanted to bring up the topic. I sighed. This wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought.
“So, what did you tell Dad?” I asked her.
“That I was going to Hailey’s house. I told him not to call Hailey’s mom, because Hailey already called her. I said that I would call him once I arrived.”
“Okay. We’re not going directly home, you know.”
“I wouldn’t call it home.” Nicole replied.
“Whatever. We’re going to Starbucks.”
“Why?”
“Because I think we need to talk.”
“I  was waiting for you to bring it up. But you didn’t. Or you weren’t going to. It’s your choice, you know.”
“I know. I was actually thinking about it.”
“Were you?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m not even gonna ask what your final verdict is.”
“No, don’t ask.”
“Okay.” Nicole pulled out her phone, and started texting her friend. I got a peek at who she was texting, and it was a group chat.
“Nicole.”
“Yeah?” she didn’t look up.
“Talk to me.”
“You talk to me. I already talked enough. You’re gonna bring it up. So you’re not staying. End of story.”
“I didn’t say that.” I argued.
“But it felt like it. I waited a whole day. Twenty-four hours. And got no response.”
“Nikki--,”
“Don’t call me that.”  Nicole snapped.
“Why?”
“Only my friends call me that. As of right now, you’re a stranger.”
“I’m your brother.”
“That I’ve known for a day.”
“Nicole.”
“Noah. Just tell me the answer. Yes or no.” Nicole finally looked up from her phone. She looked weary. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, her knee had a scab, and there was a huge bruise on her kneecap.
“I don’t know.” I faltered.
“Yeah. My point. You didn’t bother thinking about it, did you?”
“I did think about it.”
“Then give me an answer!”
“Fine. No. Wanna know why?”
“Sure. Like I’d ever care.” Nicole retorted.
“One, I’m happy as of the way I am now. Two, I don’t want to face Dad. Three, I don’t want my life to change.”
Nicole took this all in with cowering or blinking a tear. She didn’t even flinch. She’s a strong girl, I observed. She went through a lot. Living without a mom had taken out her tenderness. She was a strong girl. “So you’re a coward.” Nicole said.
That did it. My anger surfaced and I exploded. “No, Nicole! God! You idiot! Don’t you understand? I don’t want to be associated with my family! I don’t want anything to do with them! I don’t want to know you! I don’t want to see Dad ever again! My family is messed up. I’m not a Tresher anymore.”
Nicole looked up at me, surprise and anger in her eyes. I just then realized what I had said. I called her an idiot, I don’t want to know Nicole, I called her messed up. “Pull over.” Nicole calmly told me.
“What? No.”
“Pull over.”
“Nicole, I’m sorry.”
“No. Noah, you just said that you didn’t want to be associated with the Treshers, you don’t want to know me and that I’m an idiot. Why did you even come to see me yesterday in the first place?”
“I… don’t know.” I replied. “I think I needed to remember Mom. You’re the spitting image of her, you know.”
“Okay. But don’t sweet talk me. Pull over.”
“Nicole. Please. Don’t do this to me. I don’t want to lose another family member of mine.”
Nicole snorted. “Sure. Number one, you’re not a Tresher anymore. I’m not even related to you. You’re not my brother, you’re not a friend. You’re a stranger. Two, you will lose me if you don’t pull over. I will literally walk out of the car.”
“Fine.” I switched lanes, and then pulled over onto the neighborhood. “What do you want now?”
“Nothing from you.” Nicole unlocked the car, got her bag, and hopped out. She slammed the door shut, and looked around. The look in her eyes told me she knew where she was.
Nicole. I reached out to her.
She turned away and started walking. She whipped out her phone and called somebody. And then, she started talking.

“Hey, Hailey.” I said once she picked up.
“Hi! What’s up?”
“I’m heading over to your house.”
“Okay… around what time?”
“Sorry, I don’t have a watch, what time is it?”
“Mmm… about three-forty-five.”
“Okay. I’ll be right there. In about ten minutes?”
“Sure! See you!”
“Bye.”
I hung up and put my phone in my pocket. I continued walking and didn’t look back. I knew that Noah was staring at me.
Nicole. Please listen to me.
Noah. Be quiet.
Nicole…. Please?
Why should I?
Because… I’m terribly sorry.
Right.
Nicole.
Don’t talk right now.
I turned to a very familiar corner, where Hailey’s house was. 
Nicole. Forgive me.
Noah. You’re not a Tresher anymore. What are you?
There was silence.
I don’t know. I really don’t. Please…
I heard him crying. I pulled out my phone again and dialed Hailey’s number.
“YESSS?” I heard Henry’s voice on the phone.
“Hey Henry. Can I talk to Hailey?”
“What, that’s it? ‘Hey Henry’? No ‘I love you’?”
“I don’t love you. Sorry.”
“Okay fine.” Before I got to say anything, I heard a distintive ‘Hailey!!’ on the phone.
“Hi!” I heard Hailey’s breath on the phone.
“Sorry, change of plans. I have to go somewhere. I’m really sorry.” I apologized.
“No problem! I’ll see you later, or on Monday, whenever.”
“Yeah. That’s fine.”
“Okay!”
“Bye!” I said.
I hung up again and retraced my footsteps. I peeked around the corner, and saw Noah’s car still there. Strangely, I couldn’t see him. It was as if he was hiding or something. His face was covered by his arms. I saw his blonde hair falling over his face.
I walked up to his car, and opened the front seat window.
“Noah?” I asked, as gently as I could.
Noah looked up. His face was red, and his blue eyes were wet. He was crying.
“Oh, Noah, are you okay?”
He shivered. “I don’t know. I just… I’m so sick of living like this. I want to live for real. Live like a normal teenager would. But I can’t. I just can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because…” I shut my door and buckled my seat belt. “I don’t know. It’s just, I don’t have a family anymore, I’m a criminal, I’m running away from the government. I want to live.”
“Noah… let’s go to your apartment, discuss this over and then I don’t know, we’ll decide on what to do.”
“Okay.”
We sat in silence while Noah got back on the road and started driving. Feeling exceptionally tired, I fell asleep.
“Nicole? You have to wake up.” I felt Noah shake me gently.
I groaned. “I’m so tired…”
“I know. But it’s only five in the afternoon. Let’s go up to my apartment and then you can sleep.” Noah soothed me.
“Okay.” I got up, and I swayed a little. Noah steadied me and we walked towards the elevator. I saw as he pressed the seventh floor.
I yawned. I leaned against Noah, and he comfortingly put his arms around me. I started to close my eyes when the elevator dinged.
We walked towards his room, which was room 7098, and entered it. It was enormous. My sleepiness disappeared and I saw a place to put your shoes, and right when you walk in on your right was the kitchen. In front of the kitchen was the living room. On your left, when you walk in was the Master-Bedroom, where Noah slept. On the right of the kitchen, there was a little hallway with two spare rooms. One was Daniel’s, Noah told me, and I could have the other. At the end of the hallway was the laundry and on the left was the bathroom.
I smiled happily and walked into my room. It was blue with orange swirls. There was a neat bed in top left corner, and two bookshelves on the top right. On the bottom right, there was a desk and a door on the bottom left. There was a mirror- closet, and I looked inside, there were spare cloth hangers.
“Wow. A real hotel.” I said to Noah.
He shrugged. “It took a lot of work, but yeah.”
“Yeah? Where did you get all the money?”
“Places I’ve been going to lately. Now, I think we need to talk.”
I nodded, and set down my school stuff onto my bed, and walked out into the living room, where Noah was sitting down on one of the sofas.
“Talk.” I ordered.
“Okay. So I didn’t mean anything I said in the car, by the way. I was exploding. I think that I still want to join you and Dad. You guys are my family, I can’t just abandon you.”
“Right…” I nodded.
“So, I’ve been thinking, I’ll introduce myself to Dad. You already know me. But, I don’t want to leave this apartment behind.”
“I understand.”
“I’ll go and talk to Dad,and maybe, you guys can come and live with me.”
“I actually like that idea. I hate my house, anyways. But what about Daniel?”
“What about him?”
“You’re gonna kick him out.”
“He’ll understand.”
I nodded again, thinking. I knew that Noah’s idea wasn’t a bad one. Just, there was a chance that it wasn’t going to work 100%. “It’s worth a try.” I said, thinking. “But we don’t know for sure that it will work.”
“Yeah. I know.”
“We can talk to Dad tomorrow.”
“For real?”
“Yeah… when you drop me off. Actually, here’s the plan. Drop me off about a block from my house. Then, I’ll walk to my house, and tell Dad that I had a fantastic time at my sleepover, and that there is somebody who wants to talk to him. Then, I’ll call to you, and you can come up.”
“Wait… just come up? I can’t walk that fast.”
“Fine. Walk behind me, and when I motion you to stop, stop, and I’ll do my thing.”
“Okay…”
“First, we need to fix you up.”
“How?”
“Get you a haircut.” I confirmed.
“What? Why?”
“Because, you are NOT looking good.”
“Peesh.”
“What?”
“I think I look fine.”
“You don’t. Can I give it to you? Please?” I begged.
“You cutting my hair? You wish.”
“Noah. Please.”
“Why should I?”
“Make up for what you said.”
“Fine.”
“Okay. Lemme grab a chair.”
I ran over to the dining table and got a chair. I pulled to the the living room, where Noah was watching TV. I grabbed a pair of small scissors and called Noah over. He looked at me, rolled his eyes and sat down on the chair. I sprayed his hair and started combing through it.
“So tell me,” I asked, while combing. “How was your hair black two days ago?”
“Dye.”
“Oh… how come my friends couldn’t see you?”
“Because I put on the cape.”
“What does the cape do?”
“Allows some people to see me, some people not to see me.”
“I don’t get it.”
“If you did, then you would be a creepy sixth grader.”
“Not nice.”
“Sure.”
“I have another question.”
“Shoot.”
“Can my friends visit you?”
Noah paused. “Why?”
“Don’t ask me.”
“I guess so. After you guys are living with me.”
“Okay…”
“I have a question for you.”
“Yeah.” I snipped off some of Noah’s hair.
“How much do you like this Nick?”
I felt myself blushing. “I don’t know.”
“Henry likes you, you know.” Noah reminded me.
“Yeah. But still.”
“You can’t break his heart.”
“Says who?”
“So you’re going to break it?” Noah gasped.
“No!”
“Then, why would you say that?”
I shurgged. “ I don’t know. I don’t want to date at the moment.”
“Huh… interesting. Okay.”
“I’m done.” I announced.
“Really? Let me see.”
Noah got up from his chair and looked at himself. He looked ordinary.
“Not bad.” Noah concluded.
“See? I told you!”
“Okay. Whatever. Let’s eat dinner.”

The next morning, I woke up, bright and early. I glanced at the clock. 7 in the morning. I crept to the bathroom and took a shower, brushed my teeth and used the bathroom. After I dried off, I made breakfast. Today would be fried eggs. Then, we would go to see Dad.
I heard the door creak. Nicole.
“Good morning.” I said.
“Hi.”
“Go and wash. Breakfast will be ready.”
“Okay.”
I heard her walking down the hallway and heard the shower turn on. I flipped the eggs over. I really made my choice, didn’t I? I was going to go see Dad and I’ll be a happy family again. What I was wishing for the past eleven years.
I turned the stove off and put the eggs on two plates. I drew smiley faces next to them with ketchup and set them on the table. Then, I decided to get milk and pour them into cups.
After I had done everything, I changed out of my pajamas into my regular clothes. I smiled. I looked great.
I walked up to the bathroom and rapped on the door. “Nicole! Hurry!”
“Okay! I’ll be out in a sec!”
I counted to one.
“It’s been a second, Nicole!”
“Honestly, Noah?”
“Fine.”
I walked away and took my spot at the table. I started eating when Nicole stepped out.
“Wow. Eggs?”
“Be grateful.”
“Fine. But after this, I’m making breakfast.”
“Like you know how to cook any.”
“Do you know how to make waffles?”
I shook my head. I actually hadn’t eaten waffles ever since Mom died. That snow day with her was the last waffle I had ever eaten.
“Okay.. then I’ll make some for you.”
“I actually don’t eat waffles.”
“Why not?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.” I lied. “just never did.”
“Fine. Whatever.”
We finished our breakfast rather quickly, and was about to go to Dad, when Nicole decided that she should at least call him.
I watched as she dialed his number. “Hey Dad.”
“Yeah. I’m coming home. I had a good time. --- Sure. See you in like five minutes.”
I glanced at Nicole and she nodded. We walked out the door and to my car.
“I want you to stop when I tell you to stop. Okay?”
“Sure. Fine.”
“Okay. Let’go.”
We hit the road and Nicole, again took out her phone. She was texting again, I saw.
“Who do you text so much?” I asked her.
“Random people.”
“Like…”
“Hailey. Catherine.”
“Only them?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay… what about the boys?”
“Sometimes them.”
“Huh.”
“Why do you care?”
“Because… you’re my sister.”
“Blech.”
We drove on for another five minutes, when assoon as we turned a corner, Nicole stopped me. “Stop  right here.” I stopped and turned down the engine. Nicole got out of the car and walked the block. I silently followed her. Suddenly, she held out her hand. Stop. I stopped and she walked on. I heard her approach her house. I waited a few minutes. Or seconds. Or was it hours? The time seemed to pass slowly. Finally, I heard the door open.
“Nicole!”
“Hi Dad.”
“How are you? Did you have a good time?”
“Yeah!”
“How was Hailey?”
“I actually didn’t go to her house.”
“What? Did you go to Catherine’s house?”
“Um… no. I went to somebody else’s. He’s here.”
“He?”
“No, we didn’t sleep in the same room. Dad, gosh.”
“Then who is it?”
“What about I show you?”
That was my cue. I walked out and I finally saw Dad. He was unshaven, and definiately did not look healthy.
“Noah?”
“Hi Dad.”
“I thought…”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
Dad turned his back on me. “Tell me what you want, Noah, and then go away.”
I saw Nicole stiffen.
“I want you guys to move in with me.”
Dad arched an eyebrow. “Details.”
“I’m so tired of living as a criminal, and living by myself. I have a really good apartment, and you guys can all live in it. Please…”
“Why do you think that we—I would join you after you left me?”
I faltered. “I don’t know.  I just need some company… I guess.”
“No.”
“What?”
“I’m not moving in with you.” Dad firmly said.
“But I am.” Nicole said.
Dad looked at Nicole with wide eyes.
“What do you mean that you will?”
“I mean that I’m going to move in with Noah. You don’t even care for me. As far as I know, the best dinner I’ve ever had was yesterday’s, when we ate at Subways!”
Dad looked surprised. “Nicole, I’m sorry I’ve been neglecting you. It’s just that things have been hard for me and--”
“No. That’s just excuses. Do YOU know how hard it’s been for me? I’ve been living for eleven years without a mother and a careless father. My whole life.”
“Nicole.” I warned.
“No, Noah. I’ve been waiting for years to tell him this. But he never listened. Not once.”
“That’s not true.” Dad protested.
“Okay, then what have you been doing for me?”
“I’ve been getting you clothes. You have food. You have shelter. You have water.”
“So does Noah. He can get me all these stuff and get me better care. And he’s a nineteen year old criminal, for god’s sake!”
Dad looked at Nicole with hurt eyes. “I’m so sorry. I just… I don’t know. I’ve been in a frenzy ever since your mother has died and I don’t know how to take care of a daughter by myself.”
Nicole’s eyes softened. Only then I realized, it was really easy to get on Nicole’s soft side. “Hey Dad, I know. It’s hard. But I’m still with Noah.”
“Fine. I’ll think about it. But give me a day, alright?”
“Okay.” I nodded.
“And Nicole, are you staying home?” Dad asked.
Nicole shook her head. “It’s so boring in that house. I’m out for today.”
Dad’s face fell. “Oh. Okay.”
“Yeah. Sorry.”
Nicole quickly turned on her heels and walked into the car, slamming the door. I looked at Dad. “Dad… look.”
Dad didn’t meet my eyes. “Why?”
“What?”
“Why did you do this to me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why did you leave?”
“I was unhappy.”
“Because of… Mom?” Dad’s voice choked.
I stared at him with shock. “Well, no. Not exactly.”
“Then what is it?”
I looked down. “I… I’m sorry.”
“What do you mean, Noah? Why did  you have to become a criminal?”
“I hated my life. Okay? I’m sorry this came to you as a shock, but… I just was unhappy.”
“Noah…”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah. Okay. Whatever.”
I looked at Dad one more time. Then, I turned away and got into the car. Nicole was sitting in the front seat, with her eyes closed.
“Hey. Nikki.”
Nicole smiled. “I lied.”
“About what?”
“Remember that I said only my friends call me that nickname? I lied.”
“So who calls you that?”
“Nick.”
Nicole smiled dreamly.
“You really like him that much?”
“He’s nice.”
“Wow. Okay.”
“What? He’s not good enough for you?” Nicole’s eyes flashed open and I was startled at the sharpness of her eyes.
“No.”
“Noah.”
“Yeah?”
“You never told me about your love story.”
“You really want to hear?”
“Yeah.”
“Nicole, it doesn’t have a happy ending.”
“Why not?”
“It just doesn’t.”
Nicole gasped. “Did she die or something?”
I stared at her. “That’s would have been horrible, and no.”
“It’s like Nick?”
“What?”
“It’s one way?”
“No.”
“Then what is it?”
“Maybe if you listened, and stopped talking, you would know.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Huh… so it’s not a happy ending.”
“It doesn’t have a happy ending, no.” I corrected her. “Not it’s not a happy ending.”
“Whatever.”
“So yeah. It doesn’t have a happy ending.”
At this point, nothing does.

“So, when I was thirteen, I had my first kiss.” Noah started. “I was in eighth grade. I think most of the people in my grade had their first kiss by then. Whatever. Can’t remember. So, this girl’s name was Mayella. She was a really pretty girl, and she was my crush for ages. I asked her out to the last eighth grade dance, and she said yes. During our slow dances together, I kept on looking at her lips. You know what that means, right?” I nodded. “Okay. So she was looking at my lips too. I asked her, ‘How serious are you?’ she replied, ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Like, as in, how serious are we?’ Mayella looked really surprised. ‘I don’t know. A lot.’ She answered. I nodded. Then, half way through the song, I started to lean in towards her.”
“STOP!” I shrieked.
“What?” Noah started the engine.
“I don’t like kissing scenes.”
“It gets really good.” Noah insisted.
“Ugh. You promise?”
“I guess?”
I almost slapped him. “Whatever. You idiot. If it’s inappropriate, I’m changing it.”
“Go ahead. You can’t change history.”
“Start.”
“So, we leaned in towards each other. I looked into her eyes as if to say, ‘Are you okay with this?’ and she nodded. So, we got closer, and we finally met. You have to have your eyes closed, you see. Like, if you were to kiss Nick,” I made a face, “You would want to kiss the right part of the lips. Like, don’t pucker. And also, wrap your hands around his neck and act like you want more.”
I shuddered. “Let’s not do the tutorial part.”
“Fine. So we kissed and she opened her mouth a little. So, I decided to--”
“Noah. Don’t tell me you did something really weird.”
“Woah. You know this stuff already?”
“Actually, don’t tell me your love story. You gross me out.”
“I have more perverted friends.”
“Ew.”
“Don’t judge my friends.”
“Whatever.”
“Nicole. I’ll give a couple of tips.”
“Don’t.”
“Please?”
“No.”
“Fine.” Noah focused his eyes on the road. He glanced at me. “We’re going to Daniel’s house.”
“Is he perverted?”
“No.  Never fell in love with a girl yet.”
“Fine.”
***
“HEY!!! WHADDAUP, bro?” A boy with black hair and blue eyes greeted Noah.
“Hi.” Noah replied.
“Oh my god. Is that your sister?”
Noah nodded.
“So cute!”
I slapped him.
Daniel looked really surprised for a moment, and narrowed his eyes at me. I glared at him back. He was not going to mess with me. Even if he was cute.
Is he this cute? I asked Noah.
Noah snorted. Daniel?
Yeah.
Don’t tell me you fell in love with him.
Heart belongs to Nick.
Hope so.
Why?
Just saying. I don’t want you to have a crush on Daniel. That’d be weird.
Why? You like him?
I’m not gay. I like him as a friend.
Oh really?
Yeah.
We moved to the living room.
“I love this place.” Daniel sighed.
“Duh. It’s your house.”
“I love it more than a house.”
I kept my eyes trained on his eyes. He had really pretty eyes. Deep-blue. And black hair too.
“Your sister’s staring at me.” Daniel said.
“Nicole.” Noah nudged me.
“Oh! Sorry.” I shook my head.
Daniel smirked. “I have another admirer. How depressing”
I glared at him. “I already have a crush, thanks.”
Don’t mention love stuff. Noah said.
Why??
Just don’t.
Why?
He’s just not very mature about it.
Huh, really?
Yeah.
Okay then. I agreed.
“Ah… you guys are gossiping in your heads. That’s not very nice.” Daniel teased
“Daniel. Stop being so obnoxious.” Noah rolled his eyes. I pulled out my phone and logged into a chat room with the group.
nicoletresher0912 logged on.
Nicole: Hello?
nickpavers1982 logged on.
Nick: Sup
Nicole: I’m dying. Save me.
Nick: That’s deep.
Nicole: Nick. Seriously.
Nick: Okay. I’ll just run over there and save u.
Nicole: Unlikely. Ur kinda slow.
Nick: >:(
Nicole: Sorry.
haileybengurt1029 logged on.
H: Aww… U guys r chatting!
Nick: ? Why aww?
Nicole: Hailey. Shut up.
H: Sorry.
Nick: Explain.
“Hey Nicole. Can you put your phone away?” Noah asked.
I shook my head. “You guys are being a bunch of boring people. I don’t have anything to do.”
“Fine.”
H: Nicole kinda has..
Nicole: Hailey. Shut up.
H: Kinda has a phobia.
Nick: What?
H: Yeah. A phobia.
Nicole: Hailey, I will personally kill you.
H: Good luck.
Nick: A phobia on what?
H: Telling people her crushes.
Nick: She has a crush?
H: I know. It’s surprising. She is a heartless soul.
Nicole: Hailey. Be quiet.
H: I’m not saying anything. I’m typing.
Nick: Whose her crush?
H: Can’t say. Sorry.
Nicole: Nick. Have you ever kissed somebody?
Nick: What the heck? No!
Nicole: Are you sure?
Nick: I think I would know if I kissed somebody or not.
H: Nicole wants to kiss  you.
Nick: Is that true, Nikki?
Nicole: You believe Hailey?
H: Nick, why do you call Nicole Nikki?
There was a short silene on the chat. My heart thudded.
Nick: Why?
H: Just wondering.
Nicole: Yeah. Why do you?
Nick: I dunno. Ur cute. I guess.
I immediately blushed. Noah raised an eyebrow.
H: NICOLE!!!
Nicole: I know. I heard.
H: Yeah. You’re not saying anything.
Nicole: I just did.
Hailey: And….
Nick: Wait, did I seriously send that?
H: Yup.
Nicole: OMG
H: What?
Nick: Huh?
Nicole: My brother just saw the texts. GTG. Bye!
Nick: Huh. Bye.
H: Bye!~~
Nicole: You guys can log off too. If you stay on, Nick, don’t listen to what Hailey has to say.
H: What?
Nick: Ok…
Nicole: Bye!
nicoletresher0912 logged off.
“I saw that.” Noah said.
“I know. Exactly my reason why I logged off.” I replied.
“Come on, guys. Let’s play Mario Kart.” Daniel suggested.
“Fine.” Noah agreed.
“What the heck is that?”
“You don’t know?” Daniel asked, wide-eyes. Again, I saw the deep-blue of his eyes and I knew that I had fallen head over toes for him. No, Nicole. Bad Nicole. You have Nick. Nick just called you cute.
Who called you cute? Noah frantically asked.
Nick.
Ooh… Yeah. Too bad for Henry.
Exactly.
You like Daniel, huh?
A little.
Why?
His eyes.
Noah rolled his eyes as we walked into Daniel’s room. Daniel’s room was very complicated. It had green walls with orange, red and blue triangles on one side, smiley faces on another, hearts on the third and flies on the fourth. My reputation of Daniel immediately vanished. There was a bunk bed on the corner of the smiley face wall and the triangle wall. The door was where the fly wall was, and there was a desk straight across from the bed. On the heart wall, there was a huge TV and a bunch of Wii © remotes on it. On the disk, there was the disk labeled “Mario Kart”. I knew that this was the disc they were going to play.
Across from the TV, there was a sofa. We all sat down on the sofa, Daniel on the right, Noah, on the middle, and me next to Noah. I curled up at the edge of the sofa while the boys were getting their remotes. They sat back down and logged in. Noah’s Mi was a simple boy with blonde hair and sharp blue eyes. His favorite color was black, apparently. Daniel’s looked exactly like his, and his favorite color was pink. I snorted.
“Let’s do a race against each other.” Daniel announced.
“Single or teams?”
“Teams.”
“Alright. I’m blue.”
“Red.”
They quickly chose their routes and started playing. Daniel was 12th and Noah was 11th. Quickly, they moved up. All of the sudden, Noah was third and Daniel was second.
“Hey Daniel. If I ask you a favor, would you do it?”
“Depends on what it is.”
“It’s really easy.”
“What is it?”
“Stop.”
“Huh?” Daniel looked at Noah for a second, and he did what Noah asked involuntarily.
Noah zoomed past him.
“That is not fair!”
“It is.”
Around 3:00, Noah and I left and we headed back to Noah’s house.
“Can you continue your story?” I asked.
“About Mayella?”
I nodded.
“Okay. So we started dating for the last couple months of eighth grade. Everybody thought that we were a really cute couple. We had dates and stuff and it was really fun. But then, during the last day of school, one of my friends, Lucas, told me that Mayella was cheating on me. I texted her about it and she denied it.”
“Of course.” I said. “Why wouldn’t she?”
“So I went over to her house and we talked about it and she still denied it. Since then, I kept a closer look on Mayella. One night, I was heading over to Mayella’s house for her birthday. I was going to enter through the garage, and I heard giggling. Mayella’s room is downstairs, right next to the garage, and the walls aren’t soundproof. I listened a little more and then I heard something like “Love” and “Not Noah.” and stuff. After a while, I barged into Mayella’s room. She was in the room on the bed, with a boy named Walter. I was really surprised and so was Mayella. I looked at Mayella, asking for an explanation.”
I breathed in quickly and let out my breath. “What did she say?”
“She never really loved me. It was a fake.”
I looked at him. His face was expressionless. I remembered seeing him for the first time. I thought I remembered him from before. Now I knew. I studied his face for the second time. His face was different. He had dirty blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, as usual. But his cheekbones were really sharp. He was the type of boys that any girl would fall in love for. I was lucky. Being his sister. And I also had Nick to keep me busy.
“I think I want to die.” Noah said as we pulled into his apartment’s parking lot.
I looked surprised. “Why?”
“I hate my life.”
“No you don’t.”
“I do. I mean, I ran away when I was eight. I’m a criminal. I had my heart break over and over. My heart can’t hold on forever, Nikki. And it won’t. You should know that.”
“Wait, you’re dying?”
“No.”
“Then what do you mean?”
“I don’t know. I’m a teenager.”
“A retiring teenager.” I corrected. “You’re nineteen. You’re almost twenty.”
“I know.”
“Yeah. So you’re having a pretty good life. Compared to me. I’m always stuck home, not doing anything. You have no idea how boring that is.”
Noah smiled and I pulled out my phone again.
“I saw what Nick texted.”
“You shouldn’t have.”
“You’re cheating.”
“On who?”
“Henry.”
I shook my head. “That’s not cheating. I never loved him in the first place anyways.”
“Still.”
“Whatever. Mayella’s a witch.”
“Yeah.”
I nodded. “Yeah.” My eyelids felt heavy as I fell asleep.
“I know! But why can’t we do it today? Nicole’s going to school tomorrow! Get it over with. It’s such a simple yes or no question. Yeah. I know. Fine. We’ll come over at six, and we’ll have dinner. And then, if you say yes, you can move in tomorrow. When Nicole’s gone. Her stuff? I’ll ask her.” I awoke to Noah talking on the phone. From the looks of it, he was talking to Dad. “Jesus Christ, yes. She can arrange her own room and you can take the master bedroom. Okay? Yeah. See you.”
Noah shook his head as he snapped his phone shut. “We’re going to Dad’s in an hour.”
“We are?” I asked.
“Yeah. And then, if he says yes, then you guys are moving in.”
“Not you guys. Him. I’m already with you.”
Noah smiled. “Yeah. I gotta move my stuff into Daniel’s room now.”
I looked at Noah. “I like the way my room is.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. I don’t want to change it.”
“Okay. We’ll talk about this later. First, we should head over to Dad’s.”

Nicole and I quickly got into the car. I buckled my seat belt and sighed. Nicole glanced curiously at me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just afraid that he won’t say yes.”
“It’s going to be okay.”
“I hope so.”
We silenced as I drove onto Nicole’s neighborhood. I saw her shiver at the sight of her house. Every single house was a color blue, green, black and white house while Nicole’s was dilapidated. It was very neglected.
I walked up to the door and was about the knock when the door swung open.
“We’re going out for dinner. Get in my car, I’m driving.”
We nodded and got into Dad’s car. I sat in the front while Nicole sat in the back. For once, she didn’t pull out her phone. She must have realized how seriously this was.
“Noah.” Dad addressed me.
“Yeah.”
“Explain.”
“Explain what?”
“Why you left.”
My heart thudded. I didn’t want to tell him. That he was abusing me, that I had hated my life and such.
“You abused me too much.” I blurted. My mind slapped myself. You weren’t supposed to say that, you idiot!
“Excuse me?”
“Okay. So Mom died giving birth to Nicole. And then Nicole arrived home. You were so immersed into Nicole, you were neglecting me. You took away every single one of my toys, claiming that it was going to hurt the baby. I hated my life. I would get slapped, kicked, and grounded for playing with a yo-yo.” I told him.
Dad looked at me, bewildered. “I didn’t know.”
“I know that. That’s why I left.”
“I’m so sorry.”
We arrived at the restaurant. We stood outside the front door, talking.
“But now, I recovered. I want you to live with me. I have a really good apartment, and I have two extra spare rooms. You can have the master bedroom and I’ll have the other ones.” I told him.
“Okay.” Dad mused.
“That’s it? Okay? What about your decision?”
“I still have to decide.” Dad replied.
“Dad. It’s a simple question. Yes or no.”
“I… Noah. Look.  I don’t think anybody gets over his or her Mom’s death. I’m still depressed about what happened. I just… I don’t know.”
“We’re only going to be here for an hour.” I told him.
“We?”
“Yeah.” Nicole piped up. “We’re watching a movie.”
We are? I asked.
Yeah. Shut up.
Okay…
“So…  it’s simple, Dad.”
Dad’s eyes narrowed at me. “Why do you want me to move in again?”
I sighed. “I’m so dang tired of living like this. Maybe… you can move in with me.”
“Ugh. Dad, just say yes or no. Please.” Nicole snapped.
“Noah. Let’s go home.” Dad said.
“My home?”
“No. Mine. We’ll talk there.”
We again boarded his car and drove back to his house. He entered the house and sat at the “dining room”.
Dad sighed. “Noah. I’m so sorry about what happened. I didn’t realize that I was being that abusive. All this time I thought…. I thought that you were dead or something. I didn’t even realize that you were that criminal.”
I nodded. “Okay. So what—”
“Don’t interrupt.” Nicole said.
“You just did.”
“Noah.” Dad said, looking at me. “As I was saying, I was really just depressed about Mom’s death and I thought… I don’t know. I thought that you were maybe going to understand. And obviously, you didn’t.”
“Yeah. Dad. I know. The whole reason why I came back was because I wanted to be with you and… Nicole. I wanted to be a happy family again.”
Dad started crying. Not loudly, but he had tears. “I love you, Noah. And you know that. I have loved you this whole eleven years.”
“And…” I started
“I missed you.” Dad replied.
I got up and he did too. “I’ll move in with you. I missed you, Noah.” He wrapped his arms around me and we hugged. Not a way a boy hugs, but the way a family member hugs one another.

So, it ended up like this. Dad moved in with us the day right after we made up. Nicole was at school and Dad and I both got a day off from work. I moved all my stuff to Daniel’s room and Dad moved his stuff to the master bedroom. I dumped Daniel’s stuff out. Since Nicole and I both had the basic same things, we decided to give away some materials, like dolls that Nicole didn’t play with anymore. We kept all the utensils, and moved the TV into Dad’s room. Additionally, Dad had his own bed, bathroom and closet that were all in one room.
Nicole’s room was pretty much the same; except we painted her walls light blue. Her ceiling had glow-in-the-dark stars on it, which she absolutely loved. Her furniture was in the same places, but we filled her two bookshelves with all her books. I think they needed more room, but we decided to give some picture books away too. My room is just a white room with a bed, closet, desk and bookshelves. Some of Nicole’s books were in my room, but most of them were mine for High School.
Ever since Dad came, my life returned to normal. Not a normal as in you live by yourself, but a normal teenager life. I had to go to high school, study for the SATs, and had family fun nights and more. Every Saturday, we went out to amusement parks, watched a movie together, or did an activity that included all of our family members.
I think Nicole’s favorite part was getting a dog. We got a small black and white Shih Tzu that we named Jamie. Nicole actually thought of the name, and we all agreed that it was the right name.
One Saturday, we were watching a movie. Or rather, getting ready to watch a movie.
Nicole yawned and stretched out her legs. “I think I like this new life.” she said, petting Jamie.
Dad grinned. His appearance had gotten much better. He shaved and was clean now. “I guess so. This apartment is nice too.”
“Yeah. I know.” I smiled. “I got it off of my work money.”
“Where did you work?” Nicole asked me.
“Places.”
“Specify.”
“I moved to many different places, Nicole. I can’t name all of them.”
“Only one, then.”
“When I first ran away, I worked at Carl’s Jr.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Then I got a better job.”
“Which is…”
“ I don’t know and I don’t remember.”
“Liar.”
“Shh.” Dad whispered to us. “The movie’s starting.”
“Yeah. Noah.” Nicole smirked.
I elbowed her. She elbowed me back.
The telepathy still works. Nicole said.
I know.
How come we don’t use it?
We can just talk now.
True. Nicole started paying attention to the movie while I zoned out.
I had already met Nicole’s friends. All of them: Hailey, Catherine, Henry, Max, Jackson, Hunter, Nick, Matthew, and Zach. They were all really nice and sweet, and they kind of looked up at me with admiration. Which was kind of scary. I could see why Nicole like Nick so much. He’s a sweet guy. I mean, he can be a boy, because he is one, but other than that, he was a really nice guy. For Nicole, at least.
Daniel didn’t mind moving out. He knew that I had made the right decision, and that I was going to be happier this way. I know too well for that, and that he would do anything just to make me happy. He’s a good friend, that kid.
Eleven years. I missed out on eleven years of fun. Eleven years of studying. Eleven years of living. So now, you gotta make your life the best it can be, Noah. Because, now, your wish came true. You’re home, Noah. You’re home, you’re home, you’re home.
The End.