The girl knelt on the floor at his feet, tears running down her cheeks from her sapphire blue eyes. Her honey brown hair hung in strands around her shoulders. Another convulsion rocked through her body, and she clamped her teeth together to keep from crying out.

"Daddy, why is this happening?" she asked again, her voice cracking.

"You are not meant to have the Power. That is for the sons of the families," her father growled.

"But why does it hurt?"

His wrinkled lip curled up in anger. "You always said you wanted to be more like Caleb and his friends. Now that you are, you're whining about it."

"Daddy," she begged.

"No!" he barked. "Do not ever call me that. You have stolen the gift from this family. From your brother. You are no daughter of mine."

A new rush of tears raced down the girl's cheeks. "Dad—"

"Get the hell out of my sight." His voice was sharp and commanding.

The girl stood on trembling legs and slowly backed out of the room. "Daddy, please."

"Leave!"

Turning, she bolted from the room and down the stairs. Her legs carried her out of the old house and down the long driveway. Her own father. Her own father had disowned her for something she couldn't control. His words rang in her ears. "You are no daughter of mine."

Her foot caught on a stick and she tumbled to the ground. Small stones cut into her palms, but the pain didn't register. A new convulsion shook her body, followed by a suppressed sob.

"Why me?" she whispered.

People bustled around her as they moved to get to the gate and meet their families and friends. With each step, Rylie Danvers's mood darkened. Memories washed over her, replaying in her mind. First the good, heart-warming ones. And then came the rest. The memories that reminded her of why she had left the town of Ipswich in the first place.

The only reason she had returned from Ireland was because her mother had begged her to. Her father had died after giving his Power to Caleb, and the families were holding a private wake for him. Her mother insisted that she be there.

Walking out of the gate, she searched the crowd for a familiar face. The dark hair caught her attention, and as she drew nearer, his eyes found her. He had grown up a lot in five years. But she still recognized her brother. This was just fucking wonderful.

"Hey, Caleb," she said.

He nodded. "Hey, Rylie."

They stood there for a few minutes in awkward silence, and then Caleb suggested getting her luggage and heading home.

The ride back to the Danvers' home was silent. Rylie stared out the window, watching the familiar scenery flash by. As they pulled into the driveway, a new flood of emotions washed over her, and more memories danced through her mind. Her childhood replayed behind her eyes. How she had always tried to join Caleb, Pogue, Reid and Tyler in whatever game of adventure they did. No matter how many times they had complained or yelled at her, she had wanted to follow them. To be one of them.

The car stopped, and Rylie looked up at her old home, and the memory of her walking out the front door for the last time raced through her mind. Her mother had had silent tears spilling down her cheeks, and refused to see her off to the airport. Caleb had been outraged that she wanted to leave, especially with their father withering away. But he didn't understand. None of them did. That was exactly why she had wanted to leave. Her father had disowned her for something she had no control over, and the others hated her.

"Are you getting out?"

Blinking, she looked at her brother. "Yeah, sorry."

Caleb helped bring in her luggage and drag it up to her old room. He dropped the two suitcases on the floor and turned to face his little sister. "Mom's probably in her room. The wake is tomorrow morning."

Rylie nodded and watched him walk out, closing the door behind him. She scanned the room, sighed, and began putting her things away. She had considered using, which would take less time. But knew Caleb would sense it. And she wasn't ready for the family to know that she also had Power.

A few hours later, she had reacquainted herself with the house and the small town. By the time she walked back into the house, the sky had darkened as night took over. Closing the door, she turned and saw Caleb descending the stairs.

"Going somewhere?" she asked.

"Nicky's," was his response. Pausing as he passed her, he added, "Do you want to come?"

She could sense that he would rather she not tag along, but at this point, she didn't care. She had been home for less than twenty four hours, and she was already tired of his coldness toward her. "Yeah, just give me fifteen minutes."

He nodded, and she hurried upstairs to get ready.

Fifteen minutes later, Rylie was at the bottom of the stairs. She had changed into a pair of dark jeans and a red halter top. Her honey brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail with a few loose strands framing her face. Her sapphire blue eyes were outlined with black mascara and eyeliner. "Ready."

Caleb glanced at her and a look of shock flashed across his eyes at seeing his baby sister looking so grown up. "Fine. Let's go."

Like the car ride to the house, the ride to Nicky's was extremely quiet. The closer they got to the bar, the more fired up her nerves became. She hadn't seen the Sons in five years, and had a feeling that they wouldn't be completely thrilled to see her. After all, her own brother seemed bothered by her presence. Why would his friends be any different?

Caleb pulled the car into a parking space, and Rylie's stomach clenched at the prospect of seeing the one Son she had missed the most.

Following Caleb into the bar, she wound her way through the people, trying to keep pace with her brother. Clearly, he didn't care if she got lost in the crowd. How nice.

Caleb slid into a chair next to a pretty blonde girl and kissed her cheek, then turned to the boy sitting across from him. "Hey, Pogue."

"Caleb."

Rylie studied Pogue, realizing that all of the Sons had changed. The girl next to Pogue was studying Rylie carefully, her brow furrowed. A moment later, Rylie recognized her.

"Rylie?" Kate asked.

Pogue turned, surprised. "Wow. You really came."

Rylie bit back a smartass retort and nodded.

"You've changed," Pogue commented.

"So have you," Rylie replied. Her eyes shifted to the dark haired girl. "Nice to see you again, Kate."

Kate smiled, but it looked slightly forced. "Same here."

"Hey guys, what's up?"

Rylie turned and faced the slightly shorter blue eyed brunette, who stopped short when he saw her.

"Rylie?" he asked, stunned.

"Hey, Tyler." She watched his eyes, and then saw it. The brief flash of disappointment.

He gave her a small smile and pulled up a chair next the Caleb. Rylie didn't miss the quick exchange of eye contact between them, and felt a pang of anger. Did they all really still hate her?

"Well that's three Sons. Where's the fourth? Might as well get this over with so I can get on with my life."

Before either of them could respond, a familiar voice broke through the crowd.

"Well, well, well. Look who's returned." The blonde son appeared by her side, and he gave her a quick once over. "I didn't realize we'd be seeing you tonight. Thought we'd have more time to prepare."

"You're such an ass," Rylie said, slightly hurt.

"And you're a pain. Well, at least you were when you were younger. Have you grown out of that stage? Or is that even possible?"

Pogue stifled a laugh, and Tyler covered his smile with a hand. Caleb just stared at the table, the blonde girl beside him remaining quiet.

Before she could make a comment, someone tapped her shoulder. "Care to dance?"

From the looks on the Sons' faces, she knew it was someone they disliked, which made it all the more appealing. She turned and looked at the boy.

Smiling, she said, "Aaron Abbott."

The boy's brow furrowed slightly. "Have we met?"

"A few years ago. You and my brother had a huge fight, and needed two teachers to break it up."

His lips curled up as his gaze flickered to Caleb and then back. "Rylie Danvers."

"The one and only," Rylie answered. "So how about that dance?"

He took her hand and pulled her into the crowd of bodies as the song changed. She fell into beat and let her hips roll and sway in time to the music. Turning, she saw the four Sons glaring at her, and felt a wave of happiness rush through her. Moving closer to Aaron, she began to grind against him. His hands grasped her hips. She dipped down and back up, and then continued to roll her hips against him. Once again, her eyes caught the four glowering boys at the table, and she suppressed a laugh.

When the song ended, she pulled away from Aaron and headed back to the table.

"What the hell was that about?" Reid asked.

"What are you talking about?" Rylie asked, swiping a fry from the basket in the middle of the table.

"You, Abbott... grinding!" Reid said angrily.

"He wanted to dance," Rylie stated simply.

"It's Aaron Abbott!" Tyler said.

"Whatever. I'm heading home."

"What? Why?" Caleb asked, frowning.

"Well it's clear that none of you want me here, so I'll just make your lives easier and leave." With that, Rylie turned and walked out of the bar. Taking a deep breath, she let the power flow through her and felt her eyes change to onyx.

"Rylie, hold up!"