A/N: I'm back, with the help of my brilliant new beta reader! If you are an avid reader of my other stories, then this is going to seem very familiar. And if you are new to my writing, I think I will purposely keep it vague so I don't spoil anything for you. So read on, and don't forget to review!

"Okay, that stays here. That goes comes with me…hey, my lucky socks!" I cried triumphantly. My mother sighed and threw her hands in the air.

"You lost those two years ago! How did we not find them before?" she demanded. I shrugged, and threw the pair of socks into the laundry basket. I was once again packing, ready to return to Northeastern University for my junior year. As good as it had felt to be home for a few weeks, I was even more excited to go back to school. "You have so much junk in here, Lena. This is going to be the year I just go through your entire throw out all of the crap that you never use or find," she continued to complain. I rolled my eyes.

She had been moody ever since I told her about my two friends from school and I getting an apartment off-campus. I wasn't just going back to Northeastern, I was officially moving out. "Okay, Mom." I sealed off the box with all of my pictures in it and labeled it, then got started on the plates and cups, carefully wrapping each item in bubble wrap before placing it in the box.

I heard my mother start coughing violently and I twisted around to see her emerging from under my bed, a dust ball clinging to her nose. I cracked up and received a sour look from her in return. "Okay, why don't we just take a break? We can continue packing later, after dinner," she said wearily. I just shrugged.

"Fine by me. I'm supposed to meet Andrew at the park to practice in about an hour, anyways." My mother wiped her forehead and sent me a sideways glance.

"Andrew, huh?"

I rolled my eyes at her. "Mom, he is my friend. Stop it." She just grinned. God, she was completely nuts. Andrew was my best friend of ten years., and he had finally gotten out of the awkward stage last summer. His thin, wiry frame had filled out, giving way to the ripped swimmer's body so that every girl gravitated to him like bees to honey. The red, painful acne that had been the brunt of so many jokes in high school and still sometimes as a freshman in college had completely cleared up. Even I had to admit, it was a huge change, and not an unpleasant one all-together.

"I will stop when that boy finally comes to his senses and asks you on a date," my mom continued as I slipped into my jogging shorts and a t shirt. "And when it finally does happen, just remember I was rooting for you two before he had girls falling all over him." I pulled a face at her and motioned for her to leave.

"Good-bye, Mom," I said pointedly. I heard her bedroom door close and let out a sigh of relief before looking in the mirror. If my mom caught me trying to make sure I looked nice for Andrew, I would never hear the end of it. I ducked into the hallway and glanced around to make sure my mom really was in her room, then threw off the tee and traded it in for Lycra workout tank. I debated on what to do with my hair. The humidity was making my curls stand nearly on end, making my hair look like one giant, brown cotton ball. I grimaced and pulled it into a bun. It was an improvement, but not by much.

Satisfied, I slipped on my old, worn in sneakers and grabbed my lacrosse stick. I threw my deodorant, a small hand towel, a bottle of Gatorade and a bag of Fritos in a Northeastern knapsack and bounded down the stairs, calling out to my mom that I was leaving. I was met at the bottom of the stairs by my little brother, Jay, and my Siamese kitten, Sammy. I scooped up Sammy and rubbed my nose against her's.

"Can I come?" Jay pleaded. I shook my head.

"Tomorrow, Jay," I said, switching Sammy to my other arm. My brother pouted. "Please?"

"Don't do this today, kid. I promise we will hang tomorrow." Jay just silently stared past me. The only sign he was angry was the small crease between his brows. I had to hand it to him. He was stubborn, even for a nine year old. I set down my lacrosse stick and Sammy and bent over to be at the same level as my brother.

His blue eyes were downcast and his bottom lip stuck out slightly. "It's fine. You can go hang out with stupid Andrew and move into your stupid apartment in stupid Boston and forget all about your stupid brother. I don't care." I sighed and gently cradled his chin, turning his head to look at me. I had never seen Jay so miserable.

"Hey, buddy," I said gently, ruffling his think brown hair. "I'm not going to forget about you. I'll stick come back for holidays and stuff. It isn't going to be any different from the past two years. I'll be back before you even have a chance to miss me."

"You sound like Dad," he said simply, before running up to his room. I thought about trying to call him back down, but decided against it. I would talk with him when I got back from the park, and I would make sure that tomorrow we had some sibling bonding time.

I looked out the window. The sun was shining. I could hear the birds singing to each other in the trees and bushes and the guy across the street mowing his lawn. But the conversation with my brother had left me feeling guilty and exhausted. Hoping that a game of lacrosse with Andrew would take some of the stress from the move off my mind, I grabbed my stick and headed out the door. It took me a moment, though, before I finally registered a little streak of brown and white darting across the lawn.

"Sammy!" Without a second thought, I sprinted off after the kitten, dropping my duffel bag and lacrosse stick on the steps. Sammy had managed to get into the woods. They weren't deep, but even if she managed to make it pass the creek, which I doubted, that would lead her right onto the highway. I panicked, thinking about the traffic moving back and forth. They wouldn't even have time to stop for her.

I ran faster, praying that I would be able to overtake her. Luckily, I didn't have to go very far once I broke through the tree line. Only a few feet into the woods, I saw Sammy sitting on a fallen tree. She was watching me and greeted me with a small meow. I nearly cried with relief. "Oh, Sammy! Come here, baby," I cooed, walking towards her. Grey eyes stared serenely at my outstretched arms before she bounded off quickly farther into the woods.

"Sh**," I growled, sprinting after her. I was so focused on the tiny kitten running in front of me that I didn't even see the raised tree root until my foot hooked around it, sending me tumbling towards the small ravine that I recognized as the one next to the creek. It barely flitted through my mind that the creek was nearly dried up from the lack of any recent rain, and I squeezed my eyes against the view of the sharp stones below me.