Chapter 1

Kim sighed as she walked the fourteen flights of stairs to her New York City apartment. The closest neighbor, Mrs. DeLord, opened Kim's door from the inside just as Kim took out her key. Brayden, Kim's twelve-year-old son was sitting on the kitchen counter eating a bag of chips and playing a video game. He didn't even look up when he said, "Hi, Mom. Mrs. DeLord said to tell you she had to run home quick to check on her dinner in case you came when she was gone."

Kim rolled her eyes and smiled. "Hey, Brayden. Mrs. DeLord is still in our apartment." Turning to the seventy-something woman, Kim said, "Thanks for being here after school." Their neighbor smiled and walked out the door.

After checking the clock to see it reading 7:08, Kim set her jacket and bag down on the couch and went back to one of the bedrooms. She peeked her head through the door and whispered, "Em? What are you up to?"

Brayden's twin sister coughed. "I'm sick again. Mrs. DeLord made me go to bed already."

Kim looked worried. "No puking up blood, right?"

"Mom, don't worry. It's May 27th. It's been three months since the last time I had to go to the emergency room. I'm okay."

"Just be careful, Emma. I want you to have a good summer, but it won't be worth one day of fun if you have to go back to the hospital."

"I know. It would help if you would tell Brayden to stop playing his video games at top volume when I'm trying to sleep. He's obnoxious."

"That's how boys are. Uncle Kyle was just like that when we were little. Except he was the annoying eight-year-old brother when I was twelve."

"Are you kidding me? He's still like that."

Kim laughed. "Very true. I'm going to make myself spaghetti. You want some, or did Mrs. DeLord feed you?"

"She wanted me to eat some weird tofu thing. I took a few bites and chucked it out the window when she wasn't looking. But Brayden outright refused to put that anywhere near his mouth, so don't be surprised if Mrs. DeLord complains to you."

Kim sighed and rolled her eyes. "He is literally a replica of uncle Kyle."

Emma laughed as Kim walked out the door. After telling Brayden to either help her make dinner or move his video game to his room and putting the water to boil on the stove, Kim sat down at the kitchen table. Putting her head in her hands, she tried to unwind from her long day at work.

After dinner, Kim said to Brayden, "You only have a week and a half left of school. You have to decide what you want to do this summer."

Brayden fidgeted in his seat. "Umm, I don't exactly have that long left in school. It's actually four days…"

Kim's eyebrows shot up. "What did you do?"

"I may have gotten suspended for starting a fight in ninth period."

"Why would you start a fight? I know you're a black belt in karate and you're pretty darn tough, but you're almost in eighth grade. You can't just go around fighting people because you can."

"Some guys were talking about Emma behind her back. They said she was too skinny and always looked sick and gross."

Kim sighed. "I'm glad you stood up for your sister, but next time, talk, don't fight. You won't get suspended and no one will get hurt."

"Okay. Now can I talk about what I want to do this summer?"

"Take it away."

Brayden said, "Well right after school lets out I want to go to basketball camp with my friends, and of course I want to go to the dojo as much as possible, and I want to go to football camp right before school starts to brush up on my skills so I can be the starting quarterback on the school team. Oh, I also want to go to the enormous waterpark resort thing that opened in New Jersey last year. Maybe Grandma, Grandpa, uncle Kyle, aunt Liz, Alex, Tyler, and aunt Kira can come too! Or we could go to Seaford to visit them all."

"I already signed you up for football camp, I'll get you into basketball camp, and I wouldn't expect anything but you going to the dojo all the time. I don't know about the waterpark, it depends on vacation time I get from work. Maybe your grandparents, uncle, aunts, and cousins could come, but we're definitely not going to Seaford."

"Why not? You grew up there, and Emma and I want to see it."

"Let's just say there's a reason I moved to New York instead of staying in Seaford. I don't want to go back."

"But Mom-"

"No, Brayden. I'll call uncle Kyle about coming to visit us, but no guarantees."

"Fine."

—

Jack burst out laughing as Jerry tried to throw his bowling ball down the lane while attempting the splits with his eyes closed. Next to him, Milton just stifled a laugh and rolled his eyes. The three guys were having their weekly meeting at Falafel Phil's bowling alley. Saturday nights were the only time all three men's job's permitted them the time to hang out. Jack had become a national karate champion when he was 18 and was flying around the country almost daily to hold clinics for young karate students. On the other hand, Milton had graduated early from California State University, where all three had gone for college, and become a physics professor at the school. After completing his four years of college, Jerry had decided to become a teacher at an academy that specialized in dance, where he taught hip hop and agility classes. While all three still lived in Seaford, they were often busy, particularly since Milton and Julie had gotten married a few summers ago.

After they finished their game, Jack, Milton, and Jerry got to talking. The subject eventually turned to high school, making all three smile at the memories. Jack asked the other two, "What do you think happened to Kim?"

The men fell silent. Milton replied, "I don't know. It's been fourteen years as of today. She could be living in Japan for all we know."

"Or she could live in Seaford still."

Jack said, "No she couldn't, Jerry. We would have seen her at some point. And remember what she said the last time we saw her?"

Fourteen years ago

"Why are we going to the dojo on a Sunday again?" Jerry asked, as clueless as always.

Milton sighed. "Rudy is throwing us a graduation party. I don't know why today, since we graduated last week, but he is."

Jack continued, "He wants us to have one last memory of a dojo party before we all leave for college. We all know Rudy's going to cry, even though the four of us are somehow going to the same college and we're not going to be that far away."

Jack listened to what Jerry and Milton had to say on the subject, but started tuning out the conversation once he saw a blonde girl making out with Kenneth Greene, an incoming senior at Seaford High. The girl had her back to the three of them, so Jack couldn't see who it was. He nudged his two friends and pointed out the couple, asking if they knew who the girl was.

In unison, they all said, "Oh my gosh, is that Kim?"

By that point, they were right next to the dojo, so they went inside. Jack was oddly silent, not exactly fuming, just sad. He had later told his friends he felt hollow inside. Jerry was madly cursing and ranting in Spanish, and Milton was rambling about his disappointment in Kim with his advanced vocabulary. A few minutes later, Kim walked out of the girls locker room. Jack avoided her eyes, while the other two boys started going off on her for her actions. The blonde yelled at her friends to shut up, she had no idea what was happening. Milton and Jerry related what they had seen to her, and she denied it.

"I've been dating Jack for over a year! You know I love him, why on earth would I cheat on him? Especially with a younger guy!"

"I don't know!" Milton shouted back. "You're the one who's kissing Kenneth in the mall courtyard by the dojo, where you know we all go almost daily. At least try to hide it if you're cheating."

Jack said quietly, "Not helping, Milton."

Nearly crying, Kim turned her attention away from the nerd. "Jack! At least you have to trust me. That was probably Kira, we drove here together, since she wanted to use my car today."

Before Jack could say anything, Milton said, "And we're supposed to believe that you're seventeen-year-old sister could pass herself off as you? She's over a year younger than you!"

"You know how much we look alike."

Jerry answered, "Ehh, Kira's hotter."

Kim yelled, "Jerry! Not the time!"

"Why would Kira need to use your car? I thought she bought herself one a couple of months ago."

"Her car's in the shop. She didn't tell me where she was going, and I got out of the car as soon as she parked. She could've come into the courtyard after me."

Milton crossed his arms. "If she is at the very same strip mall as our dojo, we'll believe you. Call her to find out."

Kim glared. "I will. Then you'll have your proof and we can have this party that Rudy feels the need to throw."

Her phone on speaker, Kim started to talk to her sister. "Kira, where are you right now?"

The younger Crawford sister responded, "The movie theater by Megan's house. I'm going to a movie with a couple of my friends. Why?"

"Were you outside the dojo making out with your ex, Kenneth Greene after you dropped me off?"

"No. I told you, I dumped him a couple weeks ago."

"Bye."

Kim hung up her phone. "Maybe that seems a little off, but I wasn't kissing that guy. Come on, Jack. Trust me. You're my best friend and boyfriend."

Jack hesitated. "Not anymore."

At that, Kim started crying. "I can't believe you all. I thought you were my best friends. I don't care what my plans were, I'm taking the full-ride scholarship that NYU offered me instead of staying in Cali with you guys. At least there I won't know anyone who can betray me."

Rudy walked in just as Kim was storming towards the door. The short man said, "What did I miss?" but Kim kept walking and slammed the door behind her.

"At least we know she went to a good college. I just wish she hadn't cheated on Jack." Milton said.

Jerry smacked Jack's arm. "Yo, Jack. Is that Kira Crawford over there? I didn't know she moved back here after college."

Jack did a double take. "Wow. That is. We should talk to her, just to check if Kim's okay."

Jerry called over to the blonde woman. "Kira! Come over here!"

Kira glanced suspiciously over at the latino, but walked over anyway. "You three are the guys that made my sister lose her best friends, move across the country, and not talk to me other than a few phone calls over the years.'

Jack looked at his feet. "Sorry. We just wanted to know if Kim's doing fine. We haven't seen her in fourteen years, and although we're a little bitter from her lying to us about cheating on me, we want to know she's alright."

"Kim's okay. She still lives in the Big Apple and she has a job. And what did you say about her cheating on you, Jack?"

"A couple of days after we graduated high school, we caught her making out with Kenneth Greene in the courtyard outside our dojo. Then she told us that it was you kissing him and that she loved me, but I broke up with her because she called you and you weren't even near the dojo."

Kira's eyes widened. "That was me."

"But you told Kim over the phone that you had broken up with him a while before that," Milton said.

"I had. Then we kissed in that courtyard and gone to see a movie as a double date with my friend Megan and her boyfriend, and then gotten back together."

Jerry said, "Kim was telling the truth, then."

"Oh my gosh," Jack whispered. "Kim told me the truth and I didn't believe her. I'm not her best friend anymore because I didn't believe her."

Kira smiled sympathetically. "Sorry, Jack. Hope you feel better, I have a date to get to."

As she walked away, Jack called out to her, "Wait a second!" Kira just waved, and Jack trailed off, "Can I at least have her number?"

When there was no response from Kira, Jack said, "Milton, is there any way you can find out where Kim is exactly? Kira wasn't particularly clear on that."

"I have resources at California State that can help me find a NYU alumni list and maybe I can find out what her job is or at least what county she lives in."

Jerry said, "Even if we do know where she is, what are we going to do. It's not like we're her friends anymore."

"Umm.." Jack thought for a minute. "I know! Both your's and Milton's schools are ending for the summer fairly soon, and I'm going on a tour of clinics in New York next week and then I have a month off. We can try to find her and apologize then!"

"Maybe that's a good idea. I feel pretty bad about calling her a liar when we were the ones not believing our best friend," Milton responded.

Jerry added, "Yeah, and I need to give the ladies a break from the Jerry so they will stop chasing after me."

Jack and Milton rolled their eyes. After discussing their plan for a while longer, Jack bro-hugged both of his friends and walked out the door of the bowling alley. Trying to forget Kim ever existed for the past fourteen years clearly hadn't worked out too well, so maybe running into Kira Crawford had been a sign that he needed Kim in his life.