Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far

I own Point Place, Sarah Rachel, and Desiree, who will be introduced in this chapter. All other characters do not belong to me.

CHAPTER TWO

Jen's parents were waiting for her at the airport as she went to meet them by the exit. She hadn't seen her parents for four years. Ever since that horrible night…

She went to embrace them. First her mother, then her father. Her parents, who used to be kind people, full of energy, were still kind, but now looked solemn and sad as they looked at their daughter, the only daughter they had. The air was thick with uncomfortable silence. "How was your flight?" her mother finally asked.

Jen shrugged. "It went all right." Actually, it had gone better than all right, but she didn't need to tell her parents that. They both knew that she had never dated anyone, even while living in Buffalo. In fact, she rarely spoke to them at all, only for Christmas and her birthday. Otherwise, they had let her be and she had let them be. She knew they didn't really forgive her for the accident that night, and she didn't blame them. The horrible night often came back to haunt her. She hadn't slept well in years.

Jen had been in critical condition at the hospital for two weeks. She was in the hospital for another two weeks after that. Once released from the hospital, she dropped out of school and obtained her GED. She then ended up at the University of Vermont, but transferred to the University of Buffalo after a year. After the accident she had a slight speech impediment, and she had broken her ankle, but somehow, she had come out alive and okay, in spite of all. At least physically – she was never the same again emotionally, and drew herself away from the crowds. She stopped hanging out with her friends. She tried many different therapists, but night after night, the accident still haunted her. Why me? Why did I survive?

Her father cleared his throat, breaking Jen's thoughts. "Are you ready to go home?"

Jen nodded. Home wasn't the term that should have been used, but she agreed with her father nonetheless. She was ready to see what Glen Oak had in store for her.

"Uncle Ben!" Savannah cried, as she spotted Ben coming towards her and Kevin. She tugged at her father's hand. "Daddy, look! It's Uncle Ben!"

Kevin smiled. "I see that."

Ben dropped his bags and held his hands out to her. Giggling, Savannah ran into them. He swooped her up, spun her around a couple of times where she squealed happily, and put her down gently.

"What's with the goofy smile?" Kevin asked as Ben picked up his bags. Savannah held onto his other hand tightly. "Oh, wait…did you meet a girl?"

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't."

"What are you, five?"

"I'm almost five, Daddy!" Savannah exclaimed. She held up her fingers. "I'm one, two, three, four, and then I'll be five!"

"Yes, that's very good Honey."

Savannah happily skipped along with them.

"If you must know, I did meet a girl."

"Oh, really? Big shocker," Kevin muttered. "What line did you use this time?"

"What makes you think I used a line?"

"Come on Ben, that's what you do in order to get the girls interested in you."

Ben smirked. "And I have been quite successful."

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Right. And I see the wedding band on your finger."

"Hey, girls are interested..."

"Just not interested enough to stick around?"

Ben held up his hands in defeat. "All right, all right. Her name is Jen, and she's visiting her parents for the holidays." He held up his cell phone. "And I have her number."

"Are you planning to call her?"

"Of course."

Kevin rolled his eyes.

The house looked the same. The mirror on the front wall, the staircase which led up to her and Sarah's bedrooms, and the bathroom to the left. "Would you like something to eat? I can fix some dinner," her mother said nervously.

Jen shook her head. "Thanks, but I'm not really hungry."

"You must be tired," her father agreed.

"You should go upstairs. I've already made up your bed," her mother said.

"Thank you." Jen took her small duffel and went upstairs. The door to Sarah's room, which was straight ahead, was closed. Jen's room was to her right. It was a bright pink room, painted when she was a little girl. Her bedspread was blue, with a flowery pillowcase. Her closet was bare, holding a few pairs of old dresses that she used to wear to church. After Sarah's funeral, Jen didn't return to the church – or any church, for that matter.

Her desk held some old favorite books, such as Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and 1984 by George Orwell. On top was Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, which she had been in the middle of reading before…before everything happened.

Her dressers were bare. She put away the few articles of clothing she had chosen to bring with her. She sat down on her bed and looked out her window. She loved looking out her window, right into the backyard. Her mother had always been a big fan of gardening, and every summer they would plant some vegetables. It didn't look like much had grown there in the past couple of years. There was a big tree in the center of the yard. Squirrels loved to climb up the tree. When Jen and Sarah were younger, they used to love to climb it, too, because then they could look into their cute neighbor's window. That had stopped years before, but it made Jen smile a little.

Jen's cell phone rang. She picked it up off of her bed. She never went without it. "Hello?"

"Hey, girl!" Jen smiled. It was Desiree, Jen's friend and co-worker at Point Place. Desiree was tall, super tan, and beautiful, with long legs and a gorgeous smile. She could brighten anyone's day. Desiree had helped Jen a lot over the past few years, but Jen still didn't really feel comfortable with most people. Even Desiree didn't really understand what Jen was like. Still, Jen valued their friendship. She told Desiree what had happened, but not everything, and Desiree didn't pry for more information.

"Hey, Des."

"How's Cali?"

"It's all right." Jen was tired, but she didn't admit it to her friend. "How's work?" Then remembering the time difference, she blushed, although Desiree didn't know it. "Whoops. You must be done by now."

"Sounds like someone's tired."

Jen yawned. "I guess I am."

"All right. Well, you just have a good night. Glad you got in okay. I'll talk to you soon."

"Thanks, Des. I'll talk to you soon."

"Ben! It's so good to see you!" Annie cried as she went to hug her son-in-law. "Are you hungry? Thirsty? Tired? You know you're welcome to stay here."

"Thanks, Annie, but I'm staying at Kevin and Lucy's."

"Is it okay if we come for dinner?" Lucy asked.

"Of course it's okay!" Annie said, as she hugged her daughter. "You know that."

"Excuse me, I just have to wash up. It's been a long flight," Ben said.

"You've done this flight before," Kevin said, eyeing him suspiciously. "The length hasn't changed."

"It just seemed longer than usual," Ben replied.

"Kevin, stop interrogating your brother," Lucy said.

Ben and Kevin laughed.

Once in the bathroom, Ben pulled out his phone, dialed Jen's number, stared at it for a minute, and hit call.

Jen's cell phone rang. Jen saw the unfamiliar number, which normally would have frightened her, but for some reason, this number made her smile. She hit the green button, and put the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

END CHAPTER TWO