A/N: Thank you FierceWildCat, therealchamps, my time is now, ChainGangHottieWithKillerLeg s, Cena's baby doll and DashingsDestiny for the reviews. Even though this chapter isn't worth the wait, I hope you enjoy it. I apologize for the spelling and grammar mistakes. English isn't my first language.

Drift Away

Chapter Two - Embarking on an Old Life

Unfortunately, another solution wasn't figure out, putting an end to Stacy's deepest hopes. After one week searching for a new modeling Agency to represent her, she found herself still unemployed and with less money on her wallet - living in Los Angeles wasn't cheap. The only Agency who accepted work with her was in fact a Call-girl service. Even though her life changed in a blink of an eye, the blonde model wasn't that desperate.

There was only one path to follow for her despair. Before suffering another change of heart and cling to another hope without future, the blonde booked a ticket to her hometown - the small town located in the mid-Atlantic region didn't have an airport; the nearest airport was two hours away from it.

A week and half after being let go by the modeling Agency, Stacy found herself saying goodbye to Torrie and embarking on a new journey. Goodbye Los Angeles. Hello again Sunset Bell. Goodbye glamour. Hello again fancy beauty pageants. This was a turn of events that she had never dreamed of.

Stacy took a mental note not to wear leather pumps next time she caught a flight without being under someone else's wing. She would probably end up twisting an ankle while picking up her heavy luggage. It wasn't easy not to miss the times when someone picked up the bags for her and then took them to the hotel while she went to see the mind-blowing view with the other models. Just two weeks ago it would have happened and now she was all by herself.

Wrapping her arms over her chest, Stacy waited for the arrival of her luggage. It had been so difficult to pack all her belongings. How could she pack ten years of her life? Some of her stuff had been left behind and Torrie would send her the items as soon as it was possible. Hopefully, Torrie's new roommate - that she had helped find before leaving to Sunset Bell - wouldn't steal her Jimmy Cho shoes.

From the five bags one was missing. Her luck was only getting better and better. First she lost her job, then her boyfriend and now one of her bags. Until this day, the flight companies had never lost one of her bags. How unlucky could a person be?

Pacing the lengthy halls, Stacy found the Lost and Found section. Hopefully, they would help with her current situation. In a blink of an eye, her precious bag would be back to her arms. The blonde closed her eyes and counted until ten. Her dramatic persona would take over if she didn't control herself.

- Excuse me, but one of my bags is missing. What do I have to do to get it back?

- Please fill in this form. - The woman at the desk handed her a sheet of paper. - Don't forget the address of where you are staying and we will send your bag when we find it.

With a fake smile illuminating her features, Stacy picked up the form and answered its questions. If her bag was lost forever, the flight company was going to be in serious problems. Did they know how expensive a Louis Vuitton suitcase was? Did they know how expensive were the clothes inside the bag? She may have not paid for all of them, but they still were expensive.

When her task came to end, the tall woman went looking for her ride: Gary and Patricia Keibler, her parents. After telling her parents she was coming to Sunsent Bell, they insisted that they had to pick her up to the airport. Their only daughter wasn't going to grab a cab when she had two loving parents who could give her a ride. Stacy tried to persuade them to let her call a cab, but the woman she called mother was stubborn as hell.

- Stacy! - The blonde turned around her slim body and saw her parents standing just a few feet away from her. The woman was too excited with her daughter's return. Her mother's feelings were the opposition of her own feelings at the moment.

Two arms were wrapped around her neck and pushed her down. The blonde was taller than her mother and the stupid pumps - why wasn't she using ballerinas? - only added a few extra inches. Her back would need a few seconds to recover from the long and tight hug.

- You are too thin and pale. - The words flew from Patricia's mouth when she broke the hug. Stacy would lie if she exclaimed she wasn't expecting her mother to comment her appearance. It would be strange if she did the otherwise.

For her mother, she always looked thin - it was like that since she could remember. But it didn't mean the woman wanted her to put some weight on. Her mother made sure that her only daughter always ate vegetables and never allowed her eating any kind of sweets. She wanted a beautiful and skinny daughter.

However, it was the first time the woman exclaimed that she looked pale. Of course it wasn't a surprise for the former model - it was difficult and excruciating to think of herself as a former model. Her tan sessions under the Californian sun had come to an end since she was fired. Also, after days of unstopping tears and poor diet her skin clearly wasn't going to glow as it was usual. When she arrived home, it would be time to take care of her skin before someone gave her fifty years instead of forty.

- You are looking beautiful as always. - Her father planted a fatherly kiss on her check. It has always been his function to cheer up his only daughter when Patricia made such hurtful remarks. He would always make her feel better after Patricia's disapproval.

- Thanks, Dad.

- How is George? - The woman asked, ignoring her husband's words. She looked everywhere, as she was hoping to find her daughter's ex at any second. - Didn't he come with you? I thought he was going to make us a visit as well.

There was a small thing Stacy forgot to mention when she spoke with her mother on the phone: she and George were over; they weren't an item anymore. The two hadn't spoken or seen each other since the day they broke up. George could have all the time in the world to sort things out without worrying about their relationship. While she truly believed he wanted to marry her, he was indeed cheating on her.

At the beginning, the break up was a huge low blow. But later, Stacy realized she was better alone than being cheated by a guy who was afraid of taking their relation to the next level.

- We are giving a break. And it's probably a definitive break - the blonde confessed, even though it was difficult for her to do so. - He doesn't want commitment and I'm not going to waste another year waiting for him to take the next step. I don't have time to waste on a relation without a future.

- Stacy, you aren't getting younger and I'm dying to have grandchildren. I want to be a grandmother before passing away. Can you do that for me?

It was a touchy subject for both Keibler women. Stacy was aware that she wasn't getting any younger. She had lost her job because of it. However, her mother didn't need to remind her of it. Now, the older woman had been dreaming of her daughter's wedding day since she was a born. After her daughter's graduation the woman wanted to marry her immediately. Also, she desired children so she could get back to the pageants.

- We have a long journey until home. - The older man helped his daughter with the heavy bags. He wondered if he wasn't carrying lead. Of course, he was only carrying many pairs of shoes, but he didn't know that. - We parked it a few blocks away. We didn't want to park it in the middle of this confusion or we wouldn't leave this airport any time soon. Shall we go?

Stacy inhaled a deep and long breath. When the night fell, her feet would desperately need basin of hot water. Without dugout she had returned home; she was back to her hometown. And, she didn't feel like celebrating her return at all, otherwise her parents.

- What are we doing here? - Stacy fathomed the supermarket parking lot. As far as she knew, her parents were still living in a residential neighborhood. They should have driven her home and not to the only supermarket in Sunset Bell. She was exhausted from her trip and due to her mother's speaking skills she hadn't taken a short nap during the travel.

- It's just a short stop. You can stay in the car with your father. I forgot to buy a few things for tonight. A family dinner always has a lemon pie.

- What family dinner? - No, no, no! This couldn't be happening. This wasn't going to happen. Why was her mother doing this to her? Couldn't they just spend a cozy night together and then face the rest of the family the following day?

With a beam illuminating her features, Patricia walked out of the car, without giving an answer to her daughter. Her father sent a reassuring smile in her direction, but it didn't make the blonde feel any better.

Stacy unwrapped her security belt and followed her mother as swiftly as it was possible with her leather pumps. A family dinner? What family dinner? She wasn't ready to confront her family. What if they asked her the reason that she returned and discovered she was lying with all her teeth? She hadn't confessed her parents the real reason that she decided to go to Sunset Bell.

Yes, she had lied to them. Why so surprised? How could she have explained to her progenitors that she had been fired for her appearance not being fresh and young anymore? The blonde woman had told them that she took some weeks off and planned to stay a while with them. Sooner than later, she would have to reveal them the truth. They would become suspicious if a week turned out two months and two months turned into a year - hopefully, she wouldn't live with her parents for very long.

- What dinner are you talking about? I have just landed from Los Angeles. I need to rest before meeting the family.

- You are never too tired for your family and they don't care about those dark circles under your eyes. I'll be right back honey.

Left behind by her mother, Stacy wondered about her words. Dark circles under her eyes? She would break all the mirrors when she found herself at home once for all. And, never tired for the family? When the night came to an end, she would be so screwed. Surely someone would discover the truth. She wasn't the greatest liar on the World; it was always very difficult for her to cover up her own lies. Before she noticed, the embarrassing truth would be flying from her lips.

- Stacy? - Twisting her heels, the jobless model was confronted by one of her old high school friends. In a matter of fact, the woman standing mere feet away was one of her closest friends back in high school. - It's really you.

- Hi, Trish. - She pulled up a dazzling smile. It was good to feel she hadn't been forgotten although spending years away from Sunset Bell.

The petite blonde wrapped her arms around Stacy's body. Her spine would be broken when she finally fell on a bed at the end of the day. The two women lost touch through the years - mainly because of Stacy - but Trish was acting as nothing had happened between them. The behavior caught Stacy off guard, but then she remembered herself that old town folks are friendlier and less resentful than people from Los Angeles. There was a good side of Sunset Bell. A good side that she seemed to have lost when she left her hometown.

- Visiting the small town? - Trish queried, breaking the hug. The blonde's presence was a surprise without a doubt. It seemed no one was expecting to see her in Sunset Bell any time soon. If it wasn't an awful twist in her life, she wouldn't expect to drag her body to her hometown any time soon as well.

She was indeed a predictable person.

- Well, as haven't been here for a while, I decided to relive some memories, see how family and friends are doing. - Would someone notice that she was lying with all white-pearl teeth? Being back without her modeling job was her worse nightmare. That wasn't how she wanted to return home.

- Are you going to stay for long?

- Only for a couple of weeks. - Or until the rest of her life if she couldn't find a job. And when she found a job that job had to be on the fashion area. She wasn't going to become a waitress or something alike. She simply refused to do it!

- I and some of the girls usually met at Darcy's. It's our night free of our husbands and kids - Trish told. It was good to know that there were still some places to go out in the town. - You could join us tomorrow night if you like. We haven't seen you since… how long has it been?

Finally an easy question! She remembered how long it had been since she had left and she remembered it perfectly.

- Ten years since I moved to Los Angeles. - Ten glory years that ended up with her being fired without any glory. It was another fact that she was going to keep to herself. No one needed to know how inglorious she left Los Angeles.

- So, do you want to join us? I'm sure the girls will love to see you and hear about your adventures in Los Angeles. Chris is going to take care of the kids, so I can pass by your parents' house to pick you up. - Did she mean Chris Jericho? Stacy battled her instincts not to sound nosy. - You are staying there, right?

Where else could she be staying? It wasn't like she could afford a hotel bedroom for the rest of her life. She couldn't even afford one until having her life on track. Also, her parents would never let her stay in a hotel bedroom. Old traditions ordered that she had to stay with her family. The blonde clearly needed to draw a plan or her life would never get back on track again.

- Why not? See you tomorrow then. - If she was going to stick around for a long time, nothing better than reconnect with her past friends; her now married friends; her friends living parenthood. Stacy twisted her heels ready to leave the supermarket.

Her thoughts weren't reassuring. Her return would surely be a disaster. Did she still have something in common with her childhood friends nowadays? Or were they now completely different? Their lives followed different paths and their interests had probably diverged throughout those years.

Without mention her childhood times - whose girl hadn't thought of a white dress? - , the first time Stacy seriously thought about becoming a Mrs. was a couple of weeks ago when George started acting out of ordinary. Of course, at the end, he was a cheater who had no intentions of marrying her. Also, the first time she faced the reality of having a child was during her firing process. Haven't the agency employee told her to build a family before it was too late? Now it was too late for her to marry and to have children. She didn't have the guy to do it and after her latest dating experience she didn't desire to jump to another relationship so quickly.

An odd contemplation overrun Stacy's thoughts while she paced to the supermarket exit. It had spent years since she took a moment to seriously dwell about him. Did he still live in Sunset Bell or did he leave their hometown as she did so many years ago? Did he marry like everyone else from her past? If he married, was she a hometown girl or an outsider? The town was small. Certainly, sooner than later, she would discover the answer for those questions.