Summary: I didn't want to leave him, but I could do nothing. I mean, really. I was seven. I came back though, as promised, but I never expected him to have changed too. Nick Walker, the sweetest, cutest boy ever, was now Fang, the cold, emotionless rock. Could I fix that? Of course I could. I could even fall in love with him.

ALL HUMAN. R&R (:

Warning: Although I don't curse, this contains cursing. (Way to be blunt, huh?)

~∞ When I Come Back ∞~

By DreamingBeyond

~Chapter Two~

"So when I—no, we—try so hard to forget about Val, we have to move to her old house?" Ari, my eighteen-year-old brother, yelled in disbelief as we walked one last time out of the house. He wasn't mad that we were moving. It was the fact that we were moving back to Mom's old house all the way in Arizona, when she di—made it up there.

Dad glared at Ari but stayed silent, continuing his job of carrying boxes to his car.

I stayed quiet. I could see my seven-year-old sister Ella crying beside me. Even though Mom and I weren't always here, when we did arrive, Dad and Ari got overly attached with us, as did us with them.

Wait, hold up and let me explain all this chiz.

My dad, Jeb, had met my mom, Valencia, when he was on a business trip. He decided to stay with her for three years, and thus came the life of Ari and Maximum Bachelder. But soon he had to back to Florida, and Mom obviously didn't want to leave her home, so she stayed. Ari had to leave with Jeb, and I stayed with Mom, because she 'couldn't handle two adorable babies' while working her butt off for animals. Seven years of being apart was obviously hard for them. When Dad got a raise, Mom just couldn't deny that living with Dad would be much easier, and she could continue her career, too. After two years of settling in, though, Ella came into this world. In the end, nine year of Florida was enough for Mom, and now she rests in peace!

But really, I wasn't taking this easily, like I tried to make it look like. I was numb. I was scared. I was . . . alone. Growing up was easy with my mom, when it was just the two of us. She helped me my entire life, always putting me before herself. There was always something she did for me, and being a child, I didn't really know what to do to pay her back. But she always told me, "You pay me back by loving you're Mom; te quiero, Niña." When Dad finally had her back in his life, Mom stopped caring all together. She was in paradise, with her extremely rich husband, her extremely large house, her huge career as the most known and went-to vet. But we all loved her. Even if she didn't take time to care for us, she was so upbeat and happy with her life, it would make you feel happy. I single tear ran down my cheek.

By now, Ari had stopped fighting back, looking torn.

"Hey," I said quietly, "It's all good. We get to go back to Mom's place. Mom would be proud of us, keeping our promise of visiting her house one more time. But this time, we're even staying there," I say, my voice cracking. Ari was fighting off the water works, and nodded solemnly. Ella moved closer to me, sobbing on my right arm.

"Get moving!" Jeb called, starting the engine of his spotless black 2012 Yaris and backing out of the driveway of our two-story house.

Why is Daddy Dearest going into a car and leaving without us? Well, we're driving there. And we have two cars. The simple answer: Either me or Ari drive one, with Jeb driving the other.

"Can you drive? I'm not in the mood." Ari explained. I shrugged, taking his keys.

We walked slowly to the red 2012 Cadillac SRX. I opened the back, checking to see that all 6 of our suitcases and all 10 of our boxes were safely inside the backseat.

"You have everything?" I asked them as I climbed inside. They nodded, and I frowned. It was 3p.m. on a Friday, so we'd arrive there at around 3a.m. on a Sunday, Arizona time. Why Dad wanted to go by car and arrive there at 3 in the morning was beyond my knowledge.

"You should take a nap, Ells," I suggested, looking at her from the rearview mirror. The announcement of the move had been so abrupt, and we all spent the entire night packing. She nodded, smiling at me before getting comfy in the backseat.

"Max?" she spoke up.

"Ella?"

"I really gotta pee," she said. I bit my lip, looking at her again.

This was going to be a long ride.

"What do you mean by 'We aren't moving into Mom's house'?" Ari yelled for the billionth time. I could see Ari using every bit of self-control he had left to prevent him from strangling Dad in front of Ella.

We all pulled over on the curb of Mom's house, and Dad said to keep going, since we aren't moving into Mom's house. I studied the house once more. It looked forsaken, abandoned, and . . . dead. The walls had vines growing on them, the porch steps looked like they could break if a fly landed on it, the grass was all dead, and the driveway was covered in dirt and dust. I wondered if anyone stepped inside for the past nine years.

"There's not enough room. Are you stupid?" Dad answered.

"Not eno—what are you talking about, Daddy? If you guys could fit four before, can you do it now? We can fix it! Mommy would be so happy." Ella's voice faltered as she bit her lip seeing Dad's 'you-shut-the-fudge-up-or-I-will-personally-punch- the-fudge-out-of-your-soul' look. I'm against cursing, you see?

I sighed, stepping in front of Ella just in case. "Dad, you said we were moving back to Mom's. Ella and Ari are just confused, alright? We didn't realize you meant, um, the city, not the house."

"Just get the fuck in the car. If you don't follow in time, I'm not looking for you," he stated seriously.

He glared once last time at Ari before getting back into his car and slamming the door on us, driving off.

We all scrambled back into our own vehicle, with Ari driving.

"I hate Jeb," Ari said, shaking his head in disgust.

"He's having a hard time. He fell in love with a woman he barely got to see, and when she finally gets back to him, they don't get their fairy tale ending. I mean, raising two teens and a seven year old while working as a scientist 24/7 isn't the easiest, you know," I said quietly.

"Don't defend him, Max. He doesn't deserve it. Just because he's upset doesn't mean he can treat us like shit. Look at you. At least you can keep control while Jeb gives us all this fucking crap."

My eyes flickered to the rearview mirror again, and I sighed in relief when I realized Ella had easily fallen asleep. I looked back at Ari and frowned. I'm hurting the most, though.

"He finally broke, Arr. We all are breaking, but he took Mom's death the hardest. I mean, losing the person you're in love with must hurt a lot, you know? And he's only 38," I said, trailing off uncertainly. How bad did it hurt, really, to lose the one you fell in love with?

After about forty-five minutes of Ari's reckless driving, we finally arrived at La Cámara de Bachelder.

"Get yourself unpacking," Jeb ordered, walking into the house without carrying anything himself.

Ella, Ari and I went to the back and took out all the suitcases and boxes.

"I'm hungry, and I think I have to pee . . . again," Ella said sheepishly. Ari rolled his eyes.

"It is 7a.m. in Florida time, Ari," I pointed out.

"Yeah, whatever, I'm hungry too. Remember any food places around?" he asked.

"Yup, of course I remember the way around Arizona, even though I haven't been here for nine years, and the last time I was here, I was seven, and I lived on the other side of the city," I joked.

"Good, now go," Ari commanded, ignoring my playful tone.

I put my hands up. "Bye jerkface, by Ells, be safe, loves!"

I called to them with a wink, narrowly missing running over one of the boxes. "Whoops," my tired voice muttered. If Ari's XBOX was in there, I'd be dead.

But a question pestered me my entire journey of lost-ness, looking for a McDonald's.

Were they still here?

Author's Note:

Okay, first of all, thank you guys! -3 :D 21 follows in one chapter? I wasn't expecting that... thanks so much! Luurve ya!

'Te quiero, Niña' = I love you, (female) child.

'La Cámara de Bachelder' = The House of Bachelder

So anyway! Review down there because, you know you want to. I'm open to criticsm. And for those of you who reviewed last chapter, you also get virtual desserts from yours truly haha. :D

-Veronica Marie