Note: I do not own 'The Covenant' but do own my character. If wondering, it's pronounced the word 'are' with an 'n' on the end of it. I do take liberties throughout the story. Enjoy!

I worked my way through the crowd and found the table that I was looking for. I pretended to walk past the table and slip to land in his lap.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I hope I didn't hurt you. I guess I was trying to get away from that jerk Aaron as quickly as I could and didn't watch where I was going."

"What did he do now?" a blond girl asked.

"He brought up old memories that I didn't want to remember. It's OK, though. I gave him a new memory that I don't think he'll soon forget. It's not often that you're kneed."

"For Aaron, it's probably more often than you realize. What did he do to deserve that?"

"He used to call me Porky Pig, Aren the Large, and Elephant."

"I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow," Caleb said, as he got up and pulled me into a hug.

Everyone at the table just looked at us. It was obvious that the guys had completely forgotten about me. I retook my seat in Reid's lap and waited for Caleb to introduce me.

"This is my cousin, Aren. You should remember Pogue, Tyler, and Reid. This is Sarah, my girlfriend, and Kate, Pogue's girlfriend."

"Hey. Do you mind that I sit here, Reid? Your lap's a lot more comfortable than a chair."

"You can sit in my lap anytime."

I shifted slightly to see if I could get a rise out of him. I felt a puff of air on the back of my neck so I knew that I had.

"I came a day early. There wasn't anything to do in London. So what's new with you guys?" I asked.

"Nothing much. You've changed a lot though," Pogue said.

"Why, thank you. All Aaron could do was stare at my chest and probably wonder how long it would take to get me in the sack."

"Kinda sounds like someone else we know," Kate commented.

"Hey. I'm nothing like that. Girls just seem to gravitate towards me," Reid said.

"So what are you doing back here? I thought your family moved to Europe."

I went into the story of why I'm here but left out the reason for being kicked out before changing subjects to the guys. They filled me in on what's happened over the years before Caleb was able to turn it back to me.

"Aren, isn't your birthday coming up?"

"Yeah. Only a few hours before Reid's."

"You'll both be 18."

"It's just another year. Does anyone want to play pool or anything?"

Pogue, Tyler, and Reid accepted so we played pairs. They were good. When the first game was finished, we switched partners and played another round.

It felt weird being back in Ipswich and playing with the guys again. I knew it was more out of family obligations for when we were kids but now, it felt like it was going to be different. Reid kept looking at me and I caught Tyler looking at me too.

"Guys, I'm getting tired. I'm still kind of on European time."

"Do you need a ride?" Reid offered.

"No. Aunt Evelyn lent me the Cherokee."

"Aren, why don't you come with us tomorrow? We're going to return some stuff that we got at Christmas," Sarah asked.

"Sure. I need to replace a few things anyways."

"Be careful. The roads are slippery," Pogue said.

"I'll be home after dropping Sarah, Kate, and Pogue off," Caleb said.

"Bye."

I left Nicky's and got into the Cherokee. I started back to the Danvers' manor. Pogue was right. The roads were slippery. I started to slide a few times but was able to correct it.

I could see the manor when it happened. I don't know how to explain it. I swear there was a person standing in the middle of the road so I swerved to avoid him. Next thing I know I'm pinned in the SUV. When I looked back to the road, the person wasn't there anymore.

I tried laying in on the horn but it wouldn't work. The windshield was broken and the driver's side window was cracked. The wind and snow began to blow in and I started to feel like a Popsicle.

I was wedged between the steering wheel and the seat. I tried to move my arm that was pinned against the door but it wouldn't move. I did scream from the pain that shot up my arm. I must have blacked out because when I came to, Caleb was beside the SUV.

"Aren, are you OK?"

"Person…road…tree…pain," I mumbled. In my head, it sounded like a full sentence but I could see the confused look on Caleb's face.

"Close your eyes. I'm going to try to get you out and the glass might fly towards your face."

I closed my eyes and heard the glass break. I could feel him beside me and then felt him wrenching on the seat to try to pull it back.

"I'm going to try the steering wheel. I'll try not to hit your arm. Keep your eyes shut."

I wondered why I had to keep them shut if he's already broken the glass. Before I could think of it, he had me out in his arms. I didn't know how because when I did open my eyes, the steering wheel didn't look like it had moved that much.

"There's an ambulance on the way. Do you remember what happened?"

I tried to tell him but it all came out in gibberish. He put me down in the trunk of the Cherokee so I wasn't in the snow. He pulled out his phone and called someone.

I must have drifted in and out of consciousness because one minute I was in the Cherokee with Caleb, then in an ambulance, and then in a hospital. I overheard the doctor talking to someone; I'm assuming that Caleb and Aunt Evelyn because they came in right afterwards.

"Can you tell us what happened?"

"There was a person in the road. He wasn't moving, just standing there. I swerved to avoid him and hit some ice. The Jeep went right into the tree," I said.

"You hit your head pretty hard according to the doctor and have a concussion. The break in your arm is what they call an open fracture. They set the bone and stitched up where the bone was poking out. You also bruised a couple of ribs. It was a good thing Caleb was coming home and saw you," Aunt Evelyn said.

"You must have been out there for almost ½ hour before I showed up. What did this guy look like?"

"I could only see that it was a person. I couldn't tell if it was a guy or a girl."

"Aren, they want to keep you overnight."

"What about my insulin? Is one of the nurses going to administer it?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

I held up my right wrist to show them my Medic-Alert bracelet but it wasn't there.