Mitchie walked into Nora's room to check on her after Edward had carried her mom into the room. She was hiding under the blankets in the corner of the wall.

"Nora, come out, there's nothing to hide from." She walked up to her and pulled the blanket away. She was crying. For the first time ever, Mitchie actually cared about her.

"Nora, what's wrong?" she said picking her up from the floor.

"Did Auntie hit mommy again? I heard her fall. Auntie is always mean to mommy." Mitchie was shocked. Her grandma would never do such a thing. She was the sweetest person on earth.

"Nora….has…has Auntie ever hit mommy before?"

Nora nodded slowly. Mitchie sat there shocked. "She does it when you're not here. She hit mommy with a stick once. Auntie hates mommy and daddy. She even hates me."

"No, no, she doesn't hate you, auntie doesn't hate you, she just doesn't like kids." Mitchie couldn't believe what she was hearing. Maybe Nora was just imagining stuff, or lying. For the first time ever Mitchie pulled Nora into a hug. She seemed so sad, so innocent.

"Can I go see mommy?" she asked looking up at Mitchie.

"Let's both go," she replied wiping away the tears from her step-sisters face.

They walked into her mom's room to see her in the bed with Edward sitting by her side.

"Mommy!" Nora shouted as she ran to hug her mom.

"Hi sweetie!"

"Are you okay mommy, did Auntie hit you again," Mitchie saw her mom frown, and then change back to a smile. Edward looked away.

"No, mommy's just tired." Why were they all lying to Mitchie? What was going on here? Mitchie slowly moved and sat on the side of the bed. She wouldn't ask about what had happened, now. She could wait.

"Come on Nora," Edward said picking her up, "time for bed."

They went out of the room and Mitchie sat quietly looking at the ground.

"Mitchie, about the picture. You have to promise me something first before I tell you."

"Sure," she replied looking up at her mom's face.

"Promise me you won't go looking for that man again, please."

"Can you please tell me who he is and why this is such a big deal. He's just some bastard off the street!"

"Mitchie, he's not just some bastard of the street. He's…he's…he's your father."



Mitchie looked at her mom, shocked. That guy can't be her father. Her father was supposed to be dead. He can't just come back from the dead.

"No, dad's dead," she replied in disbelief.

"Honey, I don't know how he survived, but that's your dad. From your picture I can see that the way he looks has changed, but he's…" Mitchie saw tears streak down her moms face. She was serious about this.

"Does Edward know?" She sat quietly.

"Yeah, I told him. You know that this means that I'm still married to your dad if he's alive."

"Yeah," Mitchie was speechless, "why don't you want me to talk to him?"

"I have my reasons sweetie, and please don't tell your grandmother either."

"I won't tell Gran, but I still want to talk to him."

"Ugh, no use stopping you is there. You'll still talk to him if I say no."

Mitchie quietly went out and entered her room. She put her head on her soft pillow. Her dad can't just appear out of nowhere. He was supposed to be a hero, a dead hero. She picked up her phone and dialed Shane's number.

"Hey Mitch!" he said excitedly.

"Hey Shane," he'd noticed her sulky tone and immediately knew something was up.

"What's wrong? Is it your step-dad again?"

"No, Shane, can I tell you something, but please don't tell anyone?"

"You can tell me anything you want. You know I don't tell anyone about your secrets."

"Shane, I saw my dad today."

"What? You mean like in a dream?"

"No, real life. I met him at the beach."

"That can't be, he's supposed to be dead." He emphasized on the word dead.

"I don't get it either. I took a picture of him, and my mom recognized him and fainted."

"Is she okay?" he asked confused.



"Yeah, but Nora told me something weird today, too. She said that Gran hit my mom when I was away. I didn't believe her but she actually looked serious. She wasn't lying. I could tell. My Gran wouldn't do something like that."

"Do you want me to come over?" he asked quickly.

"No, it's okay, you've got work," she sighed.

He ignored her, and replied, "I'm coming."

In half an hour, Shane was already in her room.

"Can I see the picture?" He asked after a long make-out session. She handed him the phone.

"He doesn't look much like the guy in the pictures in your grandma's room though."

"There's a resemblance, he's changed, but he looks sort of the same. He seemed familiar to me when I met him."

She let out a sigh, and snuggled next to her on the bed, he slung an arm over her shoulder, and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry, it's going to be fine."

"I hope."

a/n: I know this chapter wasn't much of a surprise, but SURPRISE! Hehe :) reply