Elin called Agnes' phone when she arrived at the hotel. The first thing on Agnes' mind when she got in the car was Jessica.

"Did you tell Jessica I was coming?"

"Yes." That was all Elin felt safe to say, pulling out and setting off on the short drive.

"Was she okay?"

"Yes?"

"That does not sound positive Elin." Agnes admonished.

"Okay, so we had a bit of an argument. But it's okay now."

Agnes was not reassured.

And indeed once they arrived Jessica was not at all happy to see Agnes. They had reached a careful detente over the two years or so they had been forced by their proximity to Elin to be in proximity to each other. That delicate contract had been set on fire by Agnes' disappearance and Jessica had enjoyed dancing on its grave. Johan also flinched slightly when she first entered the room. But they put on a passable appearance of civility and managed to get through some basic chit chat and nibbles without any fatalities.

Agnes allowed herself to be guided all over the flat by Elin's adorable nieces. Elin was in the kitchen helping with dinner, though in what capacity Agnes could only imagine. She excused herself and went to the bathroom, splashing cold water on her face and reassuring herself she was doing fine.

When Agnes exited the bathroom Jessica was stood in the hall. Agnes had an awful school days flashback as Jessica took her arm and guided her in to a nearby bedroom, closing the door.

"When you left," Jessica paused, almost too angry to even speak. "She was destroyed."

Jessica was pretty menacing, or so Agnes was quickly remembering. But this, what was being said, was what Agnes had feared the most. Not that she might feasibly be beaten up over it, but that Jessica was right, telling her a truth Elin had been unable to.

"But we agreed!" Agnes's plea was in vain, she didn't even believe it herself any more.

"You agreed to take a break. She agreed to that because what else could she do? She couldn't come with you. But she did not agree to be completely abandoned. She did not agree to not even be friends any more. She needed you. You dangled something in front of her and then you stole it away."

Jessica had been inching closer as she spoke and they were now almost nose to nose. The bigger girl noticed this and took a few steps back but Agnes was not comforted.

"If you hurt her again -" Jessica began.

But Agnes cut her off. "I won't." It was an automatic reaction, high pitched and panicked, but, she realised, no less true. "I won't," she repeated, steadier, taking in the promise to herself as well.

Jessica was a little peeved she did not get the chance to go in to the finer parts of the havoc she would wreak on Agnes' life. "I do not like you," she settled for. "But my fool sister does. And – even though she is a complete loser – I just want her to be okay."

It was not a glowing recommendation but it would do. Agnes gulped and nodded. Jessica gave her one last look up and down, smiled a wonderfully fake sarcastic smile and left the room.

Agnes exhaled and her legs shook. Gingerly she sat herself down on the bed. She had almost recovered by the time one of the girls arrived to drag her to the table.

Mercifully the Olsson-Hult tribe was an incredibly noisy and rumbustious one so Agnes was able to fade in to the background, paling against Mormor Birgitta's chiding of the girls, Elin arguing with Johan arguing with his younger brother and Jessica arguing with everyone.

There had been more romantic moments, Agnes pondered, but she was enjoying sneaking little glances up at Elin, who was pointing her fork rather aggressively at Johan at that juncture. She was beautiful, in full flow like that. Agnes wanted to put her in slow motion and just study every detail.

She was spotted however: Elin looked over and their eyes met. With Johan and Jessica still arguing against her in that moment she was all Agnes'. She gave Agnes a little smile, lips quivering with amusement and a sparkle in her eye. It was a moment, a connection. And then she was gone again, back to threatening Johan in some debate that Agnes could not even follow.

Agnes' stomach churned. She was hopelessly in love with the fiery blonde. She might as well surrender to it, she was under siege. There was no fighting it. Better to accept it. It was a horrifying truth, but it was the truth.

As the meal ended and the arguments wound down Agnes excused herself gracefully. She thanked Birgitta and Jessica for the meal, which was grudgingly accepted. Elin said she would call her tomorrow and she took a taxi back to the hotel where she sat on the edge of her bed for a while, trembling slightly, before finally getting in and going to sleep.

"You're not staying at the hotel, with Agnes?" Jessica was tidying the girls' bedroom ready to put up the camp bed for Elin.

"No!" Elin laughed.

"Okay, I just thought you would want to be... together, or something."

"No I think I can – wait, but you know we're not actually together? She has a girlfriend and stuff. We're not back together."

No, Jessica did not know that. "But you said – I thought you said – and she never – when I..."

"When you what?"

Jessica had been caught. "Nothing."

"When you what? Jessica, what did you do?"

"Nothing! I just had a little friendly sisterly chat. No big deal!"

Elin was not impressed. "Jessica!" she howled. "Why? What is wrong with you?"

"Me? What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you more like! I thought you said you were together."

"No, no. We just met. Again. You know what I mean." Elin flopped down on to the bed disconsolately. "Now what is she going to think? I haven't even thought about her like that. She's going to think I am a complete freak."

"You are."

"Oh grow up."

"No, you are. If you're not together why is she even here? If you haven't even thought about it – if it's not even an option – why are you even hanging out with her?"

"God, Jessica, I don't know. We bumped in to each other and it was weird but we hung out and, you know, we are good together. It's easy. We make good friends."

"But after -"

"I don't care, about that. I got over it. I can't live in that forever. It was exhausting." Elin sounded exhausted even uttering the words and her voice trembled a little.

They went back to folding clothes in silence for a few moments.

"You know when I did talk to her, she never mentioned a girlfriend."

"Why? Why are you telling me this?"

Jessica shrugged. "Just, interesting... I think." She kept a sideways eye on Elin to gauge a reaction but there wasn't really one.

They automatically started folding down the bed, a well rehearsed routine.

"Do you still love her?"

Elin sighed and put her hands up to her head, pushing back her hair and leaning a little to stretch her aching back, considering the question.

"Still? No, I don't think so. Fourteen year old Elin is still in love with her. But that's not me any more." She left it there, for the moment, though she knew that her current self was in no way immune to Agnes' charms.

Jessica pursed her lips but also left it there. Girlfriend or no Agnes obviously had designs on her sister. And her sister was such a complete weirdo you never could tell what she was going to do from one moment to the next. Like last time this was going to be a complete mess.