Thanks so much for the reviews everybody :) I was hoping there would be some excitement over the kiss ;D SweetP: Thank you! And yes, I had to slip a little tongue in there, it was too steamy for just a closed-mouth ;) Thank you for pointing out your fav lines too :3 Yup, you got your answer! Dark Love: Hehe :P That would be great! You are welcome to do whatever fan art you like and share it with me if you like. I understand if you're busy though! Yeah, I like Avril :) And you may have 1D, but I love you Brits! Pancake: Yeah, I tried that but it didn't want to work. It would be so much easier if FFN would just allow links -_- lizzie: Well, he kind of pieced it together, you know? But yeah, her secret is out now :) Alright, the story! I try to keep the review responses brief and only answer ones with specific questions and stuff, but it always turns out longer than I expected. XD We're back with Sally this time! Please enjoy :)

Chapter Ten – Rejuvenation

(Sally's POV)

I listen to the rain plinking against the roof until it gradually becomes less and less. I don't know how long it takes for the storm to pass. Minutes, possibly hours, but all the while I lay there with my eyes closed. I have no sense of time anymore, it seems entirely too quick and too slow all at the same time. When the rain stops, I peel my eyelids open and I'm met with the blank white ceiling over my head. I try to visually etch Lightning's image on the empty surface. But as I stare unflinchingly at the bedroom ceiling, I feel a lump rise in my throat. It's what I've feared for ages; I can't remember what his face looks like. I can look at photographs and I can see him in my memories, but I can't truly see him how he was. I never will.

I sit myself up on the bed and swallow hard, pushing the lump down. I inhale and exhale, focusing only on the movement of my lungs. I didn't cry this much before he was gone. Breathing wasn't a labourious activity in his company. But that was then, an entirely different lifetime it seems like. And even before then, when I was living in Los Angeles, I was a different person then too. Those phases in my life flew by, why can't I escape this one? Is there anything about me that is the same from way back then? I've been hibernating in my room for days now, since my last spat with Levina. Maybe I'm all you have left of you, she shouted at me. The truth of her words was so strong that I've been left searching my soul for what's left. I keep asking myself questions, praying that one of them will lead me to an answer.

I drag myself out of the bed and push the window open, allowing cool air to rush into the vicinity. I can see Levina's cone across the way, the tiny building as solemn and quiet as the weather. I half-heartedly hope to see her walk out of it, but what would I do? I can't think of anything right to say to her. Besides, she's probably out and about still, given that it's only the afternoon. Flo tells me that she's been spending time with the town's visitor, the dark-haired man who checked in about a week ago. I know they're only hanging around our desolate town, but sometimes I still feel a motherly insecurity when I think about it. I trust Levina not to lose her head over him, but him, there are things about him that make me feel uneasy. Like his eyes. Something in them seems dangerous to me. There's nothing I can do though, I've already lost what little control I had over Levina.

My body jolts as I hear a soft rapping on the door. Flo, no doubt. I run my hand briskly through my hair and hope that I don't look like too much of an emotional wreck. I swing the door open and give her space to enter the room. She plops herself down on the end of the bed while I curl up against the pillow, silently waiting for her comfort. She's never had a child of her own, but she'd be a million times better as a mother than me.

"I'm gonna make a nice roast tonight, but you know there ain't no way Ramone and I can eat it all. Why don't you join us, honey?" she asks casually.

I blink a few times, turning the offer over in my head. My body is heavy and tired out of depression; I can hardly imagine leaving the lobby. "I don't know…" I reply hoarsely.

She coaxes me sweetly, "Oh come on, hun. You can't stay cooped up in here much longer. I know Ramone would love to see ya. Everyone would."

I press my palms to my eyes and mumble back, "Everyone but my own daughter."

Flo's voice grows sterner. "Don't be silly. She misses you, I know it."

I want to believe her, I really do. My heart believes her, it's my mind that I can't convince otherwise. "Flo, I don't know what to do anymore. I can't stop her. I just wish…" She inches closer and rubs my back gently, easing the words out of me. "I just wish Lightning was here for her. She needs him in her life. I can't raise her on my own."

"We all wish he was here, honey," she coos. "You aren't alone though. We're all here, we all love Levina too. She's a teenager now; you have to expect some of these troubles."

I bolt upright and pound my gaze into Flo's kind green eyes. "She can still hear me, can't she? She still knows I don't want her to race. So, why doesn't she listen?"

Flo sighs and runs her hand over the comforter. She doesn't want to pick sides in this fight; she just wants to be a mediator. She gives me a pained look, searching for the words to cool my temper.

I don't give her the chance. I don't need to listen to this anymore. She can talk about as much sense into me as I can into Levina. After all, she is my daughter. I crawl off the bed and draw in a whiff of post-rain air as I pass the window. I've always loved that smell. It's the smell of the earth being rejuvenated, and I can feel myself absorbing a similar power. I throw my hands onto the ledge of dresser and as I take one more deep breath my head rises along with it. In the mirror I see myself. My blonde hair is messy and my green-blue eyes are cold with determination. I tell myself that I'm looking at my daughter, rehearsing my lines. I open my mouth and firmly declare, "I'm getting rid of that car."

And that's chapter ten :) Thank you for reading, please review if you'd like!