Alright, so sorry for the wait. I'm still in the middle of exams and had to squeeze this one out. Sorry if it's horrible but I've been extremely preoccupied with exams. I studied to Biology for two days, nine and a half hours total. Ugh, it sucks. Anyways, enjoy!

000

Lightening…

Thunder…

Lightening…

Thunder…

The clouds are angry as they continuously rub against each other, causing static tension. They get so irritated that they lash out with lightening and only a few seconds after wards do they apologize with thunder. But the lightening still comes first, the harsh blow still comes first and the gentle thunder that helplessly attempts so make amends comes after.

It's funny how something as simple as a thunder storm can relate to someone's problems…

000

"This sucks! I can't do anything!" Carter complained while looking out the window. The storm had only intensified after I got home. The rain beat down on the window panes and the deep rumble of thunder sounded throughout the house.

"It's better than doing farm work," I mumbled, searching through the VHS's we had stacked beside our TV. I lifted my hand to my neck, taking note of the necklace that had remained there since last night.

His way of saying goodbye…

I shook my head sadly. Was this really the end?

"Cass? Hello? Cassidy!"

My head snapped up. "What?"

"What movies did you find?" he asked.

I shrugged. "We've already seen all of them at least three times."

He groaned.

I stood up and stared at him. "Hey, here's an idea: why don't you read a book?"

He rolled his eyes. "I've already read all the ones in my room, hello!"

I snorted. "You're right. There is nothing to do!"

He sighed and flopped down on the couch. I sat next to him and pushed his dirty blonde hair out from behind his eyes.

"You need a haircut," I laughed.

He pushed my hand away. "Jessie likes it this way," he growled.

I stared at him, amazed. "Jessie, as in Jessie Whitehill? The girl you've been trying to go out with for the past four years?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, Jessie Whitehill, who else?"

I hugged him. "Oh Car! Such a ladies' man, aren't ya?"

He pushed me off. "Yeah, whatever," he said, trying to hide a smile.

"Well, I'm glad you picked her and not some brat from college."

"Yeah."

"So, when did you ask her out?" I asked curiously.

He shrugged. "A few weeks ago."

I squealed.

"You're so weird," he laughed.

I shrugged. "I know."

"So, we've seen all the movies, read all the books, what else is there to do?" he asked.

"Well…"

I racked my brain for anything we could possibly do until something came to me.

I snapped my fingers. "You wanna look through old baby pictures?"

He looked incredulously at me. "Baby pictures?"

"Well, sure! What else is there to do?"

He paused. "I guess…do you even know where they are?"

I snorted. "No, but I bet Dad does."

I got up from the couch. "Dad!" I called up the stairs.

"Yeah?" he called back down.

"Do you know where our old baby pictures are?"

"Baby pictures?"

"Yeah!"

It was silent for a moment. "In the attic, why?"

"Carter and I wanna go through them!"

"Hold on! I'll grab them!"

I waited a few seconds before I heard the latch to the attic door open.

I turned around to Carter. "I'll be right back. I'm gonna go help Dad."

He grunted in reply.

I ran up the stairs and into the hallway where the attic door was hanging down from the ceiling. A dusty, brown ladder was leading up to the open passage way where my Dad was standing.

"Tell me again why you want to see these?" he inquired.

I started to climb the ladder. "There's nothing else to do. Besides…I kinda wanna see Mom's face again," I said quietly.

He was silent.

When I reached the open room, I cursed myself for not grabbing a jacket.

"It's freakin' freezing in here!" I hissed, clutching my torso and shivering.

Dad nodded and began scanning over the boxes lying on the wooden floor.

"Here we go," he said, picking up a box.

"There's another one over there," he said, motioning with his head towards the second box.

I nodded.

"Close the door on your way down!" he called from the bottom of the ladder.

"Can do!"

I sighed and lifted the heavy box, groaning at its weight. Carefully, I made my way down the ladder and shut the door when I reach the floor.

Dad was already walking down the stairs and I followed close behind.

000

"Awww! Remember this, Car?" I asked sweetly.

The photograph in my hand brought back wonderful memories. Carter and I were eating ice cream cones on the boardwalk and I had smeared it all over his face.

He snorted. "Yes and my face got all sticky thanks to you."

I laughed and pulled out another pile of photos.

He nudged my side. "Check this out!" he laughed.

I smacked my hand on my head. "Put that away!"

He jumped up, laughing. "No way! I'm sending this to Sam!"

"Carter!" I shouted.

The picture was of me at the Valentine's Day Dance in seventh grade with Sam as my date. He was already in High School, but I had insisted at the time that he take me to the dance (as a friend of course). I was wearing a pink dress that ruffled towards the bottom and black high heeled shoes. My hair was done up all pretty and what not.

I wanted to puke.

"I hate that picture. God, it's probably the only time I ever wore makeup!" I growled.

He laughed. "Sam sure enjoyed that night!"

I smacked his arm. "Shut up!"

I sat back down and looked through the pile on the ground. "If you bring that out in public, Carter, they'll be finding pieces of you all across the farm," I growled.

He snorted and threw the picture at me. "Sure."

For the next hour or so we looked through pictures, finding snap shots of me at the park or Carter at a hockey game. Every once in a while, we would come across some of our mother. She never liked to take photos of herself so we would have to sneak them. In one particular picture, she was holding me as a baby while Carter hugged onto her leg. Her blonde curls snaked down to her waist and her warm, brown eyes were filled with as much love as one person could contain. Around her, the brilliant colors of Fall leaves swirled to the ground and sunlight shone through the gray clouds, enhancing the color of her hair.

She held me in her arms as she tried to pay attention to Carter as well. I smiled and handed Carter the picture.

"Look at this one," I whispered.

He smiled, running his thumb across the picture. "I still hear her voice sometimes," he said quietly.

I looked at him sadly. "Funny…I can't even remember what it sounded like," I whispered.

I cleared my throat to keep myself from crying and put the picture away.

"Look at this one. I don't remember this," he said.

I looked curiously at the photograph in his hand.

There she was, at the boardwalk. She stood behind at stall, honey jars covering the counter. People were lined up trying to buy some, not noticing the little girl that sat at the bottom. She was reading a book titled Winnie the Pooh Story Book and two border collie puppies sat on either side of her. She looked sad, that little girl, and realization hit me like a slap in the face.

"Is that me?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Who else would it be?"

"I just… look so sad. When was this taken?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I think Dad snuck a snap shot of mom. You know how she hated pictures of herself."

Just then, Dad walked down from upstairs.

"Hey, Dad?"

He looked over at us. "Yeah, Cass?"

I held the picture up. "When did you take this?"

He looked at it for a while. "Oh! I took that when you were eight. I wanted a picture of you and your mother but she was being too stubborn about the whole photograph thing. I took it when she didn't notice."

"That's so weird, 'cause I don't remember this day at all," I muttered, returning to the pictures.

There were a few more pictures of my mother and I at the honey stall and I separated them out from the rest. For some reason, I just couldn't remember that day. Up until that point, I had recognized most of my childhood moments. Plus, I was eight, I should have remembered.

"That's so weird," I mumbled.

I stared hard at the picture, scanning over it to see if anything could jog my memory.

Then, I saw something.

I had to double take to make sure what I was seeing was correct.

"N-no…that can't…that's impossible!" I whispered.

What my grandmother said came rushing back into my mind.

"What are you talking about? There were no vampires in Santa Carla when I was a kid!"

"Of course there were."

Grandma had been right.

There, in the corner of the picture, almost hidden by all the people on the boardwalk stood the last person I would have expected to see.

David.

His expression was clearly one of interest as he watched me from the crowds. And what was worse: he was in every picture.

The memories came flooding back from that day as I looked at the picture.

This was the reason I hummed Winnie the Pooh.

This was the reason I felt so familiar with David.

This was the reason he kept repeated "Still just the same."

This was the reason he said "I'll always find you."

This day was the reason for everything.

Why had I never remembered it before?

000

Sorry if it sucked to no end! Please R&R!

Sunny