A/N: Happy Thanksgiving!

Chapter Thirty-Seven

"You should come have Thanksgiving with us," Louis said nervously, eyeing Tawny across the lunch table.

She looked up at him. Her face was emotionless and her eyes seemed distant. She'd been that way ever since Ren left months before.

Twitty nudged Louis on,

"Your parents are out of town again, right?" Louis continued. "That's what you said yesterday."

"I don't know, Louis," she mumbled. "Will Re…" Her voice trailed off and she looked away.

"No, she's not coming until winter break," Louis explained.

A few moments passed and Tawny agreed to join the Stevens for the holidays.

She'd tried to get a hold of Ren for weeks after the older girl had left for Yale. And Ren had never answered her phone, never answered emails or IMs… rather she'd blocked Tawny from all means of communication. Louis gave Tawny the number to Ren's dorm, but she promptly hung up whenever Tawny called. Tawny tried to get Louis and even Eileen at one point to speak for her, Ren hung up on them too. By the time school started for Tawny in early September, she'd eased off.

She didn't take it well and Louis and Twitty suffered as a result. Neither of them had their advisor any more. But Tawny was back to hanging around with them all the time, since Amy and Ruby had also left for college. Both of them were enrolled at UCLA. Tawny hung out with Twitty or Louis, or she hung out alone in the library. She read and kept to herself. She'd never particularly confided in Louis or Twitty in the past, but the boys were bothered by this now because it was so painfully obvious that she needed to talk to someone. Her parents tried most likely, but also to no avail. Tawny would not be consoled.

The three friends had gone to a few parties together, Twitty assuming that maybe if Tawny got back in the dating circuit it would help her get over Ren. However, Tawny found it aggravating and tiresome to try and fake happiness long enough to entertain the interest of another girl. The one time she'd managed to rope someone in was at a Halloween party Twitty threw. But she'd ended up breaking down in front of the girl instead. Louis spent the rest of the night with her, and the rest of the next day trying to get Ren to talk to Tawny.

But all Ren said was: "She broke up with me, Louis. Quit acting like I just 'left her'. She ended this. I don't care what she's doing, I don't care what she wants to tell me, I just… don't care. So don't call me if she's all you're going to talk about."

After Tawny left the lunch table, Twitty turned to Louis. "I thought you said Ren was coming home?"

"She is," Louis said, shoveling some mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"Dude, don't do that to her," Twitty shook his head. "That can only end badly."

Louis shrugged. "Maybe if they see each other… I don't know, Twitty. Maybe this way Tawny will finally get to talk to her."

Tawny arrived at the Stevens the same time as Eileen's mother Maureen did.

"Hello, dear," Maureen jovially greeted her as she approached the front porch.

"Oh, hey, Mrs.--"

"Maureen, how many times do I have to tell you, dear?" she laughed. "So, I heard about you and Ren."

Tawny nodded, her eyes falling to the floor.

"My understanding is that you didn't think you could handle long-distance, but now you're regretting your decision and--"

"And it's too late," Tawny muttered.

"It's never too late, Tawny," Maureen said, opening the door and ushering the young girl in. "You can talk to her today. Corner her."

"What?" Tawny asked, freezing in her tracks.

"You two… you aren't over, girl. I know it. So, take this chance to get her attention."

"What do you—Louis said Ren wasn't coming home for Thanksgiving… that's the only reason I came."

"Oh, ha," she looked at Louis as they met him in the entry way. "Good boy."

"Louis," Tawny glared at him.

"You've been trying to get a hold of her forever," he started.

"She doesn't want anything to do with me!"

"That's not true," Maureen interrupted.

"Yes it is, otherwise she would've talked to me."

"Don't think you didn't hurt her, Tawny," Maureen said. "I've explained this to you before. Stevens are stubborn—they get it from Steve. It's something you learn to love about them, but it's quite aggravating at times. Don't give up on her. I know you don't want to, so don't."

Tawny just stood there, completely lost as to how she didn't see this coming. Louis had gone too far with his meddling this time… this was the sort of thing she'd expect from Ruby if she were here, but Louis? He usually didn't take it this far, at least not with her.

Most of the Stevens clan had arrived, the only missing members were Steve and Ren, as he was picking her up from the airport.

Tawny was racked with nerves the all the while leading up to their arrival. Louis and Maureen kept close tabs on her, and twice intervened when she tried to slip out of the house and escape unnoticed.

Tawny was about to make her third attempt.

Louis was preoccupied with his favorite uncle, Chuck. And Maureen was getting the scoop on another newly graduated grandchild.

Tawny, certain that she was out of their sight, pulled open the front door, only to find Steve and Ren on the front porch.

"Oh," Steve glanced back and forth between them. "Hello, Tawny. I didn't know you were joining us."

"I'm—I'm not," she stammered. "I'm just dropping something off, I was going to leave now."

"Oh no you aren't," Maureen appeared behind her. "You're staying with us."

She pushed Tawny back inside, and let Steve slip past her. She stepped out onto the front porch. "Ren, dear, how have you been?"

Ren took a moment regrouping, she hadn't been expecting to see Tawny. "I'm…fine."

"Uh huh, no one is fine after breaking things off with the love of their life," Maureen said, shaking her head.

"Grandma," Ren protested.

"No, dear, listen," Maureen interrupted. "You should talk with her. And be civil, at least."

"I'll be civl," Ren stated. "But Tawny and I are done. It's over. And I'd rather not talk with her. I've moved on. I'm fine."

"Have you met someone else?"

"No," Ren replied. "But I've dated a few other girls and I'm…" she hesitated. "I'm over her. Over Tawny."

Maureen raised her eyebrow, clearly not believing her granddaughter.

They entered the house together. Ren headed upstairs to drop off her things before joining the crowds downstairs.

Tawny hung around Louis, avoiding Ren at all costs. Gradually she gathered her confidence, eventually resolving to confront Ren, who went to great lengths to avoid her as well throughout dinner and dessert.

As people began to leave, she caught Ren on the stairs. "Ren?"

Ren stopped, hesitating a moment before turning around. "Yeah?"

"H-how have you been?"

"Great," Ren replied flatly. "You?"

"I-uh, I…" Tawny couldn't find her words. She never could when it mattered most…

"Tawny, I'm exhausted. I really can't talk right now," Ren said, interrupting her. She turned and headed up stairs.

"Ren!" Steve called up to his daughter when she reached the top of the stairs.

Reluctantly, Ren turned around and came back down.

Tawny stepped to the side and let her pass.

Ren joined a group of relatives who she hadn't mingled with yet.

Maureen snuck up behind Tawny, startling her. "Make her listen, Tawny."

"I don't want to force her, I just want… I want her to want to talk to me…" Tawny turned and headed up the stairs, entering Louis' room.

She sat in their for about an hour, working out a hand-written letter for Ren. When she decided it was satisfactory she returned to the hallway. Glancing down the stairs, she saw that Ren had been captured by more relatives.

She slipped into Ren's bedroom and sat her letter on Ren's pillow, somewhere she'd have to see it.

She noticed a piece of paper on Ren's desk—a schedule of her courses that term. One was a special study in the works of Edgar Allen Poe.

She took a deep breath, smiling for the first tie in months, and turned, leaving the room and heading back downstairs.

"Bye, Ren."

Ren looked over at her, seemingly surprised that she'd spoken to her. "Bye, Tawny."