I know I said I was going to move on from the Shepherd clan. I lied. I spent Christmas with them. Derek didn't come home, he spent it in New York with apparently his girlfriend's family. Derek's sisters love to gossip. From what I've gathered from spending Christmas with them is that they're not entirely fond of Addison. I only spent thirty seconds with her and I can tell she is not Derek's type at all. I didn't tell them that though. I stayed quiet and enjoyed my time with them because my New Years resolution is take a step back from being part of the Shepherds' family.

Another New Year's resolution is to try to have a better relationship with my sisters. I started this resolution a couple of months ago, and so far it's going great; at least with my youngest sister Lexie. She's even planning to come visit me here in Boston for her spring break in March. We haven't seen one another in years.

When the day came that Lexie would arrive, I drove to the airport to pick her up. I pulled my car to the loading zone of the airline she flew with. I could barely recognize her as she approached my car. Lexie is no longer that little ten year old. She's an almost nineteen year old woman. When she got into my car, she reached over and hugged me excitedly.

"Oh my god, I can't believe I'm here! I've missed you."

"Me too. How was your flight?"

Lexie rolled her eyes, and put on her seatbelt. "Ugh, too long. Plus I was sitting next to an overweight man who was spilling over into my seat. Worst flight experience ever."

I started my car and began driving out of the airport. "How is second year of undergrad going?"

"It's going well. Did I tell you I decided to join a sorority this year? I'm part of Alpha Delta Pi. Were you part of one during undergrad?"

"No, it wasn't my type of thing."

"So is your mom really okay with me staying with you guys?" Lexie asked.

"Truth is I haven't told her. But trust me when I say she won't even notice you're there. You probably won't see much of her. I don't even see much of her."

"That seems odd."

"I'm used to it. And if worst comes to worst, I'll just tell her you're a friend from college."

"How is your program going?" Lexie asked. "I still can't believe my sister is a doctor."

"It's going well. The shifts are getting easier now that I've finally adjusted to working eighty hours a week."

"What is your schedule like this week?"

"Well, I was able to work some extra shifts last week, so I'll have a couple of days off to spend with you. Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. The rest of the days I do have to work, including tomorrow."

"Three days is better than nothing. I'll find something to do. Like I really want to go to the public garden, the Faneuil Hall Marketplace, visit Harvard. Oh, and I really want to see the hospital you work at."

"Lexie, it's just a hospital. There's nothing special to see. If you've been to one, you've been to them all."

"But there's a difference. My sister works at one of them, and I would love to see her as Dr. Grey."

"Fine, you can come with me tomorrow. Just don't have high expectations. It's a hospital. There are sick and injured people there."

It took us forty minutes to get home. As I turned onto my street, Lexie asked, "Does your ex-boyfriend's family still live next door?"

"Yes, they do."

"Have you seen him?"

"Yes."

"How was that? Awkward?"

"Ever since I found out he has a girlfriend. We hung out three times, and he didn't tell me once until after we kissed."

"Wow. Do you think it's because he still has feelings for you he didn't want you to know?"

I pulled into my driveway, and put my car into park. "You know, that's what I thought. I felt like he was giving vibes that he still liked me. Like he took me to a carnival just like he did on our first date. According to him, though, I was wrong and embarrassed myself by kissing him."

"Why did you break up anyways?"

"We were young and doing long distance. We also had entirely different schedules so it was hard to make time to call or see one another. But what actually broke us what that big fight we had. I don't entirely remember what it was about, but I'm sure it was something stupid. Maybe we were both trying to find a way out of that relationship without hurting one another, and that fight was our ticket out."

"Do you still have feelings for him?" Lexie asked.

I looked at her. "I think I always will. I mean, I've known him my whole life. He's been such an important person in my life. I should have never kissed him. I would have been just happy having him as a friend again. I had to ruin in."

"I'm sure you didn't ruin it. You just think you did."

"I don't know."

Lexie and I got out of the car. As she got her suitcase out of the trunk, I saw a car come to a park against the curb in front of the Shepherd's house. I then saw Derek run inside. He ran just as quick back out to his car, and drove off. I thought that was weird, especially since h's supposed to be in New York.

Lexie and I headed inside. I showed her to the room she'll stay in. It's right across from my room. I left the room to let her get situated. As I entered my bedroom, I heard my cell phone ring. I reached into my purse, and saw my mom's name. I wasn't going to answer, but then a thought occurred to me. When does my mother ever call me?

"Hi, mom. What's up?"

"I thought you should know that Nicolas Shepherd was shot in his store today. He has two GSWs to his chest, a collapsed lung. I am about to go in surgery with him right now."

My heart stopped. He was always like a father to me. "Is he going to be okay?"

"I'm going to be honest, I'm not sure. Fortunately the bullets had just missed his heart. I have to go."

I immediately thought of Derek. He and his father were always close being that they were the only males in that house. I guess I was right when I thought something must had happened when I saw him run in and out of that house. I just wish I wasn't.