|Chapter 3|

When we made it back to his place, Kova leapt down from my arms. I stood in the living room, looking around and noticed that not much has changed since I've been gone. Mrs. Clearwater was in the kitchen, whipping something up, like usual. Seth was at the door, greeting me, in a way. Leah was somewhere in the house, probably in her room. The only that was different was the empty recliner that sat in the living room.

"Mom, I'm home. I also have a special visitor." Seth walked over to the kitchen with me and Kova in tow.

"Did you finally get a girlfriend?" Mrs. Clearwater asked her son as she chopped away at something on the cutting board.

He sighed, "No, mom. I do not have a girlfriend. But I do have someone much better than a girlfriend."

"Oh yeah? And who might that be?"

"Rain. I found her at the beach."

"Hi, Mrs. Clearwater." I waved my hand as I stood a few feet away from Seth.

"Oh my, Rain. It's been too long!" She put down her knife and rushed over to give me a hug. "You've grown so much. Let's look at you." She pulled away but still had her hands on my shoulders, "You've gotten taller and you filled out a lot."

I blushed a bit, "Thank you."

"And who might this be?"

"That's Kova, my cat."

"Well isn't she a cutie. Seth, why don't you get her some water, she looks thirsty. Rain, leave Kova here. Leah's in her room. Like usual. Go talk to her, she might not show it, but she misses you a lot."

Mrs. Clearwater grabbed the leash from me and shooed me down the hall towards her daughter's room. Who would have thought that my demon of a cat would get a better welcome than me? I stood in front of Leah's door with the same dilemma as this morning with the front door. Knowing that I wouldn't have the same luck twice, I knocked on the door.

When I didn't get an answer, I knocked again, but louder. Once again, no answer. I started to get annoyed and said, "Leah, you're mother told me you're in here. Now open the damn door, for fuck's sake."

It was a minute before I heard an answer from Leah, "Go away."

"I didn't travel half way across the damn country to get a 'go away.' from you. You have ignored me for a year, so the least you can do is open the door and tell me why."

Leah opened her door and I have two words for you: Hot and damn. A little fun fact, I have had a crush on her for as long as I can remember and this fine specimen in front of me is just solidified a crush that I was hoping would fade away. She too was different, like Seth. Her hair was shorter, she was more muscular, and taller, and just wow.

"I didn't tell you to come back. Just go home, Rain."

"Not until you tell me why you stopped talking to me. Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you didn't."

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No, Rain-"

I cut her off, "Then tell me, damnit!"

Leah looked up and into my eyes, and I swear, if my heart could beat out of my chest... There was so much pain and anger in her eyes, but it all faded away into something that I couldn't put my finger on. And although I couldn't put my finger on it, I loved it. It was though the world slowed down and the only thing that mattered was her. But almost as quick as it happened, it stopped. Leah broke eye contact and I immediately missed it.

"I stopped talking to you, because I had to. Okay?"

"No it's not okay, Leah. You're my best friend. Why did you have to stop talking to me?"

She sighed, defeated, "Because I just did. And I didn't want to hurt you, either."

"But you did hurt me. You practically dropped off the face of the planet. I didn't know if you were angry with me or if you were hurt. I-I missed you. I still do. I want my best friend back. I need my best friend back."

"What if you can't get your best friend back?"

"Trick question. I always get her back. No matter what. You know that, Leah." I gave her a small smile.

She smiled back at me, "Yeah, I do."