The church was quiet, a blessing in disguise. Shay needed to be alone with her thoughts.maybe that's why she ended up here. Church had always been her "getaway", her home away from home. She felt safe there, sitting in a pew or kneeling at the alter. It was constant - steady.

Shay headed toward the alter, taking time to notice the sun-kissed lilies that adorned the sturdy oak. A white rose alerted her to someone's passing. Sighing, she bent to her knees and prayed.

'Heavenly Father, Please be with me now.be with Aaron now.I don't know where to turn now. I mean- I just- Aaron was- I had to do this, I know that, but now it feels like I made a mistake. Please help me to see what You want me to do and help me to stay strong. Thank you for allowing Aaron to be a part of my life. Help me to see where he fits now. In Your Precious Name, Amen.' Shay got to her feet, took a final look around, and left the sanctuary.

It was gloomy and cold outside. Not quite early spring, the nights were still brisk. Accompanied by a nagging sense of guilt and regret, Shay drifted home. The stars seemed faded and the sky was bleaker than she remembered.

Opening the family's front door, Shay prepared herself for the inevitable "Where were you?!" lecture. Alan and J didn't disappoint her.

"WHERE WERE YOU? You had us worried!" J cried, heading toward Shay. It was rare for her children to see the "mushy" side of Mom, so when they did, they knew they really had her worried.

"Kate, how about you go play in the other room while your Mommy and I talk to Shay?" Alan asked his youngest, who was watching "Beauty and the Beast". "You can pick up the popcorn you threw at the screen later," He smiled.

"Gaston is bad, Daddy! I had to throw the popcorn." she grinned mischievously. "Do I have to go? I wanna see Shay get yelled at!"

"Kate.take your movie into the play room. You can throw popcorn there, ok?" J reasoned. Although her voice was soft, there were commanding undertones in it, which Kate picked up on. She quickly switched televisions.

"Shannon, you were supposed to be home at dusk. Where were you? I drove by the park looking for you, but you weren't there," Alan questioned, taking a seat on the sofa.

"I went for a walk after Aaron and I were done talking," she shrugged, slightly unnerved by her father using her full first name. That was never a good sign.

"You could have called. You should have called. What was so important that you couldn't come home first? If a walk was what you wanted, you could have taken one," J sat next to her husband.

"I needed to be alone.I wanted space." Shay started.

"You could have had space here. You broke curfew. Maybe not going out for a week will help you to remember to call us when you're going to be late," J suggested, looking Shay straight in the eye.

"There's no space here! With five other people here around the clock and Will on weekends, there's never quiet! I'll be upstairs." she argued, but saw it got her nowhere. How she could win debate rounds at the national level, yet lost arguments with her parents was beyond her comprehension. She trudged upstairs, defeated.

'Oh well.where would I go? It's not like Aaron and I would be going anywhere.' she thought. Shay sat herself down at the computer, logged on to AOL, and checked her e-mail. What she found left her unnerved and more confused than ever.