"I can't believe her!" Summer said in an angry voice. They had just entered her room.
"Well, Summ. She has been away for six months, of course her parents want to spend some time with her" Marissa had already calmed down.
"I know but…" Summer started and when she realized she couldn't argue against that, she dumped her bag on her bed furiously.
"Where are we going?" Kelly asked.
"We're going to the mall!" Kirsten answered.
"That will be fun. Can we grab a coffee?"
"Of course!" Kirsten laughed. "And we'll shop til' we drop!"
Kelly laughed too. It was so great to be with her mum.
Seth and Ryan arrived to an empty house.
"How come you never told me you have a sister?" Ryan asked.
"Ehm…" This question bothered Seth, he didn't know what to answer. "We…thought it was…for the best. It's a hard subject around here" He didn't really know what to answer.
"Well, at least she's back now" Ryan sighed, disappointed by the answer. " Wanna play videogames?"
At the firm Sandy was lost in thoughts.
"Hey Sandy. Hello? Sandy? Sandy Cohen!" Rachel was at the door.
"Huh? Rachel! What do you want?" he said, looking at her.
"I'm leaving now. Are you ok?" She went over to his desk.
"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine" he reassured her." I was just planning my afternoon, have a nice trip Rachel. See you!"
"Ok. Bye Sanford" She left his office as he picked up his phone and dialled a number.
Kelly and Kirsten were sitting at a table in the cafeteria in the mall, laughing and having fun, when Kirsten's cell phone rang. She looked at it before answering, a smile spread over her face.
"Hi honey! Yeah we can pick up some take out on the way home." She suddenly looked serious. "I understand, of course. We're at the mall. Ok. See you at home. I love you, bye."
"Dad, right?" Kelly said, who else could it have been?
"Yeah, he wanted us to pick up take out on our way home" Kirsten just said, knowing Kelly already knew that.
"What else did he want"
"Nothing important. Are you ready? Shall we continue to shop? We still have a few stores left" Kirsten said, changing the subject.
A few hours later, Sandy and the boys were in the kitchen, waiting for the girls to come home with the food.
"Boys, you think you could spend some time in the poolhouse after dinner?" Sandy asked.
"Why?" Seth looked suspiciously at his father.
"Because I need to figure some stuff out with Kelly" He said.
"Right, we'll be out there" Ryan replied before Seth could say anything. They heard the door open and the girls voices floated through the house. They entered the kitchen with several bags.
"Hey guys" Kelly said, looking happy. Sandy was glad to see that they've had fun together.
"Hey sweetie." He said to Kelly, helping her with the bags. Kirsten put the food on the counter.
"Here's the food." She told the boys. She kissed Sandy.
After dinner, Seth and Ryan went to the poolhouse, Kirsten said she was gonna take a shower and went upstairs. Just Kelly and Sandy left.
"So, what now?" Kelly looked at her father.
"Do you want some ice cream?" he asked.
"Sure"
Sandy fixed the ice cream and Kelly went into the living room and sat down onto the couch.
'It's time' he thought as he sat beside her and gave her her ice cream.
"Here you go"
"Thanks" She looked at him, what was this about? 'I doubt it's just a wild coincidence that we're alone'
They went silent for a minute or two. Until Sandy said " I was hoping we could talk, about, you know…what happened six months ago."
She knew it. "What is there to talk about?"
"Everything. I want to know what really happened."
"Well, that depends on what you want to know, 'cause a lot has happened" Kelly said, starting to get a bit upset.
"Why did you run away that night?" he asked, this was a question he desperately wanted an answer to, he had waited six months to ask it.
"I knew you were gonna ask me that! I… I guess I just needed a break…from my life" , she lied.
"Please, Kelly. Tell me what happened" Sandy said, seeing right through her. Kelly got up, she was furious.
"Why? Why do you care about what's going on with me?" she almost yelled.
"Because you're my daughter, so of course I care. What makes you think I don't?" Sandy was starting to get angry too now. 'What is wrong with her?' he thought, worried.
"I don't know. Maybe it was a stupid idea to come home, after all." She said thoughtfully.
"Don't you dare run away again! Do you have any idea how worried your mother and I have been?"
"I never said that you haven't been worried! All I meant was that this may not work, between us. If I hadn't come back, I maybe wouldn't have to said goodbye again."
Sandy was shocked by these words.
"But...What the hell do you mean? What about your mother? I thought you guys had a great time today at the mall" he spluttered.
"We had. But it feels like something has come between you and me. And I can't take it. So I'm better off gone"
"No, you're not! What is going on between us? I had no idea something was". 'She must have misunderstood something.'
"OK, can we do this some other time? I'm pretty tired so I'm going to bed."
She walked out of the living room, with Sandy right behind her, still arguing.
Kirsten was in their bedroom, reading. She heard voices floating thought the closed door.
'Sandy and Kelly, are they fighting?'
"Kelly, please. Listen to me!" Sandy's voice said angrily.
"No, good night dad" Kelly said, just as angry before Kirsten heard a door slamming. It was silent for a while, then the bedroom door opened and Sandy entered.
"How did it go?" Kirsten wasn't sure if she wanted him to answer.
"Not what you would call 'well'" he sighed as he went into the bathroom without another word. She looked at him from behind until he closed the door and disappeared. After a few minutes he came out, wearing his pajama. He lay down on the bed and Kirsten moved herself so that she rested her head on his chest.
"What happened?" She asked softly. He didn't answer right away. She waited, and then…
"Something must have happened, she refuses to talk to me about it. She thinks I don't want her here. She said something is going on between us. She says she might leave again"
Kirsten looked shocked.
