First off I would just like to take the time and thank everyone who had reviewed the story. It's real been helpful.

I wrote this chapter quicker than I had expected. Anyway, I'm going to start leading into another big event now for Alex.

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Chapter 10

I could remember the events of the party clearly now. I felt foolish with the way I had acted. I still didn't know who the girl who reminded me of Paige was, but I prayed she didn't know me. Hopefully no one would know what I had said to her. I figured I didn't need anymore trauma in my life. The week that followed the party was very tense. Mostly because I wasn't sure how to act around the Michalchuk's anymore. I still felt guilty and ashamed even though they were treating me like normal. Mr. Michalchuk would smile and joke and Mrs. Michalchuk would still ask me how my day was and seemed concerned for my wellbeing. Cleaning out the garage was one of the most laboring tasks I have ever had to do. There was so much dust and junk. The job alone took me all weekend. I believed cleaning the garaged was reserved for punishment purposes only and since her children had been gone for almost a year, it had been awhile since it had been cleaned. Even if I hadn't suffered embarrassment and injury, this job alone made me never want to do anything to deserve this punishment again.

I had confronted Mr. Michalchuk once about the party and my feelings. I just needed someone to talk to who would understand and I figured he would be the one to give the best advice without risk of overreacting. He had been out on the porch one evening reading a book when I slowly opened the screen door.

He looked up from the book, "Well hello there little lady." He said. Folding the page he was on to make sure to keep his place.

I smiled at him. "Hi."

The sun was setting and I pretended to watch it. Mr. Michalchuk obviously knew. He had a gift of knowing things like that.

"So what's on your mind, pumpkin?" He smiled.

He had never called me pumpkin before. I knew he did it to make me laugh and it worked.

"Come sit." He patted the empty spot next to him. I walked over the bench he was sitting on and sat down.

He waited quietly while I gathered my thoughts.

"Do you ever feel lost?" I finally asked

"Lost?" He repeated trying to understand.

"You know, confused about life." I was trying to explain, but I couldn't get out how I felt.

"Well sure. I think everyone gets lost from time to time." He replied.

"But, it's like I made a wrong turn somewhere and now I can't find my way back."

"Well, life doesn't actually come with a road map. We can't always re-trace our steps sometimes we just cross a point of no return. No going back." He said. His voice was soft and understanding.

"I wish I could sometimes. I've made so many mistakes."

"Live and learn." He said. Mr. Michalchuk was always so willing to listen to me. No matter how complex or how simple my problem was. He never made me feel stupid. He was becoming like a real father to me. The thought of it always made me chuckle. I could never see myself telling Chad how I felt. Even my mom would never understand. Should just say "Life's a bitch and it just keeps kicking you when you're down; so have a drink and forget about it." A lot of good that advice did me.

I smiled at him. He was now glancing out toward the sunset.

"I had just been doing so good." I said. I was talking more to myself than to Mr. Michalchuk.

"You still are." He turned to look at me, "Just because you made one mistake and did something you shouldn't have doesn't mean you're a bad person. You should never think that about yourself."

"I just feel like I'm going nowhere." I almost couldn't believe how open I was with him.

"Damn right you're going nowhere. You'll be lucky if Maggie ever lets you leave." Mr. Michalchuk chuckled.

I too gave off a laugh as I rolled my eyes.

"You know what I mean." I said.

"I sure do. And don't worry. Things take time. Life takes time. It's you who decides your future, not your mistakes." He put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into a half hug.

"Thanks." I said. I gave him a quick kiss on the check.

"Oh, no bother." He said returning to his book, "Always glad to help. Hey, you know, the sun is setting nicely tonight behind that tree. I would highly recommend getting a few shots of that before it disappears."

"You know what, I think you're right." I replied. I went inside to get my camera.

I took a few shots of the sunset as Mr. Michalchuk continued to read his book. It had been oddly warm today. A little breeze gave a good effect for the shot. I probably took about ten shots total before sitting back down on the bench. Together Mr. Michalchuk and I watched as the sun sunk below the housetops and out of view.

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"You know. One of these nights we are going to have to find something better to do than look at the wall."

"Hey, your turn to think of ideas. I'm fresh out." I said.

Ellie just looked me, "Well, there is this party on..."

"No parties." I said fatly.

"Okay, but I wish you would tell me why."

I gave her a don't go there look.

"Sorry, it's just you look like you got into a fight with a grizzle bear."

"I fell."

"Into jagged rocks?"

"As a matter of fact."

Ellie gave me a stern look.

"Alex...sometimes...I wonder about you."

I sighed. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." She replied.

Ellie and I had been spending a lot more time together, like we said we should. I was glad; I needed a friend. My mood had generally gone up since the incident. I was a little better. I had even managed to get my mind of Paige. Despite the fact I wasn't ready to let her go yet, I knew it was still good for me to focus on other things. The was early December now and the first snow was starting to fall. I took the opportunity to take as many pictures as I could. It didn't take me long to realize anything could be pretty with a little snow on it.

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The Christmas season had arrived and the mall was jam packed full of shoppers trying to get their Christmas shopping out of the way. I had been working eight hour shifts and even overtime. I was so exhausted. Sometimes I would get home from work and be falling asleep at the dinner table. Mr. Michalchuk would have to nudge me to wake up. Mrs. Michalchuk would complain,

"They shouldn't over work you like that." She would go on. I had taken Mr. Michalchuk's advice to live and learn and things between Mrs. Michalchuk and me had pretty much returned to normal.

"Yea, but I need the money. So I'm not complaining."

"Still..." She would say. The rest of the dinner would usually be eaten in silence.

One night dinner had been especially quiet. I had finished telling the story of how I had to chase a three year old around the store because he had run off with some old lady's credit card. Mr. Michalchuk had been practically falling to the floor with laughter. Mrs. Michalchuk had been asking where his mother had been. After I had finished the story Mrs. Michalchuk gave a look to Mr. Michalchuk to stop laughing. I was getting pretty good at reading her facial expressions. They were amazingly similar to Paige's.

"So, Alex." She finally began. "You've been living with us for awhile now."

"Oh, yea. I've been looking. I haven't had a lot of time lately because..."

"No..no..no...dear. No need to worry about that. It really has been a pleasure having you here. You are like a second daughter to Bill and I and you will always be welcomed here."

These words made me smile.

"Now, it's just. Bill and I were thinking. While you're living here, since you're not in such dire need to support yourself, you could cut back your work hours a little." Mr. Michalchuk looked concerned.

"Look Maggie. I know they have been overworking me, but just as soon as the Christmas season is over it won't be as bad."

"Oh, I know that dear. But I wasn't just referring to the Christmas season. Bill and I were thinking that maybe you could use this opportunity to maybe look into the community college."

I just looked at Mrs. Michalchuk.

"We just figured it would be a good time to get it out of the way before you really do have some responsibilities to deal with." Mr. Michalchuk butted in.

"And of course, you can stay here while you're in school. Really there's no rush on you moving out." Mrs. Michalchuk smiled. She was really leaving this decision for me to make.

"Umm..." I started. I really had to think about it. I wasn't even ready to answer the question.

"Think about it dear." Mrs. Michalchuk finished. "But let me know if you want to enroll for spring classes because we'll have to get you signed up soon."

"Okay." I replied.

That night I laid in bed pondering whether I should go to college or not. Last time Paige had wanted me to go to college it didn't seem like possibility. Back then, I had felt like I wasn't going to amount to anything better than my mother. I didn't feel like that anymore. I had felt no matter how hard I tried my past would just pull me back down again. I replayed the conversation with Mr. Michalchuk over again in my mind. Things were different now. Was there a real reason why I shouldn't go? It's you who decides your future, not your mistakes. I slowly started to drift off, those words echoing in my mind.

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I've already started working chapter 11 so hopefully I'll have that finished and up by tonight. I'm still planning and getting some more characters besides Elli and Jay into the story, but don't worry we haven't seen the last of them. I tend to update my progress with the chapters in my profile, so if your interested in knowing where I currently am with a story check there.