As I pulled up, I could see cars parked in front of the house. Most likely, everybody from the reservation was here. They always were, especially for the holidays. My mother always made a big deal out of things, Christmas was one of her favorite holidays, and my dad just gave her whatever made her happy. I missed them terribly.

Taking a deep breath, I got out of the car and unstrapped the car seat from the backseat. Sammy was still sort of drowsy from all the commotion, but he would be fully awake in a few seconds.

I walked up the walkway to the red door, something my dad and I painted together when I was 10. I looked at the sign that hung over it, "The Clearwaters." It made me smile.

I took a deep breath and knocked three times, unaware that I was still holding that breath.

My little brother answered the door laughing, barely paying attention to who I was. When he took a good look at me his face fell. He was taller than me now though he was only sixteen, I guess I'd been away to long. I now had to look up at him.

"Oh my god…Leah?" He looked shocked and scared at the same time. I knew Sam had beat me up pretty bad, but I didn't know I looked that horrible.

"Merry Christmas Seth…can we come in?" I asked in a small voice, uncomfortable with the way he was looking at me.

"S-sure! Come on, it's freezing outside get in here…MOM! Come quick!" He screamed at the top of his lungs pulling us in, and I really wished he hadn't. I didn't want attention. He pulled me into a hug and I winced.

"Oh my god…Leah…what happened to you? Who did this?" He said as he hugged me tight, I could feel hot tears falling onto my sweater.

"Ow Sethy…it hurts…" I complained before he let me go and I placed Sammy's car seat on the ground, clutching at my stomach again.

"Oh shit! Sorry, I didn't mean—"

"It's okay…I'm a tough girl…" I said through short breaths as he stuttered frantically asking if I was okay. Yeah, he looked like grown man, but he was still jumpy little Seth.

I was finally able to stand straight to see that his expression had changed, and he was seething. He was furious.

"I'll kill him." He said through clenched teeth.

"Kill who?" But before I had the chance to calm Seth down my mom and dad walked into the room.

"Leah…Leah is that you?" My mom spoke softly as if she was looking at a ghost, her voice was breaking and her eyes were watering. Silently she ran over to me and wrapped her arms around me, but I didn't protest her like I'd done with Seth, because I needed my mother's hug.

"Lee-Lee…my baby…my baby…" That was all she said.

You see, Sue Clearwater wasn't a very emotional woman. That's where I got my stubbornness and attitude from. She was the strongest person I'd ever met, apart from my dad; I just wish it hadn't taken so long for me to find the strength I knew they gave me.

She stepped back and softly placed a hand on my cheek, taking in the damage of my face. I'd checked myself out in the mirror in the car before I came in, so I knew what she was seeing. My face was swollen, my forehead had a gash, my nose was most likely broken, and I had hand marks on my neck like someone tried to choke the life out of me. Which they had really tried to do to me.

The music coming from the living room continued playing and I could hear people singing, laughing, and talking, completely oblivious to what was happening. I picked up Sammy and carried him into the kitchen, not wanting to be discovered by party guests.

They followed me, and placed him on the counter to take him out the seat.

"Look, I know you guys have a lot of questions and I promise I'll answer them in the morning. I just…I really want to be alone for a while. But I love you, you can't imagine how much I missed you, and I can't tell you how happy I am to be home right now." I kissed each other their cheeks and they gave me my space. I was warming up Sammy's bottle so we could go upstairs and go to bed when I heard someone walk into the kitchen.

"Leah…Leah is that you?" I turned around at the voice, I didn't know them but they certainly knew me.

"Yeah…do I know you?" The guy was tall and had brown eyes, with black hair that came to his shoulders like most the guys on the rez did. He had a big bright smile and it was sort of contagious because I felt the corners of my mouth turn up a little. Just a little.

"Aw come on I know I look a little different, but don't say you don't remember me." He laughed, and his laugh sounded so familiar to me. After looking at him for a few more seconds, I remembered.