A/N Thanks again guys. And I'll try to update more this week!

It was another hot day. The breeze was blowing gently through the upstairs window. Lucy could hear the wind chimes outside clanging back and forth. She smiled to herself, she had been doing that a lot lately.

She peeked out the window every now and then to see her mom doing work in the garden. She could hear her humming a tune and it sounded so familiar but she couldn't put her finger on where she'd heard it before.

Lucy sat in her room with a half finished book and some coffee. She could still hear her mom humming and it was starting to driver her crazy. If it hadn't been so hot she would have closed the window. She took a sip of coffee and concentrated back on her book. A few minutes passed and she heard her mom call her name. She looked out the window into the mid afternoon sun and saw her mom waving a few pieces of mail in her hand.

"One's for you dear…from Max!"

Lucy smiled again, she missed her brother, she missed his jokes, she ran happily down the stairs and headed out the front door. Her mom handed her the envelope and it felt thick. She smiled again. Her mom looked into her eyes and smiled.

Three weeks Max had called her frantically, panicking about Lucy and drugs. She could barely remain standing. Her daughter, her oldest daughter, couldn't take the world, and she wasn't there to shield her from it. The first time she saw her, she looked like a zombie. She wasn't happy. Now, now the young woman who stood before her was doing better. She was eating again, she wasn't having quite as many outbursts, and she seemed to be recovering well.

"What?" Lucy asked as her mom stared.

"I'm just glad you're here." She touched her daughters face and smiled. Lucy returned the smile and then darted back to her room to read Max's letter.

She hadn't heard from him in a couple of weeks and she was so excited to hear what he had to say.

Her hands fumbled with the envelope as she pulled out stacks of paper and another envelope.

She opened up the letter on top as she situated herself on her bed.

Luce,

I miss you little sis. New York isn't quite as lovely without you here. To answer your questions from your previous letter; yes I am doing good. I feel a lot better, I sleep a lot but I think my body is just still trying to catch up on some sleep. Sadie and Jojo are great, the band has had quite a few gigs, when you get better maybe you can come to one for a weekend. You know I'd love for you to move back sis, but let's not get ahead of ourselves yet, let's concentrate on getting you completely okay. No, no one has heard from prudence at all, not since the night at the hospital. It's very strange, her apartment is empty and it's like she disappeared, again. And yes, Jude made it home okay. He's doing alright, walking pretty well, he's drawing again. Says he needs to fix the paint on the ceiling and he is always staring at it. Other than that, he seems okay…I say that in a I don't know what to really say way. He misses you, a lot. I know you probably don't want to hear about it but I've caught him crying a handful of times…and it's over you. He misses you like crazy. He's always writing you letters then tossing them out. I know you said you needed to forget about him to get better, and you both have to get better, but Luce…you loved him once, and he loved you, and he still does. He went through hell for you…you both just, you just had addictions and other problems. I sent some letters he wrote to you that I took out of his trash, and in the other envelope are some pictures…from better times, of all of us. I love you little sis and please write me back. Give mom my love and tell dad I send my best. Keep well, I love you-Max.

Lucy felt boggled. She had been thinking about Jude a lot, when she laid down or when she would think about New York. Jude had a way of creeping into her mind unexpectedly. He'd hide there for hours and she'd be left sobbing about it.

The idea of Jude crying made her feel sick. She remembered how he'd look when she came home late, not knowing where her bedroom was and laughing hysterically. She'd see him, sitting on the bed, the bathroom light reflecting on his face, and he would look so sad, it would tear her apart. She'd never seen his full fledged sob and she couldn't bear the thought.

She opened the envelope to see pictures from a year earlier. There were ones at the café of everyone sitting around laughing and drinking. Pictures of Max from last summer with his swimming trunks and a life jacket on, while standing in the middle of a stream of water coming from a fire hydrant. Sadie and Jojo sitting on the couch singing, pictures of the Manhattan skyline, Prudence dancing in the living room, and then Jude, sitting at his desk drawing pictures with a smirk on his face. Lucy caught her breath in her chest. The next ones we're of Max and Jude, arms around each other laughing hysterically. A few pictures of things Jude had drawn, and then a picture of Lucy and Jude. They were sitting on the balcony looking over the edge. Lucy was looking into his eyes and smiling and Jude was offering the same smile back. They didn't know the picture was being taken and they were caught up in the moment.

Lucy felt her eyes well up with tears and she tried to hold them back. She hung the picture on her bulletin board and felt the tears fall when she looked up at it. She sat there for a moment trying to decide whether or not to read the letters. They were letters Jude had never meant for her to see and she wondered why. Her hands were shaking as she unfolded the notes. She held her breath as she read over the words.

The first letter was a song. Basically saying how he missed her and wanted her to come home, it was lonely where he was so come back down, and he won't tell anyone her name. She folded it up and sat it next to the stack of pictures.

The next one was "I'm sorry" written boldly and covered in flower designs. The rest of it seemed to be drawings and designs. She traced them with her fingers and felt her eyes well up again.

The last one was an actual letter. Jude was never great with expressing his feelings flat out, and Lucy felt nervous.

I've written you letters, countless ones at that. I'm always thinking about you and the way your hair falls slightly over your eyes. I always think of our better days, before I was a stubborn drunk ass who pushed your further away. I miss you so much it burns. You wouldn't believe how lonely this room is without you in it, you wouldn't believe how lonely the city is either. I wish you the best. I wish you wouldn't forget me. I wish I wouldn't have turned to something else. I should have turned to you instead of away from you. Please believe me when I say I love you, and I hope you haven't forgotten me entirely.

Lucy felt her stomach tie up in knots. She was crying now, tears streaming down her face. She wiped them away and looked up at the picture of them. She hadn't forgotten Jude, she missed him all the time, she couldn't forget him. She wanted to see him. She tried to put herself back together before her mom would walk in and see her sobbing.

She thought about the way he used to call her love and she smiled slightly. Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing phone.

She ran downstairs and picked it up. There was a clicking noise, and after she said hello a few times and sniffled, she hung up.

She started to walk towards the kitchen, while Jude popped in her mind again. She remembered when he had been at her house for thanksgiving, and how wonderful her mom thought he was, and she was still with Daniel at that time. She looked at the dining room table and could almost see everyone sitting around the table and the sparkle in Jude's eyes as he felt at home. She remembered after they came back from the bowling alley that night, before him and Max left for New York, Lucy walked down the stairs to say goodbye to Max when she saw Jude sitting on the front porch smoking. She walked out and smiled.

"You planning on joining us?" He asked between hits.

"No, but I did want to say goodbye, and it was nice to meet you."

"That it was, I wish we could get to know each other more but Max is pretty determined on getting to the city."

Lucy simply nodded and pulled the blanket around her tighter.

"Maybe we'll get to see each other again?" She smiled happily.

Jude smiled back. "Perhaps you'll have to pay a visit."

The phone rang again, and Lucy was shifted from her daydream to reality.

She walked over to it feeling startled and murmured a hello into the receiver.

There was silence again.

She sniffled and wiped her face. "Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?" she felt her voice crack and she sniffled again.

She was about ready to hang up when a voice responded.

"Why do you sound so sad….sweet?"