On the car ride home, Melinda was thinking about what happened today. She felt really bad about just leaving Andrea without an exclamation, but after she heard that collision, for some reason she just panicked. She had to get out of there and go home to think.

But in a way, she did tell the truth about why she left in such a hurry. She was getting tired. The accident last night, her dream, and 3 encounters with Jamie, drained everything out of her. So when she told Andrea she started feeling tired, she wasn't kidding. But it was much deeper then that alone.

She was just grateful that Jim told her he was so swamped with work. She just wanted to go home and be alone. She didn't want to worry about hiding anything from him when she got home, she was sick of hiding things from people for the day. It seems like that's all she's doing lately.

"Should I tell him?" Melinda asked aloud, mainly to the steering wheel.

She knew she wasn't going to get an answer from a steering wheel, so she decided to start flicking through the radio stations. She was desperately trying to find that right song, the one that would make her forget all her troubles for 4 minutes. However, every channel picked now to start talking about problems with the latest celebrities. No one seemed to be playing anything.

After a few minutes, she finally settled for a station talking about some celebrity with some problem. She didn't know, or care, so she didn't have a clue as to what they were talking about.

Melinda, getting bored, started to tap on the steering wheel while humming a song.

After a few more minutes of random celebrity talk no one cares about, and tapping on the steering wheel, she finally pulled into her driveway. She turned off the car, grabbed her purse in the passenger seat, got out, and went inside.

She set her purse and keys down on a table, and kicked off her shoes. She walked to the refrigerator and grabbed a yogurt. Then she walked over to the utensil drawer and grabbed a spoon, shutting the drawer by pushing it with her waist.

She turned around to go to the living room, this time going through the dining room, mixing her yogurt. She looked up from her yogurt, and stopped short. Sitting on the couch starring at her, not smiling, was Jim.

Melinda smiled at him, "Hey Jim"

He didn't smile back, "Hey"

"What are you doing home? I thought you were at work"

"I never went to work"

"But you said-," Melinda was getting confused

"I went to go talk to your mom," Jim interrupted her, saying a little too calmly.

"You did what? I can't believe you went to go talk to my mother without asking me first!"

Jim patted the spot on the couch next to him, "Why don't you have a seat," still very calm.

Melinda hesitated in the doorway between the dining room and the living room. She shifted her weight from her right foot to her left foot, so she was leaning away from him. She had a feeling she knew what was coming, and she was scared. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and she was pretty sure Jim could hear it from the couch.

Melinda turned around and placed the yogurt on the dining room table. She stood where she was for a few moments, twiddling her thumbs around each other. She dropped her arms and sighed, rocking back and fourth a couple of times. Jim, much to her disliking, was acting so calm. The situation Melinda was in was all ready very uncomfortable, and Jim wasn't helping. She looked toward him hoping for a reassuring smile, but none came.

Jim patted the couch again, "Mel, let's talk"

"About what?" Melinda stuttered out.

"About Jamie"

At the mention of Jamie's name, a sharp pain shot through her heart, like it was being ripped apart, "I all ready told you-,"

"Don't. I know about her, I talked to your mom"

"Oh yeah? And what did she tell you? Did she tell you it was my fault? Did she tell you I killed her on purpose? What did she tell you?" Melinda shouted at him.

"Pleas, sit"

"No"

"Melinda, sit," his voice was stern this time.

Melinda slowly walked over to the couch. She sat as far away as she could from Jim, and leaned against the arm of the couch to gain a little more distance.

"What happened that night?"

"I thought you said you talked to my mother," Melinda snapped back.

"I did, but I want to hear your story"

"It's not much different then hers"

"I still want to hear it"

Melinda looked down at her hands and took in a big breath, letting it out slowly.

Jim looked at her, not saying anything. He all ready caused enough damage today, and he knew he was going to cause more by making her tell the story. He didn't want to start off by rushing her. He waited this long to hear it, a few seconds wouldn't kill him.

Finally Melinda looked back up again.

"Ten… ten years ago… I accidentally killed my younger sister," Melinda looked at Jim for a reaction, and when she got none, she decided to keep going, "I swear to you it was an accident!"

"I know you didn't mean to do anything wrong," now Jim gave her the reassuring smile she was looking for before.

Melinda swallowed back the tears that were forcing their way up her throat, "We had just gone out to see a movie, Kill It Before It Dies, the theatre was playing classic oldies. Anyway, on our way back, I guess I wasn't really paying any attention to the road. I was too busy goofing off or something, I didn't even see it, but Jamie did. She screamed and I looked up. At the last second I saw the deer that was in the middle of the road. I slammed on the breaks and swerved my car to the side of the road. I crashed into a tree. I thought everyone would be okay, but when I looked over at Jamie, I was wrong. Her head was down, but I could see the blood flowing down the side of her face. I guess she hit it on the door or something, I don't know.

So I pulled her out of the car and dropped down on the ground with her in my arms. I tried shaking her to wake up, but she wouldn't. I just panicked. If I had done more then," Melinda looked up at the ceiling, blinking back tears.

Jim reached over and grabbed her hand, "Hey, listen to me. You did everything you could do for her. Okay?"

"No I didn't"

"Yes you did, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise"

Melinda nodded, a small smile sneaking its way across her mouth.

"What?"

"Nothing, I just, she was always happy"

"Yeah?"

"She would always be laughing and smiling. She was just the happiest kid I ever knew. She could walk into a room with no lights on, and just smile, and that would be all the light you needed for that one moment," Melinda smiled as the memories of her sister came flooding back to her, "I remember her first ghost. She was running around the house yelling that she saw her first ghost, and told us how excited she was. She was so happy, even though she didn't really see it that well"

"What do you mean she didn't see it well?"

"Jamie didn't have 'the gift' the same way I do. She had it more like my mom. They could hear ghosts, and sometimes make out their shadows, but she couldn't really see, or communicate with them that well. But she didn't care. She was just so happy she had the family 'gift'. I used to always tell her it would grow as she does."

"Your mom told me you two were very close"

"Oh the closest. When our father left, it was hard on both of us, but Jamie took it hard. She used to cry herself to sleep because she thought it was her fault, and I would always comfort her, and after that she never asked my mom for comfort, she asked me. That brought us much closer then we all ready were."

"Melinda, why didn't you tell me about her?"

Melinda got up from her spot on the couch, and walked over to the window looking at the sky, "I couldn't Jim. I killed my sister you would have never understood"

"How could you say that Mel? If you had told me the whole story I would have understood perfectly. Trust me, I know how much this hurts, I lost my brother. So I know what you're going through"

"It's not the same"

"No it's not the same. But it's pretty damn close. Melinda, you can't beat yourself up about this. You didn't kill her"

"Yes I did. If I had been looking where I was going, or swerved the car the other way, then Jamie would still be alive……," Melinda started banging on the window crying and screaming over and over again, "I HATE YOU!"

Something inside of her snapped. All of her anger was let loose all at once. She hated her father for leaving. She hated her mother for blaming her for everything. She hated Jim for talking to her mother. But most of all, she hated Jamie for dying.

Jim got up from the couch and rushed over to Melinda and embraced her, saying anything comforting he could think of.

At first Melinda resisted him, pushing him away and hitting him, yelling at him to let her go. Then Melinda collapsed onto the ground crying. This time when Jim embraced her, she let him. They sat like that for a long time. Melinda crying into Jim's arms, while Jim held her tightly, tighter then he's ever held her before. He knew he was her rock. But right now, Melinda didn't need a rock. She needed a boulder.

Sorry if it's really confusing. It sounded right in my head, but then again, things always sound right in your own head. But thanks for reading!