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"Are you sure you've got everything packed?" Jeff asked the night before my flight.

I nodded as I zipped up the suitcase and then moved it to the floor.

"Ok, I'll wake you up at 4 so please get some rest." He said, knowing I loved to stay up all night.

I smiled at him, "Goodnight Uncle Jeff…"

He shook his head and left me alone. I decided at that point that I wasn't going to sleep until I got on the plane. No one knew I was coming home except my mom and that's the way I wanted it for now. I walked over to my laptop and opened up Facebook to see if anyone was on. I was just about to turn off my chat box when Mark sent me an instant message.

Mark: Hey, how are you?

I really didn't want to talk to him but since I wanted him to know I was over everything I sent him a message back.

Kitty: I'm good and you?

Mark: Eh…I'm ok. Not at home right now.

Kitty: Oh. That sucks.

He didn't message me back for a few moments and I instantly felt bad. I knew I had to change the subject ASAP before we started arguing.

Kitty: So…how is the swim team?

Mark: Pretty good…they would be better if you were here =)

Kitty: I'm sure they would be but don't worry…you'll find someone that's just as fast as I was.

Mark: Hopefully….why do you sound that way?

Kitty: What do you mean?

Mark: You sound…different somehow, like you really don't want to talk.

I sighed to myself knowing I was wrong for this but I couldn't help myself. I never once got the chance to tell Mark how I felt about that situation so I was showing it instead.

Kitty: I'm sorry…I just…nevermind.

Mark: No tell me…I don't want you hiding things from me anymore.

I sighed not really wanting to talk to him about what I was thinking.

Kitty: I don't want to talk right now Mark. I mean I'm over everything that happened between us but…it's still hard to talk to you now. I hope you understand.

Mark: I understand. Well don't be a stranger…when you're ready to talk I'll be here.

I sighed with relief and then sent my final reply.

Kitty: Ok. Goodnight.

Mark: Goodnight.

I sort of felt bad about how I handled that, but part of me was proud of it. I needed to stand up to him and not be a scared little girl anymore.

I stayed up until nearly 3 am before getting one hour of sleep. As promised my uncle woke me up and took me to the airport.

"Be careful sweetie. Call me when you land ok?" he said as he hugged me.

I nodded through tired eyes and went to board my plane. To be honest, I was slightly excited to be going home. I really did miss my mother and my swim mates. Since they didn't get out of school for another week, I thought maybe I could plan a surprise visit to see them. It took almost two hours for me to get there. My mom was waiting patiently for me at the entrance of the airport. Upon seeing me she smiled and hugged me tightly.

"Hey sweetheart, how are you?" she asked me.

I smiled at her, "I'm good mom."

She ran her fingers through my honey highlighted hair, "Wow I see you have changed..and grew in some areas."

I blushed and covered my chest, "Mom!"

"I'm just saying dear. Anyways let's get you home so you can lie down and get some rest."

I nodded as she took my suitcase from me and pulled it to the car. When we got there I noticed that she had a completely different car.

"Um mom…what happened to the Kia?" I asked.

"Oh I still have it…but it's going to you for when you want to come home and you need to get around."

I smiled at her, "Really? That's sweet,"

She smiled as I helped her get my suitcase in the car. After that we hopped into the front seats and headed back to our house. I was so tired that I fell asleep on the way there.

"Kitty, wake up honey so we can go in the house." She told me.

I sighed and got out of the car. As I began helping my mom get the suitcase out, I saw Mark's lights in his house pop on. I got nervous, not really wanting to see him at all, but then I saw Sam come out onto the porch. She was holding her one year old son in her arms as she stepped aside to let the dog out.

When she looked up, and saw me, her face went blank. I figured maybe she didn't recognize me since I was getting older and my body was filling out a whole lot. She then turned her attention to my mom.

"Good morning Lita!" she said.

My mom smiled and greeted her back, "Hey Sam. How are you this morning?"

"Oh I'm good, you haven't seen Mark have you?" she asked.

"Uh no not at all, when is the last time he was home?" my mom asked.

Sam sighed, "Oh…not since Tuesday…does your friend know where he could be?"

My mom laughed, "This isn't my friend, it's my daughter."

Sam gasped, "Katrina? Oh my goodness I didn't even recognize you!" she said as she placed her son on the other hip and walked up to the fence to get a closer look at me.

I rolled my eyes and walked over to her. "Hey."

"Hey…wow you look so much older now." She said. "How have you been?"

I shrugged, "Ok I guess…I see little man is doing alright."

She smiled and looked at her little bundle of joy. It was then that I realized that her baby definitely didn't have any traits from Mark. He was so cute with dark brown hair tan skin and…brown eyes?

"Weird…he doesn't have any of Mark's traits at all…or hers for that matter."

"Would you like to hold him?" She asked.

I smiled softly, "I don't know…I'm actually really tired."

"Oh come on silly. I want you to hold him…" she said with a smile.

I looked at him and then opened my hands to receive him. He stared at me for a second and then reached for me like I was his mother. He was so big for a one year old yet…real cute. For some reason, I kind of felt connected to him in some ways. We had the same natural hair color and same color eyes. Even his smile looked familiar to me.

"Hi there cutie," I said. "You're so handsome."

He smiled and then touched my face. Sam smiled at me. "He likes you…hey."

I looked up into her eyes and saw remorse in them.

"I'm really sorry for how I treated you. I know now that there was nothing going on between you and Mark and I'm so sorry for thinking that you were trying to steal him."

I smiled and then looked at Marcus. "It's alright. I did have a crush on him but I knew it would never get anywhere…besides I was young at the time so pony's and fairies were real to me."

She laughed, "True. Well anyways I'm sorry and I hope we can possibly start over."

I smiled, "That could be possible as long as I get to see this handsome little man more often."

"Of course, I can see that you two are bonding already. It's almost like your brother and sister."

I laughed, "Yes that's what I was thinking….well I'll see you later little guy."

He frowned a little when I handed him back to her. I smiled at him, "Don't worry Marcus. I'll be over to see you later ok?"

He looked at Sam who nodded and he looked back at me with a smile.

"Ok, well I guess I'll see you later Sam." I told her.

She nodded, "ok tell your mom I'll be over later to talk to her."

I nodded and then headed back to my house to finish getting my bags in the house. I felt a whole lot better about being home now that she apologized…question was…was she honestly sorry?

Later on that day I got up and put on some white pants with a cute royal blue top that had one sleeve that hung off my left shoulder. I then curled my hair, slid into some black flip flops, put on some make-up and brushed my pearly whites before heading out.

"Bye mom, I'll be right back." I told her.

"Ok honey, make sure you let me know when you'll be back so I'll know when to cook."

I nodded and then headed out ready to surprise my team mates and the coach himself.