It seemed as though everything in Burgess had returned to normal, but Jamie had an inkling the city would never be the same again. After the massive flood that followed the end of the blizzard, the people had gone to work cleaning up the debris left behind, recovering dead bodies and beginning to rebuild ruined houses. School was closed till after spring break.

Jamie and Sophie merely watched as Mrs. Bennett attempted to console one of her friends, a lady she knew through her job, who had lost both her sons in the blizzard. The atmosphere was grim. After waiting anxiously for about two weeks, only did the lady receive news that the half-decayed bodies which resembled her sons had been discovered and she was to identify them. Jamie and Sophie took seats near the two adults as the townsfolk who had came to the memorial service offered her their condolences on the way out.

A beeping sound reached Jamie's ears. He turned to see Sophie fish her phone out of her pocket and stare at the screen. He turned away, not really interested in watching his sister read a text message, and took in the sights of the lit candles. A moment later, his attention was drawn back to his sister as Sophie abruptly got up and took her leave. She walked briskly, stuffing her phone roughly into her pocket. Her eyebrows were furrowed and she seemed troubled. Casting one glance at his mother and her friend, Jamie got to his feet and followed her out.

"Sophie!"

Sophie whirled around to glare at Jamie. "Why are you following me?" she snapped, scowling. "Just leave me alone for once." She was about to turn and run off when her brother grabbed her arm. She tried to yank it out of his grasp, but he wouldn't let go.

"What's gotten into you?" he demanded, beginning to feel annoyed. "You're not happy I'm back for spring break?" He immediately chided himself for that remark, but it was too late. Sophie's glare intensified.

"Maybe," she spat, managing to pull her arm free from her brother's grip at that moment and run off. Jamie watched her go, wondering if he should follow her. He finally decided not to; Sophie was best left alone during one of her mood swings. He sat on one of the benches in the front yard as her last word before she ran off rang in his ears. 'Maybe'. He snapped out of his reverie at the sudden pressure on his left shoulder as a cold hand rested on it.

"Hey Jamie. What happened? Why the long face?" Jack took a seat on the bench beside Jamie, causing frost to swirl over it as his fingers brushed the cold stone surface.

Jamie remained silent. Jack didn't push it. Both merely sat there, waiting for the other to speak, to say something. Jamie wished Jack would bring up another subject whereas the guardian decided not to question Jamie on his current mood and wait for the boy to change the subject. After what seemed like an eternity, Mrs. Bennett walked out into the front yard and was slightly taken aback to see Jack and Jamie seated on the bench. Jamie looked up as his mother came into sight.

"Sophie ran off," he said, dismissively. "Maybe she's gone home."

A look of worry clouded Mrs. Bennett's features. "She's been acting really strange lately. And hi, Jack. You know, I wouldn't sit there if I were you. That frost is going to attract a lot of stares and bring about awkward questions."

Jack smirked and glanced around. "There's no one here," he remarked, but just as he said that, several townsfolk walked out of the house, talking in low voices, heading towards the front gate. They were too absorbed in their conversation to notice Mrs. Bennett or the frost on the bench. The woman redirected her attention to her son, who was getting to his feet.

"Let's go home," he said. "This depressing atmosphere's getting to us." He turned to Jack. "Will you be coming?"

"I'll see you later," Jack said, leaping lightly onto the grass. "I just want to... have a look." His smirk was gone. He made a small gesture towards the house. Jamie nodded and walked towards the front gate with his mother.

"So, what is it about Sophie recently that you find odd?" Jamie asked, as they walked home, which was only a few streets away.

Mrs. Bennett shrugged. "She avoids human contact. She spends a lot of time with Abby, and doesn't talk to me. If I talk to her, she snaps. She looks depressed as well, and I doubt it has anything to do with the funerals we've been attending. And school's out, so she should be happy, don't you think?"

Jamie mulled it over. "She seemed troubled after receiving a text message earlier," he responded.

"Maybe she's not on good terms with one of her friends," his mother guessed.

"Or maybe she's suffering the aftermath of a bad break-up."

Mrs. Bennett laughed. "Your sister has not been in a relationship as far as I know, and anyway, she's too young for all that. Oh, look who's back!"

Jamie glanced ahead and spotted Pippa and Cupcake walking down the road between the two rows of half-destroyed houses, staring, pointing and talking. Surprised to see them, he called out, waving wildly. They, however, didn't seem surprised to see him.

"Jamie! Monty told us all about Sandy's cloud! And then Cupcake told us more," said Pippa, smirking slightly. The smirk faded as she gestured at the houses. "I heard what happened. Is your place okay?"

Jamie shook his head in response. "No, the flood devastated the first floor, but we're in the process of cleaning things up. What about your houses?"

"Similar situation. Both of us," Cupcake said, gesturing at herself and Pippa. "Well, we'll see you around." She slapped Jamie on the back and walked off with Pippa as the two Bennetts continued on their way home.

Upon arriving at the house, Jamie tried not to look at the broken windows and the dirty living room as he entered and hurried upstairs. He knocked on Sophie's door, but there was no response. He tried the door, and to his surprised, it opened, but the room was deserted. Sophie's easel sat in a dark corner of the room, with no new canvas on it and appeared to have been untouched. Her painting tools were nowhere in sight. The curtains had been drawn. One oil painting of a ship in a storm rested at the foot of her bed. Across from it, her desk was almost buried beneath a load of notes and her computer was on sleep mode. The light on the monitor blinking in the semi-darkness of the room attracted Jamie who instinctively powered the computer on.

"Jamie!" Mrs. Bennett called up the stairs. "Is Sophie home?"

"No," Jamie said, almost to himself. It went unheard by Mrs. Bennett who hurried up the stairs, wondering why her son didn't respond and found him in Sophie's room, staring at his sister's computer screen, where a window was opened revealing that she had not logged out of her email account.

Mrs. Bennett wasn't too pleased. "Jamie, please respect your sister's privacy," she spoke, firmly, but the young adult didn't respond. He continued scrolling through the emails, his eyes glued to the screen. He didn't seem amused, however. Mrs. Bennett then peered over his shoulder at what he was viewing.

"Look at this, mom..."