I went inside my mom's house and just got ready for bed. I was acting completely normal, not trying to let it get to the best of me. But even a strong little girl like me knew something as critical as this couldn't be something I'd just sleep on.

Knock knock knock.

Tori's door opened.

"Hey Cat, what's up?"

I leaped forward and fell into my sister's arms. I didn't hold back. This time I let myself be the emotional sap for once. Tori pulled me in and closed her door. She sat me down on the bed and just let me cry. Maybe it was intuition or she probably didn't know what to say and how to react, but she just knew I needed her and I was glad she was there.

After about a good 20 minutes – yeah, I went that long – I finally stopped crying. Not really. I was able to talk while letting some tears fall here and there.

"I'm guess you and Robbie had a fight, huh?" she handed me a tissue.

"How did you know?" I sadly chuckled.

"What happened?"

"It's really stupid," I sighed.

"Well it wouldn't be so stupid since you cried. And you rarely cry," Tori pointed out.

She does have a point. I never cried. At least for serious things. I didn't cry when both my grandparents on my mom's side passed away a few years back, I didn't cry when they told us they were separating and divorcing, I didn't even cry when I found out Santa wasn't real (I caught Dad sneaking the presents under the tree one Christmas and mom just told him to tell me the truth). The only times I actually cried, which was pathetic by the way, was when I watched movies. Happy parts, sad parts, inspiring parts – movies made me cry. But real life, tough luck. So it was undeniable that I was crying for a good reason. And that reason just had to be about a boy.

"Robbie got into that magnet school he talked about with Dad that one time at dinner."

"That's awesome!" Tori exclaimed. Then she stopped. "Right?"

"No, yeah it's great. And I was excited too at first. But he was having second thoughts of leaving because of me and I just felt a bit weird that he'd do that."

"What? Did you not want to get attached or something?"

"I don't know honestly."

"Ok, so then what?" she asked me to continue.

"Well I tried convincing him not to decide his future because of me. This was his future we were talking about. And then after a while he agreed."

"Then what's the problem?" she was confused.

"Well now I don't want him to go. He put it in my head that we'd have this ideal relationship and that him moving might mess things up."

"Cat, Malibu's like an hour away, you guys can manage."

"That's too far!"

"Cat…"

"Look I know I'm over exaggerating but don't I have the right to? I'm sixteen for God's sake. I'm only human."

"Exactly, but it's not like you won't be able to see him."

"Yeah but you never know how much time you'll have. We're going to be juniors next year. On top of tests and soon college, I've got HA stuff to worry about and now he's got his tech program."

"So you're going to be busy. What's the matter with that?"

"Mom and dad became busy. Look how they ended up."

"But you're not mom and dad."

Knock knock knock.

"Oh chizz. It's mom," Tori handed me some Kleenex to wipe my eyes.

"Tori? I heard the front door earlier. Is Cat in there with you?" mom said on the other side of the door.

"What should we do?" she whispered to me.

"Just let her in, Tor. My eyes are too puffy to hide," I said. Might as well let mom know too.

"Yeah, she's in here, ma. Come in."

Mom opened the door. When she saw me, her smiling face turned into a complete frown.

"What happened, baby?" she sat next to me and gave me a hug.

"Robbie," Tori mouthed.

"Robbie?! Cat, what happened?!" Mom demanded. "I am going to kill that boy!" she got up and clenched her fists.

"Mom chill," I said.

"Did that boy hurt you?!" she glared.

"No, Robbie would never lay a finger on me," I assured her.

"Then why are you crying?" she asked.

"Because…" I paused.

"Cat, you know I don't like stalling," mom reminded me.

"He's moving," I mumbled.

"Oh," she said and sat back down gently. "Where to?"

"Malibu. He got into that magnet school."

"Honey that's great!" mom exclaimed.

"I know it is. But he's leaving me."

"You can always visit, Cat. It's not that far," she told me.

"Look, I know that. But I'm going to be busy soon and so is he. I don't really have time to take mini vacations every weekend just to see him. It'll be too difficult to keep up."

"Well, you got to figure something out then" mom said like she solved the problem. She didn't. Doesn't she know that I know I need to figure something out?

"I know that, but I don't know what to do. If he goes, I'll be sad. If he stays I know he'll regret it. Either way someone's going to lose," I explained.

"Well, this is your first relationship, Kitty-Cat. Sorry to say it but it's just going to get harder and harder every time," mom shared.

"What?!" I started to tear up again.

"What mom means is that there will be a lot of bumps in the road, no matter what," Tori said gently.

"And how's that supposed to make me feel better?" I whined.

"It's not," mom said bluntly. "Men… they're going to disappoint you with half the decisions they make in life. But some of them don't do it intentionally. Life just has so much in store for them and men can get pretty ambitious. That goes for women too, you know. But with men, it's different. Ambition is what drives their ego. It's… it's what I admired about your father so much. I still do." That last part mom almost whispered, but Tori and I heard. We also knew that too. When we were younger and we asked about how mom and dad fell in love, she would say it's because they were so passionate about the future and being together until forever. I guess that dream got shot to hell.

"But like I said, life gets in their way. That's why sometimes, like you're father and me, relationships falter."

That's got to be the most depressing piece of advice I've ever received. I think I just got even more dejected hearing it. But of course I wouldn't tell my mom that.

"Thanks, mom," was all I said.

"Look Kitty-Cat. I know you want what's best for Robbie. If you care about him then you've got to let him go. It's that cheesy saying they say. What is it again, Tor?"

"If you love something set it free," my sister reminded her.

"Right. If you love something set it free. And if it comes back, then it's meant to be."

"I guess," I whispered.

"Just think about it, honey. I know you'll make the right decision."

With that, mom kissed the top of my head and told Tori to look after me because she needed to work I the morning so she had to sleep. After mom left, Tori let me stay for a bit longer.

"Mom really needs to work on her advice giving," I chuckled.

"I still think she's torn up about dad, just let her off easy."

"You know mom tells me that I remind her so much of dad and that makes me scared that I'll be just like him."

"And what's the matter with that? Dad's a great guy."

"No, I agree. But mom always tells me that Dad was the one who messed up the relationship. And technically I messed up mine and Robbie's… Well, if you even call ours a relationship. It only lasted a month."

"Whether it's one month or one hundred months, there's still something there. So why don't you fight for it?" she reasoned.

"Because it's doomed for failure," my cynical side responded.

"And how do you know that?"

"Like I said, we're like mom and dad."

"And like I said, you're not mom and dad."

"How do you know that? Nonna and grandpa said we were. Robbie and I were complete opposites but together we compliment one another. Just like our parents. You'd think if they stayed together for so long that they'd stay together forever, but even their spark blew out. Why don't I just save the sob story for Robbie and me by not even letting our relationship start at all?"

"God Cat, you can be a pessimist sometimes."

"I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist. And I really think that my love life is doomed for failure. I'm going to die alone. That's what I've been trying to avoid for the longest time, Tor."

"What do you mean?" she cocked her head to the side.

"I don't want to play this game. I don't want to be a fool for love. People get hurt, they separate, divorce- and then they become cynical like mom."

"Not every relationship is going to be like our parents, Kitty-Cat."

"How do you know that?"

"Well… I don't know really."

"But you've got Andre," I reminded her. "You two fight so much about God knows what, but he's still with you. Why can't mom and dad be like that?"

Tori sighed and sat on her bed facing me.

"I don't think Andre and I are going to last much longer," she admitted.

"What?" that took me by surprise.

"I think we're about ready to call it quits. I mean you said it yourself, you hear our fights. And I'm just tired of it. I think he's tired of it too."

"What is so bad that makes you two fight so much?" I wondered.

Tori sighed. It's like she didn't want to tell me. But once she did, I wish she didn't.

"So you know how I got into UCLA?"

"Yeah so did Andre, right?"

"Yeah he did. And I know he only wanted to go because of me. But I know him. He wants to go to Santa Barbara to play football. Right before we made our decisions, I told him I already confirmed on San Diego instead. So that's where I'm going in the fall. It was my first choice and I've been talking to my counselor and the principal about scholarships all semester. We've been arguing because for the longest time we keep going back and forth about college and about the time we're spending together before we both leave."

"Both?"

"I told him there was nothing stopping him now so he accepted Santa Barbara."

"That's great I guess. But… oh chizz that's like Robbie and me."

"Yeah. But Cat, we've been fighting even before then about the stupidest things. I know I spent a lot of my time with the scholarship thing but I wanted to do it for me. And he's been talking to his coach for scholarships as well. It's not just me."

"Whoa. I didn't know any of this."

"That's because there's nothing to worry about. Honest. It's what I want. I'm focusing on my future… I guess I'm kind of like dad too, huh?"

"But what about Andre?" I questioned. I mean, doesn't he have a say in the relationship too? Tori couldn't make all the shots.

"We're different people now. And I have a feeling Andre wants out just as much as me."

"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?" I was confused.

"It's better this way, we're both going to start out fresh come fall," Tori claimed.

"But is that what you want?" I asked her.

She sighed and patted my shoulder.

"When you care about someone so much, Kitty-Cat, sometimes you got to think of them before yourself."