Blehck, Kaylie choked, spitting out her cereal, "Dad I think this milks gone bad."

"That can't be, I just bought it last week." He said grabbing the carton. He held it up to his nose and took a whiff, the horrific odor nearly made him gag. "I'm sorry sweetheart; I guess I forgot to check the expiration date. I'll go out and buy some more this afternoon."

As Kaylie watched her father dump the remains of the milk down the drain an uneasy feeling came over her.

Was I going to end up like that carton of milk? She thought, Are they going to cremate me then pour my ashes down the sink? She saw the last few drops of milk trickle down the pipes and the container was tossed carelessly onto a heap of garbage, reduced to nothing more than a hollow shell.

A chill ran down her spine as a frightening notion entered her mind, had she expired too?

When Mr. Goldsworthy left the room Kaylie snatched the empty carton from the trash and stashed it under her arm.

She went upstairs feeling completely spent by the time she reached the top. But she continued on to her room despite her lack of oxygen. She peeked in Eli's room as she passed...

Sleeping as usual.

When Kaylie finally got to her own room she collapsed on to the old wooden chair that was sitting by her window. She set the milk carton down on the windowsill and smiled, "I guess it's just you and me now."

Kaylie tipped forward a little and caught a glimpse of Mrs. Patterson watering her Azaleas in her backyard.

Was it Spring already? Now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember the last time she'd looked at a calendar. She had no idea what day it was and truthfully, she didn't care. She had far more troubling matters on her mind at the moment.

She had been battling with herself a lot recently. Always trying to find a solution to the same dilemma, should she stay or go?

On the one hand she was putting Eli's life at risk by staying and she couldn't bear to see him endure any more pain on her behalf. However, on the other hand, if she left she'd have to face death alone and that simply terrified her...but fear wouldn't be an excuse if she wound up killing her own brother...

She could feel her chest tightening and she tried to relax but there was too much junk rattling around in her brain to concentrate on anything else.

"What do you think I should do?" She asked the milk carton.

Cricket, cricket.

Kaylie sighed and sagged back in her chair, "I don't know either."

She closed her eyes and let her mind wander. It wasn't long before she found herself being sucked away into a dream-like memory...

"Come on Kaylie! You'll never win if you keep stopping to play with bugs!" The small dark haired boy yelled back to his sister.

Kaylie just giggled as a caterpillar inched its way up her arm.

Eli rolled his eyes and continued on, running all the way up to the log cabin that they had rented every summer and where his father and mother were sitting around a picnic table flirting.

"So who won?" Mrs. Goldsworthy asked joyfully as Eli came huffing up the hill.

"Didn't you see me mom? I beat Kaylie by a mile!" He gloated, than he folded his arms, "But Kaylie wasn't even trying."

"I was too!" Kaylie argued, coming up along side him.

"No you weren't!"

"Yes I was! I just stopped to pick up this little guy." Kaylie opened her hand and exposed a fuzzy green caterpillar.

"Gross." Eli squealed, imitating puking.

"He's not gross! I love him and I'm keeping him forever!" Kaylie cried, cradling the insect against her shirt.

Mrs. Goldsworthy laughed, "Eli, why don't you go inside and wash up. Your father's almost done with the burgers. Kaylie and I are going to go for a short walk."

Eli hurried into the house while Mrs. Goldsworthy stood up and put a kind hand on her daughter's shoulder, guiding her to the edge of the woods.

"Kaylie, it's hard to hold onto something forever. That's a long time you know?"

"I know," Kaylie said rubbing the caterpillar against her cheek lovingly, "But I'll take good care of him."

"Oh I have no doubt about that, but how do you think that caterpillar feels about all this?"

"Huh?"

Mrs. Goldsworthy kneeled own to Kaylie's height, "Do you think he'll really be happy living in a glass jar when he could be out here in the wild and have the freedom to turn into a beautiful butterfly?"

Kaylie frown, "I guess not but...but I love him."

"I know you do baby," her mom said soothingly, "But sometimes we have to let go of the one's we love so that they can be happy too."

"...okay." Kaylie slowly opened her fist and allowed the caterpillar to crawl away into the grass. She hung her head miserably.

"Cheer up," Mrs. Goldsworthy said brightly, "When I was little, my dad always told me that the things we love will always find a way back to us in the end."

Kaylie sniffled, "Will you love me forever mom?"

"Of course I will sweetie."

"Even if the cancer takes you away from me?"

Now it was Mrs. Goldsworthy's turn to frown. She pushed the hair from her wig back behind her ears. Her eyes swelled with tears as she wrapped her daughter in her arms and squeezed her tight, "Nothing will ever take me away from you. Ever."

Kaylie stood still and let her mother embrace her.

Mrs. Goldsworthy didn't let go of Kaylie until she heard her husband call, "Dinner!"

"Here," Mrs. Goldsworthy said as she dabbed her eyes with her KISS T-shirt. That was her favorite band. She unhooked the guitar pick necklace from around her neck and handed it to her daughter, "You keep it."

Kaylie rolled it in her fingers and felt a tiny engraving of a 'K' on the pick. "'K' for KISS right mom?"

Mrs. Goldsworthy shook her head, "No, 'K' for Kaylie."

Kaylie beamed as she swung it over her head. Knowing that her mom trusted her with her most cherished possession made Kaylie feel more important than she ever had and she wasn't going to let her mom down.

Mrs. Goldsworthy walked back up to the camp ground. She tussled Eli's hair when she walked by and ran into her husband's open arms. He swung her around as they kissed, that always made her smile. That's what Kaylie remembered most about her mother. Her smile. It was always so pure and full of hope.

She had died in the winter of the following year. They never went camping again after that...

Kaylie opened her eyes and she was back in her bedroom. There was a gentle tapping sound coming from outside her window.

Standing up she saw an enormous blue butterfly sitting on the ledge.

Kaylie laughed, she didn't know why, it obviously wasn't funny but for some reason she suddenly felt consumed with joy. She opened her window and extended her pointer finger somehow knowing that the butterfly would climb up.

"Hello again." She said marveling at its beauty. Her mother had been right, he was better off in the wild.

Gracefully, the butterfly took flight. Up, up, and out of sight. That's when it hit Kaylie like being struck in the head with a bat. It was over.

Tonight was the night it would end...

A/N: It figures that their mom would like KISS. I had to make at least one of their parents somewhat cool haha. Well this is Kaylie's decision time. To stay or go? That is the question. Either way it's not going to be easy...

I'm probably going to update later today. Only two chapters left...ahhh!

Please Review!