Okay I know, another super long update…please don't kill me :/ I really do like where I was going with this story though and I am determined to finish it. After a lot of thought, I have decided what to write for this chapter and I really hope everyone who is still reading this story enjoys!

Also, I wrote the chapter with Mike being in his university class a long time ago and I didn't know that a teacher was supposed to be a prof so please forgive me for my lack of knowledge back in the day ahaha, anyways enjoy the chapter everyone (:

Mike groaned as he waited in line at the administration office that was in his class building. He had received a note from a messenger to come here and wait for further instructions. He had no clue what he was here for, but the note said that it was urgent and that he had to come quick. Part of him was scared that it was the police coming to charge him with stealing the car. He knew that it was wrong to just steal the car and leave it in a ditch, but he was really angry at the time. He needed to have his sister suffer somehow and having her lose the rental car seemed like a good choice at the time. Mike knew that this could be on his record permanently, but he felt like it wasn't that bad of a crime to commit. It wasn't like he murdered someone or anything.

"Next?" The blonde lady sitting at the desk called. Mike grabbed the note given to him from his jean pocket and walked up to the desk.

"I was told to come here," Mike told the lady, passing the note over to her. The lady took the note from Mike and read it over for a moment before speaking.

"Ah, Mike Baker?" She asked, looking up at Mike.

"Yeah, that's me," Mike replied dryly. Part of him wanted to make a snarky remark back at the lady. If he wasn't Mike Baker, why would he be standing here with the note? Mike knew she was an authority figure though and kept his mouth shut.

"Your sister is here," the lady told him.

"My sister?" Mike asked. He was definitely shocked that someone from his family was here to see him after he had taken off so abruptly from his dad's funeral. He hoped that it was anyone but Sarah though. Mike was definitely not in the mood to see her anytime soon.

"She is waiting for you outside the university center. I was told that there was a family emergency," the lady added. "I understand that it is the middle of the semester, but if you need time to go home and be with your family we can work out some arrangements for you to make up for the work you're going to be missing," she explained, her face sympathetic as she spoke.

"Family emergency?" Mike questioned as he walked away, still confused. He knew that his dad had recently passed away, so it definitely wasn't his dad. He wasn't talking to his family, but deep down he did still care about them and didn't want to lose any of them.

Mike continued his way out of the building as he felt his stomach start to churn. As much as Mike wanted to pretend that he didn't care about his family, it was hard. He was really nervous as he started to walk over to the university center. He went into his pocket and pulled out his Marlboros and his lighter, lighting himself a cigarette.

Mike knew that smoking was bad and he never intended to become a smoker when he was younger. Like all kids of his generation, he was brought up with the fact that smoking was bad and caused many health problems later in life. However, like many other teenagers, Mike fell into peer pressure and began smoking during high school. Mike spent a lot outside in the smoking area during the early years of high school as all his childhood friends became smokers. He felt left out watching them, so he eventually joined in and became addicted as well. He didn't exactly like the taste of cigarettes, but Mike liked how they made him feel calm and relaxed while he smoked them. Mike did intend to quit soon because he didn't want to become a smoke for the rest of his life. He also didn't know how he would explain his smoking habit to his mom if she ever found out. His parents never found out when he was a teenager due to Mike spending a lot of time in his room and his parents having eleven other children to watch over. He wanted to keep it that way.

As he continued walking towards the university center, Mike smoked his cigarette quickly so whichever sister was here to see him wouldn't catch him smoking. He figured that it would be either Nora or Lorraine here to see him. Kim and Jessica were in school as well so he doubted that they would be coming for him. Mike also doubted it would be Sarah since she had likely gone back into hiding after the funeral like he had. Sarah was very good at running away from her problems and she had been doing it for years. The only reason that Sarah was actually able to be reached for her their father's funeral was the national database that Mike had access to at Harvard. Mike could care less about ever seeing his sister again, but he knew that his mother really wanted Sarah at the funeral so he managed to locate her. The last thing Mike wanted to do was upset his mother right after she had just lost her husband.

Right as Mike reached the quad, he kept his eyes open for Nora or Lorraine. Both his oldest sisters already had children and were more like second mothers to Mike when growing up rather than sisters because of their large age difference. Mike put out his cigarette and kept looking around for a familiar face as he walked into the building. Right away, Mike spotted Sarah sitting on one of the benches about twenty meters away. His heart immediately dropped when he noticed who had come for him. Beside Sarah on the bench was none other than Elliot Murtaugh. Mike had briefly seen him at the funeral a couple of months ago, but besides that, Mike hadn't seen him in years. Elliot was easy to recognize though and he still looked mostly the same. Mike wanted to avoid being spotted for as long as possible, but Elliot quickly noticed him. He nudged Sarah, and his sister quickly noticed Mike standing there. She immediately got up and ran over. Elliot followed right behind her.

"Mike," Sarah said, running short on breath from running over. "You've got to come home." As Mike looked at his sister, he could see smudges around her eyes. Her face was pink, and it looked like she had been crying recently. Mike wanted to be sympathetic, but he knew he had to keep giving her the cold shoulder like she deserved.

"I'm kind of in the middle of midterms right now," Mike grumbled. He wanted to be tough on the outside, but on the inside he was very scared about what could be wrong. He didn't know why Elliot was here with Sarah either. Mike knew that Elliot talked to the Bakers and everything, but he wasn't close with anyone anymore. Elliot was close with Jake a long time ago, but they had a fallout years ago. Mike also figured that this emergency had nothing to do with Jake. Mike was more scared that it had something to do with his mom, since she was getting older and everything.

"I can't exactly leave right now," Mike added, making sure he glared at Sarah as he spoke.

Sarah sighed and glanced up at Elliot for a moment. Elliot wrapped his arm around Sarah as she looked down at the ground. Judging by their interactions, Mike guessed that the two of them had gotten back together. Mike never really had a problem with Elliot, but he had no idea what the guy saw in his sister after she had showed everyone how terrible of a person she was.

"Mike, it's Jake," Elliot said quietly, sadness in his voice that Mike hardly recognized due to it getting deeper over the years. "It's really bad," Elliot added. "They're trying to get the whole family together, just in case it gets worse," he explained, his voice strained.

Right as Elliot brought up Jake's name, Mike didn't know how to react. His body froze in place. He wanted to say something, but Mike couldn't come up with any words to say. Growing up, Jake was the brother that Mike was closest to. They had drifted apart over the years after Sarah had disappeared, but Mike still cared about Jake a lot. Mike didn't know what happened to Jake, but he already felt sick to his stomach just thinking about it.

And I'll end the chapter on a cliffhanger! I'll give more details on what happened to Jake next chapter, which will not take two years to update, I promise! I hope you guys enjoyed this though, reviews are highly appreciated ;)

~Lauren