The next day, it was decided that everyone would head down to the clearing by the river, spend a few hours there and be back home before dark.

Because the idea was Jack's, everyone was required to be out of the house by eight in the morning. The Fleming-Morrises were the last to get ready.

Georgie still wasn't feeling one-hundred percent, but she was glad to be out of the house. Katie had her heart set on going rafting, to which Lou denied permission, of course.

That didn't stop Katie from packing the required gear.

Lou was just about to pick up a large cooler to put in the rental but before she could move even an inch, Georgie stopped her, easing it back down. "Don't."

Lou let it reach the floor before she spoke. "I thought we decided on respecting boundaries."

"I'm well within my rights to stop you," said Georgie, almost robotically. Without waiting on a response from Lou, she picked up the cooler and headed outside.

Once there, Katie insisted on going rafting right from the get-go. Georgie couldn't tell if she was trying to stress everyone out on purpose.

"Katie, c'mon. Don't go until I can go with you. I'll bring you here in a few weeks, I promise," said Georgie, trying to dissuade her.

"I don't need you to go with me. I've watched the tutorials. I know what I'm doing."

Georgie stared at her. "Katie, are you insane?" The question was genuine. "You think watching some videos online is a substitute for actual rafting experience?"

"When have you ever been rafting?" Katie countered.

"I've…" Georgie began, then stopped herself, realizing that being Katie's older sister was not, in fact, a substitute for rafting experience.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Katie shot back.

There was a lull in the conversation, which Katie took as an opportunity. "Okay, I'm gonna go."

"Katie!" Georgie's voice came out sharp.

Peter finally stepped in. "Girls! C'mon, the day has just started."

Georgie sighed, pressing two light fingers against her injury. It was starting to throb a little.

"Katie, I'll go rafting with you," said Peter.

"You will?" Katie's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, just give me a few minutes to unpack this stuff," he gestured to the makeshift picnic spot on the ground where he and Lou were stationed. "In the meantime, start putting on your gear."

Katie nodded enthusiastically and was off.

Georgie turned around to take in the scene. Her mother looked like she was trying not to look at her, which made Georgie not want to look at her right back.

She shifted her gaze to Peter, who was busy setting up for the day. The sight of him comforted her, and so her gaze lingered.

Once her father was off, Georgie also decided to make herself busy. She recruited Lyndy to be her tour guide and they took the path to the river to see off Peter and Katie, and then continued on along the river's edge. Lyndy took the opportunity to pick a few rocks and flowers, then some rocks again.

When Katie returned from rafting a little while later, she was soaked. Lou, who hadn't really moved from her spot on the picnic blanket, sat up, about to question her.

"I kinda fell in the water on my way out of the raft," answered Katie sheepishly as she took off her jacket and cozied up against Lou.

Katie lay down on her mother's lap, but before she could get comfortable, Lou cried out sharply.

Putting her on high alert, Katie sat up quickly. "What's the matter? Did something happen?" She asked, cradling the air near the alleged injury.

"No, no. It's just one of my injection sites. It's still a little sore."

Katie stared back in horror. This was news to her. "I didn't mean to…I thought it was just…" she trailed off, placing a gentle hand under Lou's collarbone. "Here. The infusion."

Lou said nothing.

A knot formed in Katie's throat. "You didn't tell me."

"You didn't need to know. Until now, I guess."

"Is it anywhere else?" Katie asked, clearly terrified at the answer she'd get. "What about here?" She asked, placing a hand on the right side of Lou's abdomen.

"This side isn't as sore."

"Oh." Katie racked her brain for her usual sources of information. "Does Georgie know?"

"I haven't directly told her, but she might have an idea."

Lou gestured for Katie to lie back down, who decided to comply, seeing it was easier this way. Easier to ask uncomfortable questions and face even more uncomfortable truths. She made sure to position herself as not to come in contact with Lou's injuries.

Katie took a few moments to herself before she asked, "Is this why your back is always hurting?"

Lou straightened a little. "What? No, that's because at my age, everyone's back gives them trouble."

Katie thought about it for a moment, wondering if the words had rolled off of Lou's tongue a little too easy, like they were practiced. But then she decided that it was a good enough answer.

Lou stroked Katie's hair, combing her fingers through the damp locks. "You know, ever since our talk yesterday, I haven't been able to stop thinking about…"

Katie waited for her to go on.

"Well, all of it."

"Yeah, me too," said Katie, letting her mother off the hook, realizing why her sister did it constantly. Uncomfortable truths.

When the family gathered together for lunch, it didn't take long before the stew made Lou nauseated. She got up to go back behind one of the cars, far out of sight from the family so she could be sick in peace.

Georgie started after Lou, but she was jolted back into place by her sister.

Katie had a firm grip on Georgie's forearm. Meeting her gaze, she gave her a shake of her head.

The two of them sat together with their silent agonies until Lou returned.

A little while later, the familiar rumble of a truck caught Lou's attention. She turned from her spot at the picnic table and saw it was Tim. He'd driven over Lou's SUV.

Lou stood up, making her way over.

Tim was unpacking a few things from the trunk when she arrived. "Hey! Honey, how ya feeling?"

Lou's brows dipped for a quick second before she answered. "I'm fine. I thought you said the truck needed a few days at the mechanic."

"Yeah," Tim said, flashing her a casual smile as he continued to sort out his items.

"What was wrong with it?"

"What?"

"What was wrong with the truck? You made it sound like it would be out of commission for a while."

"Oh, yeah. No, it just needed an oil change."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yeah, you know, ask Georgie."

"Ask me what?"

Lou followed the sound of her voice, and it led her to Georgie's wary expression.

"What was wrong with the truck?" asked Lou again.

Georgie squinted her eyes, partly because of the sun but mostly because she didn't want to answer the damn question. Her gaze flitted over to her grandfather.

"Honey," came Lou's voice, clearly trying to detract her from getting her story straight with Tim.

"Um," began Georgie, "the brakes needed to get serviced." She gave her best guess.

"Grandpa said it was an oil change," said Lou, locking eyes with Tim, attempting to wear him down.

Georgie bit her bottom lip. "Right, so I guess both those things."

Lou scoffed, folding her arms across her chest. "This should be good."

After a few gruelling seconds, Tim finally relented. He placed a hand on Lou's arm, taking her aside. He whispered something to her, and she started, but then he brought her back in place. They stayed that way for a bit, with Tim explaining everything to her and her attempting to keep herself calm.

Tim finally looked over at Georgie, giving her a small nod, indicating that the matter was contained.

An uncomfortable silence then descended between Georgie and Lou, one that was heavier than all of the other silences they'd shared over the past week.

Nothing was ever going to be okay, was it?

While the boys were preparing dinner, Lou and Katie were sitting around a makeshift fire, leaning back against felled tree trunks.

Georgie made her way over, her tread heavy, burdened, even. Placing a hand on one of the tree trunks, she thudded to the ground.

Lou leaned over, looking past Katie, over to the edge of the tree trunk. "Georgie?"

Without looking over at Lou, she replied, "I asked Tim if it was okay. I'm not sure what he said exactly, but I definitely asked permission."

"Permission for what?" asked Katie, oblivious.

Lou sighed. "Honey, what were you thinking? You know you can't mix anything with your pain meds."

Georgie tapped her injury a few times too many, trying to gauge whether she still needed a dose of her tablets. "I don't even feel a thing. It works better than the medication."

"Honey, I know you're upset. But there are other ways to go about this. You didn't have to—"

"Mom. Mom, just stop," interrupted Georgie, rather loudly. "I don't want a lecture. My ears are ringing."

"They are?" asked Lou, skeptical.

"You're at, like, max volume," insisted Georgie.

Katie's mouth curved into a smile. She looked over at Lou, and was met with an expression of disapproval. Katie wiped the smile off her face, shaking her head a little.

Lou continued her exchange with Georgie. "Okay, at least don't fuss with your injury. You're going to undo the stitches."

Instead of doing as she was told, Georgie tapped on her injury even harder. "Ow."

Lou exhaled. She stood and made her way over to Georgie and sat across from her. She brought both of Georgie's hands down into her lap.

Lou kissed the edge of Georgie's injury as gently as she could. "It's healing nicely. You'll be as good as new in no time."

"It shouldn't even hurt," returned Georgie. "What else is Tim's stash good for?" she mumbled to herself.

"Honey, look at me," insisted Lou, her eyes searching.

Georgie looked up.

"You can tell me whatever it is you want to tell me."

"I have nothing to say."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah."

All Lou could do was stare into Georgie's glassy eyes. "I feel like maybe there's something you need to tell me."

"I got nothing."

Lou ran her thumb along Georgie's eyebrow. "Okay," she said, loosening her grip on Georgie's hands.

"Why did you adopt me?"

"What?" asked Katie.

Georgie laughed a little. "Not you, silly. I'm asking Mom. I want to know why she decided to adopt me."

"Honey, you know why," came Lou's voice.

"I don't. So I'm asking."

"Because I loved you. You were my daughter."

Georgie made a face. "Not back then I wasn't."

"Alright, I just…it was something you said," began Lou. "I had asked if you were going to see Jeff, if you and him were making some sort of plans for him to raise you, and you told me no, because he didn't want you. That made me realize that I did."

"You wanted me because Jeff didn't?"

Silence.

Georgie shrugged away from Lou's grip. She went on. "Well, what about when he did? I told you I wanted to leave with him and you chose to separate us. Now I barely know him. He's no brother of mine."

"That's not my fault, honey."

"Oh, nothing's your fault."

Katie audibly sighed.

Georgie looked over. "What?"

"Nothing."

Georgie rolled her eyes. She paused for a few seconds, collecting her muddled thoughts. "I told you I was leaving, and you still found a way to trap me."

"Trap you? That's how you see it?" Lou challenged. "All I did was love you. It was out of my control."

"Love," said Georgie singularly, picking a blade of grass out of the ground. "That was love, huh?"

Katie had been staring straight into the flames, and this exchange prompted her to speak once more. "What else do you think it was?" She knew that Georgie wasn't in her normal state, but even she could answer this question.

"I think Mom just hates losing," replied Georgie, avoiding Lou's gaze. "I was her latest project, and Jeff was trying to put a stop to that."

Katie looked toward Lou. "You're really going to sit there and listen to that?"

"She's upset," said Lou, as if that explained everything.

"No, I'm not upset," came Georgie's voice. "I'm finally seeing everything for what it is. I shouldn't be here. I never should've come here in the first place. It was only a matter of time, Jeff would've come for me and I never would've had to—"

"Had to what?" asked Lou, a tinge of desperation apparent in her voice.

Feel the pain of loving you, Georgie bemused, but managed to stop herself from saying it.

"Honey?"

"You know, you say that you love us, and that it was out of your control, and yet you've been doing everything in your power to get away from us."

Lou sighed. "I know, and those were mistakes. I wasn't thinking—"

"Mary's already dead."

Lou's heart skipped a beat. "Honey, what are you…?"

"Mary's already dead," Georgie said again. "And I can't do this anymore. Losing you everyday. I need you to grow up and take care of yourself because I don't know how to."

"Take care of myself. I can do that," returned Lou, not missing a beat.

Georgie breathed a sigh of relief, nodding a few times. "Okay, then."

Peter approached. "Lou, honey," he said, tapping his wrist with his index finger.

"Oh, right," returned Lou. To the girls, she said, "I'll be back, I just have to take care of something. Katie, keep an eye on your sister."

"I don't need an eye on me," Georgie mumbled to herself once Lou was on her way.

A little while after dinner, Lou took residence at the river's edge. The sound of the rushing water calmed her, and she stayed longer than she had intended.

The sound of footsteps alerted her to Georgie's presence. She turned half back. "Hey, sweetie. Feeling better?" she asked, a small smile playing on her lips.

Georgie's eyebrows tipped up as she exhaled. "Yeah. All that water helped."

"Good." Lou patted the ground beside her, urging Georgie to sit beside her.

Georgie took a seat. She waited a few moments before going on. "That thing you said you had to take care of…is everything alright?"

Lou turned to her. "Everything's fine. It's just some routine maintenance stuff. To make sure my levels are okay."

Georgie shifted in her spot. "I'm not exactly sure what that means, but as long as everything's fine."

"It is."

Georgie bit down on her lip. "I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you earlier."

"You had something you needed to get off your chest."

"I don't like speaking to you in that tone, but sometimes I just regress back to it 'cause…" Georgie trailed off, resting her palms on the ground beside her. "I don't know how else to make you listen."

"It's alright. I won't hold it against you," smiled Lou, just happy to catch a moment with her daughter.

Georgie nodded, trying to block out their conversation from earlier. "Today's been kinda nuts."

"No different from any other day."

Georgie laughed. "Yeah." She observed her mother in the golden light. She looked far away, like someone Georgie would never fully know. "I really do love you, you know. I'm afraid I'll never be able to tell you enough. But I do."

Lou turned to her, a bit worried. It felt like she was saying some sort of goodbye. "I love you, too."

Georgie went on. "And I owe you a thousand apologies for the things I've put you through over the years."

"What's going on?" asked Lou, not bothering to hide the worry in her voice.

Georgie took a deep breath, trying to ignore the lump in her throat. "I feel like we got off on the wrong foot one too many times and I don't know how to steer the ship back on course."

"Honey—"

"I wish we had what you and Katie have. It's so simple. You two can fight and argue, but at the end of the day, nobody's harbouring any big doubts. You guys don't have to spend all of your tomorrow's convincing each other that it's real."

Lou looked toward Georgie, an ache forming in her chest. "What's wrong with spending all that time convincing each other? If that's what we have to do."

Georgie shook her head. "That's a lot of tomorrow's, though."

"Honey, please," Lou let out, her voice breaking.

Georgie stiffened at the sound of Lou's voice. Closing her eyes for a moment, she inhaled. When she next spoke, her voice sounded much like Lou's own. "I just wish it were simpler."

"Tell me what I can do. I'll fix this," begged Lou.

Georgie traced a finger along her eyebrow, wishing desperately that Lou could come up with a magic fix of her own. Because she knew she couldn't.

"Sweetie, please. Say something."

Georgie gazed at Lou, her eyes glassy once more. All she could do was give her a small shake of her head.

She seemed to finally be out of words.

A/N: Thanku everyone so, so much for reading. Also love reading the reviews. Guest, I do try my best not to make Lou so exasperating, but alas, the story calls for it :D

Also Ambkelsbay, yes I had to take that story down for personal reasons. I might eventually put it back up, or I can send it to you directly (PM me)!