A couple weeks after the dance passed things have been a little hectic. I told the Montgomerys about what happened with Katie and I shit you not, it was a mix of some yells of rage that she'd done this and why didn't I say anything, but also with some decent moments of them somewhat understanding what I must have been thinking in my head throughout the process of it happening. I told them I had been too shocked to realize what happened and that I had also been afraid, she basically threatened to do it again. But then they started saying about wanting to press charges against her and that completely freaked me out. I begged and pleaded with them not to, practically crying from how scared I am of her. Eventually they calmed me down and reassured me that they wouldn't take action, but that if it ever happens again they would not hesitate. I took that as a win and agreed.

When I get back home after practice no one is around. I was too pooped out from basketball to even think about opening up the store so once I get inside I go to the kitchen to grab some leftover pizza from the night before and then head over to the family room to watch some TV. Or maybe a movie? I haven't decided yet. So I walk over to the movie shelves to see if anything catches my eye. As I look at the DVDs they have I come across something that says Aria and Jessie's Sixth Birthday wedged between some other home movies.

I stare at it for a few seconds and then grab it, debating for a while whether to put it on. I don't watch home videos anymore, the memories hurt too much. Dad's video camera and the burned DVDs he made are all in storage right now. Since the accident I've had a hard time watching or seeing anything with my family in it so my only resort was to put them away. I hadn't realized how long it had been since I've been able to look at anything that have their faces on them, not pictures and not videos. It's was hard to look at after they were gone and just putting things away made it easier.

After staring at the case in my hand for a while I take a breath, finally thinking that I should try. So I pop it into the DVD player and then sit on the couch. The first thing that comes to the screen is a banner that says Happy Sixth Birthday Jessie and Aria! before it zooms out and I see that Aria is ramming into me, making us both fall to the ground in a fit of laughter. We're in the backyard of my old house celebrating our birthdays even though we are a few weeks apart.

"Be careful!" Uncle Byron's voice comes from behind the camera.

"Byron can you help me with this?" My dad's voice comes and my heart sinks. Oh God, here we go.

"Yeah, coming." The camera moves now, being stretched out to the side, "Here, Ella, take this." Uncle Byron tells her.

"Mommy!" Aria yells and the camera shows her running over to Aunt Ella with me heading off the opposite way. Aria has tears in her eyes.

"What happened?" her mom asks.

Tears are streaming down her face now and she points to her elbow, "Boo Boo." There's nothing there. No scratch or blood, so it was probably one of those moments where she hit her elbow on the ground and it hurt.

"Aw. It's okay." The camera moves away from Aria and as we hear the sound of her kissing Aria's non-existing injury it shows me over by the bounce house with little Spencer.

I smile as I see myself trying to get Spencer to get inside with me, "Oh my God." I say to myself, half laughing.

Spencer is shaking her head in protest of going into the bouncy house. I remember she used to be afraid of it. Then, "Spen!" Aria says as her attempt of saying Spencer's name and runs over to us. She points to the bounce house, "Jump?"

Spencer shakes her head, seeming scared. "No."

"Peas?" Which was my way of saying please.

"It's okay Spencer." My mom comes into view of the camera now and my heart practically sobs from seeing her. Her body is facing sideways from the camera since she's staring at us, only getting a glimpse of her profile, but she has the same long dark hair I remember that is a little past her shoulders, slightly on the chubby side, but not enough for people to make her feel bad about it. I miss her so much. "Nothing to be afraid of….look." She picks me up and helps me inside. Then she does the same to Aria and they watch us jump around.

"Spen!" Aria yells, jumping in the air.

"Spence!" I yell after her, almost toppling over from us both bouncing around. "Come jump!"

We both wave for her to come inside. Six year old us were adorable and life was so much simpler.

Watching this hurts so much, but I don't want to stop now as I put my finished plate of food onto the coffee table and decide to stretch out on the couch as I keep my eyes on baby us. I should have thought twice about it though, because before I know it I knock out and fall into such a deep sleep that I'm dreaming in no time. My usual dream of the accident swarms me, but with a hint of a difference. It feels like a horror movie, because after the crash where we're all upside down and I'm in the middle of seeing if they are okay my family all wake up at the same moment, their heads turn to me and blood spews out of their mouths, ears, eyes and nose. They all say the same sentence, "You killed us."

"No!" I scream, sitting up in a sweat, panting. My eyes slowly start to adjust to the room, my head spinning and I half sob with a loss of breath, panic filling me. I hear someone say my name, sounding far away as a hand lands on my shoulder and I freak out with a slight jump. I can't breathe, sobbing harder while tears spill down my cheeks.

"Hey, hey you're okay." Mike's soft voice comes to my ears.

I slowly look up at him, but my chest hurts so bad that it feels like it's going to explode. I'm having a panic attack. My first major one in a while.

"Jessie, I got you." He says gently, his hand now going to my face as I feel his palm press against my cheek and he rubs it with his thumb. "Breathe."

I grip onto his wrist from the hand on my face and look into his scared blue eyes, hiccuping a bit in between each breath. But his eyes eventually soften and it soothes me, my grip on him is not as tight as it was before and I slowly go back to normal.

He rubs my cheek again, smiling gently at me now, "Are you okay?"

I close my eyes, steadying my breathing more. "Y-Yeah. I'm...I'm good."

He sighs softly, "What happened?"

I keep my eyes closed, seeing their bleeding faces in my head. "Bad dream."

"What was it about?"

I think for a minute and get up to take out the CD from the DVD player and then set it back on the shelf. After I sit back down I explain what I remember. When I finish he just nods as it's quiet for a few seconds, but his face is concerned. I hate worrying people, this was a major issue at Spencer's place. I'd hold most of my emotions to myself and she'd either have to get them out of me or wait till I'd explode.

"Does that happen often?"

I shake my head, rubbing my eyes a bit. "Of the accident, yes, but not that drastic."

"What about the panic attacks?"

I half smile now, again shaking my head. "Not as badly as it used to be. But on occasion when I'm stressed or worried it comes."

He presses his lips together, rubbing my head now. Then his face gets a little alarming for my comfort, "Listen. I don't want to freak you out, but...Katie's car is down the block."

My heart sinks and my eyes pop out in fear, "W-What?"

"Dad said she's been looking for you all day."

I shake my head a bit, staring worriedly at the door. Even though they promised not to press charges my uncle contacted her that same night and threatened to call the cops if she ever came around me again. Obviously she didn't take that seriously because now here she is. Not to mention that I was still ignoring her and probably had enough of me not answering her since I blocked her number. The thought of her being here makes me shake a bit and the sound of her hand hitting my face echoes in my ears.

"Hey." He reaches out to me and grabs my hand, "Dad's out there. He'll take care of her."

Then yelling comes from outside, making me jump violently. "Get off my property!" It's Uncle Byron and his voice is angry. "You are not allowed to see her!"

"Don't you tell me I can't see my own niece!"

Now my heart's pounding and my eyes are bugged out in fear, but I'm comforted by Mike as he automatically moves closer to me. "Relax, okay?"

"Oh now she's your niece?" We hear Uncle Byron's booming voice again.

"I'm relaxed." I tell him, smiling the best I can.

"Was that how you thought of her when you hit her the last time you were here?" We hear him again.

Mike's eyes are on me, a sad look visible. "You're hyperventilating. Breathe."

"It was an accident." She says, lying through her teeth because it was sure as hell not an accident.

"Don't you dare use that excuse, Katie. You don't accidentally hit someone you care about in that way."

I take a few breaths and decide to head to the living room to look out the front window, Mike is right behind me. When I look I see her on the sidewalk not too far away from my uncle, smiling at Uncle Byron. The same smile she always has when she's trying not to get upset.

"Byron." She says softly, "I just want to talk to her."

He shakes his head, standing at the end of the driveway and then starts to walk towards the front of the house. "Not a chance. She doesn't want anything to do with you anymore. You and the rest of your family need to respect that."

"You can't keep me from seeing her." She gives him a mean look, "She's my family, Byron. You don't have a say!"

"We do have a say actually. The Hastings were there for her and now myself and Ella are her legal guardians. I'm sure you saw your sister's documents. We were number one on the list of people to take care of her. So when she was okay to go through with her parents wishes, we didn't hesitate. So yes. We have more of a say than you do."

"You're so full of..." Her eyes shift towards the front of the house, where me and Mike are. She notices that I'm watching and smiles, "Hello, Jessie." She says gently, "Can we talk?" She adds this part in Spanish.

My heart thumps faster against my chest just as I see Uncle Byron turn around from where he is standing and gives me a look to leave. So I back away from the window and close the curtains.

"Jessie!" She yells, "You come out here!"

"It's okay." Mike says and drags me to the stairs now, sitting on the bottom step.

"We need to talk!" I hear her again, "Don't ignore me!"

"I'm not going to ask you to leave again." Uncle Byron says, "Otherwise I'll be calling the cops."

It's quiet for a bit then she says, "This isn't over."

Silence. She must have actually left, which shocks me from how stubborn she is. Then the jiggle of the knob comes as it seems Uncle Byron is using his key, the door opens and he walks inside, locking the door behind him.

The first thing I do is stand up from the steps and walk over to give him a hug, "Thanks."

He smiles down at me and hugs back, "She won't hurt you again. I'll make sure of that."

...

Aria gets home just before dinner with a bright smile on her face. This is obviously not a weird thing considering she's for the most part happy all the time, but the excitement is pretty strong and it of course makes me curious. So once she's settled into her bed I look at her from my laptop while in the middle of homework, watching her carefully. She's on her phone, so it could be friends or it could be the guy she liked in Iceland. I've never really gotten much detail about him out of her, even after her and Noel broke up it didn't phase her too much, so the guy from there must still have her heart.

I didn't get to tell her that Katie had passed by, not wanting to worry her. She wasn't here when it happened, but I know I'll have to mention it eventually. Especially since Uncle Byron told Aunt Ella and obviously him and Mike know too. But for the moment I let it slide and figure to give her the time to allow her good mood to stay that way.

"What's got you all smiley?" I ask gently so it doesn't seem like I'm prying, looking at her.

Her head turns to look at me, her eyes for a second make it seem like she's in a thought process but her face still has the same expression of happiness. "Spence gave me a ticket for the Philadelphia City Museum tomorrow that her dad isn't going to. There's an artist showing up for a celebration of their work."

I smile, knowing she's just as passionate about art as I am. "Oh, the museum that Peter joined for networking rather than based on the actual purpose of a museum?"

She half laughs and nods, "That's the one."

I smile and laugh too, enjoying seeing her happy after her parents split. "Well that sounds like a nice time at least. I have practice tomorrow, so I'll be at school for a couple more hours."

She gives me a small smile now, because she's worried that I'm tiring myself out with school, basketball and work. "You're keeping the store closed this weekend, right?"

I half smile, nodding. "That's the plan."

"Good." she says with a nod, "You work yourself too hard."

I half laugh, "I get it from my dad. He always drilled it in us to make sure we are able to provide for ourselves."

"Except he drilled that into you for the purpose of being an adult. You're still a kid."

I nod a bit, staring at my computer to fix some mistakes from the essay. "A kid who now has adult responsibilities. I can't really give that up just because I'm sixteen."

"That's what mom and dad are for though, Jessie. They are supposed to help you in every aspect that a parent should. You'll have plenty of time to be an adult when we are done with high school."

I take a breath and shrug a bit as I continue to fix my essay. "I just need something to keep me busy, Ria. To keep my nightmares at bay and not feel like I'm going to fall apart."

I hear her sigh and then the sound of her feet hit the floor, seeing in the corner of my eye that she's walking to my bed, so I look to my left. I blink for a second and watch her sit on my bed next to my legs to face me, her hand landing on my knee. For a few seconds we're both quiet.

"I know it seems hopeless, Jessie. But we're all here for you. Even though I know you like to make it seem like you're okay for everyone's benefit, you don't have to. That's what family is for. Even your friends."

I take a small breath, now closing my laptop. I place my hand on hers and smile a bit. "I know. I appreciate everything you guys do for me. I appreciate the fact you all try to hold yourselves together for my sake, but remember that I'm here for you too."

Now she smiles sadly and leans in to hug me, "I miss them."

I nod slowly and hold her tight as I wrap my arms around her, "I know. So do I."