Once we picked Austin up from the hospital this morning, Justin and I decided it would be better if we left for Brighton this afternoon rather than wait until tomorrow.  With Austin’s arm broken and Justin under a no snowboarding order from the doctor, there really isn’t a point in staying at the resort any longer.  The boys would get bored, and I guess...I really want to get home, and if I can get there sooner without a complaint from my boyfriend, I’m going to take it.  I got the boys packed up while Justin arranged for our ride to come.  He even made us lunch, all by himself.  Spaghetti and meatballs.  Until today, I had no idea he even knew how to boil water.

He’s just full of surprises lately.

I had just closed the last of the boys suitcases when my cell phone began to ring, and I pulled it out of my pocket, thinking it might have been my mother calling to see if I was definitely coming to the house the next day.  I smiled at the prospect of being able to tell her she would probably see me by the time the sun set, but when I answered, I quickly realized it wasn’t my mother on the line.

“Hey,” Charlene said quietly after I answered.  “Are you in Colorado?”

I neglected to tell her I was going.  Actually, I’d neglected to keep in touch with her since that night at the restaurant, or really...for weeks before that.  I’d been busy with the boys, and my free time was usually taken up by Justin, or the group of women in Justin’s neighborhood that I’d become associated with.  I felt a sinking feeling forming in the pit of my stomach because I knew she was probably angry with me.  “I...yeah...” I trailed off and tried to think of a good explanation to give her.  “I’m in Aspen with Justin and the boys right now, but we’re leaving for Brighton in a couple of hours.”

“Yeah, I thought so.  I was talking to your mom yesterday and she said you were coming up for Thanksgiving.”

A long pause followed.  I knew she was waiting for me to say something, or...apologize for barely speaking to her for weeks on end, but I couldn’t find the words.  Too much was going on, and my mind was only focused on one thing: introducing the family to my new boyfriend.

“I thought you might have let me know,” she finally said with a long sigh.  “It would have been nice to go home with you.  You know I don’t go up for Thanksgiving anymore.  You and I have spent it together the last few years.”

“I’m sorry,” I muttered.  “I just...”

“I know, don’t tell me,” she laughed sarcastically.  “You were busy with Justin and couldn’t find the time to call your best friend up and let her know what you were doing.”

“That’s kind of harsh.”

“Yeah, maybe, but it’s the truth.  I hope you’re having a great time living it up with your rich boyfriend, Abbey.  Maybe when you have the time, you could remember who let you live on their couch for four years, while you moped about Braeden.”

“Char...”

She hung up on me.

She had every right to be pissed.  Most of the reason she didn’t go home for Thanksgiving anymore, was because of me.  We usually spent the holiday together curled up on the couch, watching the parade on TV.  Charlene knew better than anybody how hard it was for me to go through the holidays without Braeden, and she sacrificed her family time so I would be okay.  I knew she felt betrayed.  I should have called her up and asked her to join us for the holiday.

I was just...too wrapped up in my own life to remember her feelings.  That thought made me want to hop the first plane back to New York and talk to her, before she was able to turn her back on me completely.  The thing was, I’d already told my parents and my sister that I was coming, and I was sure Justin was holding back a lot of anxiety so he would be able to meet my family without having a panic attack

I couldn’t turn back.

“Hey, you ready?  Limo’s out front.  I got the boys in already.”

I smooth my hair out of my eyes and flash Justin a small smile as I rise up from the floor.  “Yeah,” I nod.  “Just finished packing your things.”

“Great.”  

He smiles brightly, but when I don’t return it, I can tell he knows something is wrong.  I don’t want to talk about it with him.  We have a four hour car trip ahead of us with two very fidgety kids.  I’d like to keep the stress level down however possible.

“You okay?”

He gently grasps my arm and pulls me back to him as I try to move past him with one of our suitcases.  I’m forced to look him in the eye, and I can see how worried he is.  Not just about me, but about this visit with my parents in general.  I know it’s somewhat important to him...what they think, and he has no idea what they’re like.  I’d like to reassure him, tell him that they’re very easy going and will welcome our relationship with open arms...

But I just don’t know how they’ll take it.  It’s going to be very sudden...me showing up with Justin and the boys.  In reality, they’re still trying to move past the fact that Braeden disappeared.  They loved him like a son, and when we got the call telling us he was missing in action, they took it almost as hard as I did.  I can see my dad questioning Justin about everything and my mother giving him that quiet look of disapproval the entire time we’re at the house.

“Charlene is pissed at me,” I admit to him, shrugging my shoulders a little bit as he strokes my hair.  “I...I didn’t tell her I was coming home for Thanksgiving.  I guess I should have.”

“Why is it any of her business?” He chuckles.  “That girl thinks she has to know everything that goes on with you.  I could tell that when I met her.”

He doesn’t know Charlene, and I can’t blame him for forming that opinion about her after one meeting.  “She...has a right to be mad,” I defend.  “She’s been there for me in the past and I’ve been neglecting her.”

He sucks in a long breath.  “You know, when you took me to meet her that night, and you went to the bathroom, she basically told me that you were only using me as a shoulder to cry on.  Some friend.”

I cock my head to the side.  “What?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

He tries to kiss me but I back away.  “Yeah it does,” I snap.  “I want to know what you mean.”

He stares at me for a long moment.  “She just...she doesn’t think you’re over him, that’s all.  How stupid is that, Ab? I know you are.  If you weren’t we wouldn’t be here together, and we certainly wouldn’t have had a night like we had last night.”

It crushes me, what she said, and confuses me even more, as if that were even possible.  Is Charlene right? Am I still holding out for Braeden despite what I’ve told myself? Am I just using Justin as a cushion?  Somebody to lean on and seek comfort from until Braeden comes home?

I mean, what if Braeden came home tomorrow? What would happen? Would I tell Justin ‘it’s been fun but I need to get back to my old life now’?   

I stare at him again.

No, I could never do that.  I love him too much.

I’ve moved on.  

Still, I really don’t know what I’d be capable of doing if that happened.

It freaks me out, but I know the idea is impossible.

Braeden isn’t coming home.

“I don’t want you to worry about her,” Justin says gently as he kisses my forehead.  “We’re going to see your family.  That’s important, you know?  You need to be in a good state of mind, especially since you’re springing the three Timberlake boys on them,” he smiles.  “I’ll be suprised if they don’t all head for the hills.  I mean, Austin can annoy the best of them.”

I laugh a little.  He’s taking all of this so well, and being so supportive.  I can’t dwell on Charlene, I realize.  I have to make this effort for him, because for the first time, he’s trying really hard.  He’s not trying to back out of this.  He’s ready to take this step in our relationship, and that’s just...so damn amazing when just a couple of months ago he couldn’t bare to tell me that he loved me.  That means I have to try too.  I have to try harder at this than I’ve tried at anything in years, and I’ll do it for him.

Because I love him.

Justin helps me with the rest of our bags, and we finally pile into the limousine with the boys.  They’re seated across from us with the portable DVD player between them, immersed in a movie.  I pray it can keep their attention for the duration of our car ride, because I’d like to take a nap if I can.

Justin pulls out his laptop as the car begins to move, and I lay my head on his shoulder.  He kisses me gently and tells me to get some sleep, and I take his advice without a question.  I doze off for a long time, and when I’m gently nudged awake again I recognize where we are right away.  I see the little brown and white church off to our right and the Chick-Fil-A and the bowling alley off to the left.

I know I’m close to home, and the memories...they come rushing back to me like a tidal wave.

“So I was thinking.”

I glance at him as I take the ball out of the return and smile a little.  “Oh yeah?  What about?”

“About how I’m going to pay for law school.”

I throw the ball down the lane, and hit all the pins but one.  “Damn.”  I turn back to Braeden, having barely paid attention to what he just said.  “I thought you were getting that scholarship.”

He shakes his head.  “So did I.  They gave it to somebody else.”

“Oh.”  I sit down next to him and he takes my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.  “So...what other idea did you have in mind?”

“Well I was talking to that recruiter in the school cafeteria the other day.  He said the military will pay for college,” he smiles.  “It’s only a couple of years, you know? Then I’m free.”

I sigh and look down at our intertwined hands.  “Bray...I...I don’t know.”

“Hey, I think it’s a positive thing, Babs.”  He cups my face with his palm and caresses my skin gently.  “My parents can’t afford much with my moms chemo.  You know that.”

I nod a little but don’t look him in the eyes.  “I’m just...afraid, I guess.”

“Hey.”r32;
I meet his gaze again.  

“Nothing’s going to happen to me.”  He reassures me.  “We’re not even at war, and the chances of something happening like that in our lifetime is rare.  I might get deployed overseas to do some community work after boot camp, but that’s it.  I can build a future for us this way, you know?  Help pay mom’s hospital bills too.”

I suck in a long breath.  He’s telling me this because he wants my blessing.  I can think of a thousand reasons why joining the military is dangerous and bad, but Braeden has made a lot of valid points.  He wants to go to law school and without a scholarship he’ll be attending community college in the fall.  “Okay,” I nod slightly.  “As long as you’re careful.”

He smiles.  

I never should have said yes.

“So this is your hometown?”

I snap out of it and look over at my boyfriend, who is glancing curiously out the window as we pass through the city.  “Yeah, it’s not really much to look at.”

“Hey, it’s not everywhere you go that you can see mountains behind a Chick-Fil-A,” he laughs.  “In Memphis there was a gas station behind ours.”

“I like Chick-Fil-A,” Austin pipes up, as he scratches the skin around his cast.  “Can we go there? Please?”

“Maybe when we’re leaving,” I tell him.  “We’ll probably have dinner when we get to the house.”

He pouts and looks out the window.

“I want you to be on your best behavior while we’re staying with Abbey’s family, Austin,” Justin tells him firmly.  “Set a good example for Davey.”

“I will,” he grumbles.
“Hey.”  Justin sits up a little bit.  “Look at me.”

Austin glances at his brother.  

“I want your word, got it?  These people don’t know us.  I don’t want them getting the wrong idea.”

“Fine.”  Austin rolls his eyes and goes back to gazing out the window again.

He’s still bitter about his iPod.  They couldn’t find it, said it must have gotten swept away in a snowbank.  It broke my heart to tell him because he was so attached to the thing.  Justin promised him he would buy him a new one when we got back to the city, but it didn’t seem to cheer him up.  It was a precious memory of his parents that can’t be replaced.

I feel horrible about it.  I should have made him leave it behind when we went out to the slopes that day, should have been watching him more closely on the lift instead of flirting with Justin.  But I can’t change the past.

Any of it.

“I’ll be a good boy, Justin,” Davey smiles.  

“I know you will, buddy,” Justin nods in approval and smiles at him before draping his arm around my shoulders.  “Are we almost there?”

I glance out the window again.  We’ve turned out of the downtown area and are heading towards my neighborhood now.  “Nearly,” I whisper.

“I think you’re more nervous about this than I am,” he laughs.  “And you’ve known these people your entire life.”

I shrug a little bit, let him kiss me on the mouth, before I respond.  “It’s just...a little hard, being here, that’s all.”

He looks at me with understanding in his eyes.  “Can I do anything?”

“Just...take my parents with a grain of salt,” I tell him.  “Because right now, I have no idea what they’re going to say.”

“Noted.  Let me just make sure I have the right info...your name is Abbey right?”

I nudge him playfully.  “Jerk.”

Then, just like there, we’re here.

The limo pulls into the driveway and comes to a stop.  The boys look out their respective windows anxiously, and Davey quickly points out the tire swing hanging off the oak tree in the front yard.  I tell him he can use it tomorrow and he smiles back at me gratefully.

At least one of us isn’t concerned that this trip might not go well.

“You go ahead.  I’ll get their jackets on,” Justin tells me as the driver opens the door for me.  

I’m sure he’s going to do more than just get the boys in their jackets.  He probably needs a few minutes to collect himself and think about what he’s supposed to say, just like when he’s preparing to speak in front of a large group of people.  He’s such a professional. “Okay,” I whisper.

The moment I get out of the car I see the front door to my parents house open.  My sister, Hannah, a petite sixteen year old blonde, steps onto the front porch, letting the storm door swing shut behind her.  She stares at me, and then at the limo, and then back at me again, covering her mouth with her hands.

“Hi, Hannah,” I say, forcing a smile.

After a couple of long moments, she snaps out of her trance and races down the porch steps to greet me.  “Abbey!” She squeals and throws herself into my arms.  We hug for a long time, and I feel the tears threatening to spill out of my eyes. I can feel it inside of me...

It’s been too long.  I should have come back.

“Holy cow you came here in a limo?” She says to me once we pull apart from each other again.  “Mom and dad said they might help me get one for prom.  Did you hit the lotto or something?”

I laugh.  “Not quite.  Where’s mom and dad?”

“Out back,” she nods.  “Barbara and Sammy are over.  We didn't think you were coming til tomorrow.”

As if the situation wasn’t awkward enough, I have to see Braeden’s parents as well as my own.  That means Justin has to meet them too...

I can’t see this going well at all.  I mean, my parents I can handle.  I can even handle Sammy.  

But Barbara is another story.

We haven’t spoken at all since she made the decision to declare Braeden dead, and I know I’m not ready to face her tonight.

I want to run away...

“Abbey, I’m hungry,” Austin says as he slides out of the limo next.  

But I can’t run away now.

“Abbey...who is that?”  My sister automatically questions.

I suck in a long breath and motion Austin to come over to where I’m standing.  “Hannah this is Austin.  I help take care of him.  Austin this is my sister, Hannah.”

He stands up a little straighter, as I’m sure Justin instructed him to do before he got out of the car.  “Hello ma’am.”
 
She laughs out loud as he sticks his good hand out for her to shake.  “Oh my gosh you have a little southern accent!  That’s so cute!  Abbey, he’s too cute!”

“I’m...I’m not cute,” he grumbles.

He sounds just like his brother.

“Yes you are,” she coos as she pinches his cheek.  “Awe and your broke your arm too.  Come on, there’s fudge in the house.  I’ll give you some.”

His eyes light up immediately and he seems to forget all about the fact that he’s not cute.  “Okay...but, my little brother is gonna want some too.”

My sister eyes me suspiciously.  “You brought two of them?”

“And more!” Austin gloats, mischievously.  “Abbey has a boyfriend!”

“Austin!” I frown as I put my hands on my hips.

My sister raises a suspicious eyebrow.  “What?”

I don’t have a chance to explain, because Davey gets out of the car next, with Justin right behind him.  He runs past us to catch up with Austin while Justin smiles at my sister as he makes his way over to us.  

“Abbey,” Hannah whispers.

I want to crawl into a hole and never come out.  “Yeah.”

“Why...why is that Justin Timberlake stock market guy here...with you?”

Jesus.  Who don’t these kids know about nowadays?  “I...we sort of...well...”

“Hi, I’m Justin.” He smiles as he reaches the spot where we’re standing, and lets go of Davey’s hand so he can shake hers.  “It’s nice to meet you, finally.”

God, he’s playing this up big.

My sister giggles.  That means she thinks he’s hot, and I roll my eyes as she nervously shakes his hand.  “I’m Abbey’s sister Hannah,” she says lightly.  “I...I recognize you.  I think I saw you on a video we watched at school.”

He shrugs.  “Do I look any different?”

“No, not really,” she laughs.

“And I take it that’s a good thing?”

I roll my eyes.  “Please don’t boost his ego.”  

“Do mom and dad know about him?” Hannah asks me, even though Justin can hear her.

I don’t quite meet her gaze.  “No.”

She laughs out loud.  “And I was going to go to Stacey’s for dinner.”

“I hate you!” I call out after her as she skips merrily back up the porch steps.

“I hate you morr-ee.  Come on boys!”

They race up the steps eagerly.  She lets them enter the house before her and then she follows, letting the door shut behind her.  I hit myself in the forehead with my hand, hating how this is going already.

“She’s a character,” Justin laughs.  

“That’s nothing, believe me.  She’s probably out back right now announcing to the family that I brought a guy home.”

“Well they need to find out sometime.”

He’s right.  “Yeah I just...I guess I’m nervous.  I didn’t think she’d know who you are.”

“It’s my literacy program,” he tells me.  “I don’t think I told you, we were able to get funding for a nationwide outreach program, so it’s being tested and placed into schools all over the country.”

I didn’t know that, and it makes me happy that something he values so much is getting put to good use, but at the same time it means my parents will know right away that I’m dating somebody in the public eye.  It’s quite a jump from Braeden, and I feel like they won’t know what to think about my love life.  “That’s great.” I try to sound enthusiastic, but fail.

“Come on.” He says quietly as he puts his arm around me and rubs my shoulder a little.  “Let’s just get this over with.”

I nod a little and let him lead me up the stairs and into the house that I grew up in.  Just standing in the foyer brings back a million long forgotten memories that I don’t feel like remembering right now.  I look toward the fireplace and I can see it...clear as day...prom night, Braeden and I being forced to stand there and smile while our parents took dozens of pictures of us.  

I look away quickly, keep moving through the house with Justin and out the back door where my family is seated on the patio.  The boys are sitting near my sister, playing some kind of board game.  I’ll have to remember to thank her for distracting them later on.  She didn’t have to do it.  I’m a terrible sister who’s neglected her for years...

I guess she must understand the terrible pain I’ve gone through over the years and she’s willing to trust me again.

“Abbey.”

I look over at the large patio table, and find that I’m being stared down like I’m an alien or something.  It’s not so much my father as it is my mother.  Her head is sort of cocked to the side and her eyes keep shifting between Justin and I.  I have no idea what the hell I’m supposed to say.

Then Barbara stands up.

I swallow hard and can hear Justin clearing his throat.

“Hello, Abbey,” she says softly.

I look away from her.  “Hi Barbara.”

“Mrs. Feldman?” Justin smiles and steps forward to introduce himself to her, obviously not being able to differentiate between my parents and Braeden’s.  I can’t blame him.  I should have been more straight forward with him before we walked back here.

“No.” She shakes her head quickly and stalks back into the house without another glance in my direction.  Sammy gets up soon after and nods at me slightly before following his wife into the house.

Justin looks at me like he’s completely confused and overwhelmed.

“I’m Mrs. Feldman,” my mother speaks up as she steps towards us.  

“Oh.”  Justin blushes slightly.  “Well, it’s nice to meet you. Abbey talks about you all the time.”

Oh God.  He knows that’s a lie.

“Well,” my mother lets out a breath and seems to force a smile as she shakes Justin’s hand.  “This is the first we’ve heard of you,” she nods.  “Supper will be ready soon.  I have to check the roast.”

“Mom...” I start to say, but she won’t look at me.  The only thing she can seem to do is walk briskly back into the house, just like Barbara did.

It means she’s really pissed at me, and I know I’ll have a lot of explaining to do later on.

Justin looks back at me, his eyebrows raised.  I don’t think he was expecting this.

I think I was, though.

“How long is it going to be before you acknowledge your dear old dad?”

It makes me smile.  I’m thankful for him, and when Justin snickers, I can tell that he’s not as nervous anymore.  “Hi daddy.”  I walk into his outstretched arms, and he hugs me for a long time.

“Don’t mind your mother,” he laughs lightly as he kisses me on the cheek.  “You know how she handles things.”

“Yeah.  I know.” I say, and try to force a small smile for him.  It works, sort of.

“So, what was your name, son?”

Justin smiles genuinely and steps over to us, taking a seat when my father motions him to sit down.  “Uh, it’s Justin.  Justin Timberlake.”

“You look awfully familiar.”

He shrugs and glances at me.  “I’m known in many circles, sir.”

My dad snaps his fingers suddenly, before I can say anything else.  “Bloomberg!” He exclaims.  “Aren’t you a commentator on ‘Bloomberg Bottom Line’ sometimes?”

Justin laughs a little bit and rubs his top lip, a nervous habit of his.  “Once in a while.  I haven’t been on a few months though.”  He glances at me and winks.  “I’ve been a little too busy.”

“I love that show,” my dad says, his eyes glazed over in a way that I’ve only seen when he’s made a big sale at the dealership.  “That guy knows his stuff.”

Justin lets out a nervous laugh.  “Yeah, Mark is a cool guy.  We have a lot to talk about.  Do you invest, sir?”

“When I can,” he laughs.  “I’ve made a few investments here and there.  Got a few hundred dollars out of them.  Nothing spectacular.”

“Maybe I can give you some insight,” Justin offers with a small laugh.  “We should sit down again before the weekend is up.”

“What company was it that you work for again?”

I know this is going to be bad.  I mean, I told my parents months ago that I’d gotten a job at Goldman Sachs.  Once Justin tells my father where he works, he’s going to put two and two together.

I seriously doubt he’ll be thrilled with the fact that I’m sleeping with my ‘boss’.

Except I never really held a job at the firm.  I was just hired to be his nanny.  So that makes me a liar, too.

“It’s Goldman Sachs,” he says gently, barely meeting my gaze.  “I was made CEO a few years ago.”

“Ah, yes.”  My father strokes his chin, deep in thought for several moments.  “Abbey, didn’t you tell me you got a job there?”

Fuck.  “Yes,” I mutter.

All my father does is look back at Justin, who has resorted to gazing down at the table now.  “Geez.  How the hell did my daughter manage this?”  He laughs and slaps his thigh.

I let out a long breath of relief.  My dad is so fucking cool sometimes.

It gets Justin to laugh out loud, and I know that things are going to be okay.  That my father has accepted us.  I think it’s because he’s really happy that I decided to come home this year.  he wants me to be happy and to get over what happened to Braeden too.  I can’t say the same for my mother.  She worries too much, that’s her problem.  She’ll probably lecture me on how I’m moving too fast and how “men like Justin only want one thing”

I don’t even want to think what Barbara will say to me if she gets me alone.  It will be anything but pleasant, and the last thing I want to do is get into a screaming match with Braeden’s mother over a holiday weekend.  He never would have wanted us to resent each other, and I’m going to do the best I can to keep out of her way.

“She’s great, sir,” Justin tells him as they shake hands.  “We’re very happy together.”

“It’s about time,” my father agrees.  “Abbey needs a change in her life.”  He pats Justin on the shoulder as he gets up and looks over at Austin and Davey.  “These your boys?”

“My brothers,” he says.  “Guys, say hello.”

“Hi.”  They don’t look up from their game as they say it in unison.

Justin sighs but I give him a look that tells him to leave them alone.

My dad gives him a queer look.  “You’re raising your brothers?”

“Yeah well...my parents passed away over the summer,” Justin tells him softly.  “I took them in.”

A look of intense realization takes over my dad’s expression.  I think he’s starting to understand what brought Justin and I together in the first place.  The fact that we both lost people we loved.  “I’ll see you two inside for supper,” he whispers, and heads back into the house.

“He’s pretty cool,” Justin nods, once my father is out of sight.

I flop down into a chair and put my head in my hands.  “Yeah but my mother is on the warpath.”

“Ab, it’s going to be fine.  She’ll come around.”

I look up at him again when I feel his hand on my shoulder.  I can’t understand why he’s so calm, why he thinks everything will magically work itself out.  I mean, how can he when they stared him down and tried to make him feel like an unwanted outsider?  “My mother is stubborn as hell,” I tell him.  “She’s not coming around.”

“Give it a couple of days,” he nods.  “We have time.”

I just grunt in response.

“Who were those other people?” Justin says to me quietly, probably because he knows my sister is within earshot of our conversation.  “That lady was a bitch.”

I sigh harshly.  “Braeden’s parents.”

“Oh.”

I look up at him.  “Yeah, sorry you had to see Barbara’s bad side, J.”

He shrugs.  “I don’t know her.  I can’t judge her right away.”

“We haven’t talked in years,” I tell him.  “She...she made them declare Braeden dead and I didn’t want anything to do with her anymore.  It’s just...bad.  I wasn’t expecting to see her tonight.”

“She’s going to have to accept the fact that you’re with me now,” he says without a sliver of doubt in his voice.  “They all are.”  

He pulls on my hand and I let myself plop down onto his lap.  “It’s not going to be easy.”

He shrugs.  “What is, Ab?  You have to fight for the important things in this world.  You know that as well as I do.”

He’s right.  I need to try to talk to my mother rationally and explain things, explain how I believe in Justin and he believes me, that we take care of each other and love each other.  She’ll have to listen to me.  Too many years have passed for her to ignore me now. 

“Hey dinner is...”

I snap to attention and look towards the house.  I see Braeden’s brother Mark immediately, and have to suck in a long breath.

He might as well be Braeden at age sixteen.

He looks just like him, and it’s eerie.  I feel chills running up and down my spine and I have to look away from him.

“Abbey?” He questions.

“Hey, Mark,” I whisper, feeling Justin’s hand rubbing my upper back gently.  “How...how are you?”

He shrugs.  “I’ve been okay.”

“Did you get your tux for Homecoming?” My sister speaks up and I see his cheeks turning pink.

“Yeah.  It’s at the house.”

“Finally.”  Hannah gets up from the board game she was playing with the boys and marches up to him. “I thought you’d never get it done.”

She kisses his cheek and he puts an arm around her waist.

They’re dating.

They’re a spitting image of how Braeden and I were, and I start to feel sick to my stomach.

“Who’s this?” He nods to Justin.

“This is Justin.” I look back at him and he smiles a little bit.  “My boyfriend.”

Mark doesn’t smile.  I know it’s difficult for him to accept.  “Oh.”

“Hey man,” Justin says brightly as he rubs my shoulders and kisses my neck.

Mark doesn’t answer him.  “Dinner’s ready,” he says quietly before tugging on Hannah’s hand so she’ll follow him back into the house.

“These people have issues,” Justin whispers after a moment.

“It’s hard,” I say, whipping my head around to glare at him.  “They’ve been through shit and I haven’t exactly been around.”

“I’d think they’d be a little happier for you.  You’ve gotten yourself together and you’re doing well.”

I shrug and look at the ground.  “I guess it would be different if there had been some closure.  I mean, they never recovered Braeden’s body.  Sometimes I think they’re all waiting for him to miraculously walk back into our lives.  Hell, I was in that same state of mind until we started getting serious,” I confess.  “I think it was a mistake coming here,” I whimper.  “It’s not fair that you and the boys have to be subjected to all of this.  We should just...get the next flight out.”

“You’re not going to run away from these people.”

“Why not,” I mutter.  

“Look, I’d give anything to get a second chance with my family, Ab.  At least yours is still around.  At least you have them to talk to, regardless if they’re yelling at you or not.  I won’t let you walk away, like I walked away.”

“You had your reasons.” I don’t look at him as I whisper it.

“I was a stupid fucking kid,” he grits out.  “I mean, yeah, I got lucky...I made something of myself, but I’d give it all back if it meant they would be alive right now, you know?”

Everything he’s saying is making sense.  I should know how lucky I am to have my family here with me, even if they’re still messed up because of Braeden.  Running away would only turn them further against me, and I probably wouldn’t be able to recover from it this time.  I need to stay, I know that now, I just wish things would get a little bit easier.

But it’s only day one.

“I’m starving.”  Justin smiles and pushes me gently so I’ll get off his lap, and he rises to his feet.  “Come on boys, let’s go eat.”  He motions them to go into the house ahead of us, and surprisingly enough they do it without much of a fuss.  Then he steps up to me and kisses me passionately on the mouth, as if we’re the only two people in the world that matter at the moment.  “I love you,” he whispers.  “Okay? They’re not going to change my mind, I promise.”

I feel the tears threatening to spill out of my eyes and I quickly push them back inside of me.  “I love you too,” I croak out.

“Come on.”

I take his hand and follow him inside my parents house, feeling slightly better about the whole situation.  No matter what happens, good or bad, I know that I’ll always have him, that he’ll always be here to protect me and defend me.  

I’m probably the luckiest woman in the world at this very moment.