Nick rolled over in bed expecting to find Adie asleep beside him so when he reached his arm out to wrap around her and all he got was cold sheet he opened his eyes and scanned the room. She was nowhere in sight, no noise was coming from the bathroom and when he lifted his head to look at the clock that was situated on her bedside table he was surprised to see that it was in fact almost midday.

They hadn’t made it to bed until past two am the previous night, the trip to see Molly being harder then he ever imagined it would be. It had been the first time Adie had been to her grave since the funeral, yet she hadn’t reacted in the way in which he thought she would have. Yes there had been tears but she had been easily consolable, her questions, although some of them left answered seemed to give her comfort and it was when she had been the one to suggest that they leave he knew that she was finally starting to find a sense of closure. That said he had woken at five am to the sound of her tears, he didn’t whisper a word, just pulled her closer to his body, took her hand in his and had lightly stroked his thumb over her knuckles and when eventually her tears were replaced by her even breathing, her also let himself drift back off. He wasn’t stupid, he knew it was going to take time, he knew that there would be days where things just seemed unbearable, and yet he also knew that they would get through them, as long as they had each other there would always be the next day that might be a bit brighter.

When they were apart the bad days just seemed like they were never going to end. He couldn’t even picture himself waking up happy, but having her back, it just felt so right. There was a hell of a lot of stuff that they needed to work through and Nick knew they would more then likely always have some unresolved issues but the only thing that made him truly happy was knowing that Adie was in his life.

He sighed as he wiped the sleep from his eyes before he yanked back the covers and got up out of bed. It was a brand new day, yesterday had been full of tears, full of what ifs, hell the past few days he had spent with her had been like that. His decision had been made, and if they were going to work he had to put all the bad stuff behind him, they had to start again, fresh and that, he decided, meant starting every morning with a smile, a hug and a kiss. He yawned as he made his way down the stairs, all the while scanning the rooms he passed in search of her. When he made his way into the kitchen he spotted her stood by the island in the centre of the room, scribbling something on a piece of paper, his loud yawn catching her attention.

 She smiled widely before speaking, “I thought you were never going to wake up.”

“I’m tired,” He moaned, as he made his way behind her, wrapping his arms around her middle he leant in a placed a small kiss to her cheek as she folded the piece of paper she had been writing on and quickly scribbled his name on it.

“That’s why I left you in bed sweets, you did a lot of driving yesterday,” she reminded as she placed the pen and paper down on the counter before turning in his arms so he could see her face.

“Tell me about it, if I ever have to drive that distance again it will be too soon,” he yawned. “I have the best plan in the world, it’s the plan that is going to make all other plans jealous.”

She laughed a little as she wrapped her arms around his middle, “And what’s that?”

“Doing nothing all day. I’m thinking cheesy movies, lots of food that’s bed for us and just general vegging.”

“There is one fatal flaw with that plan babe, we have no food,” she reminded.

“Take out,” he told her with a duh element to his voice that made her laugh again.

“I can’t,” she sighed.

“What have you got against my great plan? It fool proof. I’ll even do the cheesy oh I’m stretching, argh my arm comes to rest around your shoulders and bring you in closer trick. The trick that all you girls love,” he demonstrated as his arms encircled her shoulders before he leant down to place a small peck to her lips again.

“What’s gotten into to you?” she asked with a smile.

“What I’m not allowed to kiss you anymore?” He asked with a frown.

“Of course you’re allowed to kiss me, it’s just I don’t think I have ever seen you this happy, actually this coherent after you’ve just woken up,” she pointed out.

“It’s my new years resolution,” he started but Adie cut him off.

“Okay then you’re really late at starting it or you’re a tad early,” she laughed.

“Do you want grumpy Nick back? I’m sure I could find him around here somewhere.”

“No I like this Nick better,” she said as she moved her arms up so they were wrapped around his shoulders before standing on tip toes so she could rest her head between the crook of his neck and shoulder.

“It’s a new day Adie, and I want to start every day with a smile, a hug and a kiss,” he told her as he squeezed her around the middle.

“That sounds amazing, but can I make one suggestion?” She asked as she pulled back.

“What’s that?” He asked as he looked down to her.

“I think we should end the day like that too.”

“Absolutely, now you can pick the first movie and I’ll order take out,” he said.

“Rain check for tonight?” She asked as she looked up to him.

He shook his head, “No, now!”

Adie raised her eyebrows as she warned him, “Don’t whine at me.”

“Please?” He pouted.

Adie sighed heavily again before saying, “You have no idea how much I want to say yes to you right now but when I left I didn’t only just hurt and upset you, there’s other people I need to make amends with Nick.”

“Rachel?” He asked knowingly with his own sigh. He watched as she nodded, sensing how ashamed of herself she felt for the last words that she spoke to her sister before she left. Nick knew it had only been said out of pain and jealousy, but he also knew how much the words had stung Rachel. Yet he also knew that in spite of everything, the bond that they shared as sisters was far too strong for either of them to let something like that come between them and even though it might not happen straight away, Rachel would eventually forgive her sister. He just had to help Adie realise that.

“She’ll understand Sugar Puff,” He told her softly as he squeezed her closer to his torso but Adie snorted in response.

“She shouldn’t have to though because I never should have said those things in the first place. What kind of horrible person tells their own sister that they don’t deserve to be happy?” She choked out.

“You were hurting,” he reminded.

“That’s not the point and you know it, I mean you told me after that fight that I was wrong in saying what I did so why are you trying to excuse it now?” She asked sceptically as she pulled away from him.

There wasn’t really much he could say to that, he had told her she was wrong at the time, and he still believed that she was totally out of line but he also knew that people said and did stupid things when they were upset. He also knew that Adie had had the time to realise what she said was uncalled for, he knew how ashamed of herself she felt and he also knew how hard it was going to be to go to Rachel and try and make things right.

“She’s my best friend Nick, what if she never talks to me again?” Adie asked softly as she picked up her purse from the counter and threw the strap over her shoulder.

“Rachel not talk?” Nick asked with a small chuckle, “I don’t think you are going to have a problem there.”

“I’m being serious.”

He wrapped his arms around her again whispering into her ear, “She’ll forgive you.”

“I really hope your right,” she whispered back as she wrapped her own arms around his waist, her head resting on his chest.

“Want me to come with you?” he offered.

“No,” she said as she pulled back slightly, “This is something I really need to do by myself.” She broke away from his embrace completely and he watched as she picked up the note that had been left on the island, he took it when she handed it to him looking at her sceptically.

“I know you’re going to Rachel’s, I don’t think I really need a note to remind me, I know I’m blonde but I’m not that blonde!”

She looked at him sceptically as she lifted a stray strand of her own hair and held it up to his head before telling him, “You’re not actually looking that blonde at the moment, actually you’re almost as dark as I am.”

“Oh god my secret is out,” He said in mock shock, “I’m not actually a natural blonde.”

She snorted as picked up her keys from the counter, “You sure about that? I mean quick where’s Sweden?”

He scowled playfully at her before sarcastically answering, “I don’t know maybe on the right side of your chest like your heart is apparently.”

He knew she would come back with some witty remark, but ever since the time she had answered the question wrong when they had been watching the weakest link, he loved reminding her about it. It had been hilarious because she had yelled out “It’s the right side!” to which Kevin had piped up and said, “I thought your heart was on the left?” Yet Adie had been adamant that the heart was on the right side of the chest, even whooping when they guy who was answering the question gave the same answer as she did, her anger swelling when he was told the answer was incorrect. It wasn’t until she placed her hand to her chest that she realised, her face turning completely beetroot as everyone mocked her and for the next few weeks she had found love heart candy in her luggage and in her purse, and Nick knew without fail there would be a packet wrapped up for Christmas curtosey of Kevin.

“If you were dextra-cardic your heart would be on the right side,” she replied just like he knew she would.

He didn’t say anything to her, as he looked down and began to open the folded piece of paper but she placed her hand over his, making him look up to her.

“Can you wait until I’ve gone?” She asked shyly, indicating there was stuff written in there that she must have been embarrassed about, or stuff she found difficult to tell him.

“I don’t know I might never see you again if I do that,” he joked, thinking back to the last letter he had received from her. The moment the centence left his lips he knew it had been a mistake, her whole face flushed red, her eyes brimmed with tears and she looked to the ground instantly. He sighed heavily before apologising, “I’m sorry. That wasn’t a very funny joke.”

“I better go,” she said as she started to move away from him.

“Wait,” he said quickly, grabbing for her arm, “I trust you and I didn’t mean to make you feel bad with what I just said. It was a lame joke, I didn’t want to upset you. I think we’ve both had enough of that to last us a lifetime.”

“I know. I’ll be back later,” she said as she looked to him before pulling away again and he let her, but before she walked through the kitchen door she stopped abruptly and turned to him, “Carter?”

“Yeah?” He asked with a small smile.

“I love you,” she said as she blew him a kiss.

“Love you too,” he said as he watched her walk out of the room. When he heard the front door slam he sat down on one of the stools that surrounded the island and opened the letter that she had handed to him.

Nick,

I was just going to write you a quick note to let you know that I am at Rachel’s and Alex’s but as soon as I put pen to paper I had this overwhelming sense of da-ja-vu and then I realised it wasn’t da-ja-vu at all it was a memory. Six months ago, almost to the day, I was stood here writing you another letter, a letter that caused you pain, a letter that took me almost two hours to write because I was sobbing so hard I kept smudging the words and would have to start again. That should have been my clue right there that no matter how hard I tried to run I wouldn’t succeed.

I don’t know if you still have that letter but if you do I want you to replace it with this one.

I don’t think I will ever be able to explain to you how truly sorry I am and I don’t think I will ever truly understand the full extent to which I hurt you but I promise I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you. I was in bed last night but instead of sleeping I watched you and wondered what I had done to deserve having such a kind, caring, funny and most of all patient man in my life. Now after saying that I am slightly concerned that your head won’t fit through the door, so here’s a few things to deflate that head slightly, you’re still kind of a slob, and the only reason I couldn’t sleep last night was actually because of your snoring!

He chuckled at her zany sense of humour as he continued to read.

Saying that, I wouldn’t change one single thing about you, because your flaws make you human, they make you the Nickers that I love with all of my heart. I don’t think you will ever know how thankful I am that you decided to give me another chance because a lot of people would have grown tired of me long ago. These past few days I found myself really studying you because I was so sure that all I was going to have left would be memories, and the more I looked at you, the more I realised how much I truly loved you. It scares me how much I love you and I now know that there is no one out there who I could love more, you are it for me, no one else will ever come close, you are my other half Nick, my missing piece, without you I would feel lost.

I’m sorry it took me so long to realise that. There is so much more I want to write but I can hear your heavy footsteps coming down the stairs, seriously do you have to walk like an elephant in the morning?

I love you so, so much.

Always and Forver

Your Sugar Puff.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

He wiped the tears that had threatened to spill from his eyes before he folded the paper back up, a smile crossing his face because he knew that no matter how much more life could thrown at them, he had made the right decision in taking her back.

***

Adie took a shaky breath and mentally ran through what she wanted to say to Rachel as she made her way up the stone pathway to her sister’s house. She had spotted that there was only one car in the driveway and she wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or not, because it meant that either Rachel was out, or it meant she was home alone and at that point Adie so hoped that Alex was the only person who was in the house, because he would be so much easier to talk to. She knew she didn’t deserve Rachel to just forgive her and she knew that in all likeliness she wouldn’t get it anyway, that’s where her and Rachel were so different. Adie would say she accepted someone’s apology even if she didn’t, but it time it would become clear she was still pissed off, Rachel, well Rachel would let you know right off the bat and when she was like that she could be damn right nasty. That was what she was not looking forward too and as she pressed the bell she sent up a silent prayer that Alex was home alone, so at least when Rachel returned there would be another person in the house.

Her prayers seemed to be granted because a few moments after she rung the doorbell it was Alex who wrapped her in a huge hug at first sight and she smiled as she wrapped her arms around him.

“It’s good to see you too Alex,” she told him with a laugh as she pulled away.

“No Nick?” He asked solemnly, his dark eyes sad.

She smiled before answering, “I asked him not to come.”

“So things are good between you guys?” He asked hopefully a large grin spreading across his face as he shut the door behind her and started to walk towards the back of the house.

“We’re working on things. Is Rachel not home?” She asked as she followed him into the kitchen.

“She’s grocery shopping, she should be home soon though. So you and Nick? You’re together?” He asked again as he sat on one of the stools that surrounded the island.

She followed suit, nodding her head as she placed her purse in front of her, “Yes. I don’t know how I managed to convince him but he took me back.”

“He didn’t need any convincing Adie.”

“The whole trip back…” She hesitated as she remembered, “He was awful, he was horrible, hurtful, even spiteful. He woke up in a real pissy mood and I told to go back to sleep and wake up when he was happy and so he said the only way he would wake up happy was if he woke up three years ago. He really wasn’t the Nick I knew.”

“Is he still being like that?” Alex asked, concern etched in his raspy voice.

“No,” Adie shook her head quickly, “ God no. This morning it was like the past year never happened and I don’t know if I believe we can just go back to being like that.”

“Do you want him to still be angry at you? To hold a grudge?” He asked.

“No,” she said softly, her gaze falling to her lap as she fiddled with the strap of her purse. “This just seems too easy Jay“.

“He’s moving on Adie. You can sit and dwell over what you guys have been through forever if you wanted, you can relive all the unhappy memories but it’s going to get you nowhere. I’m not saying you should forget it completely and never talk about it but reliving it all the time isn’t healthy either.”

Adie was just about to tell him she knew that but the shrill ring of the phone stopped her and she stayed silent as she listened to Alex part of the conversation.

“Hello… It’s probably the transmission, call triple A… Max has just gone down for a nap Rache, you know how grumpy he gets when you wake him up from one…so what if the ice cream melts?” He replied the frustration clearly evident in his voice.

“I can stay and listen for Max,” Adie semi interrupted catching his attention.

“Hold on Rache,” Alex said dropping the phone down from his ear and covering the mouth piece as he asked, “You sure?”

Adie nodded, “Yeah, he’s asleep, its fine.”

“Thanks,” he smiled as he bought the phone back to his ear and began speaking to Rachel again, “I’ll be there in a few minutes baby.” He hung up the phone before grabbing the keys from the hook, “Thanks Adie, he’s literally just gone down so he shouldn’t be awake for at least an hour and we’ll be back by then.”

“No problem, I’ll see you in a few,” she said as she watched him walk out of the door and it wasn’t until she heard the car pull out of the driveway she realised what she had offered to do, what she was actually doing.

Upstairs was a five month old, a baby, a child that could quite easily resemble what her own baby would have looked like at that age. Yes she had worked with babies in Nepal but they were sick, they were of completely different race and back then she had been repressing everything, upstairs was her sisters child, her nephew and she had just made a huge mistake in saying she would look after him because she knew she was nowhere near ready to be around him yet.

She walked into the living room and took a seat on the couch, to try and calm herself but when she looked at the picture on the coffee table she could feel the hot tears begin to well up. It was Max, only a few weeks old, sat in his stroller, Nick’s baseball cap a top his head, so big that it had taken a few attempts to get the shot because it kept falling and covering his whole head. Yet it wasn’t the picture that made her want to cry, it was remembering that day it was taken, because that afternoon Nick and her had taken him home, and it was then she realised what an amazing Father Nick would become.

“Dinner time Max,” Nick told him softly, smiling when Max took the bottle and began to chug down on it. “You’re hungry huh?” He laughed looking up to Adie with a smile. “Are you going to breast feed?”

“I’d like to, it’s better for her then formula is but from looking at Rach I think I might express some too,” Adie told him as she moved to sit sideways on the couch so she was facing him completely, her legs crossed Indian style beneath her.

He smiled at her again before turning his attention back to the small boy in his arms. He didn’t say anything to him or to her but Adie knew, just by the way he looked down lovingly at a baby that wasn’t even his, that he was ready and the realisation was bittersweet. If she hadn’t of come to her senses she would have missed out on all of this, it made the guilt she felt in her chest everyday swell even further.

She didn’t get much further with the memory because the small wail from above her caught her attention, and she knew it could only be on person.

Adie sighed heavily as she whispered over and over, “Go back to sleep, please go back to sleep.”

With her earlier prayer about Rachel being granted her quota was up for the day and Max’s wailing only got louder and when it got to the point where Adie knew his bottom lip would be quivering she forced herself up the stairs. She slowly made her way into his nursery but it took her a further few minutes for Adie to actually make herself look into the crib and when she did she couldn’t believe how much he had changed. Sure she had seen him before he left for Vegas but she had purposely focused her attention on Alex for most of that encounter.

“Shhhhhhhhhhh,” she said softly as she began to rock the crib back and forth and when Max sensed he wasn’t alone, his crying stopped and he focused on where the noise was coming from, his dark eyes fixing on his aunts. Adie didn’t say anything else, she just reached across and started the mobile, hoping the soothing tones would ease him back to sleep and in a matter of minutes he was sound asleep again.

Instead of getting out of the room as quickly as she could Adie stayed and studied him. He was completely beautiful, from the top of his head that was covered in wisps of dark hair right down to his little stubby toes and she knew she couldn’t have been more wrong when she told Rachel that she didn’t deserve him because Adie couldn’t actually think of anybody who was luckier. She was just about to reach out a finger to stroke down Max’s cheek when her sisters voice startled her, making her turn around quickly.

“What are you doing?” Rachel asked, crossing her arms as she made her way into the room.

“He started to wake up so I came up here to see if I could get him back to sleep,” Adie told her.

Rachel looked over the crib as if she didn’t trust her sister as she said coldly, “Alex shouldn’t have asked you to stay and watch him.”

“He didn’t ask me I offered,” Adie told her as she backed away from the crib. The silence grabbing hold like icy hands around her neck. Rachel just stared at her for a minute before Adie broke the silence, signalling to Max, “He’s gotten really big, is he smiling yet?”

“Yeah, first person he smiled at was Nick, really pissed Alex off.”

Adie knew that piece of information had been shared out of spite, it was a way to try and make Adie feel bad and it worked but she wasn’t going to let Rachel know that it had got to her.

“I’m sor-”

Rachel held up her hands and cut Adie off, “I don’t want to hear it, you’ve written it in a letter and you’ve told me once already. I think you should leave.”

 “I don’t want this to come between us Rach, you’re my sister,” Adie reminded.

“Maybe you should have thought about that before you opened your mouth.”

“Everybody makes mistakes,” Adie told her softly.

“Some people never seem to learn from them though. I mean how many times did you walk away?” Rachel asked with a sarcastic laugh.

“I never walked away from you, so I’m not going to sit here and apologise to you for something I did to Nick. I’ve apologised to him, he accepted it and we’re moving past all this and I’m sorry if you don’t like that but that was his choice, he choose to take me back and if you don’t like his decision then you need to take that up with him,” Adie told her firmly.

Rachel stared her down for a few seconds, her eyes so dark and cold that Adie almost looked away, but that was exactly what Rachel wanted.

“Just get out of my house Adrianna,” Rachel spat and Adie knew that she had, for at least that day, done as much as she could to rebuild that bridge. Rachel was also ways going to be a difficult one to win back over and she knew the more she pushed the more her sister would back away.

Adie walked out of the room and managed to hold in the tears until she made it halfway down the stairs, bumping into Alex who had obviously been trying to eaves drop on their conversation.

Noticing her tears he asked, “What she do?” Before the anger boiled to the surface, “You know what I’m going to go up there and give her a piece of my mind.”

Adie grabbed his arm with a shake of her head, “No Alex don’t, it’s fine.”

“It’s not fine Adie, you’re crying,” He pointed out angry at his wife’s behaviour.

Adie wiped at her eyes as she reminded, “I said really horrible things to her, I didn’t think she would welcome me with open arms you know. I guess wasn’t expecting her to hate me so much. I don’t want her to hate me she’s my big sister Alex and she hates me.”

She covered her face with her hands as her earlier repressed sobs found their way out and she didn’t protest when Alex pulled her into his arms and had semi managed to get her tears under control when she heard a familiar voice from behind her.

“I don’t hate you Adie, I’m really mad at you but I don’t hate you. You just…you really hurt me with what you said about me,” Rachel told her.

Adie pulled away from Alex as she wiped at her eyes before saying, “That’s what I was going for, I was hurting, I was really hurting then and you were so happy and I was beyond jealous that you had everything I wanted. I wanted to make you hurt like I was. I shouldn’t have done that and I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

“I’ve always felt inferior when it comes to you Adie. You’ve always been the well behaved one, the one to get the good grades, when you were in England and we would go to family bar-b-q’s and stuff people always asked about you and the answer would always be “My Adie, she’s doing so great, she’s really making something of her life.” Whenever people would talk to me and I’d tell them what I was doing Dad would always make some remark at the end about it being a stop gap until something better came along. He didn’t seem to care that I was happy with what I was doing, witnessing wasn’t god enough for him, not compared with what you were doing. Even on my wedding day I still felt as though they thought it deserved to be you walking down the isle,” Rachel admitted.

“What?” Adie asked, finding her sisters revelation shocking.

Rachel moved to sit on the bottom step of the stairs before she continued, “Mom was still trying to convince me on the day before the wedding that red wasn’t a traditional colour for the bride, that she was sure we could go and find a nice white dress somewhere and Dad, all he kept going on about was what a great job you had done in planning the wedding.”

“I didn’t plan it, I helped you but I didn’t plan it,” Adie reminded.

“I know that but he seemed to think the only reason it had all come together was because of you,” Rachel replied not being able to hide the bitterness in her voice.

“Then why didn’t you tell him?” Adie asked somewhat angrily.

Rachel just shrugged, “I don’t know. You know the only time I felt as though they were genuinely proud of me was when I told them I was pregnant and then you went told them that you were pregnant and you were due on Dad’s birthday. You weren’t even with Nick anymore but they managed to see past that, if it had been the other way round they wouldn’t have. I’m sorry about Molly I really am and I’d never wish that on anyone but for you to say that I didn’t deserve to be a wife and mother and that I didn’t deserve to happy was really low. That’s why I told Mom and Dad about Mark and what happened, and I shouldn’t have done but I was defending myself. But I was still the one to get reprimanded for doing that because he,” she said, pointing at Alex who was stood next to Adie, “stuck up for you so I still felt like I was worth nothing, nobody really had a go at you over what you said to me.”

“Yes they did,” Adie told her quickly, “after everybody left Nick…he came and told it to me straight but I already knew how wrong it was Rachel but I was at rock bottom and I know that shouldn’t be an excuse but I wasn’t thinking straight then, I sat at the creek for two hours in my pyjamas, I left Nick again that day, I was selfish and horrible and insanely jealous that you had everything I wanted and I am so sorry that I have made you feel like your not important because you are. You are so important, you’ve always been there for me, always and I took that for granted, this whole trip back with Nick all I wanted to do was call you and talk to you about it and get your opinion on whether you thought he was going to take me back and it was so hard to not be able to do that,” Adie admitted as she wiped the further tears that had spilled.

“He was always going to take you back Adie, it could have been twenty years but he would have taken you back,” Rachel told her.

Adie frowned before asking, “Then why did you tell me he wasn’t going to wait forever?”

“I was trying to give you the kick up the butt you needed, Rachel admitted. “Did you even know that when you walked away from me that you almost knocked the two coffees out of his hands as you stormed past?”

“He saw me?” Adie asked. Rachel just nodded her head in confirmation. “But he didn’t follow me,” Adie reminded, “So how did you know he was going to wait?”

“Because he told me that you were his soul mate, you were his other half but he knew that it was up to you to realise that too,” Rachel shared.

“He really said that?” Adie asked, slightly shocked by what she was being told.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t deserve him,” She whispered.

Alex was quick to step in, “Yes you do, so stop thinking that you don’t.”

“I don’t want to be this person Rachel, I don’t want to be jealous and push people away, I don’t want to be angry and resentful. I want to be happy, I want to be like you are.”

Rachel snorted before she spoke, “No you don’t. The grass isn’t so green from where I stand all the time you know.”

That was when Adie realised just how badly she had hurt her sister, it was when she realised it wasn’t just from the comment she had made a few months before, it had been from a lifetime of comments and actions not only made by her but from their parents. It was then that Adie understood why Nick and Rachel seemed to get on so well, because they both understood the frustrations of trying to make someone proud, of trying to seek someone’s approval.

 “I’m sorry I hurt you, I am so, so sorry and I understand if you don’t want to forgive me but can we move past it?” Adie asked but before Rachel could answer, Max began to wail.

Alex tried to intervene and offered to go and see to him but Rachel stood quickly and told him that it was okay and that she would see to him. Adie watched as her sister retreated up the stairs before letting out a small sigh as she turned to Alex.

“I should go,” she said solemnly.

“Are you not going to wait to see what she has to say?” He asked.

“I think her silence was answer enough.”

He grabbed her in a another hug, “Just give her a bit of time Adie.”

“Yeah,” she nodded, willing the tears not to fall as she wrapped her arms around him, “I’ll uh…I’ll see you soon.

***

Adie had managed to calm herself down on the drive home, it hurt like hell that Rachel hadn’t been able to forgive her but Adie wasn’t sure whether if it was her in that situation she would be able to let it go so quickly. The anger her sister felt towards her wasn’t just from the argument they had had just before she left either, it was now quite clear that Rachel’s feelings had been stemming back for quite a while. It was going to take a long time to completely sort this problem out and Adie knew that it would have to be a family affair because her parents were partly to blame as well.

She pulled the car to a stop just outside the house and let out a big sigh. At least she had tried to start the healing process with her sister, that was all she could do for the time being, the ball was now in Rachel’s court and all she could was wait patiently and hope that in time Rachel would at least be able to understand Adie’s actions. Adie pushed opened the car door and decided that she was going to push what had just happened to the back of her mind, at least for the rest of the day. She was going to enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening with Nick, she could think of nothing better then snuggling up to him on the couch whilst watching lame movies.

That was why it was a little difficult to hide her disappointment when Aaron opened the front door just as she made it up the last step.

“Aaron?” she asked.

“Dude you could at least act happy to see me,” he joked, obviously sensing her disappointment.

She smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck, “I am happy to see you sweetie.”

“Really cause from the look on your face it was like I had just ran over Layla,” he laughed as he pulled away.

“I wasn’t expecting you, that’s all. What are you doing here?” She asked as they made their way inside the house.

“Figures he didn’t tell you. Nick and I are going to New York,” he said as he jumped up onto the kitchen counter.

“Oh…New York huh?” Adie asked slightly hurt that Nick hadn’t mentioned it earlier.

“Yeah. You know what with Nick speaking to Mom again he thought it would be a good idea to get the family together again, I mean can’t remember the last time we were all in the same room together,” he rambled excitedly and that made Adie smile.

 “I bet. Is he upstairs?” She asked and he nodded, “I’ll be right back okay?”

She made her way up the stairs, eager to hear what Nick had to say about the topic. She wasn’t mad, this had obviously been planned a while ago and he deserved to spend some time with his family, she was actually really proud of him for reaching out to his Mother. What hurt was that he failed to mention any of this to her, they had only been home less then twenty four hours and all she wanted to so was spend time with him but he would be leaving again so soon. Maybe it was Karmas way of making sure she wouldn’t be so selfish again. She found him in their room, a suitcase laying open and half filled on the bed, and she leant against the door waiting for him to return from the closet. He was back in the room in a matter of seconds, a pile of t-shirts in his hand, a smile spreading across his face when he spotted her.

“Hey Sugar Puff.”

She smiled back, “Going somewhere?”

“Yeah. I actually kind of forgot until Aaron showed up.” That was so typical of him. “You’re not mad are you?” He asked, the smile disappearing from his face.

“Of course I’m not. I’m just sad that we aren’t going to be able to chill and watch cheesy movies together tonight,” she semi pouted as she made her way in the room and sat down on the bed.

 “We can still watch cheesy movies,” he shrugged.

“Yeah I suppose you’re right,” she said a little too quickly and it was then he finally realised what she had meant.

“Ohhhh we’re we hoping cheesy movies would lead to romantic movies?” He asked wiggling his eyebrows making her laugh.

“It has been almost four months,” she reminded.

“Uh what about Vegas?” he asked as he placed the T-shirts in the case.

“Vegas doesn’t count,” she told him.

“Why?” He asked confused.

“Because I was a bitch in Vegas and I just used you to get off,” she said as she looked away, her cheeks flaming red and she remembered how disgusted she had felt the next morning when he had turned round to her and called the night before a cheap fuck. He had been completely right though because she had just used him to stem her sexual need.

“Hey,” he said softly as he pulled her hands and helped her up off the bed, making Adie look at him. “I love you.”

She smiled brightly before answering, “I love you too, so much.”

“I know you do, thank you for my letter,” he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her middle and leant his head into her shoulder.

“Welcome,” Adie told him as she kissed his head. “I’m going to miss you.”

“Huh?” He pulled back with a confused look on his face.

“When you’re in New York.”

“Well I was kind of hoping you were going to come with me?”

“Really?” She asked a huge smile spreading across her face which made him smile.

“Of course. I think it’s about time you met my Mom.”

“Do you think we’d able to get another seat on the flight though?” She asked a frown crossing her face when he looked away sheepishly. “What? What did I say?”

“Yeah about that. It’s been a while since Aaron and I have had any time together and when we were in Vegas we kind of thought it would be a good idea to take a road trip,” he told her, biting his lip in anticipation on her reaction.

“To New York?” She asked and he nodded, “We’ve just driven back from Vegas Nick.”

“Yeah I know but um… there’s no flights available, I kinda already checked.”

“I guess I’ll go to Wal-Mart and load up on road trip supplies then,” she smiled.

“Love ya,” he called after her.