The force of someone shaking me caused me to stir and wake up.

"Psst, Leda" Mike whispered, I opened one eye and looked at him, it was bright outside, really bright and the light complimented him beautifully.

"No" I said even though I didn't know why he woke me

"Wake up, I need directions to your house" he continued to talk in a whisper which made me wonder if Vic was asleep too.

"No" I repeated feeling extremely exhausted and not wanting to wake up for anything.

"Please" he whined and then laughed at himself

"Nope, not in this life time. I need my beauty sleep" I muttered, shifting in the seat, trying to find a way that I felt comfortable enough to fall peacefully back into a slumber.

"Where am I supposed to go then?" He asked

"Just keep going straight forward" I replied half asleep, with my eyes still closed, I felt the car slow down.

"Very funny, we're at a fork in the road , left or right?"

"Forward" I repeated

"Just wake up and give me directions or I'm taking you back" I knew he wasn't serious about taking me back to his father but panic rose up from my toes all the way to my head.

"No!" I shouted before I could stop myself "Left! You have to go left!" I yelled, my posture had gone from lazy-half-asleep-person-being-stubborn to awake and alert, sat upright and looking ahead in around 0.3 seconds. My lip almost trembled with the idea of crying but I was able to get my emotions under control. Get a grip, Leda, jesus! "Sorry..." I mumbled slightly blushing at my random outburst

"Hey, I was kidding" he put he hand on my shoulder and looked at me with remorse. "I'm sorry, it was a cruel joke"

"No, it's fine" I smiled shaking my head and hating myself for appearing so visibly weak. "I'm still on edge I guess" I looked up into the rearview mirror and Vic's eyes met mine, I hadn't even realized he was still awake, I thought he'd slept when I had. Abruptly a daunting thought swam into my mind. What had they been talking about while I was asleep? Me? The kiss? I looked again at Mike trying to find some external evidence to him finding out this information. I found nothing.

"You're okay?" Mike asked almost nervously, looking at me from the corner of his eyes. It was cute that he was concerned for me.

"Always" I smiled widely and he reached for my hand across the centre console. I smiled wider at his touch and then my eyes flicked back into the rearview mirror where Vic was. But this time he wasn't looking at me, he was looking out of the window at something much more fascinating. I prayed he'd been looking out of there for a long time.

"Hey, Vic?" I found myself saying.

"Mmm?" He replied not looking away from the window and I wondered if he was even looking at anything specific or if he was just trying to distract himself from something.

"You're okay?" I repeated Mike's question to me to his brother, meaning something completely different. Are we okay?

"Yes, I am" he looked in the mirror too so our eyes were on each others as he replied. I nodded and bit my lip, turning my head and looking out of the window. I all of a sudden began to regret my decision to bring us all to my mom's house, my stomach twisted in knots as we kept driving, nearing further and further to the house and perfect life I'd left behind.

"Turn right down there" I pointed so Mike could see where I meant and he nodded to say he understood. Nerves overtook my body and I started doing something I hadn't done since I was around thirteen, I began biting my nails.

"It'll be okay" Vic whispered into my right ear, behind me, between the gap between the window and seat. I turned in my seat and gave him a grateful smile.

The rest of the drive was silent, I didn't even speak up to tell Mike which way to go, I just kept pointing in the direction we needed to go, every now and then he'd glance at me as if he was checking up on me, as if he knew I was becoming a nervous wreck as every second ticked by.

"Don't pull into the driveway" I said abruptly breaking the peace as we turned onto my street. "Just park down the street" he looked around for an available place he could park and a lazy smile crossed his face when he found one, as if he was thinking: piece of cake! Easy-peasy!

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" He asked once we'd pulled into a space and the engine wasnt running anymore.

"Yes why?" I replied too quickly to be casual.

"Because for someone who invited us along you seem like you'd rather not be here at all" he said matter-of-factly.

"No, I'm just, me and my mom haven't spoken in a while, just..." I trailed off not knowing how to explain. "It doesn't matter"

"Are you sure its okay that we came?" Vic asked and I translated it into: are you sure its okay that I came. Even if he didn't mean that.

"Of course, everything will be okay, I'll knock, she'll answer and the hugs and kisses and happy tears will start" I explained falsely smiling the whole time, Mike looked at me skeptically and shrugged as if he didn't believe me but he didn't care to argue. I took a huge breath before opening my door and stepping out of the car.

"Oh crap" I said once I was out of the car. "I'm wearing your sweats, a tequila boom shirt and no shoes..." I looked down at myself, twisting my face in a disgusted expression, I definitely didn't look suitable enough for this situation and I knew my mom would look at my attire and make a snide comment about how I've downgraded not only my career but my wardrobe too.

"You look beautiful" Mike dismissed my insecurity. I looked at him like: ha-yeah-right and shook it off, walking around the car to Mike and waiting for Vic to hop out of the car, once he had we all headed down the street towards my house.

Mike grabbed my hand, interlocking our fingers and half of me wanted to look up at him and smile and the other half wanted to tear away from him and dissolve into the ground. I felt Vic's eyes bore into the back of my head but when I snuck a peak behind me his eyes were on the floor.

My heartbeats were in sync with the thud of my knuckles on the door, knock knock knock. My breath caught in my throat as I waited for her to open the door. Seconds ticked, a minute, two minutes, four minutes and nothing.

"Uh, maybe she's out?" Mike suggested.

"Yeah...maybe, I'll try round the back, stay here" I headed to the side of the house where an iron gate stood tall separating the front yard from the back, I opened it (mom never locked it) and headed down the walkway and into the back yard. Mom had let it get overgrown and clumsy since I was last here and I wondered how exactly she'd been since I left.

Unlike Mike's idiotic father I knew my mom always locked the back door so I didn't waste time trying the handle, instead I searched the cliché places a key could be hidden, for example, under plant pots. Aha! I found it. People seriously needed more imagination!

I unlocked the door with a swift click and I was in. The decor had changed considerably since I'd last been here, the old vintage kitchen was now replaced by a vast space with a white tile flooring and a white breakfast bar complimented by black shiny cabinets and refrigerator. It looked so modern, so unorthodox compared to the old fashioned kitchen I'd grown up in.

I quickly remembered why I was here and headed to the front door, using the back door key (both doors have the same lock) and unlocking it and opening it, Mike and Vic stood awkwardly on the doorstep, it made me smile wide for some unknown reason.

"Welcome home boys" I beamed and stepped aside dramatically gesturing for them to come inside. Mike laughed and Vic did something with his lips that resembled a smile but wasn't quite the real thing, and they both stepped over the threshold and came inside.

"Nice house" Mike said, amazed as we headed into the kitchen

"It used to be beautiful" I shrugged not exactly sharing his love for the elaborate redecoration

"It still is!" He scoffed scanning the whole room with his mouth open.

"A sentimental kind of beautiful not a look-how-much-money-I-have kind of beautiful" I elaborated and he shrugged, probably agreeing that this looked like a ghost house, no memory of any life living here, just a building for a rich singletons to pass through. It didn't have that comfortable atmosphere like a house you grew up in should have.

"Are you sure your mom won't mind this?" Mike asked still looking around the kitchen in amazement like he was a small child being taken to a toy store for the first time.

"Leda..." A familiar voice sounded from the doorway I spun around with my jaw on the floor.

"Mom..." I gasped and almost simultaneously we looked each other up and down from head to toe as if we were confirming that the other was real. "Mom I-" she marched over to me and slammed her hand as hard as she could against my cheek, my eyes began to water as the shock of my own mother hitting me sunk in.

I looked beyond her to the girl now stood in the doorway. "Lily?"

Notes

DUNDUNDUN.

VATTT EVAH WILL HAPPEIN???? D: