I was sitting in the passenger seat of Lana's car headed to her parents' house. Derek was spending time with his family and was driving up in a few days so that he could go skiing with Lana and her family. Then I was going to take Lana's car back to campus to get my car and go to Grayson's, that way him and Lana could drive back to campus together.

I didn't really like driving someone else's car, but Lana really hated driving someone else's car, so I agreed to us bringing hers since she didn't want to drive the six hours alone.

We had just turned onto the street to her house, thankfully. Sitting in a car for six hours is awful. My ass started hurting when we were only two hours into the drive.

I jumped out of the car and grabbed my bag from the backseat and started heading up the driveway, but I felt a hand on my shoulder and was spun around. Lana stood beside me and leaned in as she took a picture of us.

"What are you doing?" I asked her after she snapped the photo.

Her eyes were on her phone as she typed away. "I promised Grayson I would send him a picture to prove you were here with me and not on a plane."

I rolled my eyes. "Wow." I spun on my heels, shaking my head, and walked up to the front door.

I heard the car door slam shut and seconds later Lana appeared beside me. Even after all these years I still couldn't bring myself to just walk right in. Her parents always told me that if they were expecting me, I didn't have to knock, but if they didn't know I was coming over that I should knock. I could only imagine why they had that rule set in place. Actually, no, I didn't want to even think about the reason for that.

Lana opened the door and walked inside and I followed her in. "I'm home," she yelled.

"Honey," I could hear her mother's voice and then she appeared from around the corner that lead to the kitchen. "It's so good to see, again!" She wrapped Lana in a hug.

Then she pulled away and pulled me into her giving me a tight squeeze. "It's so good to see you, Ellie." She adjusted the towel she had placed over her shoulder. "I'm so glad you decided to come spend time with us during Christmas break."

I gave her a smile. "Thank you for allowing me to come."

"Of course. You should have seen the smile I had when Lana told me you were coming!" She turned and headed back around the corner. "C'mon. I've baked some cookies."

Lana and I walked into the kitchen and the smell of gingerbread cookies filled my nose. There were a few set out on a platter on the island, and she was bent down grabbing another batch out of the oven.

I wasted no time in snatching one from the platter and taking a bite. "This is so good," I told her. One of my favorite things about coming over to Lana's house was that her mom always had some delicious treat just baked and set out for me to devour.

"I thought I heard two of my favorite voices," her father said, and I turned to see him come bouncing down the stairs. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed one of the cookies. "Sorry, I was taking a shower. I just got back from playing some tennis." He pretended to swing a racket.

"You're still playing tennis?" I asked him.

"Of course! Keeps me young."

"Oh, please. You don't look a day over thirty-five," I told him.

He used his half-eaten cookie to point at me. "I knew I always liked you better than Lana."

"Hey!" Lana said with a frown.

He laughed and kissed her on the top of her head. "Just kidding." He walked over to his wife and wrapped his arms around her giving her a kiss. It was such a sweet gesture.

I, honestly, couldn't remember the last time my parents showed any type of affection towards each other. My parent's relationship seemed more like business partners who lived together and slept in the same bed. If they even slept in the same bed at all. Most mornings when I would come down the stairs my dad would be laying on the couch in his office, claiming he had a long night and fell asleep there.

"I've got chili on the stove," her mother said as she placed the cookies onto the platter. "Thought it would be nice with this cold weather."

"Yes!" My mouth watered just thinking about it. I hadn't had a home cooked meal in so long, well except for turkey on Thanksgiving.

If I were to live in my own apartment, I would be doing a lot of cooking, which I didn't mind. It would be nice. I still hadn't given Grayson an answer to us getting a place and living together. I told him I would need to think about it, but I did promise to not leave and move to the other side of the country, at least not until I had given him an answer.

Lana and I headed upstairs to her old room and put our bags away. It was weird being in her room, again. It hadn't been long since being in there, but it still felt different now. Before heading off to college we spent so much time in this room staying up until the early hours of the morning talking about school and guys, mostly guys.

I think I spent more time in Lana's room than I did in my own. I stood in the middle of the room looking around. It was a lot emptier than it used to be. The one wall that held a collage of pictures from when we were little up until senior year of high school was now bare. She brought them with her to college, but kept them tucked away in a box under the bed.

I glanced over to her bed that sat in the same place, remembering back to when we stayed up for hours as I laid there and cried about getting my heart broken for the first time; you know, from the guy who took my virginity. Thinking back on it now I don't think I was even in love with him, but you know how it is when someone you really like breaks up with you. You feel like there's nothing worse than that.

"So many good memories in here, huh?" Lana asked me bringing me back from my thoughts, and I looked at her seeing she was looking around her room with a smile.

"Are you talking about that time you snuck TJ in here at one in the morning?" I questioned.

"Absolutely not," she said but her smile grew wider at the mention of it.

"You did what?" Her mother's voice filled the room and I watched as Lana's smile fell and her eyes widened. "And to think I thought he was an innocent boy."

"And you didn't think I was innocent?"

She waved her hand. "Oh, honey, please. I knew you weren't."

I started laughing getting a glare from Lana but then she started laughing, as well.

"But if I would have known about it back then you would have been so grounded," she said with a stern look. "If I could ground you now I would."

"She still needs grounding, now, Mrs. Young," I told her.

"I so don't. I have perfect behavior," Lana told us with her hands on her hips and her nose in the air.

Her mother raised a brow. I guess that's where Lana got it from. "I guess I'll just have to believe you. Why don't you girls come downstairs. We'd love to sit around and talk."

Her mother left and soon after Lana and I went downstairs, too. We sat around the kitchen table with her parents while we ate chili. The chili was so good and warm and my stomach danced with joy. We talked about college and how things were going.

It didn't take long for Mr. Young to ask me how I was about the whole situation going on with me, but he did seem to choose his words wisely and looked as though he didn't even want to bring it up.

I still hadn't talked to either of my parents and didn't plan to. It's not like I didn't expect something like this from my mother but it still hurt to know she would stoop that low. She knew all about Jared and what he'd done to me. She knew everything. Still, it didn't matter. She didn't hate him. She disliked me because I wouldn't give him another chance to prove he wouldn't do that to me again. She didn't like me for the fact that I didn't want to spend the rest of my life with him. She didn't like me for the fact the two companies would never come together, at least not with my help.

To think parents could do that to their own child was crazy but I knew first hand that some parents don't give a rat's ass about their children. It didn't take being with Jared for me to figure that out, I've known it since I was old enough to remember.

After supper Mr. Young thought we should play Just Dance. Lana and I thought we had it in the bag with us being younger, but I guess playing tennis really did pay off. While Lana and I grew tired and could barely keep moving Mr. Young was up dancing around making us look pathetic.

The moment my head hit the pillow of Lana's bed I felt my body relax. My feet were throbbing in pain, and it felt so good to be off of them. Not to mention I hurt my back trying to do some weird move during the game and it didn't turn out so well, but Mr. Young made it look easy.

I thought maybe I should take up tennis, but quickly shook that thought from my mind. I could barely play a round of Just Dance, I seriously doubt that I could run around a tennis court and still walk off in mint condition. I'd probably dislocate my shoulder during my back swing.

"How's your back?" Mr. Young asked me as he popped into the open doorway of Lana's room.

"It's been better," I told him as he stood there looking just fine. "You could have at least let me win since I hurt my back and all."

"Now what fun would that be?" He smiled. "Goodnight girls."

"Goodnight," we said in unison, and then he closed the door.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand and I grabbed it.

Grayson asked me.

I told him.

he asked.

he said with a frowning face, and then more bubbles appeared and I waited for another text. A laughing face. He sent me a laughing face.

I rolled my eyes and locked my phone setting it back on the nightstand. He laughed at me, did he really think babe and a winking face would make up for that? Men.

"Are you done talking to your boyfriend?" Lana said as she rolled over to face me. "I'm trying to sleep and the light from your screen is lighting up the room.

"Goodnight, Lana," I told her as I shifted in the bed to make myself comfortable, finding it hard with my back still hurting.

Just as I got myself situated into a comfortable position and closed my eyes ready to let sleep take over Lana jumped up. "Oh, Derek's calling!"

I laid there trying to fall asleep while attempting to block out Lana as she talked to Derek. She complained about the light from my phone screen but here she was blabbing on and on to Derek not even attempting to be a little quiet. "Are you done talking to your boyfriend? I'm trying to sleep and your loud voice is breaking the silence of the room."