The sun was high in the sky when Nicole came back. Laura had texted her, saying she had arrived, so she figured it was time to return to her childhood home. She didn't care if her father was ready to fix what he broke; she wasn't ready to forgive. Yet that wouldn't stop her from spending Christmas with her sisters.

They were all in the kitchen when she joined. Rita and Laura sitting by one side of the table, and the others opposite. Her father was trying to break the silence with the typical school questions, but he kept getting dry answers from Laura.

She knocked twice on the door to announce her arrival and leaned against its frame. Her father got up, looking at her in shock, just as Mia was.

"Nicole! Where were you all night?"

"So you know my name now, hun?"

He looked at the floor for a second before facing her again, cheeks red. She knew it wasn't embarrassment. In fact, she knew exactly what would follow. It wasn't her first time being out all night without permission. The difference was that this time she was a nineteen-year-old with her own roof and her own paycheck, not a silly teen.

"You can't leave the home like that!" he hissed through gritted teeth. "Do you know how worried Mia and I were? You just left without saying where you were going and now you come back like nothing happened? You're grounded."

Nicole bit her cheek to keep the smile from appearing. She nodded, as if she cared. "Okay."

"Okay?" he repeated, watching her take a seat by Laura and filling a cup with orange juice.

"Yeah. All good."

Considering the conversation over, Nicole gave Laura a side hug, ready to dive into whatever new story she had to tell. However, her father wasn't done. He couldn't comprehend her sudden change of behaviour. The day before, she looked like she saw a ghost. Now, she was fine, but still not her normal self. There should've been some yelling and grounded arguments he would deny with his parent status.

"You're forbidden from going out at night."

She cocked a brow, looking at him as if he owed her everything and she owed him nothing. "If you say so."

"I say so."

"Okay."

He blinked, but sat down in his chair. They resumed their meal, even if he didn't look quite convinced. The silence fell again, only the sound of Mia's son Nintendo in the background.

The triplets went to Rita's room, where they had placed two camping mattresses by her bed. Nicole sat on the bed, hugging a pillow against her chest, and Rita sat opposite her, leaning against the wall. It was crazy how it looked the same as when they left.

"Dad's being such a jerk. What happened to mending the relationship?" said Laura, sitting on a chair and throwing her legs on top of the desk.

"If he really wanted to, he would've kicked that skank out already."

Rita looked at them, unsure if she should defend him. Anything she could say would most likely be ignored. They had decided what side they were on a long time ago. Yet, she stood in the middle, trying to be the peacemaker no one asked for.

"He meant it when he said he wanted to have a happy family again. It's just that... He wants to have it all. Mia, Martim and you. He doesn't understand it doesn't work like that."

"It could've worked like that," said Laura, "if Mia only entered the picture after mum left."

They said nothing. Rita didn't want to discuss such topics, so she changed the conversation.

"Alright, what's new since we talked last? I'm sure Laura doesn't know of Nicole's new boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend," Nicole interrupted her.

It didn't bother her they wanted to discuss Andrew, but what could come of it made her nervous. If they started digging, they could easily ask about her ex-boyfriend, and she didn't want to talk about him. She didn't want to admit what happened out loud, much less to them. They would support her like no one else had, but saying it was showing how weak she had been.

"For real? You're finally moving on?" Laura asked.

"I guess." She shrugged. "We've been seeing each other for the past weeks, but it's not serious. He'll go back to the States, eventually."

The reality sank in as soon as she uttered those words. She hadn't thought about it. They hadn't talked about it. Yet, she remembered being at The Bookmark, sitting by his side, talking about the future with mugs of hot chocolate in hand.

"I'm sorry," said Rita, holding her hand.

Nicole looked elsewhere. She hated to be pitied like that.

"You should go with him then," Laura joined. "I'm thinking about staying there permanently. It would be awesome if you were there, too."

She sighed. "Maybe I should. There's nothing holding me here. Besides Miguel."

Rita gasped, staring at her. "How dare you?"

They laughed at her sudden outburst, and Nicole engulfed her in a bone-crushing hug. Rita struggled her way out, trying to keep the angry facade, but a smile ended up appearing on her lips and soon she was giggling with the rest of them.

"For real, though," Laura added. "I am loving New York. I've made amazing friends, seen amazing places... You'd love it. If it weren't for Mike, I probably would still be lost, though."

Rita eyed her suspiciously. "Mike?"

"Some guy I met at uni."

Nicole hugged her legs, supporting her chin on her knees. Maybe Laura was right. Maybe she needed a new beginning somewhere else. Somewhere she wasn't afraid to run into her ex-boyfriend all the time.

"New York..." she muttered to herself.

Rita stared at her, eyes wide. "You're not actually considering it, are you? You can't leave everything behind!"

"What everything?" she asked, ice in her voice. "What everything, Rita? Friends? A job? Family? A life?"

The girl faltered. She'd never heard Nicole talk to her like that. A year had changed a lot, even if she refused to acknowledge it. It was enough to shatter Nicole's former self and glue it into a new version with all the spikes out.

"Me! You can't leave me!"

The girl sighed. "I'm sorry, Rita, but you know I've left you a long time ago."

Her bottom lip quivered. "But you just came back. I thought... I thought that if you mend your relationship with dad, you would stick around."

Laura was watching, speechless. She had never imagined her sister felt that way. Their connection had been injured when they split ways, when they picked different sides of the divorce. Rita didn't feel at ease talking to them about that, just as they stopped sharing every single detail of their life. They grew out of that friendship.

"We're not mending anything. You know we're not," said Laura. "I thought we could, but it's obvious we can't. At least not now."

Nicole nodded. "Besides, we have our own lives now. Nothing is going to be like it used to."

A single tear ran down Rita's cheek, but she wiped it with her sleeve. Her eyes were focused on her lap, on her hands, twisting rings around her fingers. She refused to believe what they were telling her. Maybe their lives changed, but hers was frozen, waiting for them to come back.

"Rita-"

"It's okay," she shrugged it off, faking a smile for each of them. "I get it. The family is fucking broken, and that includes us." She got up laughing. They stared at her in worry. "I see what you mean now. Why you hate dad. He pushed you away from me, too."

Laura got up and pulled her into an embrace. Rita choked on the tears, sobbing on her shoulder. Nicole joined it, hugging both of them tightly. They stayed like that for a while, enjoying being together.

"I'm okay," said Rita after a while, breaking away to clean the tears. "I just need to get some fresh air."

"I'll go with you," Laura told her.

Nicole was about to join, but her phone started ringing and Andrew's name flashed on the screen. She sat on the bed, telling them she would join in a bit, before accepting the call.

"No phone sex on my bed!" Rita joked before leaving.

Nicole rolled her eyes and put the phone by her ear when they closed the door. She laid back on the bed, looking through the window. After the small wall decorated with her mum's dying roses, her neighbour's property began. Garfield, the old woman's cat, was walking on top of the wall.

"I was wondering when you were going to call."

"Missed me much?"

She snorted. "Don't be so full of yourself, Witty. I couldn't wait to take a break from your bizarre flirting."

"Bizarre?" he repeated. "Are you openly admitting you feel attracted to the bizarre?"

She rolled her eyes, a small smile painting her lips. "Are you assuming I'm attracted to you?"

He gasped. "Are you saying you've been lying to me this whole time?"

Laughter escaped their lips and, for a moment, Nicole wished she was there with him, and not in her childhood home. Then she felt guilty for those thoughts. Rita didn't deserve any of it. Her hatred towards their father should in no way affect her, and she was mad at herself for how she made her sister feel.

"Okay, but seriously now. I meant to ask you if you'll be back for New Year's Eve."

"Are you so desperate for a midnight kiss?" she asked.

"I'm desperate for any kiss of yours."

She bit her lip, smiling to herself. "I'm staying here. I'll be back at the night after, though."

"Okay. I was hoping you would be here to shield me from Miguel, but I'll manage."

She frowned. "What do you mean? Don't tell me he's dragging you to a New Year's party."

He chuckled. "Oh, but he is. Lucas and Carol are having a very romantic dinner, like every single of their dinners since you left the apartment, and he decided I'm the best replacement."

"That's some desperation right there. Just give him a bottle of anything alcoholic and he'll entertain himself," said Nicole. If Lúcia came with them, he would be distracted enough. "Anything interesting happened?"

Silence. She sat up, a frown creasing her forehead. Paranoia started taking over her right away. Is he hiding something from me? Why did he shut up? He is hiding something.

"Andrew?"

"Yeah... I-" he stuttered. "Nothing interesting."

"Why are you lying?"

He sighed in defeat. "Look, it's nothing that affects you. I just got a text from my sister inviting me to her wedding."

Her eyes widened. "Your sister is getting married? Are you going?"

"Probably not. She says father is ready to make peace with me when I come back, but... it's too risky. But I can't just miss her wedding."

She bit her cheek, considering his words. "Maybe you should go. I'm sure your dad won't ruin her special day because of some argument between you two."

"I'll think about it."

She laid back down, staring at the ceiling and thinking about Laura's words. "It must be nice there. I heard it snows this time of the year. And the night on Time Square must be beautiful..."

"What?"

"Mmm? Nothing, I was just... I don't know."

"Do you want to come?" he asked, getting excited with the idea. "We can stay there a whole week. I'll show you around. I'll show you everything."

By the end, he did not show her everything, but that's irrelevant to the story.

"To your sister's wedding?"

"Oh... I mean... I-Maybe not to the wedding... I-"

"I could stay with my sister during the ceremony."

"Yeah!" he exulted. "Let's do that. You're going to love it."

She giggled at his motivation and wondered if he wasn't being too reckless by saying yes without thinking things through. But now she had been invited to visit the place where he grew up and that warmed her up to the core.

"When is it?"

"Last week of January."

She blinked. "Oh... That's... My birthday is on that week."

Sometimes she forgot they didn't know each other that well. Yes, she knew a great deal about what his family, about what he wanted and what he hated, what made him happy and what made him sad, but such trivial things like birthdays and favourite colours were things they barely mentioned.

"It is? Sorry, I didn't know. I understand if you prefer to spend it with your friends."

She rolled her eyes. "I've had plenty birthdays with my friends. I've never had a birthday in New York."

"You prefer to spend it with me?"

"That's what I just said."

Three knocks on the door interrupted the conversation. She sat up, staring at the light wooden door. Her dad called on the other side, and she answered vaguely. He wouldn't give up, though, so she promised to be out in a moment.

"Is that your dad?"

"I'm not sure I can call him that at this point. But yeah, that's him. I am so sick of him."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"And give him more attention than he deserves? No, thanks. And I gotta go. They want me to watch a movie with them."

"I'm sure an hour with them won't kill you. I'll see you next year. And merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas."

The antecipation is killing me AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

*stares at outline* Am I rushing this? Should we delay the NY trip? Should I write 35 chapters instead of 34? But I already changed it from 32 to 34...

Okay, serious question. Do we want Liz reaction to her OTP being together? One yes is enough for me.

I hope you liked this chapter, and if you didn't, oh well. I can't appease you if you do not show emotion throught the comments ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Let's bring back Promo Tuesdays cuz I got nothing better to do (I know it's Monday, shush):

Me: *pulls everyone's favourite character out of pocket*

Viz: Oh, we're doing this again?

Me: Yeah. Just read what's on the board.

Viz: Please, as if I need that. *clears throat* Louis Vizcaya at your service. You can call me Louis or Lou or Viz. Here's a list of reasons why I'm way better than Ezra-

Me: Not again... Wrong story. Just read what's on the board.

Viz: What do you mean wrong story? Oh! Is this the one with Jade's girlfriend's parents?

Me: I- sure...

Viz: Here's a list of reason's why I'm way better than Mateo's dad-

Me: How do you know who's Mateo?

Viz: *wipes sweat of forehead* I- umm... Avery told me!

Me: And how does Avery know?

Viz: J-Jade told her. And Nina told Jade.

Me: *frowns* Have you bee story hoping again?

Viz: N-No.

Me: *flips board* I'm sick of you. *storms out*

Viz: Oh yeah? You know what I'm going to do? I-I'm- *sits down in front of the board and sighs* Fine, you win. Read Blueberry Milkshake by CoffeeAndSilverInk on Wattpad.