It was four o'clock when I called Nick. I was worried sick about mom and just about ready to burst out crying. I felt claustrophobic, being stuck all alone at home. Especially in the status it was in. My flipping out is completely justified.

Nick answered on the fifth ring. "Yeah!" he answered the phone, sounding irritated but trying to cover it. He probably expected it to be mom. Since I never call from our land line, if at all. The only time I talk in through the land line is when dad called from work.

"N-Nick?" was all I could get out before the dam broke and my tears started spilling down my cheek in a stream.

"Sydney?" Nick asked confusedly, like he wanted to make sure it was me. I only ever bother to call him in emergencies. Though I do text him quite often. Plus, I never touch the land line as much as I can avoid it.

"N-Nick, mom is - mom is- is missing?" I said in between hicups. Confirming it out loud, to Nick only made me to cry harder.

"What!" he exclaimed, clearly taken back by surprise. Then their was silence on his end of the line, only broken by my constant sniffling. I guess he was trying to process this unexpected information I'd sprung on him out of the blue.

I'd have tried to tell him in a much more subtler manner, but this is easier said than done. Specially since I was too busy flipping out. I know I shouldn't blow things out of proportions. It was so hard not to when you looked at the status the living room was in... and kitchen... and the master bedroom.

After what felt like forever, Nick took a deep breath and calmly asked me whether I checked the flower shop -probably forgetting that was where he dropped me off after school.

"I checked the whole shop twice, and home and I even called her and her phone was switched off and... and... Nick, I'm scared and I don't know what to do. What if something happened to her or- or-" I rambled off in a rush. Truly scared for the sake of my step mom.

"Shh... Shh... Shh, calm down. Now tell me where you are?" he asked me in a soothing voice. This is why I love my brother so much. He could always find the best way to calm me down. To stop me when I go off rambling or over-reacting.

"H-home" I sniffed, wiping my eyes uselessly, 'cause they were soon replaced by new one flowing out of my eyes.

"O...kay, don't worry. I'll be there in..." He paused for a moment, clearly calculating the time. "Five, don't worry Sydney. She might have just gone to visit her friend" the last part he added making his tone light. Still, I could read the worry deep in his voice. He knew that I wouldn't have jumped to this conclusion just for nothing.

I nodded my head in answer before remembering that he couldn't see me. Even by then, Nick had already hung up.

Alone once again, I stepped out of the claustrophobic house, to wait for Nick. I sat myself down on the top porch step and pulled my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around my thigh and burying my face in my thighs.

I must have been there for five minutes later - it felt way longer - when I heard a car screech to a stop in front of my house. I wasn't really paying any attention to it though. Had I been paying attention, I'd have heard hurried footsteps, before the car came to a complete half. I did however, hear the car door slam shut. Nick yelling out my name startled me to look up.

Biting my lips in worry - so I wouldn't burst out crying all over again - I scrambled to my feet. By then he and his friends reached me. I couldn't even bring myself to care that Cam was among them. Or that he'd surely make fun of me for this once we get to school - he wasn't insensitive enough to make fun of me right now. Truthfully, I was too busy to being worried about mom to care about that.

I attached myself to Nick, wrapping my arms around his torso and burying my face in his chest. "Come on, Sydney, let's go inside and talk" Nick told me softly, petting my hair. He was trying to reassure me, but I could tell that he was worried - not about mom.

I nodded my head into his chest and he un-attached me from him and led us inside. The guys followed silently. Upon entering the house all of stopped dead on our tracks.

"God!" someone swore. "What the hell happened here?" another someone asked looking at our living room in shook. I was too much in distress to bother to place anyone's voice. The reason they all swore was because the living room was up-side-down.

Cushions strewn across the floor, lamps knocked aside, the TV not in it's stand the bookshelf knocked down and broken. It's contents thrown and scattered all over the floor. The couches moved, the glass of the coffee-table shattered, the vase in splinters, flowers all over the floor. It was a sad sight to see, and something my sister cannot create. This just was not her style. Though Tania might, she wasn't here, neither was Dustin.

"Did you do this?" Daniel - a guy in the football team - asked near me. Now that I was no longer in hysterics, I could identify who spoke. I shook my head and Nick grunted - he knew that I'd never pull something like this, even if I lost my mind - but neither of us said anything.

After a short pause, Nick turned me around to face him. "How long ago did you get home?" he asked me.

"Fi-fifteen minutes ago" I strutted sniffing slightly. I knew very well that it was not what he was asking. Grunting frustratedly, he shook my shoulder and muttered "Sydney".

I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand to no appeal, since more tears replaced them in a sec. I shrank to the floor sniffing and said "After you dropped me off at the shop I went in to find no one there, I checked the greenhouse, twice to make sure, but she was not there in the shop, so I stayed in the shop to water the plants, I was there for like an hour. Then I went to granny's pet shop and stayed their for another half-an-hour and then went back to the shop, since it was still closed I came home to find the living room, kitchen and her bedroom looking like this," I said gesturing to the living room.

"I checked the whole house, your room, my room, Tania's room, Dustin's room, her bedroom, all the bathroom's, kitchen, living room, backyard, driveway, garage, everywhere. I double checked to make sure. After that I called you and..." I trailed off, since he knew the rest of the story. "See, my flipping off is completely justified" I cried into my brothers chest, he had knelt beside me as I told him everything I knew.

I felt a gently hand touch my shoulder. A hand that didn't belong to my brother. "Completely justified. I'd have called the police if I found my house in this status" that voice belonged to none other than Cam.

I looked up at Nick worriedly. "Don't worry sweety, she'll be fine." He said reassuringly, hugging me and stroking my hair. I leaned into his touch, but I wasn't really reassured. "She might be in a friend's house and her battery is dead, so her phone is off."

I sat back on my ankle smiling slightly at his effort. "And all this?" I asked, gesturing around the upside-down living room. Hoping against hope that he'll have a valid reason for this as well.

"Maybe someone broke into the house or something" Paul suggested excited and earned himself a glare from everyone. Daniel smacked Paul upside the head and said "or maybe Tania lost something and was trying to find it." This lifted the mood and I giggled into my hand imagining a frustrated Tania pulling apart the house, though unlikely.

Soon enough everyone started to guess the stupidest things they could think of that happened to the living room. While I was smiling and enjoying the boys company, I was still very worried about mom.

Nick must've noticed, as he suggested we clean up the living room. I could tell that he was trying to distract me from thinking about mom. Cam and the guys volunteered to help and since they were all guys, they wouldn't let me to help. Truthfully, I enjoyed bossing them around. This was a rare opportunity and I wasn't about to let it pass.

Cam, Leo and Paul were all arranging the items of the bookcase, when Cam let out a long whistle. "Cute, she your girlfriend Nick?" He asked looking at a shattered photo frame.

My head snapped up to look at him startled. "What girlfriend?" I demanded as I pulled on Cam's arm lower to see the picture.

My face instantly flamed up, when I saw the picture, and slapped a hand to my eyes - covering them in embarrassment. Nick, who had come up behind me yell, "Good Lord. NO!"

It was a photo taken after Nick's last football game in high school, back in Australia. We were standing on the football field after the game. Nick was grinning widely at the camera, his arms wrapped around the blonde cheerleader's waist. She had her hands wrapped around Nick's neck, pompoms still in her hand - and was grinning at the camera as widely as Nick was. He had her lifted off the floor and her legs were bent upwards.

"Eww... guys, that's my little sister!" Nick exclaimed when the boys all looked at him like he was mad. He made a face at the end of his sentence, looking as creeped out as I felt.

"Tania?" Malcom asked, looking surprised. "Wow! I mean, she looks different."

Nick snorted at Malcom. "No, not Tania. Sydney" he said with a shrug, like it was no big deal.

"Sydney?" all the guys chorused, looking at Nick in even more shock than when they though it was Tania. They looked from the photo to me, then back at the photo and then again at me. It wasn't a much of a surprise that they seemed to be unable to believe it.

This picture had been taken when I used to dye my hair blond and was in the cheerleading squad - in Australia. When Nick was still going to high school and I was dating Mark. It was taken in much happier times.

"Well, I guess you can see the resemblance if you look at it this way." Cam commented, holding the photo above him and looking at it by cocking his head to the side.

"You used to be a cheerleader?" Daniel asked me, ignoring Cam's comment. I shrugged my shoulder in reply and turned back to the task at hand.

I really didn't needed to remember those memories I'd had a hard time burying as deep as my mind would allow me to. I didn't need to drown into them once more. There was a reason I was trying to forget my time as a cheerleader, my time in highschool in australia.

From there everyone went back to there own tasks, finding an old photo here and there, but I never went to look. Nick answered any questions they had and none of the boys bombarded me with questions about being a cheerleader.

Anyway, with the guys help, soon the living room was arranged as best as we could - with most of the broken stuff - and we moved to the kitchen. Since the whole football team was there - and they weren't even winded by all the stuff they had to rearrange - all the work was finished by 5:30.

Now, only the master bedroom was left, but I wasn't about to allow the boys in there. What with all the undergarments scattered all over the room and all.

It was after everything was somewhat back to normal that they sat all over the living room and started to go through all the photos they had found scattered around the living room - the photo album having been torn to shreds.

Feeling sorry for the guys, and thankful for all their help, I made everyone drinks. I wasn't in the least bit tired as the boys didn't let me to do any actual work, only to instruct them which goes where. I served the drinks with a whole ton of snacks that I could find in the kitchen.

"By the way, Nick I'm going back down to 'Flora', to check, just in case" I added in a please don't argue voice.

"Fine, but you're not going alone" he informed. I grunted in protest, but I didn't tell anything. I wasn't in the mood to argue with Nick. Besides, I really wanted to check the shop, in case mom had come back.

"I'll go with her" Cam instantly volunteered. I gave him a sharp look, but kept my mouth shut. I didn't want Nick to not let me go.