"So where are we going this time?" Hayley asked in an aggrivated tone as she turned the radio on to heavy music. It sort of reminded me of a few songs Luke played for me on our way here, so I didn't mind it.

"Amore Ristorante Italiano." Kellin replied.

Hayley turned her head to look at Kellin, "Another expensive restaurant. Your dad needs to -"

Kellin lightly popped her in the thigh, giving her a look I couldn't see since I was behind him, stopping her mid sentence.

"Ow. What was that for?" Hayley snapped as she popped him on the arm in return.

"My dad isn't involved. Leave him out of it." Kellin said.

Hayley took a glance back at me, annoyance clearly on her face. She rolled her eyes before looking back to the front, "Alex needs to dump Madison. She's a gold digger and just wants eye candy."

I bit my bottom lip. And here's another person that doesn't like Madison. She can't be that bad, can she? I mean, if she's using Alex for money, then she's bad. Alex deserves someone who actually loves him. Maybe Madison actually loves him and they just don't like her?

"Maybe he's only dating that whore because he's lonely." Cody said from beside me.

I took in a deep breath and sighed. All of this Madison talk was starting to make me feel uncomfortable. I won't judge anyone unless I actually know them or they do something to me. I didn't know much about Dylan when we dated and now I can't stand him. I wish I had the courage to punch him in the face for what he did to me. I will if I ever see him again.

"Hayley, I'm asking you to be nice through a dinner for once. Just once. No fighting for the rest of the evening. I'm begging you." Kellin said softly, which snapped me out of my thoughts of Dylan. I looked up at Hayley to see her shake her head, "You'll owe me for this."

"What do I have to do?" Kellin asked.

Hayley turned in her seat to look at Kellin, "Turn me."

Turn her? What does she mean by that? Is that some kind of new code for something sexual? I don't even want to know if it is. I grabbed my cell phone from my lap and unlocked it, jumping slightly at Kellin's raised voice, "Fine. Do whatever you want."

I didn't want to think about what Hayley asked, I probably wasn't cool enough to understand. I downloaded Facebook onto my phone before signing in. I hadn't been able to check Facebook for a week. I had a handful of notifications, which surprised me. I didn't have any close friends in Mobile. I checked the notifications to see people writing on my page that they'll miss me. I had four messages. I clicked on them and waited for Messenger to download before checking them. The first message that caught my eye, and the only one that even mattered to me, was one from Seth. I quickly clicked on it to read the paragraph he wrote to me.

Hey Avery,

I know I'm the last person you want to hear from but I want to say I'm sorry. I was upset about losing my brother and I blamed you for it, even though you did nothing wrong. How I treated you was wrong. I regret it and I can't take it back no matter how hard I want to. Sorry won't even fix how I treated you. The worst part is you don't have any good memories of me, you will only remember me being a total dick. I just wanted to let you know I miss you. I wish you could come back so things could be how they were. You will always be the best little sister I ever had and a great friend. I will always love you.

I felt my heart leap as I read his words. Seth doesn't hate me. Tears started to form in my eyes but I blinked them back and looked up to stop the warm water from messing up my makeup. A warmth spread its way through my chest as I smiled. I looked back down at my phone before typing a reply.

I never blamed you, Seth. I knew at one point you did love me but I knew you also loved Sammy. I've always blamed myself for Sammy and Jack's deaths since we went to the movies for my birthday. I forgive you. I miss you so much and I've thought about you every day.

I hit send and looked up to see Hayley sending me a glare from the front passengers seat. I looked over at Cody to see he was also staring at me, "What?"

"Are you just going to ignore us? Kellin asked you a question." Hayley snapped. Kellin took a glance at Hayley as he said her name.

I shook my head, "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What was the question?"

"Where have you been for the past twelve years?" Cody asked and leaned over closer to me.

I gave a shrug, "I went through a few foster families then stayed with The Kennedy's for the longest. I was with them for seven years. At least, that's what they say. I can't remember anything before a few years ago."

"Why? Are you dumb like a fish?" Hayley asked.

I saw Kellin reach over and pop her on the thigh again, "Don't be rude, Hayley."

Hayley rolled her eyes and situated herself so she was facing the front of the car again. Her insult didn't bother me, honestly. I looked over at Cody who was staring at me with wide eyes. I gave him a small smile to let him know Hayley didn't bother me, "I was in a car wreck and due to a major brain injury, had amnesia and nothing ever came back to me."

"I'm sorry, that must be bad to deal with." Cody said.

"The only thing that bothers me is knowing my foster brother and his best friend died. I'm told I was dead when the ambulance got there and that I died again on the way to the hospital." I said and looked down at the floor. I left out we were all in the car because I wanted to see a movie for my birthday. Would they think I was the cause of the wreck? Would they think Jack and Sammy died because of me like I do?

"Hey, it wasn't your time to die." Kellin said from the front seat.

I shrugged, even though Cody was the only one who saw it, "They said that with my injuries I wasn't supposed to live. I'm a miracle."

"Are you a vampire?" Hayley asked in annoyance. Kellin popped Hayley's thigh again.

I rolled my eyes, "Vampires aren't real so I can't be one."

Surely she was joking. No one believes in vampires. It's like believing in unicorns. They simply don't exist. Maybe Hayley is just insane. Hayley turned around and stared at me with a slight look of shock before grabbing Kellin's hand and looking forward again. Cody cleared his throat, "You don't believe in vampires?"

"No. They're mythical creatures that never existed, like unicorns and fairies. Why would I believe in them?" I replied.

Kellin pulled his hand away from Hayley's as he pulled up to a restaurant and parked the car. Every one was silent as we got out of the car. Kellin gave me a warm smile as I pulled myself out of the back of the car. I didn't know why he was sending me a smile but I returned it. An expensive looking black truck pulled up beside us, making me pay attention to it. Luke climbed out of the back seat before giving me a smile like he gave me this morning, a smile that looked like he was genuinely happy to see me.

"I see Hayley didn't kill you on the way here." Luke said as he held his elbow out to me.

I gave a little shrug as I grabbed onto his elbow and let him lead me into the building, "She accused me of being a vampire and complained about coming here."

Luke stiffened when I said vampire but he threw it off of himself quickly and pulled me through the doors, "A vampire?"

"Yeah. Because I said everyone told me I shouldn't have survived the wreck and she asked if I was a vampire. Crazy right? I mean, who believes they exist?" I said as we waited for everyone to come into the building. I felt Luke's eyes on me, "A number of people believe in them, actually. People believe in mermaids, unicorns, aliens, and a lot of weird stuff. Who is to say they don't exist?"

I raised my eyebrow as I looked up at Luke. Don't tell me he believes vampires exist. Luke looked down at me and I felt him shrug, "I say people can believe in what they want as long as they aren't hurting anyone. That goes for religion, too. Not everyone has the same views and beliefs."

I nodded. Maybe Luke was right. What does it hurt for someone to believe in something. I leaned my head on his arm as Alex checked in with the person standing behind a podium. As long as Hayley doesn't try to force vampires on me, I shouldn't care. The waiter led us to a rectangular table with eight chairs. Cody pulled out a chair at the far end so I sat down in the chair beside that one. Cody sighed as he sat down in the chair he had pulled out, "I was pulling this chair out for you."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't know." I replied as I blushed. Kellin took the chair beside me while Hayley sat on the end beside Kellin, an annoyed look on her face. I was beginning to think she was always annoyed at something. Luke sat across from me while Alex sat beside Luke and across from Kellin while Madison sat beside Alex. Madison clapped as we were all seated, "This dinner is to celebrate Avery being home!"

"Thank you. I haven't felt as at home as I feel here." I said softly. I heard Hayley give a scoff before a new waiter came and started placing menus and empty glasses in front of everyone. He seemed to be in his mid thirties with brown eyes and short dirty blond hair, "Good afternoon. I'm Dorian and I will be your waiter tonight. Shall I get your drinks to start you off?"

Everyone around the table ordered Coke, apart from Madison who ordered some kind of wine as well as something calamari, whatever that is. The waiter left us to look over the menu while he grabbed a pitcher of Coke and wine. I stared at the menu before leaning over to Cody, "I don't know what to get."

Cody smiled at me, "Well, do you like noodles, chicken, seafood? What's something you're in the mood for?"

"I don't know. Noodles? I don't like seafood."

"I vote for the Penne Carbonara. It's really good if you're wanting more of noodles and sauce. The Pollo alla Gorgonzola is really good if you're in a chicken mood." Cody said as he looked back down to the menu. I guess I was in a noodle mood so I would get the first thing he said. When I found it on the menu I read it and nodded. I just didn't know what a shallot was. I looked up at Luke, "What's a shallot?"

Luke looked up at me, "It's a type of onion."

I made a disgusted face, "I hate onions. Can they take it out?"

Luke chuckled and nodded, "They can as long as you ask."

"And what is prosciutto?" I asked, trying my best to pronounce the word. This time a chuckle came from Alex, "It's pronounced prosciutto. And it's dried ham."

I nodded. That is not something I want in my alfredo. I guess I'll take whatever this penne thing is. When the waiter came back, filling all of our glasses up and giving Madison a glass of wine, he asked us for our orders. When he got to me I pointed at the menu, "I want this penne carbonara with no shallot onion things, and no prosiciutto, please."

Dorian gave a small chuckle as he wrote everything down, probably laughing at my inability to say Italian words correctly. After he got Cody's order he left us, taking the menus with him. Madison looked over at me and leaned her head on Alex's shoulder, "So, Avery, what's it like to be back here?"

I gave a small shrug and a smile, "So far it's amazing. I love it here. I'm back in my small family and that's all that matters to me."

"We're glad to have you back." Alex said as he smiled at me from across the table. I felt myself blush again. They've told me they've missed me and they're happy I'm back a couple of times, but it still makes me feel warm inside every time one of them says it. I'm finally where I belong. I felt my phone vibrate in my lap and glanced down at it to see I had a message from Seth. I'll check that later. Right now I need to focus on my new family. I bit my lip, "May I ask how you found my dad's will?"

"Well, Alex and I were in Vince's room trying to find a picture for Kellin when Alex noticed a corner of an envelope under the top of a drawer." Luke said and gave a small laugh, "He had taped it to the top of a drawer, which was why we couldn't find it."

I turned to look at Kellin. He was the reason I was here, for whatever reason he wanted a picture for, "What was the picture?"

"You, me, Ryan, and Amelia were sitting on a hill having a little lunch. I needed it for a project." He replied.

"A project?" I asked, wondering what a picture like that would be used for in a project. Kellin nodded, "Yeah. A project about growing up. It was for Home Ec."

I nodded. I had taken Home Ec. once but we only cooked or sat at tables. The waiter came back to the table with another waiter, both had trays of food, before giving everyone their food.