Light streamed from my window as I slowly blinked my eyes opened. My head was pounding terribly but the pain became an afterthought as I realized that someone was squeezing my hand firmly. Turning, I saw that Auntie was curled up on my bed with me and she was holding my hand tightly, even though she seemed to be asleep. Blinking slowly, memories from yesterday began to filter through my tired and sore brain and tears sprang to my eyes as I remembered what Auntie had told me.

"...because Opal, when you're with me, you are not a mistake."

As the rays of the morning sun filtered through my window and lit up her ebony hair I gently squeezed the hand holding mine. I didn't think I could ever truly forgive myself for ruining my parents' lives. But I couldn't believe how free and happy it made me feel to know that Auntie didn't see me as a mistake. I drank in the sight of her and could hardly even believe that I had been planning to leave her forever just yesterday.

I'm so glad she asked me to stay. I don't deserve her love... but even so, if she wants me to be a part of her life I will do everything I can to make that happen.

Auntie suddenly jerked awake, sitting up and blinking rapidly as our eyes met. Her eyes widened and she tightened her grip on my hand and reached out to stroke my cheek with the other. Tenderness, love, and worry all seemed to flow out of Auntie's eyes as she leaned down and gave me a small smile.

"How are you feeling, Opal? You passed out last night; nearly scared me to death," Auntie said with a shuddering sigh and I frowned apologetically.

"Sorry..." my voice was barely louder than a whisper and I realized that my entire body felt dried out.

"Do you need some water?" Auntie asked as she looked at my throat with a frown.

I hadn't drank anything since I had thrown up on Friday night, but I realized that my stomach was no longer a knot of anxiety and that I felt absolutely famished. Smiling sheepishly I nodded, holding back a wince from the pain in my head.

"Something to eat would be nice too," I admitted and Auntie nodded firmly.

"Give me a few minutes and I'll be right back," she said kindly and I frowned.

"I can help..." I began to offer but Auntie pushed my shoulders down and shook her finger in my face.

"YOU need to rest. I'll be right back. And then we can talk some more about what happened between you and Nathaniel." I flinched at the mention of Nathaniel and licked my lips nervously but then slowly nodded.

Auntie clambered out of bed and walked swiftly out of the room, leaving me to my own thoughts. I had been so focused on creating a good enough plan to present to Auntie so she would let me live on my own that I hadn't really had a spare minute to think back on the events that led me to decide that was necessary in the first place.

The memory of Nathaniel telling me he loved me and his parting kiss ate away at me. I had been so cruel to him even though he tried so hard to be there for me. Auntie said Father would no longer be contacting her... so did that mean I didn't have to worry about the threat he made about me telling people about him hitting me? If that were the case... then maybe I could face Nathaniel and explain everything in detail so I could make sure he truly understood the situation before he made the decision if he wanted to be with me or not.

"Here we are."

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted as Auntie re-entered my room holding a tray that had two bowls of oatmeal that smelled like cinnamon and two glasses of water. My stomach rumbled loudly and I blushed in embarrassment.

"Sounds like I finished just in time," Auntie said with a teasing twinkle in her eyes and I attempted a smile.

She had me sit up in bed and scootch over so we could lay the tray across our laps and eat together. Once she was situated I immediately took the glass of water. I took an experimental sip, waiting to see if my nausea would come back. Once I was certain my stomach was behaving properly I drained half of the glass and then attacked the oatmeal with gusto.

"Tsk, Opal, did you not eat yesterday?" Auntie asked with obvious worry. 

I swallowed my bite of oatmeal and slowly shook my head. Auntie sighed and rubbed my back, encouraging me to finish my meal.

I probably could have eaten two or three bowls, but I knew that Auntie needed answers so I forced myself to set the bowl down and turn to face her. Auntie immediately put her own food aside, moving the tray to the floor and then turning on the bed to face me completely.

"So... what happened after I left?" Auntie asked, looking cautious and concerned. 

I bit my inner lip as I tried to figure out how to explain things without revealing Nathaniel's secret. I wanted to confide completely in Auntie, but he had said he didn't want anyone else to know and I knew exactly how it felt to want to keep something a secret.

"It... actually started before you left," I began awkwardly, glancing down at my hands as I pictured Nathaniel's bruise-covered back. "I found out by accident that Nathaniel was keeping a secret. I... I can't tell you what it is though. It's not my place," I said miserably as I glanced up at Auntie. 

Her eyes softened and she reached out and gently took my hands in her. "I understand. Just tell me as much as you can," she said with so much kindness and love that I thought I would melt.

I can't believe she chose me over her brother, I thought to myself as tears began gathering in the back of my eyes. But I quickly nodded, pushing aside my own joyful feelings of finally being accepted and focusing on Nathaniel.

Without giving any details, I explained how Nathaniel had told me his secret but then turned it around and started asking about my own secret. I couldn't keep from crying as I attempted to explain the horror I felt when I realized that I had been the cause of Nathaniel's "trouble" as I described it. Auntie seemed confused since I had to leave so much out, but she let me talk until I got to the part where Nathaniel told me how he felt.

"Well no wonder he looked heartbroken," Auntie said with a look of sympathy in her expression and I winced. Auntie's thumb gently brushed against my wrist though and I looked up to see her smiling gently at me. "I don't blame you, sweetheart. You were going through a lot and everything happening all at once finally broke your last straw. I can see why you thought your only choice was to leave."

My shoulders slumped in a strange feeling of relief. It felt absolutely amazing to know that Auntie knew everything about me and she still accepted and supported me wholeheartedly. I squeezed her hands and sniffed, trying to keep my tears at bay.

"I know he doesn't blame me for what happened," I forced myself to say as I tried to come to terms with everything now that I had chosen to stay with Auntie. "But if I really do stay I may keep causing problems for him. I just don't know what to do."

Auntie sighed heavily and I looked up as her gentle hand stroked my head tenderly. Her eyes met mine and she smiled hesitantly.

"You love him, don't you?" Auntie asked softly. Heat exploded through my cheeks at the unexpected question and I swallowed as my throat went dry.

"I... I shouldn't..." I started to say but Auntie lightly bonked my head, cutting off my words as I looked up at her in surprise. She looked legitimately angry and I blinked mutely as she let out a loud sigh.

"Opal, you can't do this to yourself. Your feelings are mutual and it's going to cause even more pain to each other if you deny that fact just because you think you will be a bother to him. There's no way he would feel that way after all the effort he put into checking you were okay."

 Auntie's voice held a depth of sadness that seemed to go beyond just her concern for me and Nathaniel. I cocked my head to the side slightly in confusion. She blinked and then let out a small sigh before patting my head gently.

"I'll be right back," she said as she turned and picked up the tray she had set to the side of the bed. "I think it's time I told you my story."

My eyes widened at that declaration and I watched her walk out of my room quietly. She must be talking about her love story, I thought to myself and was shocked at the nervous anticipation that began to bubble up inside of me. Why she thought I needed to hear the story now made me a little worried, but Auntie always seemed to know exactly what to say, so I hoped that learning her story would help me figure out what to do with my predicament.

I waited, getting a little impatient when she had been gone for almost five minutes, but she finally returned. One hand was holding a newly filled cup of water, which she handed to me, before gripping her hands together. Sliding onto the bed next to me she wiggled a bit so that she was facing me and then slowly uncurled her fingers, revealing a small silver snowflake attached to a cellphone strap. I gazed at it then up at her face which seemed to be hiding a vast amount of emotions.

"It's really pretty... did someone give it to you?" I asked softly. She nodded as she gazed down at the little snowflake.

"When I was growing up there was a family that lived next to us who had a boy that was two years older than me. His name was Darren and he was my best friend. We did everything together. My mom and dad would mention my older brother that left to become a karate master, so I made Darren my surrogate older brother. I made him do all the things I thought an older brother should do; like play horsey with me, have tea parties with me, and explore the neighborhood." 

I smiled as her eyes sparkled at the happy memories.

"He was such a good sport, no matter how girly the game was he always agreed to play with me. As we got older we were in the same schools, although he was two grades ahead of me. Still, we were completely inseparable." 

She passed a tender thumb over the snowflake before continuing.

"When I turned fourteen and became a freshman in high school I remember seeing him down the hall talking to this super gorgeous cheerleader and a feeling of intense jealousy shot through me. I figured it was just because he was my best friend and I thought it was rude he was talking to girls that I hadn't approved of. As the year went on though I began to notice things like how he always blinked really fast right after he laughed, and when he sneezed one of his knees would go up as if someone had hit him with a reaction stick," Auntie said with a shy expression that I had never seen before. I leaned forward, listening intently.

"Then I started noticing other things, like how much his blue eyes sparkled when he smiled, or how he had a habit of touching my arm when he talked to me; things that I had always known, but never stopped to think about. By the time summer came around, I finally realized that I had fallen in love with my best friend."

I gasped lightly, completely taken with the story,

"But I was terrified. Darren and I were as close as siblings; if I told him I had feelings for him and he didn't share them what would happen to our friendship then? I figured that having his 'younger sister' suddenly declaring romantic feelings for him would just be a burden to him. So I pretended nothing was different; that we were still just Yuki and Darren, the inseparable best friends. But then everything changed." 

Auntie clasped her hands around the little charm and held it close to her heart as her voice softened.

"The next year was Darren's senior year and he seemed off. I just figured it was a bad case of senioritis and didn't even bother to ask him if something was wrong. We had a little tradition that every weekend we would walk into town and just browse around, never buying anything, just using it as a time to talk and have fun. It was September 12th, a beautiful day that felt more like summer than fall. We were walking down Main Street where a vendor was on the side of the street selling cheap jewelry. I stopped to look and pointed out a pretty snowflake. I had always liked snowflakes because 'yuki' means snow in Japanese," Auntie explained.

I looked at her hands, clenched around the snowflake charm. To my surprise, her hands were shaking and as I looked up into her face the depth of anguish I saw sent me reeling as I realized that I wasn't going to like the ending of this story.

"As we were walking back home Darren tripped and fell down. At first, I laughed. When he didn't get up I started getting a little worried so I tried to help him up. Once I was close I realized that he was writhing in pain on the ground and couldn't even stand. I had never seen Darren cry before then."

Auntie shook her head and cleared her throat. I could almost see her trying to force her emotions to a far corner of her mind as she turned to look at me again.

"I called my parents and his parents and we all went to the hospital together. When the doctor finally came out she said that he had stage four gastric cancer." 

I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands as Auntie took a moment before she continued.

"The doctors recommended some surgeries and chemo, but they were very upfront that with such an advanced case they could only prolong his death by a month or two. Without it, he wouldn't last more than three months."

Auntie blinked rapidly and I could see moisture beginning to gather in the corners of her eyes but she continued explaining. 

"I felt so guilty. Darren was my best friend; I spent more time with him than his own parents, but I hadn't noticed that he was sick. As I thought of him lying in a hospital bed, having the doctors tell him he was terminally ill, I felt ridiculous for having kept my feelings hidden. As soon as the doctors allowed me to visit him I went up to him and told him exactly how I felt."

 Auntie looked up at the ceiling as her chin quivered.

"He smiled and held out his hand, showing me this little snowflake." Auntie opened her quivering hands to show me the snowflake once more. "When I reached for it he said, 'I've always loved you, Yuki. I was just waiting for you to figure it out.' I broke down crying and threw myself into his arms. He was sick and in pain but he let me cry on his shoulder and he did his best to comfort me. Me!" 

Auntie shook her head and swallowed hard.

"I went to the hospital every single day after school. For a little while, I seriously considered dropping out of school and just redoing my sophomore year so I could spend all day with Darren, but he said if I did he wouldn't let me come see him. He knew how much I wanted to become a fashion designer and he didn't want anything to hold me back from my dream. He was the sweetest person in the world," she said and her words seemed infused with the love she had hidden away for so many years.

"And then... he was gone." 

Auntie sat on the bed and the pain in her voice made me want to cry. I reached out and hugged her. She tried to laugh but it came out more like a splutter.

"I'm sorry, Opal. I've never told anyone about that... but that's why I don't want you to lose your chance at happiness with Nathaniel," she said, and as she looked at me I could see moisture glinting in her eyes. "Nathaniel reminds me so much of Darren. They are both sweet, genuine, and hardworking. If he said that he doesn't blame you then you owe it to your feelings to be honest with him. You'll regret it your whole life if you let him go now."

Tears streamed down my eyes as Auntie implored me from the bottom of her heart and I couldn't do anything but reach out and hug her to me. We hugged and cried together for I didn't know how long, but eventually we parted and took turns wiping each other's eyes, giving watery giggles as we did.

"I had no idea that happened, Auntie. I'm so sorry," I said in a warbling voice and Auntie smiled with a look of sad acceptance.

"You know... I've never talked about it before. When my parents died I just kind of locked everything away in my heart and tried to focus on other things so I could keep moving forward and become a fashion designer like Darren and my parents had always known I could."

"Is that why you won't date, Auntie? Because you're still in love with Darren?" I asked sadly.

Auntie gulped and looked away for a moment before shrugging.

"Yes and no. After I actually made it as a fashion designer I felt lonely, so I tried dating. But even though it's been over 15 years since he died... Darren is still in my heart. I just couldn't find anyone who made me feel the same as I did back then, so I changed my focus to finding my long-lost brother and I found you," Auntie said. I was shocked at the unfiltered adoration on her face as she looked at me. "As long as I have you in my life then I'll never feel lonely again."

I couldn't keep the tears from pooling in my eyes at her declaration and I once again buried my face in her shoulder as I hugged her. A thought in the back of my mind was marring the tranquil moment though and when I pulled away I bit my lip nervously. Gathering my courage, I laced my fingers together and looked up at Auntie.

"What about Shin Woo?" I asked softly. 

Auntie blinked in surprise, seeming shocked by my question, but then let out an awkward chuckle and looked off to the side.

"What about him?" she asked, and I was surprised that she actually looked a little embarrassed.

"You said you tried dating for a while. Did you ever go out with Shin Woo?" I asked, pretty sure I knew the answer but still feeling curious. Auntie gave a small half-smile and shook her head.

"I hadn't made it as a designer yet when I met Shin Woo. My mind was completely focused on attaining that goal and I didn't want anything to distract me so I turned him down pretty harshly," she admitted with an almost guilty wince.

I frowned slightly, feeling bad about making Auntie relive such sad memories. But even though Auntie said she'd never be lonely if I was around... what would happen when I eventually went to college and got a job? I wouldn't be able to live with Auntie forever... and there was no one that loved Auntie as much as me besides Shin Woo.

"Umm... could you... tell me about when you met him?" I asked hesitantly, wondering if maybe the problem was that Auntie just didn't like Shin Woo in that way. 

Auntie blinked at me and arched her eyebrow suspiciously but then she looked off to the side and a fond smile teased the corner of her lips.

"I met Shin Woo during my sophomore year in college. By then Darren had been gone for several years and my parents had just died a few months before. I was determined to live out my dream the way I knew they would want me to. I decided the fastest way to become a designer was to start a portfolio of actual work experience. There was an article in the newspaper about a new dance studio opening and I figured that would be the perfect start." 

Auntie smiled slightly as she dropped her gaze from the ceiling to me.

"I walked in, figured out who was in charge, and pretty much told him that I was his new costume designer whether he liked it or not." 

I laughed as I pictured in my mind's eye exactly how that must have gone.

"He said that I could as long as I took some lessons from him. I agreed and he hired me. Working for Shin Woo was the most fun I'd had in a very long time. I got to listen to all of the songs he was teaching his students and watch all of the dances so that I could get an idea of what the perfect costume for each performance would be. My creative juices were always flowing! And Shin Woo was absolutely ridiculous. When he found out that I could speak Japanese he started calling me 'Yuki-chan' so to get back at him I would call him 'Shin-kun' which was a major mistake because every day I came into work he would come up with a new scheme to get me to marry him and call him 'Shin-kun' for the rest of his life." 

Auntie chuckled to herself but I frowned slightly in puzzlement.

"So why did you quit?" I asked and her happy smile died down a bit as she shrugged.

"I worked there for a little over a year and I was about to graduate. I had shown my portfolio to a real big shot company and they were impressed. They said as long as I graduated with top marks they'd hire me and let me start designing full time." She shifted her weight, bringing her knees up to her chest as she wrapped her arms around her legs. "It was my chance to live my dream. So I quit and threw myself into my studies, and now here I am. One of the top members of the biggest fashion industry in America and I'm not even 40."

"You're really incredible, Auntie," I said sincerely but then frowned, "But... what about Shin Woo? You two stayed friends?"

"Sort of. I was so busy that I ended up kind of shafting him. For the first few years, every couple months he'd call me up and try to ask me on a date. I'd always come up with an excuse to say no, or make it obvious we were just going as friends. Eventually, his calls stopped. It had been a few years since I talked to him when I called him and asked if he could give you dancing lessons," Auntie said with a small shrug and I was surprised when a gentle smile graced her features. "Honestly I forgot how much I enjoy being around him. I'm glad we're friends again," Auntie said with a quiet sigh.

I nibbled on the tip of my tongue in thought as Auntie trailed off and stared at the wall with a thoughtful expression. It didn't seem like Auntie DISLIKED Shin Woo, and it was obvious that he was still head over heels for her. It really wasn't any of my business, but I couldn't keep myself from continuing the conversation.

"Why did you always turn him down? Didn't you say you tried dating after you became a fashion designer?" I asked in confusion. 

Auntie glanced over at me and I could see the guilt in her expression as she slowly held up her snowflake.

"Because I never really got over Darren. Shin Woo is the funniest, most passionate man I have ever met. He deserves more than someone who's still hung up on their first love," Auntie said sadly and I frowned.

Deciding to throw caution to the wind I said, "But he really does love you, Auntie. You've been sad for so long and I don't think that's what Darren would want for you." Auntie's eyes widened as she looked down at her charm. "Even if you can't return his feelings, don't you think he deserves to hear about Darren and the reason why you don't want to date him?"

Auntie sat in silence for a long minute. I gulped and began to feel guilty. After all, who was I to give Auntie advice on love? But she slowly nodded and glanced up at me.

"I guess you're right, Opal," she said softly and I sighed in relief. Then she leaned closer to me and I could see a familiar glint in her eyes.

"But I'm not telling him until you apologize to Nathaniel and tell him how you feel about him." 

I gaped at Auntie's partially mischievous and partially deadly serious face and I wrung my hands together nervously.

"I know I need to," I said quietly, thinking back on how hurt Nathaniel looked when I  told him to go away. 

Hesitantly, I glanced around to look for my phone. When a small sparkle caught my attention I reached out to the nightstand where Auntie must have plugged my phone in to charge overnight and pulled it over to me. I was shocked at how many missed calls I had from Auntie and Shin Woo, but I bypassed them for now and opened Nathaniel's last text message.

Please remember that I am way happier when we are together, Opal. Whether you believe me or not, you are the most amazing person I have ever met. You shouldn't blame yourself for all of the bad things that have happened.

I reread the message several times before hesitantly showing it to Auntie. She took my phone and her eyes widened slightly, but then her expression softened and she met my eyes with an encouraging smile.

"It seems pretty obvious he's going to forgive you for whatever you think you did to him, Opal," she said kindly and once again tears pricked at the back of my eyes.

"I definitely need to talk to him," I said quietly.

In the back of my mind, I was still wondering if I should take the GED test and stop going to Sweet Amoris High. It would be super sad not to be with my friends until the end, but at least that way Nathaniel's dad wouldn't have any reason to hurt him again. But I had already put Auntie through so much that I didn't want to bring it up without having discussed it with Nathaniel.

But am I really ready to face him? I hurt him so badly... The negative thoughts were swirling through my mind but I frowned heavily at myself and shook my head. Focusing on the lesson Auntie's experience had taught me, I knew that I had to face Nathaniel if I didn't want to have any regrets. Taking a deep breath I glanced over at Auntie and gulped.

"I should... probably talk to him face to face," I said in almost the form of a question and Auntie nodded with an encouraging smile. "Then... I should probably ask him to meet me?" I hesitantly asked and Auntie smiled indulgently before nodding again.

I glanced down at my phone again and bit my lip. Worry bombarded me from every side and I yelped when my phone was suddenly swiped from my hands. I looked up to see Auntie tap a few buttons on my phone and then turn it around to show that it was calling Nathaniel.

"Auntie! I'm not ready!" I whispered harshly as I looked frantically at my phone. 

Suddenly the call connected though and Nathaniel's faint voice saying my name could be heard from the speaker. Auntie shoved the phone towards me and I nervously grabbed onto it and put it next to my ear.

"Opal? That is you right? Is everything okay?" Nathaniel's familiar voice with an unusual frantic energy to it floated past my eardrum and I could feel emotion swelling inside of my chest.

"It's me..." I answered, trailing off awkwardly since I still wasn't sure what to say. 

A sigh of relief came through the phone and my heart twinged as I realized how much Nathaniel really had been worrying about me.

"I'm so glad you called. I thought you would never speak to me again," Nathaniel said with obvious awkwardness in his tone. I cradled the phone to my ear and closed my eyes so I could picture him in my mind's eye.

"Auntie helped me a lot," I said quietly, glancing up and meeting her eyes. I tried to silently show her just how much she meant to me before glancing away so I could focus on my conversation with Nathaniel. "If you have time, there is something I need to talk to you about." I forced the words from my mouth and my entire body tensed. Even though Nathaniel had reacted so relieved to get my call, I still harbored a secret worry that he wouldn't actually want to meet up with me.

That fear proved unfounded though when Nathaniel immediately agreed to come over. He had hung up before I could explain any further and I stared at my phone in astonishment. Auntie looked at me expectantly and I shrugged my shoulders helplessly.

"I guess he's coming over," I reported. Feelings of discomfort and euphoria were battling inside of me and Auntie let out a relieved sigh.

"That's great. Hmmm, maybe you should hop in the shower though," Auntie suggested with a faintly teasing smile on her lips. 

It was at that moment that I realized that I was wearing the same clothes I had worn on Friday and I could almost feel the grease on my scalp.

"Oh!" I gasped, jumping up and placing the now empty cup Auntie had brought me on my nightstand. She chuckled at my panic and shooed me towards the bathroom.

"I'll keep him entertained until you are finished. Better take a change of clothes with you into the bathroom though," Auntie called as I moved towards the door. 

The thought of Nathaniel seeing me walking from the bathroom to my room in nothing but a towel made my entire body heat up in embarrassment. I swiftly chose out a pair of jeans, an undershirt, and a dark green turtleneck sweater.

"Sorry, Auntie," I muttered, surprised at how flustered I felt, but she just smiled and shooed me towards the bathroom.