-----------------------2020----------------------------

Saint Charles. Idaho. A town of about 150 people, next to Bear Lake.

150 people.

Yup, everyone knew everyone's business.

Elena Hunter left five years ago. Her parents were not very happy about it, but what could they say? Their three children left to live in the same apartment in a different state. They were old enough to do what they liked without burning down the building.

Many people move away from their hometown. They all hope for a new chance. A second life. To start over and do it better this time.

But that was bullshit. Life did not work that way. The past had happened, could never be changed and never forgotten. Running away from Saint Charles had not solved anything, but at least it had provided a distraction.

Their mom and dad had begged so many times for their return. Neither understood how someone could leave Saint Charles behind and never return. They had so much history there. So many memories. But none of their words had ever convinced the three Hunter children.

Now they lived in Denver, Colorado. A city of about 680.000 people, near the Rocky Mountains.

Not far from home, yet far enough to forget it – or at least try.

When their parents would visit, they would have to drive for more than seven hours. That was why they did not visit often – or so they said. Their favorite way of communicating was over the phone – or not at all.

Elena did not hate her parents. Of course they had disagreed in the past, but they were still the people who raised her and taught her the values of life. They were not the reason she left.

They were the reason why she regretted leaving.

But her regret was not big enough to make her return to Saint Charles. She had made a new life here with a career that had taken off and two great roomies that made her laugh so often.

Her brother, Kay, was openly gay. He had had many boyfriends in the past, but the last year he had spent with no one besides Damon. It was amazing to see how much her brother loved the man.

Kay was an interior designer, working inside their rather large apartment. Her sister, Emily, was a secretary. She worked for both Kay and Elena, as well as bigger businesses who offered her money to check their papers.

Emily was also openly gay, but she was not dating anyone. It had been a very long time since Emily had met someone she was interested in. or maybe she was also still stuck in the past.

Elena sighed. The past was still so active in their lives. Why could they not just forget everything and really start with a blank slate? Why was every memory they had in Saint Charles with those people of their youth? Why could they not make new friends in Denver?

Looking through the small screen of the camera, Elena sighed again. A beautiful, red haired model with a bright blue dress was holding a small, blue bottle of perfume. The ground was filled with confetti and balloons in a similar shade of blue. In her mind these would be great photos for the advertisement. But the reality turned out to be different.

Lifting her face away from the camera, Elena told the model: "that's enough for today. Can you come back tomorrow? We can try again."

The woman nodded, then entered the small room they had transformed into a dressing room. With another sigh, Elena stepped back and fell on the couch, in between her siblings.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked, a worried look on her face.

"The photos are no good," Elena responded.

"I think they looked great," Kay commented, his tone as enthusiastic as always.

Elena turned to her brother with her eyebrows raised in disbelief. "You do not know anything about photography."

"I do," Emily was quick to say. "And I think it looked great."

"No. It's missing something," Elena replied, unable to suppress another sigh.

"And what might that be?"

"I do not know. Just... something... a finishing touch."

"Maybe you should call Mom back," Kay said, reminding them all of the many irritating phone calls they received over the last few days. "You are always so productive when she's here."

Elena turned to her brother with an annoyed look on her face. Whenever Mia Hunter decided to visit them in Denver, she felt the need to include herself in everything that was going on. Deals with possible clients were like a tv-show for her, and photography of models should always be decent and moral. If not, she would interfere.

Emily suddenly turned toward her siblings, twisting her mouth like she did when she was thinking. "Speaking of Mom and Dad, don't you think we should visit them more often?"

"No."

Kay frowned at Elena. "That answer came fast. But I do have to agree. They are doing fine, and they visit us. I don't see a problem."

With a suspicious look on her face, Elena turned to her sister. "Do you have a reason to believe we need to visit them?"

"No, I just think they would like it."

Kay turned to Elena, a similar frown was on her face.

"Spill, Emily," Kay ordered.

"Spill what?"

"Oh come on!" Elena sighed. "You were not the only one who heard what Mom said about Julie."

"You want to visit her," Kay concluded.

Emily's silence was enough of an answer for both siblings, who found it harder and harder to hide their excitement.

"You don't need us to be there," Elena reminded her sister. "You can visit her on your own."

Emily frowned. "You are quick to refuse."

"Like you don't understand why I stay away from Saint Charles."

Her sister sighed and dropped her hands. "You two would just be visiting Mom and Dad. Meanwhile, I will happen to walk past the hospital around the time Julie takes her break."

"Wow," Kay said, his hands raised and his eyes wide. "You have got it all planned out already."

A mere shrug was all Emily could manage. There was obvious irritation on her face, and Elena didn't wonder why. Her sister had never truly moved on from her ex-girlfriend. Elena and Kay sometimes joked about it, but it was still a touchy subject. But now Emily might be ready to get back together with Julie.

"Maybe you should buy a cute dog," Elena commented. "That way she will forgive you faster, and you have an actual reason to be making a random walk."

Emily pursed her lips. "You think it would be that suspicious?"

"Yes," was Kay's simple answer. "But either way-"

"That's it!" Elena interrupted, jumping up from the couch.

Kay looked around the room as if he had missed something. "What is what?"

"Dogs," she answered. "Puppies. Cute little things. That is what I need."

"For what?" Emily wanted to know, her voice showing her obvious irritation. "You want Asher to forgive you faster as well? I don't think you need puppies for that. He has already forgiven you."

Elena ignored the stab in her heart at the mention of his name, but turned around to watch her siblings.

"Yes, it's you who still needs to forgive yourself," Kay said before she could comment.

"That's not what I am talking about," Elena said while rolling her eyes. "My photos. They are missing something. Something cute. Like puppies. Or kittens. Or babies."

"I hope you're just listing cute things, because I will not let you put babies in your pictures," Emily commented.

"Okay, fine," she quickly agreed, not ready to drop her sudden enthusiasm. "Puppies and kittens. That would be genius! Where is my model?"

She turned to walk to the dressing room, but Kay stopped her by saying: "you sent her home already."

"Shit. Well, she will come back tomorrow. I have to have puppies ready by then."

With a calmer demeanor, she walked back to the couch and took the seat she had occupied just before her genius discovery.

"So, what I was saying..." Kay said, returning to their previous, heavy topic. "The point is you want to go back, Emily. But we do not."

Elena turned to her brother. "Who did you run away from?"

"I did not run away from anyone. I ran toward Damon. And now I do not want to give him the feeling like I am running from him."

"That is not the point," Emily said before Kay could keep rambling about his boyfriend. "The point is that I want you two there with me."

"Why?" Elena questioned. "How could we make a difference in your love story?"

"You guys had a big impact on our relationship! We wanted to be like you and Asher," she said while pointing at her sister. Then she pointed at her brother and said: "and definitely not like you and all your boyfriends."

She batted her eyelashes while intertwining her fingers as if praying. "Please? Please, please, please? Kay? Elena?"

"No," they said at the same time.

With a big sigh, Emily dropped her hands and fell back against the couch. "You guys are terrible. You're acting like you had a trauma and you will fall back when you set foot in Saint Charles."

Elena shrugged. "It was kind of traumatic."

Kay and Emily's eyebrows shot up and they slowly turned to their sister. Elena had told them everything, yet the two seemed to forget most parts of her past. They had been living their own lives and tried to fix their own problems. Of course they knew how disastrous everything had turned out, but it still surprised them every time they heard it.

To Elena's luck, Emily and Kay could not open their mouths before the phone started ringing. Unlike most people, they had a landline, which both Kay and Elena used as a work phone. With Emily being their secretary, she always picked up.

And since they were still in working hours, it was she who got the stares from her siblings, encouraging her to take it. With a sigh, she stood up and walked to the phone.

"Is Damon so obsessed with you that he cannot leave you alone for a week?" Elena wondered, thinking back of the conversation they had just had.

Kay sighed. "Okay, maybe I am not that worried about Damon. Maybe it is Dad's obsession with secrecy."

"What secrecy?"

"Exactly. Coming out brought 'so much shame on our family'. Ever since, he-"

The sound of something dropping to the floor stopped Kay in the middle of his sentence. Their heads turned to the corner of the room, where Emily had fallen on the ground. She was clutching onto the phone, holding it at her ear while her shoulders shook and her cries were audible.

Without thinking, Elena and Kay ran to Emily. Taking her sister in her arms and hugging her, Elena watched Kay take the phone.

"Who is this? ... Yes, I am." There was a short silence before Kay moved a hand in front of his opened mouth. His eyes started watering up as he slowly lowered the phone.

"Kay?" Elena asked, unable to hide the worry in her voice. "Kay, what is wrong? What is happening?"

Unable to answer, he shook his head before handing her the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello," a woman on the other side said. "You are speaking with the Bear Lake Memorial Hospital. Are you family of Mr. Carl Hunter?"

"Yes, I am his daughter."

"I am so sorry to tell you this, but your parents have been in a car accident. Your mother is in a critical condition, but your father has not made it."

Elena could not utter a word. Tears burnt in her eyes, but she fought them back. Her mouth opened, but no words came out.

Slowly, a lone tear slid down her face.

"Thank you for telling us," she managed to whisper to the lady. She dropped the phone to the ground and wrapped her arms around her sister.

She wanted to stop crying. There was no use crying. But the tears were unstoppable. Kay joined their embrace, and together they cried until all their had been shed and no one had the strength to sob again.