Amber POV

She was happy that she had a girlfriend, although she could not tell anyone.

She was even happier to go back to Kansas City for a few days for Thanksgiving. She loved her family and so she was sad it was only a few days. She and Jade packed a few things because they would have everything they needed at home.

"Can't wait to taste mom's dressing and mac n cheese!" Jade shouted out.

"And Dad always makes a fried turkey. My mouth is watering already."

She only packed her laptop, tablet, and a few of her favorite toiletries. There were plenty of clothes still at her parent's house. There was no way she nor Jade could bring all of their things. Her father owned a boutique clothing store. He would buy them new clothes every couple of days since forever. She could open a clothing store herself with the number of blouses, slacks, dresses, shorts, and shoes in her closet.

One day she could own her father's store.

If Lark did not take over as expected. Her big sister would have her MBA soon. Surely she wanted to run the business as she always dreamed.

Lark and Melinda were waiting for them outside when they made it to the front of their residence hall. She could not wait to spend more time with her little niece. Even though she was a few driving minutes away from her right on campus, she felt she never spent more time with the baby. Between pledging, her classes, her work with the BSU, and now a girlfriend she was sneaking around with, there was no time for much more.

She promised to change that.

"I want to sit back here with Melinda and stare at her the entire drive home." She looked over at her niece who was sound asleep. She looked nearly identical to Lark. She did not see much of Frankie in the little angel.

"Ugh! What the-" Jade sat up front. "I am not on babysitting duty this weekend. I'm meeting up with some friends and catching up."

"I didn't ask," Lark said and pulled off. "I'm not worried about having sitters. I'm home to relax anyway. It's been a hard semester for me. Struggling with my grades..."

"You're making all As," she reminded her sister.

"And that's a struggle. I never even knew I wanted to attend graduate school, and here I am in my second year. And with a baby no less."

Factoring in that, it was a feat that her sister made perfect grades. Raising a baby all alone. It helped that she had plenty of sorors that helped, and Ms. Jossie always stepped up. Lark was over partying and hanging out because she did that as an undergraduate. All she had time for was classes, her graduate assistant program, and sorority work.

"So what are you doing after you graduate?"

"What do you mean?" Lark was focused on driving, but it was a long drive back to Kansas City and they would probably talk the entire time. "After I graduate this year, it's back home to Kansas City."

What? Why did that shock her? She hoped she would stay down in Bloomington-Normal and...well, she did not know what. She couldn't stay in the MAX house forever if she was not a student.

"Home with Mommy and Daddy?" Jade asked.

"Yes. I mean, I need all the help I can get."

"But you're going to work with Daddy?" she asked.

"It's what I always wanted to do. Sure, I toyed with starting my own business at first, but why? Daddy loves the shop, I love the shop, and he will retire soon and we want to keep it in the family, right?"

Yes, so she could work there when she finished school. Maybe by then, Lark would have kicked the business up a notch. There was always room for growth.

They talked more about all of their plans after graduation. Jade said she was undecided about where she wanted to live, but felt sure she did not want to move back to Kansas City. She did not want to work at the boutique. As for her, she would love to work side by side with her sister at the family business.

They made several stops along the way, the first one in St. Louis where they stopped and met up with Jill for lunch and refuel. She wanted to go out to eat, at a restaurant, but Jill said she had them for lunch, so they drove to her place in Olivette, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.

"Girl, look at my neo here!" Jill grabbed her in a big hug soon as they walked into her apartment.

This was not her first time seeing Jill since pledging because she was there at her crossing not long ago. She liked Jill's energy. She could see why they called her Supersonic.

"Hey, soror." She still loved saying that.

"And this one." She gave Jade an eye-roll.

"What?" Jade said with an innocent smirk.

"I can't believe you went that way."

"I'm just being my own person," Jade said then hugged Jill. "But we're still cool, right?"

"Whatever." Jill playfully smushed her on the head. "See this is why the Lord made me an only child. Cause da hell...to the no."

Then Jill went for Melinda.

"Let me hold my future soror. She better not go any other way or else!"

"Hey guys, what's up," Ivan's voice echoed from the kitchen

She was shocked to see Jill's boyfriend standing over the stove, cooking. That was nice to have a significant other that could do all of that. Or just to have someone she could flaunt for others to see.

She shook that from her thoughts. Not everything had to be about Jodi and her relationship.

"What did you cook, hot guy?" Jade stated.

"Now I know you didn't go pink and green and hit on my man?" Jill held Melinda in her arms but stepped to Jade. "Be for real, little girl."

"I mean, he is hot, just a compliment girl, chill."

"You two are not going to be at it all day," Lark said and headed into the bathroom. "Let me wash up a bit and then I need to feed Mindy."

Ivan prepared fresh-cut French fries and grilled burgers for them and that food was smacking. They talked and laughed and even Jill calmed down and was cool with Jade. It was all love. She still joked about her pledging something different. But Jill was really cool. Jade and her got to know her well last year when she was roommates with Lark. Jill never pressured them about pledging MAX, but maybe it was implied that they would.

Jill was now hosting a successful podcast as well as part-time DJing at one of the local radio stations. She was a big deal. She and Ivan moved back to her hometown of St. Louis and had a nice apartment together. They were doing good.

Living the life.

After they finally left, they had a long drive for the last leg to Kansas City. Jade was asleep. She was tired herself but she mostly texted on her phone to Jodi who was from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and her parents came to pick her up. Jodi griped the whole time that they babied her. She had a car and could have made the drive back home on her own, but they were super cautious.

Rightfully so, considering what happened to Malinda.

She offered to take over some of the driving from Lark, but she said she had it.

Soon enough, they pulled into their driveway. Home sweet home.

"Oh, my little baby!" Her mother pushed right past her and helped to get Melinda out of her car seat.

It was like that now. She wasn't the baby anymore.

After unloading her things, she took a shower, changed, and found the rest of her family, watching TV in the big family room. Her mother held Malinda, her father chatted with Lark, and Jade lay out on the sofa phone in her hand. They were not watching whatever movie was on, yet, she understood. She just wanted to be around her family.

She missed this.

"You know what I was thinking," her mother stated between kissing the top of Melinda's curly-covered head. "After Thanksgiving break, why don't you leave Mindy here with us."

"What?" she blurted out, even though this was not for her to decide. Why would her mother want to take her sister's baby from her?

"It'll only be for a few weeks before you're back after the semester ends, right? I'm home, I can watch her. Lark, you can focus on school."

She looked to her sister to see if that was a viable option. Handing off her baby, even for three weeks seemed like a lot. Lark was balancing it all, surely she did not need the break.

"That's not a bad idea, Mom."

She could not believe her sister agreed with this.

"Lark, if you ever need a break, I told you I was always here for you. But you never call."

"Yeah, because you had other things you needed to be doing. My child is not your worry."

"I think it's pretty cool, Mommy, that you're the best grandmother in the world," Jade said without lifting her face from her phone. "When I knock a few out, I want you to spoil them too."

She never imagined Lark with kids. Now she had to imagine her twin sister having babies one day.

That left her. Did she want kids?

Was she even with the right person that perhaps one day would want kids with her?

A/N: Amber is always in a state of confusion. Not knowing what she wants or who she wants. And I get it, at that age, I was there.