"So Ilyse, tell me. What are your plans once high school is done for the year? Have you given much thought to furthering your education?" By now I had learned that any questions that Laura asked weren't asked out of malice or hate, they were genuine and she'd learned to sort of soften her tone since speaking with me.

"I was thinking of going to university but I still don't know what I want to do. I kind of love to write and be around people but yeah, I don't know." I really hadn't given much thought to what I was going to do once I got into a decent university. But now that Laura had posed the question the worry settled in my mind as I wondered just what I was going to study.

Applications had been sent out well in advance of my last year of high school, I had sent the last one a few months before Martin had collected me from Aunt B's home. But I doubted that I would ever hear back from them, aunt B had encouraged me though. What was the worst that could happen? They said no? It was better to get a definite answer than to keep wondering 'what if' for the rest of my life.

"Well, why not journalism? I know you helped to write for the school paper and the year book. What? Don't look too surprised, Martin showed me some of the things you've written. You probably don't know this but I went to university to study journalism as well. It was the second best decision of my life, third maybe." I was surprised by what Laura had said, I would never have guessed that she'd gone to university to study journalism.

"What could be better than going to university to study for a dream job?" Laura gave me a secret sort of smile, that kind of smile that said she knew exactly what was better but didn't really want to share. I was curious now, what could really be better than going to university to study something that you really wanted?

"Do you think I could be a journalist though? I don't think I've got..." Laura cut me off as she reached for my hands, she held them steady in her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze.

"Don't ever say anything like that, you've got exactly what it takes to do whatever you want. You're bright, you're clever and you're a lovely young lady. Your aunt B is a credit to your upbringing and I'll thank her for the rest of our lives for raising you to be level headed and beautiful." I scoffed and was going to nay-say everything Laura had said but she stopped any argument that was forming on my lips as she stood and went to see what Martin was doing.

It was when Laura left me sitting alone that I realized the sea sickness had left me completely.

We were on a yatch, a huge boat that didn't have a sail. It was Martin's, he really was that wealthy and wasn't afraid to show it. I had taken a few photos on my cell phone so I could show Natty and Keelan later on when I got home, I don't even think they would believe how big this boat was.

Laura had seen that I was getting a little sea sick and had come to sit with me, she must have gone over to Martin to let him know because he came walking towards me quickly and sat down where Laura had been sitting just a few moments ago.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think that you wouldn't be used to the ocean. We can go back to land if you'd like? We can spend the day at the park or go and watch a film perhaps?" For a minute I sat there, Martin was always so eager to please me that he always cut things short or planned around what I would or wouldn't like. He'd gone out of his way and out of his comfort zone to go with me to second hand clothing stores so that I could buy clothes that I was more interested in.

"It's okay dad, we can carry on with the cruise." My heart swelled nervously as I tested that word out, it had been so foreign and had tasted bitter in the past but saying it now...I don't know. It had more meaning because I meant it whole heartedly, since staying with Martin I realized he really was and likely had always been a really good dad.

The expression on his face changed instantly, it went from one of worry to relief. His bottom lip shook a little and I could see tears form in the corner of his eyes as he gave a wobbly smile.

"Are you sure? We don't have to, I just wanted to show you a few neat places around the coast and the kids haven't been there yet." I nodded my head at the questions, I think sometimes Martin worried too much about what I wanted. But sometimes it was good to do things that other people wanted to do, it opened up my eyes to how they thought.

I just had to get through sitting on a boat for the entire day, that was probably the only downside.

"I'm sure, dad...did you ever want me to be something when I reached adulthood? I was talking to Laura, she said you showed her my writing and that journalism could be something to look into. It got me thinking, I do like interviewing people and being out there, I love to write and be a little creative. But I still don't know what I want to do with my life." I guess I could have been a little more worried about life after high school but I wasn't going to lose sleep over it yet.

"Ilyse, you can do whatever you want. I think you've got something special in writing, you're really good with people. You're not judgmental like I know kids your age are, you're kind and understanding. You have a ton of patience and you try and make people feel as comfortable as they can. So I think, given enough time you'll figure out exactly what you want to be. And anyway, who cares if you figure it out at sixty? Your old man has you covered." Martin winked at me then began laughing. Laura came over then with a huge smile on her face and so did Asher, Aspin and Alfie.

It was weird to think of them as my family, like my mom and siblings had been before the crash. But that was exactly how I was starting to see Laura, Martin and my siblings. They were what I needed, people who would support and understand me but most of all they were people who loved me and wanted me around.

So I put aside all thoughts of university and careers and just hung out with everyone in the moment, played with the 'triple A's' and tried to see how Martin and his family liked to live.

After pulling into a third beach for the day I realized that Martin was taking me to all the places that mom had liked to visit. It was the last beach that made me realize this, she'd had an old photo of a wharf sitting on the bedside table in her room. I think she and Martin had visited it once because he was standing on the wharf looking pleased with himself.

I could see why this would have been a favorite place of hers. "I brought the house and property in memory of your mom. Maybe one day you'd like to come out here for a longer visit, the place is called Haversham Bay. We'll come out one day by road so I can show you how to get here, the property is sizable and it'll be yours one day Ilyse. I think you'll love it as much as your mom did." I marveled at the home that sat near the waters edge, despite the fact that we didn't live there the grounds were kept in really good shape.

The grass was perfectly trimmed, there wasn't a single leaf on the ground...the wharf looked brand new too. But the property sat quiet, that was until I noticed someone standing near the house with a hose in hand watering the gardens. So someone did live there?

"It's a beautiful place dad, but why give it to me? Why not sell it or something?" Okay, it was one thing to give me technology. But to give me a house and chunk of land in a pretty wealthy area? That was ridiculous, I don't think I would ever live out here even if it were an option. I mean, the bay was beautiful and all that but I wasn't a huge fan of living in the middle of nowhere.

"Because, it'd be a shame and I know your mom wouldn't have wanted that. So I'm leaving it to you, the kids and Laura all know that this is your place...if you want it of course. I guess if you don't want it we'll give it to a charity or something. It would make a good retreat, wouldn't you say so Laura?" A retreat? That didn't sound half bad, but I'd give it a chance before making any sort of decision on something this large.

We didn't stay too long at the bay before heading back to port. I was glad when we finally hit solid ground and I could go home to rest and sleep. The entire day had been taken up with avoiding sea sickness, looking around at everything excitedly and visiting spots like Haversham Bay.

When I curled up in bed that night I swear to god it felt like I was still sitting on the yacht.