**Part Two of double update**

The sound of a horn interrupts our family time and we run downstairs. What the fuck is going on?

We run outside to find Conner driving Avery's car and I feel like it's Thanksgiving all over again. Did he not learn his lesson?

"Conner, what the hell are you doing?" Scarlett demands.

He leaves the driver's side door of Avery's car wide open and moves for the passenger seat. "Be mad later, I need help. She won't wake up."

Everything happens in a blur. All I can think about is how there's so much blood. Too much blood and Avery looks too much like my mom.

She's too pale. Too still. Too bloody.

"She needs to get inside." Someone says and it snaps me back to reality.

Clay picks her up and I run to get the door. Chloe is on the stairs, "What's wrong?

"Avery. Blood. So much blood." I try to explain.

"What's happening?" Saffron asks, trying to go outside but Chloe holds onto her.

"Let's go upstairs." Chloe says, leading them away from the mess.

Seconds later, Clay storms in with Avery and I follow as he sets her on the countertop. I scramble to find anything to stop the bleeding.

"Paper towels and an ice pack." Clay orders. "Now."

Thankful for clear directions, I get what he needs.

"What can I do?" Ashton runs in alone.

"Go find as many pairs of tweezers as you can." He says and we're gone in a flash.

I tear through my bathroom, knowing I have a pair somewhere. I dump container after container. "Where the fuck are they?"

Hitting my head on a cabinet, I check behind my toilet and under the sink. Something shiny catches my eyes and I grab the blue tweezers from their forgotten corner of a drawer I never open.

I almost run into Ashton in the kitchen. Gently, we pick the glass out of Avery's skin while Scarlett tries to find out what happened.

Conner rambles on about how Karen did nothing but drink today. A new form of rage settles inside of me as he describes how a decanter was thrown at Avery. It didn't hit her, but worthless Karen shoved her own daughter down into the glass.

God, I fucking hate that bitch.

Scarlett declares they're going to the hospital and suddenly I feel like it's that night all over again. She looks too much like mom.

Any other day and I would be able to help more. Any other day and the sight of Avery basically lifeless and bloody wouldn't be an issue but today it makes me want to hurl. Today I makes me feel like it's just another situation I can't control.

Once they're gone, I head up to my room to find Chloe cleaning up the bathroom.

"I can fix that." I join her. "It's my mess."

"Don't worry." She flashes a smile. "Is she okay?"

Letting out a breath, I shrug. "I don't know."

"Your aunt seems like a sensitive topic." She notes and I snort.

"My aunt could die tomorrow, and the world would be a better place."

"Let it out." She says.

"Karen hated my mom. They were identical twins. She's done everything to distance herself from my mom. She basically got a brand-new face. She dresses, acts, and seems like everything my mom wasn't."

Fake. She is so consumed with projecting an image that nothing is real.

"When they died, she got custody. She didn't want us, but she took us in." Sometimes I wish she didn't. "She treated us like shit. That woman hated my mom so much, she took those feelings out on us. She monitored where we went, what we did, how much we ate. She fucked Silver up with his ADHD meds and probably would've done the same to us if she had the chance."

Those were the hardest months of my life.

"She gave us freedom, but it came at a cost. They emotionally abused the hell out of us. Holiday dinners together just so they could fuck with us. Make us feel like trash. It sucked, but it gave us everyday freedom, so we endured it." I'm so thankful we don't have to go back there.

"That's sickening." She says, repulsion written all over her face.

Talking about Karen keeps me in a pissy mood, but it's never occurred to me how it would feel to let that out. I feel great.

My phone dings and I read a text.

Scar
We're here and waiting on Dr. I love you.

Deciding that's good enough for now, I grab Chloe's hand. "Let's watch a movie."

*****

Hours later, they return home and we go downstairs to welcome them. And to see how loopy the pain pills made Avery.

"Why is she acting funny?" Sterling asks as we join them. I fight back a laugh at the sight of Avery in Clay's arms, a dramatic scowl on her face.

"Am I going to hell if I record her?" Silver laughs, already videoing her. Absolutely not.

"She's concussed." Scarlett sighs. "So no yelling around her."

Getting a front row seat of my cousin spitting water in Clay's face, I laugh. This is the best part of my day, without a doubt.

"Whoops." Avery giggles, trying to pull his lips up. "Don't be so grumpy."

"I'm not." Clay snaps.

"Frowning gives you wrinkles." She says.

"Can we keep her like this?" I wonder in amazement. Loopy Avery is my new idol.

"No." Scarlett sighs.

Avery takes in everyone in the room. "Oh, I can't wait to live with you guys."

A pin pricks the back of my neck as Ashton's smile falls.

"That house is going to be huge if it's going to fit all these egos in it." She rambles on. I try to convince myself it's nothing, but Scarlett looks like she's going to throw up.

"What is she talking about?" I ask.

"We're gonna have a pool." Avery gasps and Clay winces, avoiding my eyes. "I don't know how to swim."

"Scarlett." I panic.

Loopy Avery is carried from the room and I don't know how to act.

"Don't tell me she was being for real." I beg. "We're never leaving this house."

We could never leave this place. This house was theirs. This house still has them everywhere. The only thing worse than seeing them is never seeing hints of them ever again.

Ashton and Scarlett share a look that screams secrets. Like they have any right to make decisions without me. "Sage, please don't."

"Oh my God." My heart cracks. "You're seriously making us move."

"I can't live in this house anymore." Scarlett sags against the counter.

"Bullshit." I snap. She's not special. It's not just her home. "This house is all we have left of them. If we leave, we lose them."

"Please try to see if from my perspective." She says. "I'm trying to do what's best for us."

"You always say that." I scoff. "But it's usually only what's best for you."

This is not what I want. This isn't what the twins want. This isn't what Saffron wants. This is all her and it's disgusting.

"You know what, Sage. You want to act like I don't care about mom and dad. You want to act like I haven't sacrificed everything to honor their memory. You want to act like I don't miss them, fine." My sister glares at me and it only makes me madder. "You want to know why Ashton has scratches all over him?"

"Scar." Ashton tries to intervene, but this is our conviction. Not his.

"It's because I relieve the night they died every year. I remember what they wore. I remember what they said. I remember seeing mom's lifeless body in the hospital bed as she flatlined." Her voice cracks. " I can't spend the next nine years here. I can't raise my kids here. I honest to God, don't want to spend another anniversary in this house because I wake up from my nightmare and I feel like I'm still stuck in it. This house is haunting us, and you know it."

Her words hurt. I've spent the last four years trying to forget everything she's saying. Memories from that night flash though my mind. Mom and dad dressed up like a couple of movie stars. Hours of waiting. Bickering with Scarlett because of her boyfriend. Uncle John trying to hide his sobs on the frantic drive to the hospital. The sound of Scarlett's scream shattering through the hospital.

I was lucky enough to be spared from seeing mom, but she wasn't.

"No, I don't." I try to swallow my spit, but my throat goes dry.

"Then why do we refuse to go into their room?" She demands, her words pinning me with emotions I don't want to face. "It's a whole room we never touch because we're scared. Why do you refuse to sit in dad's spot on the couch? Why do you stare at the garage door like one day they're going to magically come home?"

Because I'm hoping this is all a dream and I'll wake up and they'll be here.

"The healthiest option is for us to move." She sounds so tired. "They never planned on staying here. They bought the land before they died. I'm just the one finally moving us out there."

She's trying to take credit for what they wanted. They're dead, she has no clue.

"You're ruining everything." I spit, jumping from her touch. "Why can't you just stop?"

She stops and I finally notice how much older my sister looks. She's only 19 but the stress is getting to her. I can see how exhausted she is deep down. Weakly, she hands me a slip of paper after scribbling something down. "Here, go take a look at the property yourself. Maybe then you'll understand."

Having enough of her bullshit, I snatch the paper and my keys and storm out of the house.

Getting into my car, I'm about to throw it in reverse when my passenger door opens. Chloe crawls into the seat and puts her seatbelt on.

Taking a second to gather myself, I hand her the paper. "Please put this into your GPS."

Silently obliging, I follow the instructions as they come.

Ten minutes in, I get uncomfortable. "Are you sure we're going the right way?"

"This is what the paper says." She double checks. "Want me to call her?"

"No." I continue driving.

Eventually, I park the car and get out. Grabbing a blanket from the trunk, I walk towards the clearing.

Stopping, I take in the property. It goes out in every direction. Trees surround us and despite the cold air, it's a beautiful night.

"This is huge." Chloe whistles. "Imagine the house that could be here."

"It doesn't matter." I snap. "It won't be our house."

It could be the nicest house in the world, but it won't be good enough. A new house won't have the front door dad built specially for us. It won't have the odd little trinkets spread throughout because mom thought they livened the place up.

It will be nothing without them.

We are a family. The seven of us and if we leave, we're forgetting all about mom and dad. We're leaving them.

Chloe walks ahead and I trail behind, not as interested in exploring. This place could burn for all I care. I'm never leaving our house.

"Sage!" She screams. "Come here!"

In a panic, I run for her. What the hell is wrong? I come to a stop behind two stones. Two gravestones and everything comes crashing down. What have I done?

In a daze, I join Chloe in front of them. "Chlo-bear, meet my parents."

She gulps and I feel bad.

"Mom and dad, you remember that girl I told you about?" I spread the blanket on the ground. "This is her."

The look on Chloe's face is unreadable. "I know this isn't what you expected for today. We can leave if you want."

We haven't even been dating a month. This might be too soon to meet the dead parents.

Just when I expect her to turn around and run for the car, she sits down. "I'm Chloe. It's nice to meet you." She hesitates. "I, um, I live in your old house. It's very nice."

That gets a smile out of me. She's adorable.

"I miss you guys." I admit, hugging my knees as I sit. "So much. It fucking hurts, but a lot has happened today. Karen hurt Avery. I snapped at Saffron and made her cry. I, um, I said some pretty hurtful things to Scar."

Chloe grabs my hand in comfort.

"She tries so hard and today I just needed an outlet. Like the asshole I am, I chose her." I hit myself. "God, she should hate me. I said all these things and had a mini panic attack and she doesn't want to move us away from you. She wants to bring us closer."

I should've listened to her. It would've taken two seconds to calm down and actually process the words she said. I didn't. I yelled and said things and hurt her.

Living here. Being able to visit my parents whenever I wanted sounds like a dream. This place has always felt like a safe haven and now we could live here.

I'd be an idiot to turn this down. I am an idiot for speaking to Scarlett that way. She's always right.

Stuck contemplating what a shit show I turned today into; Chloe nudges me. "Tell me about them, you said you would."

A smile tugs on my lips as I picture my parents. "Dad was the life of the party. My mom was a total hippy, but she would've denied it."

The words pour out of me and little by little, I can feel my soul healing.

*****

Around midnight, we head home.

Walking inside, Ashton stands by the stairs, a grim expression on his face. I deserve it.

"Let me put her in my room." I motion to the sleeping Chloe in my arms and he nods.

Taking my time, I tuck her in and remove my shoes. Once I know there's nothing else I can do to stall, I leave my room. Clay's in the hall, watching me.

"If you want to call me an ass, go ahead." I shrug.

"We're not that different." He says. "I understand exactly why you acted the why you did. I wanted to punch the shit out of you, sure, but I get it."

"Thanks." I offer, heading for the stairs. Part of me wants to pry, but if we're as similar as he claims then I know it will do more harm than good. "You're pretty all right."

"Same for you." He chuckles.

The moment is ruined as I remember Ashton waiting on me.

"Sit." He orders, pointing to the sofa and I listen.

"Is she awake?" I ask.

"No, I slipped her a Tylenol p.m. so she's sleeping." He crosses his arms.

Smart man.

"Sage, I love you." He starts and I prepare myself for the lecture. "I know how hard today is. I understand why you got so upset and freaked out. Change is hard. It scares the shit out of me too."

Change makes my skin crawl, but I've changed so much these last few months. Maybe it's time I start running for it instead of cowering behind the past.

"Scarlett had it all planned out. She was going to throw a picnic on the property on New Year's. She was going to ease you guys into the idea." He says and I feel bad. "Avery changed her plans, but please don't think she made the decision lightly. She cried today and almost changed her mind."

And where was I? Not here.

"Living in this house hurts her." He says. "She can't let go of the night your parents died and it's destroying her. Being stuck in a place where she has to be reminded of them, is hard. I'm sure it's hard for you too, but you get to leave this house. You'll go to school and then get married. Scarlett is the one who has to live in this place forever. She would, if it made you happy, even if it killed her."

I think back on all the sacrifices she's made for us. The countless times my sister has given pieces of herself away to heal us. I can make this decision. Especially since she was right. It's hard to be here. It's hard to pass by their room and know it's never going to be the same again.

This house is as much a blessing as it is a curse.

"I understand." I admit. "I'm okay with moving."

He studies me to sense the bullshit and nods. "Good."

Assuming the conversation is over, I head for the kitchen and he yanks me back.

"If you ever treat her like that again, I will kick your ass." He stares me dead in the eye. "Your words hurt her more than you know. She deserves better than hate and rage."

"She does." I agree.

The seriousness washes away and he hugs me. "I love you, man. I'm going to miss you."

"I'm gonna miss you too." I admit, happy serious Ashton is gone. He's my best friend, even when he threatens to kick my ass, and it's hard when he goes back to school.

Hugging Ashton, I let today wash away. We survived another year around the sun without them. That's all that matters.

*****

GO READ LIL IF YOU HAVEN'T! ITE SHOULD BE OUT TOMORROW.

Confession. LiH was only supposed to be one chapter. Both LiL and LiH hurt me in different ways. It's so hard to imagine how the same situation affects two different people. Scarlett is consumed with guilt and Sage is consumed with rage.

Also, I reread some of LiC. The growth sage has had from completely relying on comic relief and hiding behind jokes is so good!