/-Chapter 2-/

Homecoming

Jason was waiting for us out in the parking lot, and I was glad to see him. It had been two months since the last time he'd been able to visit me in Chicago. I dropped my bags on the pavement, threw my arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. Jason laughed, "I missed you too." He smiled at me. "Happy birthday princess."

I rolled my eyes. He knew I hated that nickname, but nothing I'd ever done to dissuade him from using it had ever succeeded.

"Hey Jay," Katherine said hugging him next. "Did you pick up my car from the mechanic?"

"Yeah, I drove it here. It's right over there." He pointed to a behemoth of a vehicle parked on the side of the road. Jason must have seen the look on my face because he proceeded to put a reassuring arm around my shoulder. "Not to worry princess, it's the safest thing on the road."

I stared at the monstrous black hummer unconvinced. It was certainly bigger than most cars, but a car was a car. I hated them all; unfortunately the world I lived in would not allow me to get by without them. If Jason and Katherine trusted it then that was good enough for me, at least that's what I would keep telling myself.

The ride back to Jason's house wasn't as bad as I expected. The airport was just a few miles outside of town and our home was on the opposite side. Jason talked the whole while, pointing out landmarks and places of interest to keep my mind off being in a car. There was a local arcade, a movie theater, and a bowling alley just a couple blocks down from the highschool I would be attending in a few days. Besides that were wasn't much of interest besides the park. The rest of the town was primarily small restaurants and typical family own stores. I was most interested in the landscape. Trees grew everywhere throughout the entire town, and it was nothing like the big city back home.

The further we drove, the more the town thinned out until we came to what reminded me of the Chicago suburbs. The house sat on the corner of our street and the main road. It was bigger than it looked in the pictures Katherine had shown me. The house was two stories tall with an attic and a basement. I could hardly wait to explore every bit of it. The three of us had grown up living in an apartment in down town Chicago, and I'd never seen a house like this except in movies.

Jason pulled the car into the driveway and ran around the side of the car to open the door for me. "Well Amy what do you think?"

I smiled and clapped my hands excitedly. "I love it Jason!"I typed out on the phone.

Katherine grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the house. "Well come on. I'll give you the grand tour." The first floor consisted of the livingroom, kitchen, a huge dinning room, a laundry room, and of course a bathroom; pretty typical for a house like this. Upstairs was mostly bedrooms, including my new room. Not only was I going to have an entire room to myself, but it was twice the size of the one Katherine and I had shared back home. Unlike the rest of the house it had been painted green, my favorite color, presumably in preparation of my arrival. The room was sparsely adorned with furniture from our apartment.

I danced around the room, spinning in circles, arms out stretched. I could hardly believe I was really here. It felt more like a dream. Katherine laughed at my antics, clearly pleased with my reaction to the move. "I know, it's big isn't it? Why don't you start unpacking your things while I go talk to Jason about dinner."

/-\ \-/ /-\

(Jason's Perspective)

I was sitting on the couch when Katherine came back down stairs. "How's it going up there kitty Kat?

"Well she likes the room. She's unpacking right now."

"She still can't talk I see," I prompted.

"She was in a wreck with mom and dad and she barely got out alive. That kind of post traumatic stress can do a lot worse things to people."

"It's been two years Katherine and there's nothing physically wrong with her."

"We don't know that for sure. The doctors said there wasn't but that doesn't mean they're right. Doctors have been known to make mistakes. The fact of the matter is that either way we have to assume that she's never going to speak again," Katherine sighed. "If it really is psychological then being here in a new environment might help her. We'll just have to wait and see, but it's been so long that I think she's given up trying. I think there's a better chance of her getting better if we just leave the subject alone."

"Alright Kat. We'll do it your way."

"Good, now that that's settled we should figure out what to do for dinner."

"I figured we'd take Amy out to Callahan's," I replied. "It's the nicest place in town. Perfect for the occasion."

"Sound's good. I'll go help her finish unpacking and get her ready for a night out on the town," Katherine said thoughtfully.

"Sound's good, try not to take too long getting ready. I'm going to call Lily and see if she wants to join us."

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Seriously Jason? You're going to invite your girlfriend to dinner on Amy's birthday?"

"Well I want them to meet. She's going to be around a lot and now is as good a day as any to introduce them."

"Whatever Jay. I'll be upstairs."

/-\ \-/ /-\

(Amy's Perspective)

It didn't take long for Katherine and I to unpack my suitcases since most of what I owned had already been moved to the house. She then set upon me with a look of fiendish glee, brandishing a curling iron and the bathroom's arsenal of makeup. Katherine had decided many years ago that I was her personal test subject any time there was an event she believe was worth dressing up for. She'd become quite skilled at it over the years and as far as I was concerned she could single handedly outshine any beauty parlor on the planet.

Under normal circumstances I would have objected to this, but tonight was a special occasion, and for once I wanted to feel beautiful. "Alright Amy we're going to have to come up with a little something special tonight." Typical Katherine, going above and beyond the call of duty. "Jason's girlfriend is probably meeting us for dinner so we need to make a good impression." What she really meant was, 'I have a reason to go all out so I'm going to take advantage of it'. "What do you say we go with something that hangs straight down around your shoulders and we can make it curly at the bottom?" I shrugged. It didn't really matter what I thought, Katherine was going to do it anyway.

Twenty minutes later, my hair was done and Katherine began applying makeup. After she was satisfied with that, we proceeded to the closet to choose an outfit. I grabbed my favorite pink tank top and white cargo pants. Katherine shot me a look. "Don't you even think about it," she said grabbing a red peasant blouse and my one pair of black dress pants. "This should suffice." I was starting to get hungry so I didn't argue. Instead I quickly changed into the dressy outfit and escaped downstairs before Katherine could get out her jewelry.

Jason was waiting impatiently when I walked into the living room. "Wow Amy. You look incredible." He seemed mildly shocked. "Where's Katherine?"

I nodded back toward the stairs and sat down with Jason. Katherine came down a minute later and we proceeded to the car without further ado.

/-\ \-/ /-\

Callahan's was a surprisingly nice restaurant for such a small town. It was an old steakhouse with a fancy, rustic looking interior. Lily was already there when we arrived. My first impression of her was not a good one. She seemed scatter brained and a little stuck up, but I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt since she was dating my brother. I got the impression from Katherine that she didn't much care for her either. Dinner was awkward to say the least. It was my birthday but Lily kept doing her best to get everyone's attention on her. She didn't even hardly acknowledge me until halfway through dinner when she decided it was time for a firing squad of questions.

"So you're the other sister?" she asked.

Yes...clearly, I wanted to respond, but I merely nodded.

"Is that supposed to be a yes?" she continued. "I couldn't hear you dear."

I looked up at her, feeling my face turn red. I looked at Jason, but it was clear that he had forgot to mention my condition.

"Lily," he said standing up. "Can we talk for a minute?" She followed him off in the direction of the lobby.

"Not exactly the brightest bulb on the string is she?" Katherine commented. "Sometimes I think she just uses the bimbo act to get away with being a jerk." I shrugged. "Honestly Amy, I don't understand what he sees in her."

Lily and Jason returned a minute later and they sat down. "Sorry," Lily said nonchalant. "I forgot you can't talk. So what are you taking in school this year?"

I sighed and looked to Katherine for help. She spoke up in my stead. "Amy's taking chemistry, algebra two, world history, psychology, intro guitar and highschool composition."

"That sounds like a busy schedule," Lily continued. "Are you sure you're up to it honey?"

Of course I was up to it. Why wouldn't I be? I wasn't stupid. This girl was really starting to get on my nerves. I could feel my chest beginning to tighten from anxiety. She kept asking stupid complicated questions that I had no ability to answer. I reached for my cell phone and texted Jason. "Can we go home?"I pleaded. "I'm feeling sick."

"Of course Amy," Jason said reading my text. He waved for our waiter to bring the check. "We've got to get going Lily. Amy says she's sick."

"Oh that's too bad." She gave a concerning look that I was sure wasn't sincere. "Do we still want to tell them tonight?"

"Tell us what?" Katherine butted in.

"We might as well," he replied smiling. "No sense keeping it a secret any longer."

"Just spit it out already!" Katherine prodded after a moment.

Jason laughed and took Lily's hand. "Lily and I are getting married."

Katherine looked like she was about to faint. We shared a mortified look and stared at Jason in disbelief. He'd obviously been expecting a more positive reaction. Lily was too busy staring dumbly at Jason to notice us, and Jason quickly changed the subject before she could realize we were less than pleased.

Katherine didn't say another word until we got back to the house. "What the hell are you thinking Jason?" she practically screamed as we walked though the door. "You can't marry her. She's a complete..."

Jason cut her off. "Hey. What's your deal Kat? I happen to love her and I thought you liked her too."

"I pretended to like her because she was your girlfriend and honestly I thought you would have dumped her by now. I can't believe you were actually serious." Katherine made a face.

"Well the fact of the matter is that Lily and I are getting married in a month, and she's going to be moving in with us whether you like it or not so I suggest you start getting used to the idea."

I wasn't really sure how to react to the news. I agreed with Katherine but I didn't really know Lily so it wouldn't be fair of me to judge her based on a single bad experience. I was still feeling a little out of it from dinner, and my sibling's argument wasn't helping anything so I slipped upstairs and laid down on my bed. Having Jason's girlfriend, or fiancee rather, move in was certainly going to be an adventure.

It wasn't long before Katherine came upstairs to check on me. She stood in the doorway for a minute before she came in and sat on the edge of the bed. "You ok?" she asked.

I shook my head and put my hand on my stomach.

"Are you sick?"

I shook my head again and made an exploding motion with my hands. It was something I'd come up with a long time ago to tell Katherine when I was feeling overwhelmed.

"Yeah I know what you mean," she continued. I wasn't sure that she did but I just nodded. "Anyway, I'll let you relax and then you should probably get some sleep. First day of school tomorrow after all."