The look on my dad's face wasn't a confused face but a curious one.  He sat down on the bed and let out a sigh of stress. I guess this must still be a hard conversation for him. He held my hand and tried not to look at me. I can see the pain in his eyes that he's been trying to hide from me since I've been here. There was no denying that this Regan girl is his painful secret.

  "Was she your one that got away?" I asked him trying to get him to open up to me about his past.

He still wouldn't look at me but he did tug at my sleeve a little bit. Maybe it might be working. Maybe now he'll open up. He gave me a small smile and shook his head.

  "Why are you so curious about my past all of a sudden?" He asked.

  "Well because everybody talks about her but they don't really talk about her. It's almost like it's a forbidden conversation. Tell me what really happened?"

  "Carlyn it's a complicated situation. I don't wanna tell you that story right now until I know your ready to hear it."

  "Why are you treating me like Joey. I'm 16 you can't keep things from me forever. Daddy I know there was something going on with you and her that you wanna hide from me? Can't you just tell me something to at least give me a clue?"

  "You'll know soon enough sweetheart I promise."

He stood up from the bed and gave me a kiss on my forehead.

  "Now go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

  "Daddy you know you can't just shoo me off forever about this. I'm gonna find out eventually. Even if that means hacking your computer again." I said to him as I made my way to his bedroom door.

  "Jokes on you. Tony hid my computer." He smiled back."

He walked me out into the hall and gave me a tight hug.

  "Stop your worrying about my past life. Promise me ok?" He said as he hugged me tighter.

  "I can't dad. I don't like seeing you sad."

  "Who said I was sad?"

  "Nobody! Your face says it all. I just want you to be happy."

  "I am! I have you and your brother and my health. That makes me very happy."

  "Yeah but you still want to be loved just like anybody else."

He looked at me with deep sincerity in his eyes.

  "Love will come one day. It just takes time."

  "If you say so." I said with a bit of a sigh.

I headed back to my room with what felt like a million more unanswered questions about this girl and what happened between the her and my dad. As I sleepily climbed my way into bed I thought about all the possible outcomes that cause their split. Erin said that she was sick. What kind of sick was she? Did she land herself in the mental ward? Did she die? Was it just the flu? Why is this story so secretive? My eyes fell closed as my mind continued to wonder. It wasn't long after that when I was sound asleep.

A week after the dinner party was Christmas Eve. Joey and I get really excited around this time because we know the next day we get to tear through presents and eat tons of cookies. This year will be a little different since my dad is a hardcore witness and not a big celebrator of the holiday he decided to let us go out with Tony and uncle Andre to pick out a tree to put in any of the guest rooms in the house that aren't being used. Joey and I were dressed and ready to go by about 10:30Aam and we sat anxiously waiting for Tony to pull the car to the front door. My dad came out of a meeting with the receptionist and was always dressed to the nines.

"Hey dad! You look like your ready for prom! Gotta hot date?" I asked smiling at him as he got closer to us.

"What is it with you and this dating thing? You trying to marry me off or something?" He asked with a bit of a giggle.

"What? No! You just look like somebody's prom date!"

Joey sat beside me and giggled as he swung his legs back and forth since his feet couldn't touch the floor.

"What's so funny little man?" My dad asked Joey.

"Carly wants you to get a date like her!" He joked.

Him and my dad got a kick out of that. I did too but in a way I really did want him to get a woman in his life. A good woman. Someone who likes kids and won't spend my dad's hard earned money. And bakes pies. We're not talking store bought pies either. Home made from scratch pie! That's a woman fit for my daddy.

"You're sister wants me to be in love and all that jazz like her huh little guy?"

"Yeah! Girls have cooties right dad?" Joey giggled.

"Oh yeah millions of them." Daddy joked.

I cocked my head slightly to the left and gave my dad a disapproving look.

"Dad seriously?"

"What? It's true!" He joked.

Just then the door buzzed and Tony was ready for us. Me and Joey made a mad dash out the front door and into the waiting car. Daddy watched as we got in the back seat and gave us a wave and blew us a kiss. We waved back as the car pulled away and left out of the lot. We were going to find the biggest and most massive tree there was and decorate it how we liked it. The tree farm wasn't very far from home and it was a good thing. The 10 minute ride felt a lot longer than it really was. We pulled up to the lot and Tony put the car in park. Me and Joey wasted no time and ran out of the car and raced through was seemed to been a Christmas tree Forrest. We have always been excited about Christmas but this year had meaning. We had a family and we were still together. As we looked for the perfect tree to take back with us I heard a familiar voice just ahead at the roping station. Rounding the corner there he was.

"Hey Tre? What are you doing here?" I asked excited.

"Oh hey Carly! I'm here with my dad. We're looking for a small tree to take to my moms job. She'll be stuck at work this year so it's just gonna be us guys."

"Awww I'm sorry."

"It's ok. This has happened before. We're used to it. What are you doing here?"

"We're getting a big tree for me and Joey. My dad is letting us bring home a big one!"

"Sounds like fun! Want me to help?"

"Sure! My brother is with our security guard and we have an hour to find a tree and get it back home."

"Ok cool! Stay right here I'll just let my dad know that I'll be helping you out for a little while."

He went to find his dad and tell him that he was gonna help me find a tree. He was gone maybe about 10 seconds when I saw him rounding the corner with a smile that quickly faded.

"Tre? What's the matter?" I asked worried.

That was all I could remember after that. Everything went black and I could faintly hear the sound of Tre calling my name in a frantic state.

"CARLY!"