As I pushed open the front door to the McCormack household, I was greeted by silence and the eeriness that accompanies such a lack of noise.

I stepped over the familiar threshold and let go of the handles of my YSL suitcases, dusting my hands on my black jeans.

"Uh... hello?" I called out uncertainly, glancing around with my lower lip between my teeth. "Anybody home?"

At first glance, in the four years I'd been gone, almost nothing in the house had changed. There was still a fluffy white rug beneath my feet and an ugly painting of a horse on the wall to my right.

"Mrs McCormack? Mr McCormack? Mia?" I yelled, wondering why the door had been left unlocked if no one was home. I stepped further into the house and kicked the door shut gently.

So much for my welcome back party.

"Well well well, if it isn't little runaway Jane."

I shrieked in surprise, placing a hand over my heart as a shot of adrenaline coursed through me. The voice that appeared behind me unmistakably belonged to Brooks, and I exhaled with relief as this realization hit me. His voice was deeper and filled with more confidence than the last time I had heard it, but it was his nevertheless.

Hello to you too, Brooks. Lovely to see you again.

"Freaking hell don't do that!" I scolded him, running a hand through my hair. "And don't call me that, please." I hissed, taking my time as I turned to face him.

When my gaze finally rested on him, I was greeted by the sight of a tall, handsome boy with strong features. His dark blonde hair was tousled in a wind swept way, and his hazel eyes were framed by heavy lashes. His face blended smoothly into a strong neck and toned, muscular body.

Brooks had been only fourteen when I'd left Beaufort-- still figuring out who he was and who he wanted to be. Standing in front of me now in his dark jeans and plain black t-shirt, he looked anything but unsure of himself. There was a smugness in his eyes, a sense of superiority that had never been there before. I shouldn't have been surprised by his demeanour, but yet I was.

I cleared my throat, trying to appear unfazed by the fact that the sweet, gangly kid I had once known had now grown into a man who was more of a stranger than an old friend.

"And thanks for the lift from the airport too, by the way." I added sarcastically.

I'd been stranded at the airport for three hours this morning, with zero cash and no battery on my phone. My parents had taken the liberty of cancelling all my credit and debit cards, even though I had earned all of my money by myself. Brooks was supposed to have given me a ride home, but clearly he'd made other plans. I'd had to walk most of the way to the McCormack residence, only managing to catch a free ride on the bus by promising to give the driver a photo for his daughter.

Sensing my scrutiny, Brooks smirked, leaning against the door frame and raising an eyebrow. "I had better things to do." His eyes trailed down my body. "Runaway Savannah."

I snorted to hide how taken aback I was. The Brooks McCormack I had left here in Beaufort would have never been so blatantly obvious in his dislike for someone--especially me. Maybe things really had changed around here. But two could play at this game.

"Better things to do than collect a world famous actress from the airport? I don't think so." I replied, mimicking his tone as I rolled my eyes. I could already tell that whatever friendship Brooks and I had formed years ago was gone. "And I didn't run away Brooks, I got a job across the country. It's been four years, aren't you over that yet?"

Brooks didn't respond, he just gave me a blank look and swished past me towards the kitchen, leaving me standing in the foyer with several tonnes worth of luggage.

I stared after him, a pout finding it's way to my lips. "Fine," I yelled out sarcastically, "don't worry about me! I'll just carry all my bags upstairs by myself!" I dragged my suitcases up the two flights of stairs, my arms aching long before I finally reached the guest bedroom that I assumed would belong to me.

With a huff I dropped the handles of my suitcases, making my way to the little window seat and staring out at Figtree Road. The park directly across the street was almost completely colored gold, the leaves forming a blanket over the grass.

I smiled, remembering the times Mia and I had sat in this very room as kids, waiting and watching for the first hint of fall to appear so that we could throw on our boots and jump around in the leaves.

Most of my childhood memories were from here, since my parents had been, well... less than concerned about me, to put it nicely. Sarah and Lewis McCormack had raised me as their own until I could take care of myself, which was why, no matter what had happened between all of us four years ago or how I felt about coming back here, I would be eternally grateful to them.

Suddenly exhausted from my flight, I flopped down onto the small but comfortable bed with a groan, closing my eyes as I breathed in the familiar scent of cinnamon and vanilla.

The last place I wanted to be during my hiatus from filming was here in Beaufort, but I had a feeling that  what I wanted wasn't going to matter.

I was stuck here.

Indefinitely.

Great.