Saturday came way too fast. I didn't want to talk to Scott. I just wanted to crash at Fin's house last night, but she forced me to stay here by not answering her phone. At all. I called at least ten times. I texted more than that. She still ignored me.

"Can we talk?"

My head snapped to the doorway of my room. Scott was standing there, his red hair dripping with water. He must have just gotten out of the shower. My heart beated rapidly against my chest at the sight of him. I wasn't ready. I was never ready.

"About?" I asked, pretending to not know what he meant. Maybe that could have gotten him to leave. It didn't.

"Everything."

"I don't think there is anything to talk about," I replied, looking at my phone again. I definitely pretended to text someone, but he snatched my phone out of my hand. "Hey!"

"Hay is for horses," he said, setting my phone on the dresser. "Scoot over."

He sat down on my bed before I could do anything. I quickly moved my legs out of the way before he would smash them and said, "I don't want to talk."

"You've been saying that the whole time," Scott said, giving me a look. "I think you're just scared."

"Scared?" My heart fell when he said that.

"I know I hurt your feelings when I left," he said softly. He wouldn't meet my eyes at all. "You make it very clear. And I know you don't want to let me back in because you're afraid that I'm just going to leave again."

Why did my brother have to know me so well? He always did when we were younger, and he still did now. He could always read my moods, even if I didn't know myself. Why couldn't he forget while he was gone? I hated it.

"Grace, I'm not going to leave again."

I closed my eyes, trying to calm my heart. I didn't want to act out of control like I did when he and my father left. I didn't want to be that person anymore. I didn't want to let people affect me like that.

"Look at me." My eyes opened to see a small smile on Scott's face. "Let's just start over. Forgive and forget."

I stared at him, cursing myself for wanting to agree. But something inside me wanted to put my walls back up, so he wouldn't ever hurt me again. I almost did put my walls back up, especially after I hurt Joshua. I didn't want to let anyone hurt me.

"I-I guess that works." Against my better judgement, I agreed. I didn't know why.

"How has Finlay been?"

"I found out that you kissed her," I blurted out, cringing by how childish I sounded. I almost said something out when Scott burst out laughing.

His eyes were closed in remembrance as he said, "She wasn't supposed to tell you that."

"I can't believe you guys did that, and I just found out!"

"I can't believe we did it, either. Things were much simpler then."

I nodded. Everything was much simpler when we were children. Especially relationships. "I'm pretty sure she has feelings for you."

"Interesting." He had a small grin on his face at that comment.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't recommend it," I said softly. "Dating sucks."

"You're supposed to be my little sister who hates boys! When did you get this big?"

I shrugged, resting my shoulder against his. I still hated boys, especially after they hurt me. I never wanted to be with one again. Besides Scott. "I have no clue."

"Where did the time go?"

"It flew by. It feels like it's been days since you left."

"I know."

I sighed, realizing just how much I missed him. I wished I had more time with my brother. My heart ached at all the time we missed. It was the ache that reminded me how much it hurt for him to leave. I dismissed that feeling. He wanted to mend the bridge that was burned all those years ago. I was ready to mend that bridge.

"Let's do something," I suggested.

He looked at me. "What?"

"I have no clue," I said, laughing. "But I want to go out and have fun with my brother."

He wrapped his arm around me, giving me a squeeze. "You don't know how much I love hearing that."

He stood up, offering his hand. I took it gratefully and stood up too. "I have an idea of where to go."

"Where?" he asked.

"I'm pretty sure the ice rink is still up."

"We haven't been there in years!"

"You haven't been here in years!" I exclaimed.

He laughed, and I joined him. It was so good to laugh with him. A weight was being lifted from off my chest with every minute with him, almost making me forget about Joshua. It would take time to mend what was broken, but I had the rest of my life ahead of me.

I grabbed my jacket, the one Joshua got me. It brought back even more memories, but I ignored it as we stepped outside. His car was one of the only ones in the parking lot, so I got in the passenger seat.

"It's still where it was, right?"

"Yeah."

We were silent on the way there; it wasn't a bad silence, though. The silence allowed me to think about how one thing was going right. My brother was back in my life, and my best friend hadn't left me. Thinking about Joshua was getting a little more easier as the days went on. It still hurt like a knife in my heart, but I would get better.

"Do you want to tell me about Joshua?"

"You read my mind." I hoped he would laugh and joke about doing that, but he was serious. "What about him?"

"Does he still care about you?"

"How should I know?"

"Does he know that you still care?"

"Do I?" I asked, hoping my voice wouldn't shake or crack or convey how I really felt. Because talking about it was much different than thinking about it. Talking was much different; I was telling my personal thoughts to a person who could hurt me.

"I think you do." He paused, glancing at me. "If he cares about you as much as you said he did, then he will forgive you."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure."

I stared outside at the skating rink, watching as people had the times of their lives. I wished I could have that much fun, but talking about Joshua dropped my mood slightly. It always did.

"Did you bring the ice skates?" Scott asked, hopefully dropping the subject about Joshua.

"No. I thought you did."

"I didn't," he said, laughing. "We have to go back and get them."

"Goodness. This always happens with you," I said, a small smile cracking the tough exterior of my face. "Do you remember when we went on a family trip, and we were coming home? You left your stuffed dinosaur at the hotel."

"Yeah. I made us turn around and go all the way back."

"Yeah, we were not happy campers."

He laughed. "I know."

He pulled out of the parking spot and started back home. It was silent again, except the noise coming from my phone. I frowned when I saw Fin's contact flash on my screen. I answered, and she sounded rushed when she said, "Today is the first track meet. You have to come."

"No." I would not go see the track meet. I wouldn't see Joshua. I wouldn't put myself through that. I was distancing myself away from him, not seeing him on my own time.

"Grace, you're with your brother, right?"

"Yeah," I said, frowning deeper. "Why?"

"Give him the phone, please."

I handed Scott the phone, and he gave me a look when Fin started talking. "Okay," he said. "Got it. We'll see you in a few minutes."

"Scott!" I said, snatching my phone out of his hand. "Why are we going there? I don't want to see him!"

"You can't get out now. So we're going."

I groaned. Why did he have to be so stubborn? That was the thing I hated about my brother. When something was on his mind, he had to do it. Whether it be going to the track meet or cleaning the whole apartment, he had to do it right then and there.

I couldn't disagree because I couldn't get out of the car while it was in motion. Unless I jumped out . . . I wouldn't jump out of a moving vehicle. That was crazy. But when he stopped at a stop sign, I could quickly run. Unfortunately for me, he did a rolling stop, so I couldn't jump out like I planned.

"I know what you want to do."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He paused, glancing through his mirrors. "You're going to try to jump out sometime."

"Come on!" I said, slamming my fist into the seat. "How'd you know?"

"You look like an animal trapped in a cage ready to make a run for it."

"That's about how I feel."

"We're going to the track, and that's final," he said, sounding exactly like Dad.

"Fine."