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A few hours later, someone came by the house. I was lying on the couch and AJ and Natalie were sitting on the floor. Natalie got up to get it. I thought it was kind of funny how she was like AJ's slave that day.

AJ was trying to change the channel on the TV, but his remote control was running out of batteries and he was getting frustrated. He started banging it on the ground, and then putting in numbers.

"Get new batteries." I told him.

He looked at me, and then back to the remote. "Good idea." He told me.

"I know," I said, "I'm smart."

Poor me. Trying to be my old self again. But it's not working.

Natalie came in followed by Nick and Toni. "Hey guys," Nick said happily.

I didn't look at them. I kept my eyes on the TV. All I did was mumble a "Hi."

"What's up, Nick?" AJ asked.

"We got some good news." Nick said to us.

Really? Well I got some bad news to top your damn good news.

"What is it?" AJ asked. He sounded like he really didn't care what the hell Nick's "good news" was. Be gone Nick!

"Nick and I are getting married!" Toni told us excitedly.

I rolled my eyes. AJ smiled and said, "That's great." Then he turned back to the TV also.

"What is wrong with you two?" Toni asked us.

I didn't answer. I looked at AJ as if to tell him, "You tell em."

AJ shook his head like he didn't want to tell, and I nodded. He was gonna tell them, cuz I sure as hell wasn't going to!

AJ sighed and mumbled, "Allie was in an accident."

"Whoa, is she okay?" Nick asked.

"Who's Allie?" Toni asked.

"Allie...Allison is Kelly's mom." AJ answered.

"Is she okay?" Nick repeated.

AJ shook his head. "I gotta get some batteries." He mumbled, standing up.

I watched him go into the kitchen. It kind of seemed like he was a bit upset about my mom. Could it be that he actually cares about her? No, of course not. He's just mad because now he has to keep me here.

Nick walked over to me and asked, "What happened, Kelly?"

"She died." I answered him indifferently.

"Kel, God um, I'm sorry." Nick said.

"Yeah, I know." I said, the tears coming back, "Everyone feels so damn sorry for me."

"Don't start crying now." Nick said, kneeling beside me.

Who is he to tell me what to do and not to do? Natalie and Toni came closer. I closed my eyes and kept on crying. About a minute later, AJ came back in. "What's going on?" He asked.

I opened my eyes and sat up. AJ dropped the remote control and rushed over to me.

"What's wrong?" He asked me, taking Nick's place next to me. "Well, I mean, I know what's wrong but... nevermind."

AJ embraced me and kissed my forehead. I hugged him back and whispered in his ear, "I love you, Dad."