If I thought breakfast had been awkward, dinner was even worse; Nikki and Wyatt had both come down from their rooms, but neither of them said a word. Wyatt's relaxed and comfortable attitude from earlier had vanished entirely, and Nikki looked as if she were deep in thought about something the entire meal.

We'd all noticed their shifts in personality, mom followed Nikki up to her room after dinner, and Lizzie dragged Harper, James and I into Harper's room. I'd recognized the expression on her face instantly. Her brows were furrowed together, her lips pursed into a disappointed frown, "You need to apologize." She blurted as soon as Harper's bedroom door was shut and it was just us.

Unlike mine and Lizzie's room, which had been the same since we left, Harper had given her room a makeover since I'd last been home. Her walls were covered in fake vines and twinkly lights, her bed pushed into the corner of the wall, a mess of throw pillows and blankets, "us?" Harper questions, gesturing between the two of us as she plops onto her bed, "why?"

"What you said earlier when we were taking photos," Lizzie explains, bouncing Elliot in her arms. Iris was in James' currently trying to steal the glasses off of his face, "did you see how upset they looked? And during dinner too... You really hurt their feelings."

"I don't get why," I admit, shrugging my shoulder as I lean against Harper's desk, "they're not our family."

"Exactly," Harper snaps her finger, pointing towards me in agreement, "all I did was ask for a family photo. Is that really so bad?"

"It is when they have no other family," Lizzie answers, frowning at the two of us disappointedly, "think about it... Mom and Nikki are like sisters. She was in the hospital when all of us were born. She took me prom dress shopping when mom got the flu, took Harper to dance class when mom and dad had to work late... Harper, you slept at her house almost every single weekend growing up."

Lizzie was right; no matter how much I blocked away the memories, Nikki had been a major part of all of our childhoods, mine especially. She and Tom were like my second set of parents as a kid. I'd spent every single weekend sleeping over at their house, so much that they started calling the guest room "Marley's room." When they left, and Wyatt cut me off, so did his parents. Not only had I lost my best friend, but I also lost the people I considered my honorary parents.

"They still hurt us," I remind Lizzie, finally pushing the memories that flooded forward away, "they still left and never spoke to us again. Why should we be the ones to say sorry?"

"No," Lizzie shook her head, "Wyatt hurt you." She corrects me, "he hurt all of us... And honestly, I don't care about Wyatt or if you hurt his feelings earlier. I care about Nikki, who's grieving the love of her life and came to family for comfort."

I glance down at the floor, unable to stand the way Lizzie is looking at Harper and I, suddenly feeling slightly guilty. Even James, who'd stayed silent throughout the conversation, let out a breath, finally saying something, "Look, Lizzie isn't forcing either of you to apologize... just think about it, okay?"

I nod, looking up at the two of them, "okay."

Harper doesn't say anything. Instead, she's turns her attention to her cellphone, her acrylic nails tapping against the screen. I know she feels guilty. She no is longer wearing her signature smirk, her frown is deep, and her brows furrowed. Shortly after, we all went our separate ways, with James, Lizzie and the twins heading home and me down to the kitchen, where I assumed mom and Nikki would be after not finding them in the guest room.

Mom and Nikki sat at the island in the kitchen, cups of tea in front of them, so hot steam floated in the air above it. She's not crying right now, but I can see that Nikki's cheeks are a little red, her eyes tired and sunken in, she had been crying, and it was all our fault. "Marley," Mom spots me walking in first, "do you need something, sweetie?"

"I was hoping I could talk to Nikki, actually," I admit, shooting the other woman a guilty smile. Nikki nods, gesturing for me to take the seat beside me, across from my mom, "I'm really sorry," I start off, sitting beside her, "When Harper asked if we should take a family photo, and I told Wyatt to take it... I wasn't thinking about how harsh it sounded."

Nikki shakes her head at me, frowning, "you don't have to apologize sweetie, if anyone should be apologizing it's me. When we moved, and Wyatt started getting busy and stopped talking to you, I thought maybe not keeping in touch with you girls would be easier on you. I shouldn't have expected you girls to be so open to us coming back so suddenly. I keep forgetting you're all grown up now. Things are different."

"They are," tears brim my eyes. I'd given up on ever hearing an apology from the Wyatt's a long time ago, but the way Nikki spoke, it was as if she'd been holding these words in her heart for a while. She seemed genuine.

"I do not expect you to forgive me," Nikki continues, "I should have intervened, tried harder to stay in your lives. I wish I could go back and change the way I handled things."

"Yeah, me too," I nod, hesitantly reaching over to place my hand on top of Nikki's. She still wore her gold wedding band on her ring finger, "But you're still our family, even if it's been a while."

"Do you really mean that?"

I did. Things with Wyatt are complicated, and it's not as easy to fix what went wrong with him. We're too far gone. I couldn't stay bitter towards Nikki, though. I hadn't realized just how much I missed her until this moment, sitting here with her like old times, "I do." I nod, a tear sliding down my cheek, "I missed my second mom."

Nikki laughs. this time, when tears spill down her face, she's smiling, "I missed you too." She says, pulling me in for a hug, "thank you for this, Marley. You don't understand how much this means to me."

I spend the next hour or so in the kitchen with mom and Nikki, listening to them swap stories about their college days in the city. Eventually, as it gets later, we all go back upstairs. Mom and Nikki going to their rooms while I go to Harpers, quietly knocking on her door.

I expect Harper to greet me with some snarky comment, but she opens her door slowly. Her eyes are red. Her cheeks splotched with tear stains, "Harper." I frown, quickly walking into her room and shutting the door behind me for privacy, "what's wrong?"

She shakes her head, harshly wiping a stray tear on her cheek, "I've been trying so hard to keep myself together," She admits, sniffling, "It's just... I hate him, Marley. He was like my big brother... and then one day, he just disappeared."

I've never thought about how hurt Harper must have been by Wyatt leaving; I've been so focused on my own hurt. Even at twelve, she was always such a strong kid. Harper was always the one building us up. I never even thought to make sure she was okay.

"Oh, Harper," I pull my younger sister into my arms, running my fingers through her shoulder-length hair. "I'm sorry, I should've checked to make sure you were okay..."

Harper clings to me, crying into my shoulder. I'm sure my white t-shirt will be soaked with tears, but I don't care, "I don't want to forgive him, Marles," She says, "I don't want to let him back in and have him leave us again. I can't... It's too hard."

"I know," I mumble, nodding my head. I felt the same way, "and you don't have to."

"Really?"

"Really," I nod, pulling away slightly so I can look my teary-eyed sister in the eye, "but Lizzie was right earlier. You don't have to say sorry to Wyatt. He chose not to be a part of this family, but Nikki is going through a lot right now. She needs us."

"I know," Harper hung her head, muttering, "I hate when Lizzie's right."

I chuckle, nodding my head in agreement, "me too."

"Is Nikki awake?" She asks. Her tears have stopped falling, but her eyes are even more swollen looking now, "or should I wait till the morning?"

"She just went into her room, so you should be fine." I nod, wiping my thumb across her cheek to catch a stray tear, "you know you don't have to keep stuff like this all bottled up, right? That's what Lizzie and I are here for. You can come to us about anything."

"I just didn't want to make you more upset."

"You being sad makes me upset," I shake my head at her, "you don't always have to be the one cheering everyone up, Harps. It's alright to admit you're sad... Okay?"

"Okay, thank you, Marley." Harper nods, smiling at me, "I'm gonna go talk to Nikki now. I love you."

"Of course," I pull my younger sister into another hug, leaning my chin against the top of her head, "I love you too."