In the past few weeks since my talk with Diana, I've been slowly changing myself. I cut down on the smoking and drinking. I've been helping Diana out around the house and I even tried looking for a job.

Now, those things were difficult, but what we were doing today was a thousand times worse.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this." I said as Diana stepped out of the car.

I followed her up the driveway.

"You'll be fine, just trust me." She replied with a reassuring smile.

I sighed. "I could really use a smoke."

She turned to me. "You can have one when we're done."

I rolled my eyes, but followed her anyway.

We walked up the front steps and I folded my arms over my chest, staring at the ground as Diana knocked on the door.

I closed my eyes and took in a few deep breaths.

Diana rubbed my shoulder. "You've got this, I know you do."

I swallowed hard and nodded. "You're right."

All my confidence quickly washed away when the door opened.

I stared in shock.

"Diana? Belle? What're you guys doing here?"

Diana smiled lightly. "Hey, mom, we came to talk."

My mom looked from Diana to me, I avoided her gaze. "Hey, mom, long time no see."

She nodded slowly. "Yeah... long time..."

We grew quiet after that.

Luckily, Diana broke the awkward silence. "So, aren't you gonna let us in?"

My mom stared at me for a few more seconds before answering. "Uh, yeah, of course. Come on in."

   We followed her into the house, which smelled like alcohol and cigarettes. My body quickly reminded me that I haven't had either in a day or so.

   My mom cleared some empty liquor bottles from the couch, then invited us to sit down.

   She sat in the chair across from us.

   Nobody said a word, we all just shared uneasy glances.

   Then, my mom spoke up. "Um, can I get you guys anything? Food? Beer?"

   I was about to answer, but Diana beat me to it. "No thanks."

   I looked down at my hands as silence fell back over the group.

   My mom leaned back in her chair. "Ok, uh, what'd you guys wanna talk about?"

"Well..." Diana started, but I tuned her out.

Memories came flooding back as I looked around the house I grew up in. My dads chair still sat next to my moms, with his favorite coffee mug on the table next to it. A few tears started to well up when my eyes landed on a framed family photo.

Without thinking, I stood up and walked over to the table. A single tear rolled down my cheek as I looked at the picture. We all wore matching grins and Christmas sweaters.

I put my hand over my mouth, attempting to stop myself from crying harder. But, it didn't work, the only memory of my fathers face I had was the one from my nightmares. I haven't seen his face, his true face, in over twenty years.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Belle... are you ok?" Diana asked.

I glanced at her, then my mom. They both gave me sad looks.

I set the picture down before making a beeline for the door.

"Belle, wait!" My mom called out.

I stopped at the door and turned to her, wiping a few tears in the process. "I'm sorry, mom, I can't do this."

And, with that, I was out the door.

I ignored their calls as I walked past Diana's car and down the familiar street.

I didn't know where my feet were taking me, until I wound up in front of the bar.

I looked at my reflection in the window. 'One drink won't hurt...'

I reached for the door knob, but stopped myself. 'No, you're stronger than this, Belle.'

I sighed and dropped my arm before walking away.

Eventually, my feet led me to a park. It was pretty much empty, so I walked to the closest bench and took a seat.

I rubbed my eyes as more tears spilled out.

Then, I heard a voice. A voice I wasn't sure I'd ever hear again.

"Belle? Are you ok?"

I looked up and saw Eve standing a few feet away.

I quickly wiped the rest of the tears away. "Uh, yeah... yeah, I'm fine... how're you?"

She looked down. "I'm good..."

I nodded, avoiding eye contact. "That's good."

It seemed like hours before she finally spoke again. "Mind if I join you?"

I scooted over to make room. "Sure."

She gave me a quick smile before sitting down next to me.

"...Belle?"

I gave her a quick glance. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry... for what I said."

I smiled. "It's ok. Honestly, I don't blame you."

She let out a small laugh before it got quiet again.

"I'm sorry for what I did. I wasn't myself then and I hope you can forgive me." I said.

She looked down and nodded before looking back at me. "If you'll tell me, I'm ready to hear your story."

I sighed and lowered my head. "You already know my dad died... but, the part I didn't tell you was... was that it was all my fault..."

She didn't answer, so I took that as my cue to continue. "I faked being sick one night so he would come pick me up from my friends house. I was there for a sleepover, but I've never been able to sleep at other people's houses... we were going to get ice cream when we stopped at a red light... a song we didn't like came on the radio so he leaned over to change it... that's when I saw the car..." I stopped as more tears began to spill.

Eve gave my shoulder a comforting squeeze. "You don't have to continue if you don't want to." She said.

I took a deep breath, attempting to calm myself. "It's ok, I want to."

She nodded and I continued. "I froze, I didn't know what to do or say, so I just closed my eyes and waited for the impact... when I opened them again, all I saw was his face... his dead eyes staring right at me, blaming me..." I stopped again to take in a shaky breath. "...It was all my fault... he's dead because of me." I said before more tears started to flow.

Eve surprised me by pulling me into a tight hug. "It's not your fault." She said.

"Yes it is... The way Diana looks at me, the pain in her eyes... the pain I caused. It was the same look my mom used to give me before I left."

She didn't say anything, she just held me close and rubbed my back.

After a few minutes, the final tear rolled down my cheek. But, she held me the whole time, not speaking a word, not once letting me go. She just held me.

I knew then and there, that she really was the one...