(Two weeks later)

Michelle laid on her bed, staring at her plain white ceiling. It was time for work, but she didn't want to get up and leave her warm bed to go out into the cruel cold real world. It was harsh and brutal. There was simply no time to give remorse for the pathetic.

But how she wished they did. Money was so tight, they could barely make this months rent and the bills. There was no food in the refrigerator and she was struggling with everything. She just wanted a break from life itself. Maybe if she could rewind time and go back to the better days before everything became so complicated. One more thing to be wishful for.

She almost never saw the twins. They either spent their time with friends or she would miss them when she came or went to work. Her life was spiraling downwards. She didn't want to do anything because she was lacking herself.

Her promise she made to her parent when they had passed away, seemed too hard to complete. How could she take care of her siblings when she could hardly take care of herself. She wanted to let loose and become a wild person and party for once, instead of being serious and hard working all the time.

The emotional scars still bled. The conversation always replayed itself, still fresh in her mind as if she heard it a couple minutes ago. A bet. It was driving her crazy, but she never showed it because she was the strong one; never one to cry, never one to break down.

Her blood boiled just thinking about Matt. And she prayed that she would never see him because if she did, she wouldn't know what she would do to him.

But her heart kept reminding her of Jeremiah.

------

Jeremiah scanned through selection of chips the local supermarket held. Finally picking out one, he threw it in his cart and walked where Tony, Nick and Matt were playing with coffee beans. Nick had two coffee beans stuck up his nose, while Tony had the beans coming out of his ears. They were so immature sometimes that they were an embarrassment.

His lips curled into a small smile as he spotted a familiar girl, taking out a Vanilla Ben 'n' Jerry's ice cream carton. He quietly walked behind the female and tapped her shoulder. Her red and brunette hair whacked his cheek as she turned around to see who was bothering her. A grin played onto her lips as she recognized the stranger.

"Hey there, Mr. Rock Star."

Jeremiah gave a small chuckle. "Hey Emily, nice to see you here."

"Well, it IS a market. But fancy seeing you here shopping for your own food. Were your servants too busy to come themselves?" Emily joked.

"Yeah, too busy." Jeremiah played along. His heart was urging him to ask Emily about Michelle. How she was doing? Was she okay?

"Michelle's fine."

Did he ask out loud?

"She told me."

About the bet?

"Why she looked like she was crying when she came out of the bathroom."

Because she had been humiliated.

"She told me. . ."

Yes? Go on.

"She missed our parents."

What?

"That was probably the most strangest thing I have heard from her. She's not one to just cry out in public about something personal. She said that she was sorry that we all had to leave so early, but she wasn't feeling so good."

It was understandable.

"She hasn't been the same since."

"What do you mean?" he asked, shocked to hear his voice.

Emily shrugged her shoulders. "It's been getting hard for us, especially Michelle. She got laid off from one of her jobs and then it's like her soul just disappeared from her body. She's just missing or something is just missing from her. I don't know."

Jeremiah watched the young female give an exhausted sigh. His heart went out and the words flew out of his mouth before he even knew it. "Do you guys need the money? Because I'll help."