“Thanks for coming in such a short notice hun, it was such a last minute meeting Carlos had. If it wasn't for me having to go to New York Fashion Week I would take them with me.” Nikki shook her head, “No it's fine, besides I was just going to go back home earlier. So you saved me.” Janice stood at the door with her straight light brown hair, falling over her shoulders, and her bangs covering her light brown eyes. Her tan skin was the only difference since they were younger. “Why were you going to go back home? Wasn't it you who said you rather gouge your eyes out than to spend vacation with them?” As Niki walked inside, she saw Carol and Carlo watching an animated movie, “Hey, your favorite aunt is here!” Niki walked further inside and straight into the living room where they were watching the TV. Without receiving a glance she sighed, making her way into the kitchen island that separated the living room from the kitchen and dining room. "Thank you so much for doing this." Janice handed her a bottled water to which Niki smiled "It's no problem at all. I didn't have anything else to do." "Well you do, you got your sister's wedding. You should be in Florida by now." a tinge of anxiety grew inside Niki, making her frown. "I see Em told you about her wedding." Janice nodded. "Yea. She had asked for the kids to be the flower girl and ring bearer. I couldn't exactly say no.” "Really? I thought she would ask you to be her godmother of something. I never expected for her to ask me to be one of her maids of honor. We never really got along, so never really crossed my mind. Apparently they have everything and all I need to do is to measure my dress." Janice shook her head. "You're her sister, no matter what your differences are you two will always be sisters. I expected them to tell you sooner, which makes sense since you would've disappeared if you had a heads up. I want to hurry this trip up so I can have enough time to go to the wedding." Niki just stared down at her hand. She knew what was coming next. "Niki--- you're the oldest out of you two, don't you think you should've gotten married before Em?" Niki sighed, forcing a smile. "I don't think that there is someone out there for me. Besides, I was never one to go out and talk to people, you know this. It's understandable why she is ahead in a lot of things. In any case, I don't think age matters when you get married. I don't need anyone anyways. I don't think I'll ever get married, besides I'm glad my sister is getting married. She deserves to be happy." Niki tried to keep her smile but it was slowly fading. Janice smiled getting up in the process. "Alright I get it. Well I should get going if I want to make it back on time. I'll see you in a week, okay?" Niki nodded giving her a quick hug before she walked into the living room to say goodbye to the kids. When she left they all sat down quietly as they continued to watch the movie. Time passed slowly making it difficult to keep focused on the movie, before she knew it was an hour past dinner time. Standing up, she made her way into the kitchen grabbing the essentials to make her specialty, Mac & Cheese. They ate it happily, while they talked some more about the wedding, making them yawn from exhaustion. They walked upstairs to get ready, finding their beds their heads hit the pillow, automatically falling into a deep sleep. Once the kids were safe inside their beds, Niki made her way downstairs. She was about to lie down on the couch again when she heard a key turning the lock on the door.She got up and cautiously walked to open it, surprise taking over her face as she sees a young looking guy with light skin and light brown eyes that were mostly covered by his black medium length hair, his curly locks hiding bits of his eyes. He was tall, which distracted Niki from her current situation at hand. This guy was exactly like Janice, except he was obviously a guy. She felt a strange pull towards him that she decided to ignore. She couldn't stand the awkwardness of the situation. "How may I help you?"She asked trying to stay calm. She was never good with talking to guys and that irritated her. The guy smiled sweetly "My names Adrian, what's yours?”

She looked up at the dull, dark, gray sky. It still looked calm, fitting how she was feeling completely. Numb, broken, alone despite the people around her. This was her fault though, she had let an opportunity go far away from her grasp. She had it, she lost it then now she craves it, but it's all too late now. It had all started a few months ago, back in the beginning of spring. She had left her house in the morning to go to her best friend's house, Janice, to take care of her kids while she went away on a business trip for the weekend. As she drove down the street she remembered the conversation she had with her mother the night before. They had started out with a normal conversation about how her family back home was doing, not failing to mention that her sister, Emily, was getting married soon and that they wanted her to be the maid of honor. She had agreed, explaining that she would go home for a while that coming week. Feeling the horrible question coming she tried to ease the conversation away but it had been asked since as long as she can remember. "When are you getting married?"Niki sighed. She got tired of having people ask her that all the time. So what if she didn't get married. What if she wanted to be alone? What if she was happy without having someone by her side? Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by her phone ringing. "Hello?" "Niki? When are you getting here my plane leaves in an hour.” "Oh hello to you too Jani. I'm here so can you please open the door." And she hung up. A few seconds passed when the large mahogany door opened with Janice standing by the entrance of the door. The house looked average on the outside with the white walls and stone foundation, the landscape making it look much more lived in. Nikki walked in glancing around the already familiar home. The high ceiling lights were on allowing a warm undertone cast on her furniture and throughout the house. White walls decorated with pictures of family and friends, making it feel like home, which in a way it should be.