Chapter 1
“Let’s Start From The Beginning”

“Isaac! Linny! Zac! Ally!” I cry as I open the door. I hug each of them as they walk in. Each has a bag with presents in them. “You can go set the presents under the tree.” They say thanks and hug Taylor as they walk by. Currently, Isaac is thirty, Linny is twenty-nine, Taylor is twenty-seven, I am twenty-six, Zac is twenty-five, and Allie May is twenty-four. Isaac and Linny are married with four children, Taylor and I are married with two children, and Zac and Allie May are married with one child. Isaac walks into the living room carrying his youngest son Tyler, who is one, and Erin, who is three, walking beside Isaac. Linny follows with Krysten, who is six, and Kamillah, eight, tagging along behind. Linny introduces each of them because none of us have seen each other for up to nine years.
“And,” Zac adds, “this is our two-year-old Rebecca.” Everyone says hi and then Taylor introduces our two children.
“Everyone,” he starts, “this is Kimberly, who is six, and Jessica, who is four.” Kimberly and Jessica are greeted and then the kids are set free to play until supper is ready.

An hour and a half later, we are all sitting around, doing nothing, when Kamillah stands up and says,
“Aunt Ashlee, can you tell us a story?” Everyone agrees and then quiets down. I sit and think for about five minutes until a story comes to me.
“Who wants to hear a story about the summer your moms and dads met?” I ask the children.
“Yeah!” They all cry and come running over to sit closer so they could hear better. Isaac, Linny, Zac, Allie May, and Taylor all groan, but they all sit down so that they can listen. Taylor sits beside me, and the others sit on the couch apposing the love seat I am sitting on.
“Okay. Let’s start from the beginning. I remember the summer as if it were just last summer,” I say. I look at Taylor and start my story..........

Chapter 2
“Have you ever.....?”

“Ashlee!” my sister cried from her room. “Will you come here?” I went to her to her room and saw boxes strung all over her floor, books in all kinds of places, and her blankets were all piled on the bottom bunk of her bunk beds.
“Yeah, Linny?” I asked when I got in there, staring at her mess.
“I’m taking a summer trip to Tulsa, Okalahoma. Mom said you’re coming with me,” she said, picking up a box and tossed it up to her top bunk.
“Why?” I asked.
“I guess it’s because of your sickness,” she said quietly.
“Okay,” I said. I really didn’t want to think about my sickness, though. So, I just grabbed the boxes that Linny handed me and started packing for a summers trip.

When we arrived at the airport, my mom kissed us good-bye. Mom had saved up enough money for me to go on this trip. Linny had to save up her own money, just so she could go with me. I hugged my twin brother AJ and my younger brothers James and Jeremy. I then hugged my sisters Lacey and Allie May. When Linny finished hugging everyone, we boarded. The plane ride was one of the smoothest rides I had ever been on. Linny was scared out of her socks because she had never been on a plane before.
“Who are we going to be staying with?” I asked.
“Me,” boy said, turning around in his seat from infront of us.
“So, you are Josh Sarene?” Linny asked.
“Yeah, and you’re Linny right?” he asked.
“Exactly and this is my sister-”
“Ashlee, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I have some friends that you might like that live in Tulsa.”
“Oh, really? Who?!” I asked. He then turned around in his seat properly and sat-without answering my
question. I sat there and stared at the back of his head. I didn’t know what to say or to think about or anything. I was literally in a trance. I suddenly turned to Linny and whispered,
“Damn, he’s hot.”
“He’s our cousin,” she whispered back.
“Dammit!” I said almost a little too loud. The plane landed about an hour later. When we got off, Josh grabbed my hand and I grabbed Linny’s. Then, we headed into the crowd. A couple minutes of walking in the crowd, we found Josh’s mom and dad.
“So you’re our Aunt Lynn, huh?” I asked his mom.
“Yes, I am,” she replied.
“Mom said that you were a short, round, brunette,” I stated.
“Well, that was true....until I grew some, went on a diet, and died my hair blonde,” she said, looking at herself up and down. “I guess Laura hasn’t seen me in a long while.”
“Guess not,” I said as I climbed into the backseat of their royal blue car. Linny was on the other side and Josh was in the middle.
“Here are the plans,” Aunt Lynn said as we drove down the highway. “Our house may be big, but we only have one spare room, because one is a total disaster area and the other is occupied. So Linny gets the spare and you, Ashlee, get the bottom bunk of Josh’s bunk beds.”
“Who is occupying the other spare room?” I asked.
“One of dads’ friends,” Josh said.
“Ashlee, are you going to be able to sleep in the same room with Josh? You know how you are when you sleep in the same room with people you don’t know,” Linny said.
“I’ll be fine,” I said. “Just give me a little bit of time.”
“Are you two going to be okay here?” Aunt Lynn asked.
“Yeah, we’ll be fine,” Linny and I said together. Suddenly, a song Linny and I loved so much came on the radio.
“Could you turn up the radio?” We asked. When they did we immediately started singing:

“Have you ever loved somebody so much it makes you cry
Have you ever needed something so bad you can’t sleep at night
Have you ever tried to find the words, but they don’t come out right
Have you ever, have you ever

Have you ever been in love, been in love so bad
You’d do anything to make them understand
Have you ever had someone steal your heart away
You’d give anything to make them feel the same
Have you ever searched for words to get you in their heart
But you don’t know what to say, And you don’t know where to start

Have you ever loved somebody so much it makes you cry
Have you ever needed something so bad you can’t sleep at night
Have you ever tried to find the words, but they don’t come out right
Have you ever, have you ever

Have you ever found the one, you’ve dreamed of all your life
You’d do anything to look into their eyes
Have you finally found the one you’ve given your heart to
Only to find that one won’t give their heart to you
Have you ever closed your eyes and dreamed that they were there
And all you can do is wait for that day when they will care

What do I gotta do to get you in my arms baby
What do I gotta do to get to your heart
To make you understand how I need you next to me
Gotta get you in my world
‘Cause baby I can’t sleep”

“That was beautiful,” Aunt Lynn commented, when we finished.
“That was awesome!” Josh said.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Thank you,” Linny said. We looked at each other smiling. I thought about how in just a week or so, Linny was going to turn seventeen and then in about a little more than a month, I was going to turn fifteen. I couldn’t wait.

Chapter 3
Tours

Arriving at Aunt Lynn’s house, Josh said he’d give us a tour before we did anything. From the outside, I could tell there was a probably a site to see on the inside. It was two stories, an attic, and I was guessing there was also a basement--I was right.
“With this big house, why aren’t there may spare rooms?” I asked.
“You will see,” he replied leading us in. In the basement, all there was a quite large family room with a big
screen TV with VCR, and there was a large stereo with CD’s piled all around it and a cupboard filled with CD’s also.
“Wow,” I said. Jokingly, I asked, “Do you think I could live down here?” Josh laughed, and shaking his head ran up the stairs, Linny and I following. On the first floor, there was only a front hall (to the right a coat closet) that led into a large living room, then to the right of that was a large kitchen, and pantry, to the left of the living room was a bathroom and a back door that led into the garage. On the second floor, there was a bathroom the size of a bedroom, Aunt Lynn and Uncle John’s bedroom, Josh’s bedroom, and the spare room of his dad’s friend. In the attic was Linny’s room, and the really messy spare room.
“Who’s the friends you were talking about?” I asked Josh after he showed Linny her room for the summer.
“The ones across the street?” he asked me as if I knew.
“I don’t know!” I cried.
“Okay, so it is,” he said, leading me out of the house.

Chapters Four to Six
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