The pictures on the wall were covered in dust, but I stopped by and ran my fingers over each of them, finding Dana in each and forcing myself to enjoy the moment instead of dreading whatever the hell was going down in the kitchen. My family never fought. Never. We rarely spoke unless it was me and Mandy.
Everything seemed to die down, and I took the opportunity to walk back toward the kitchen. The last picture on the wall before I stepped to the living room grabbed me by the throat, forcing me to stop.
I pulled it off the wall and swallowed hard before glancing up to see Dana standing beside me.
"Who is this?" I whispered roughly.
"My sister." She took the picture from me. "My mother is being ridiculous. I don't know where she thinks she knows you from, but whatever it was, she's highly agitated. Let's just grab something in town and get a hotel."
I stood in stony silence, letting my eyes move back up to the picture on the wall. The beautiful girl smiling back at me had stolen my heart in a million ways and left me a broken man.
"What's her name, Dana?" I called after her, but she didn't respond.
The kitchen door opened and I didn't need validation where Dana's mother knew me from or what her sister's name was. Every horrid memory from six years before swept through my vision as the beautiful woman from my past stepped into the kitchen and turned her head toward me. The shock on her face had to echo my own.
"Kendal?" she whispered, tearing me in two with nothing more than a word.
I nodded and walked toward her. I should have known from the beginning. These things never work out well for me. Everyone else deserves love, but not me. "Hello, Ana."