After the Sunday full of many conversations, I go back to school for the week. School isn't as bad as it usually is. Cassandra doesn't bother me, and I'm actually looked at with some respect from some of my peers. And, of course, Alli is there bringing laughter and fun.

Things go well with my uncle for the whole week. We smile at each other and actually talk without fighting. Emma is overjoyed by it all, and she makes it known to me throughout the week by telling me, hugging me, and making all of my favorite meals. Nothing bad happens between us like Alli said it would, which makes me wonder if I should be worried or happy

The only bad thing about the week is that Nick can't be found anywhere. I check at Mrs. Caldwell's shop multiple times, but he isn't ever there. I even check at his house a few times, but every single time I go I'm told that he's not there.

By Saturday, I'm irritated and worried, so I do the last thing on my list; I go to my uncle's office in town. If Nick is getting ready to release a new single, he's bound to be talking about everything with my uncle. I open the door to my uncle's office and am greeted by the same condescending receptionist from when I first visited my uncle a few months ago.

"I'm here to see my Uncle Sam," I state.

She looks at me with the same look of distain, but she doesn't question me as she picks up the phone. Mr. Erickson, your niece is here to see you," she says into it.

She receives a reply. She nods, sets the phone back down, and then goes back to her computer. I wait for a few minutes, but she doesn't look over at me. I even clear my throat, but I still get nothing. I sniff and pretend to sneeze, but still, I receive nothing.

When all my patience runs out, I ask, "May I go in or not?"

The woman jumps and looks at me with surprise. "You're still here? I thought I told you that he's in an important meeting with someone and that you'll have to leave."

I roll my eyes. "You definitely didn't tell me, so please excuse me."

Thinking that I'm leaving, the woman smiles with content. That's when I surprise her. I quickly walk past her desk to the back where my uncle's office is. She calls after me, but I ignore her and open the door.

When I open the door, I am greeted with a different scene than what I was expecting. Instead of my uncle and Nick, it's my uncle and a middle-aged man. My uncle stops mid-sentence and looks at me. The man turns around to see what my uncle is looking at.

"Maya," my uncle says in a dangerously low voice, "I thought I said for you to wait until my meeting was over."

I raise an eyebrow. "You're secretary told me that I had to leave the office, but I didn't believe her."

He glares at me in irritation. I ignore the glare and turn my attention to the middle-aged man. His brown hair is beginning to turn to a silver gray, and his face looks fairly familiar. Even his blue eyes look familiar, and I soon find out why.

The middle-aged man stands up and offers his hand. I shake his hand as he says, "I'm Mr. Caldwell-- Nick's dad. I've heard a lot about you."

"Nice to meet you. I'm sorry for interrupting your meeting. I'll just wait outside the door," I tell him as I let go of his hand.

"Nonsense! We were just about to finish the meeting. The rest of the details can be discussed over the phone. Besides, I must get going," Mr. Caldwell replies.

He turns to Uncle Sam, shakes his hand, says something to him in a whisper, and then leaves. I turn back to Uncle Sam after the door closes behind Mr. Caldwell. At this point, my uncle is sitting back down in his chair.

"I'm really sorry about interrupting your meeting. I thought you were with Nick," I explain.

My uncle just shakes his head and asks, "And, that makes barging in okay? In my book it doesn't. Maya, how could you be so careless? They're my best clients at the moment, and I can't have you acting so foolishly in front of them. Good gosh, Maya, act like your seventeen, not some crazy thirteen year old fan."

I stare at him with anger boiling inside of me. When I finally speak, I'm yelling. "I can't believe you just said that! I said I was sorry. Good grief, I can't believe I ever thought everything would be okay with us!"

My uncle stands up and loudly replies, "Don't yell at me, Maya. I still deserve some respect."

I roll my eyes and stand up to leave. "Yeah, I'm sure you think you do, but it doesn't work like that, at least not in my book. You get respect when you treat me with respect, so I'm leaving."

My uncle opens his mouth to say something, but I shake my head and walk out. I run out of his office, past his smug secretary, and down the street back to the house. Instead of going inside, I go straight back to the beach. I take my shoes off and throw them at the house.

I wipe away small tears forming in my eyes and slow my pace to a walk. I reach the shoreline and walk ankle deep into the water. I take my hair out of my ponytail and let the wind blow it around. I take a deep breath and close my eyes, letting the monotonous sound of the wind and water bring a cloud of peace.

"Maya?" a voice asks from behind me.

I'd recognize that voice anywhere, so without opening my eyes or turning around to see who it is, I say, "I really don't want to talk to you right now, Nick."

His deep voice replies, "I know you don't, so you don't have to talk. I'll talk."

I shake my head and take another deep breath. "What more do you have to say? I really don't want to hear it."

"Maya, I'm going to talk, and I need you to listen. I'm so sorry for what I said last week. I was a jerk with the way I put things, and I admit that fully. I didn't put things the way I should have. You mean a lot to me, and I wouldn't want to hurt you in any way," he explains.

I open my eyes and turn to look at him. He's only inches away from me as I quietly say, "All I want to know is why you're leaving."

He groans and runs his fingers through his hair. "Maya, you know I can't do that."

I roll my eyes and shake my head. "No, I don't know. In fact, I know nothing about this situation. I've been foolish enough. I can't deal with you right now. Goodbye."

I walk past him but stop when I hear him say, "Don't let me leave like this. I don't want to go to New York City and think that I'll never hear from you again. I don't want to have the thought of you mad at me."

I turn around and whisper, "I'm not mad. I'm just having a bad day and am confused. If anything, I'm a little irritated that you won't tell me why. I'll miss you Nick, but it's time for you to go back where you belong."

He gives me a sad smile. "I'll miss you too, but I'll come back. I promise. In the meantime, do you think you could help with the festival planning?"

"The festival? I thought you told me you weren't leaving until it was planned?" I question.

"It is planned. There just needs to be a responsible person here to make sure everything will go according to plan. A friend of mine, Nicole Hart, will be coming down to help set up everything, and I told her that you would be the one calling all the shots," he explains.

I nod slowly. "Fine."

He steps closer to me and whispers, "Thank you. I'll give all the information about Nicole and the workers to your uncle to give to you. And Maya, I promise I'll always stay your friend. This isn't goodbye."

I take a deep breath. "We'll see. Good luck, Nick."

I give him small smile before turning around and walking away. When my back is turned, I let the tears fall. I should never have gotten my hopes up. I should never have allowed myself to be as opens as I was. I fiercely wipe my tears away with my hand and tell myself that I can't be that girl who cries over a guy, especially when I know that it was never a possibility.

I pick up my shoes that I threw earlier and walk inside the house. Uncle Sam is sitting in the living room when I enter, and he jumps up the minute he sees me. I begin to walk past him. I don't know if I can deal with another argument with him right now.

"Maya, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you the way I did. I shouldn't have said the horrible words I said. Will you please forgive me?" he apologizes, stopping me in my tracks.

New tears fall as I drop my shoes and run over to him to give him a hug. "I do forgive you, and I'm so sorry for what I said. I lost my temper, and I don't want things to go back to the way they were before. Please forgive me."

Uncle Sam hugs me tight and and replies. "I forgive you. Let's start fresh."

I pull out of the hug and nod. "Yes, please."

He smiles and leads me to the dining room where Emma is setting the table for dinner. My uncle assists her and then goes into the kitchen to help her finish making the meal. When dinner is ready, we all sit at the table and eat dinner. We talk about many different topics.

I smile and laugh when it's appropriate, but deep down, I know that I need to talk to someone about how I'm feeling. Dinner soon finishes, and I go upstairs to my room after telling Emma and my uncle that I'm going to bed. That's a complete lie, but they seem to believe it.

I get my laptop out and pull up my neglected story. I stare at it, searching for something to write in it, but nothing comes. I sigh and pull up my blog. I know that I want to write something, but I don't know how exactly I can put it. I'm about to start typing something when a soft knock comes on my door.

Emma's head pokes around the door, and she asks, "You okay, Maya? You didn't seem like yourself at dinner."

I close my laptop and shrug. "I don't know anymore."

Emma gives me a comforting smile and walks over to where I'm sitting on my bed. "Want to talk about it?" she asks.

I motion for her to sit down, and she sits down on the side of the bed. "I'm just upset about Nick leaving. He's running away again."

Emma raises her eybrow. "He's running away again?"

I nod. "Before I got to really know him, I told him that he was running from something. That's why he came to Clearwater Bay. Now, he's running back to what he originally ran from."

"What did he run from, if you don't mind me asking?" Emma replies.

"His life. At least, that's what I'm assuming. I think he was running from the fame that he had. I think he was tired of being recognized everywhere he went, and I think he didn't want to deal with some stuff going on in the industry," I tell Emma.

Emma gives me a smile and shakes her head like she can't believe it. "I'm impressed. You're much more observant than I thought."

"What?"

"Your uncle offered Nick that record deal on his new record company because Nick had just left his record company. He apparently wasn't getting to do what he wanted to do, so he was through with it. I heard that it was a major scandal, along with some other rumors surrounding him," Emma explains.

"I never knew that," I say.

"Not many know. But Maya, why do you say he's running back to what he ran from? He has to promote his album and single. He can't do that from here."

I take a deep breath and say, "I don't know if I'm being the smartest person by telling you this, but I guess it's now or never. He almost kissed me. Then, the next day he told me he was leaving. He told me that he sees me as a good friend."

Emma sighs. "Oh, Maya. Is that why you're upset? You want to be more than friends?"

I blush. "No. Well, yes. Wait. I don't even know anymore," I groan.

"Maya, you're young, and he's young. You have so much to look forward to in the next few months. You're having a birthday, and you're graduating. Be happy," Emma tells me.

I shake my head. "I convinced myself that I might have a chance with him. I didn't even realize that until now. I turned myself around for a person who isn't even worth it. What was I thinking?"

A commanding look comes over Emma's face, and she stand up and commandingly says, "No, Maya. You didn't change for him. You changed because you grew. You changed because it was what you knew needed to happen. You're a better person, and I'm not going to let you think it was because you wanted to impress a guy."

I'm surprised by her commanding demeanor, so I stammer, "I-I didn't mean it like that. I-I was just rambling."

"Maya Walker, I'm going to tell you this once, so I need you to listen closely. You're you. You're your own genuine you. You've changed because you went on a search for yourself. Maybe Nick helped you start your search, but I know Alli did too. You've found a part of you that was missing, and you need to hold onto it. Hold onto all the missing pieces until you've found them all."

I slowly nod at her words. And, for the fourth time in one day, tears flow. Emma smiles at me and pulls me into a hug until I stop crying. When I do stop crying, I lean back and look at the woman who gave me wisdom that I'll never ever forget.

"Thank you so much," I say.

She nods and leaves with just three words, "Keep finding yourself."