[xx Leila xx]

Kelsea threw her skates in her bag and said, "Okay. I'm ready to go."

"Yeah, okay. By the way, as a warning...I brought Mark's car." Kelsea giggled. Their twenty-three-year-old brother Mark had the most trashed car anyone had ever seen. The back window was cracked, the back bumper was falling off, and paint was peeling off in large sheets in various areas around the car,each revealing different-colored layers of chipped paint. Not to mention that the whole car was covered in Mark's garbage and belongings, and the whole car smelled like..well, Kelsea had never been able to identify that smell. It wasn't unpleasant, just really weird.

"Bye, Sam!" called Kelsea as she exited the rink. Jeremy rolled his eyes. He poked Kelsea in the arm.

"Kels, it seems to me that you like Samantha more than you like anyone in your own family."

Kelsea sighed and pushed some of her auburn-red hair away from her face. "There are days I would think that true," she mumbled. "Based on the amount of support I get from my family...the only people who love me more than Sam does are you and Ben." Ben was Kelsea's boyfriend, whom she adored.

Jeremy decided not to answer. He knew that his parents loved Kelsea, the baby of the family, and would be hurt to hear her say what had just come out of her careless mouth. Jeremy was pretty sure that Kelsea loved her parents, too, but she sometimes spoke without thinking.

But it was true that neither of their parents were fond of Kelsea's love for skating. Their mother especially was always telling to Kelsea to "quit fooling around, so you can get into college and get a real job." The only reason Kelsea was able to take her private skating lessons was that her parents agreed to pay for them as long as kept her grades up. This wasn't too hard; Kelsea had always been a child prodigy. She had learned to read at three years old.

"Jeremy?" Kelsea nudged her brother's shoulder. "You've been staring at that wall for a while, but I can't find anything interesting about it. What's up?"

"Sorry, Kels...just thinking." Jeremy blinked. "I spaced out. Let's go home."

Brother and sister both start to get into Mark's Jeep. "Ew! Not again!" Kelsea wrinkled her nose. There was a half-eaten burger sitting on soggy paper on the passenger seat.

Jeremy nearly fell over laughing. "That would be courtesy of Mark. I could have thrown it away on my way to come get you, but I was having too much fun anticipating your reaction."

"Ugh, Jeremy...." Kelsea tossed the burger onto the concrete outside the car. Climbing into her seat, and making repulsed faces at the multiple grease stains left from seven years of Mark's lunches, she slapped her brother's arm. "You are so gross...I wish I had sisters."

Kelsea was not only the youngest in her family, but the only daughter. She had always wished she had a sister, preferably a twin. Despite what Kelsea always said, though, she loved all of her brothers, especially Jeremy. They had always guided her and protected her. It was actually their oldest brother, twenty-five-year-old Kevin, who had taught Kelsea to skate when she was four. Ever since then, Kelsea had been involved in figure skating.

Jeremy calmed himself down and started the car. "You really should have seen your face," he laughed.

"Aw, can it and drive me home," said Kelsea, but she started laughing too. I'm so glad I have Jeremy, thought Kelsea. As gross as he is, at least I have him.