Blur

Rory looked solemnly out the window, watching the scenery passing by quickly. Every now and then, she would glance up to the front of the car, where her mom and Liam were sitting. She sighed dramatically and saw her twin shake his head in annoyment.

"Mom," she whined, once again. "Why does Liam get to sit in the front? Aren't we supposed to be taking turns?"

"Rory, he's not the reason we're in this car right now, is he?" was her only reply.

That had been her only reply the entire trip, actually. So what? Rory had gotten herself into a little bit of trouble during her time in New York, but she left her mark, didn't she? She left an impression. That was all that mattered to her at the time. To be remembered.

"Whatever," she mumbled, leaning back into the seat.

Liam chuckled under his breath and it took all of her concentration to not sit back up and hit him on the head. She knew that he was excited about moving. Mainly because people wouldn't know who they were, and that Rory was his sister, but also because their cousins happened to live there. Yay. Note the sarcasm.

She eventually fell asleep, leaving behind any thought of the move. That is, until she was shaken awake and brought roughly out of her dreams by Liam, his face only inches from her's, causing her to jump when she opened her eyes.

"Liam, get away from me," Rory mumbled, pushing him away.

"Well you might want to think about getting up," he said, laughing. "Because we're here."

Her eyes widened and she was suddenly very awake. She glared at her brother, silently daring him to say another word. But he knew better, of course, and walked away, a box in hand. By the time Rory made it through the front door, Liam had already made his way upstairs.

"Rory," he called down the stairs.

She simply rolled her eyes and followed his voice, finding him standing in the middle of the first room on the right.

"What do you want?"

He smirked at her, walking to where she stood and throwing an arm around her shoulder.

"I call this room. So don't even think about taking it from me."

Rory shook her head, walking back down the hall.

"Do whatever you like, Liam. You always do anyway."

"So true."



Rory sat on her bed, glad that they had finally finished moving all the furniture into the house. It was noon now and she had the rest of the day to waste. There were piles of boxes lining her bedroom walls, waiting to be unpacked, but she ignored them, walking to the window and looking out at the backyard.

Rory opened the window, climbing out and sitting on the roof, leaning back against the house and stretching her legs out. But all too soon, her bedroom door opened and in came her mother, her phone pressed to her ear.

"Rory?"

Rory put her head back through the window.

"What?"

Her mom gave her a disapproving look, but continued anyway.

"We're going over to see your aunt for dinner. Be ready to leave by five."

And with that, she retreated back into the hallway, laughing into the phone at some unheard comment. Rory had always gotten along with her cousins. But that's where the affection stopped. They had only really been tolerant of one another. The Kirches made a perfect family. Rory's family though... Well, they were mediocre at best.

"Kill me now," she muttered, returning to the rooftop.



Rory watched in annoyance as her mom squealed in delight at the sight of her sister. Rory, herself, couldn't care less about seeing her aunt and uncle, and she could definately go without seeing Tim and Pat. Liam, on the other hand, was almost, if not more, excited to see them than their mom was. Rory wrinkled her nose, baring through the hugs and fake smiles. They all at least had an idea as to why they were here. Didn't they?

"Hey Rory, we're gonna go play some video games if you wanted to come..." Pat trailed off, looking back at her and biting his lip.

She simply shook her head and gave him a small smile, watching as her brother followed their two cousins excitedly, chanting something about killing zombies. Great. Now she had two choices. Sit with her mom as she caught up with her aunt and uncle. Gag. Or, she could go sit outside on the curb and smoke a cigarette. Yes, that's exactly what she wanted at the moment.

She quietly made her way out the front door, walking down to the curb and sitting down. Why was it still so warm out? So maybe there was one good thing about Arizona. The weather. Rory lost track of time as she watched the sun go down, eventually disppearing completely, the moon taking its place.

"That must be something you picked up recently," came a voice from behind her.

Tim sat down beside her, frowning.

"Because I don't remember you smoking the last time you came to visit."

She simply nodded her head.

"A bad habit I picked up in New York, I guess," she said quietly.

They were silent for a few moments before Tim continued.

"You know, Rory, I don't know what happened back in New York, and I'm not sure I want to know, but whatever it was, it's in the past and it's probably best you keep it there. You're getting the chance to start over, and a lot of people never get a chance like that."

Rory didn't speak, didn't even acknowledge his comment, but put out her cigarette and stood up, walking back to the house. She didn't care about anything he had to say, even if he was only trying to help.