The last time Nancy had seen her uncle, he had followed her down to the airport and before her take off down to North Carolina, he had told her one thing the girl had held on to.
"The house has been sold out, I don't know why I am just hearing that but your dad made a business bet with some people and now that he is no longer available, all his properties are for them… but I will find out what happened and why it is happening, I will make sure I get it back for you", he had promised.
Nancy's heart sank as she stared at her Uncle who was standing next to Aunt Kat.
The lady who was surprised to see her niece and did not think she would be home quickly adopted a smiley expression to brush off her surprise.
She chuckled nervously.
"Hey, I didn't know you were back", Aunt Kat said.
"Hey Nancy, you are looking, even more, prettier than the last time I saw you", Uncle Rob said trying to ignore the little awkwardness and hoping the girl had not heard their conversation.
Nancy did not know how to feel with everything she heard, at that moment she was not excited to see Uncle Rob anymore, but there was nothing she would do but hug her Uncle who had traveled from New York to see her.
She let out a smile and walked towards Uncle Rob, he welcomed her in his embrace and smiled at the girl as she took a step back.
"When did you arrive? I was in the bathroom and didn't hear you come in", Nancy lied.
Uncle Rob and Aunt Kat glanced at each other as the lady let out a sigh of relief, she walked toward her leftover alcohol on the table.
"I just arrived now, it feels so good to see you again", Uncle Rob said.
Nancy could not stop thinking of what he had said, and why he wanted her to not return to New York City, she had a lot of questions to ask her Uncle but at that moment she masked all her emotions and talked freely with her Uncle.
The house was filled with the sweet aroma of chicken and the table was immediately set by Nancy with the help of her uncle, they both laughed as they did this.
"It is glad to know you two are this close, when Nancy got here, she would not even smile at me… she is one stubborn girl", Aunt Kat said as she put down the roasted chicken on a tray.
"Stop being jealous Kat, I should even be more jealous since Nancy gets to stay with you…", Uncle Rob said as he sat down, he turned to his niece who was still arranging the plates on the table.
"She is lucky to have you".
Nancy snorted on hearing her uncle, she gently placed the spoon next to the plates and sat opposite her uncle.
Aunt Kat joined them with the full chicken, she put it down gently with the glove in her hand, she also brought the salad she had made earlier to complete their meal.
They all started eating after a short while.
"So Nancy, how is school going? Have you made any friends, I bet you have… right?", Uncle Rob asked while looking at the girl who was chewing gently on the soft chicken.
Nancy nodded and answered.
"Yes, I have a few and they are the best… it was not easy at first… Aunt Kat can testify to that".
Uncle Rob turned to the lady waiting for an addition of what his niece had said.
"Yes, she is right…", the lady answered while passing herself some salad.
"Well, the good news is you have friends now right? As time goes on you will enjoy North Carolina more…", the man said, he smiled at his niece and then looked down at his food to keep eating.
Aunt Kat took a glance to see Nancy's reaction, she kept eating before the girl would notice her suspicious look.
The lady was not excited about Uncle Rob's new suggestion, Nancy always loved New York and it was unfair to send her down there at first, even though ever since the girl had arrived, it had been the best for her but Nancy's choice was all that mattered. It is even more unfair to her now that she would not be returning to New York.
Nancy paused as she stared at her uncle, what she heard was true, her uncle wanted her to stay in Raleigh.
She was not the one to react quickly so she ignored it and kept eating.
"You know North Carolina University has a lot of educational facilities, they are considered one of the best in the United States… have you guys had your college fair yet… you should…"
The clinking of Nancy's spoon dropping on her plate interrupted her uncle.
Aunt Kat looked at Nancy who had stopped eating.
The girl instantly felt a lot of disappointment, her eyebrows drawn together as she stared down at her food.
"You promised to make sure my parent's house would not get sold before sending me off here…", she said in a quavering voice.
Nancy looked up and they could her teary eyes.
"You told me to leave New York and come down here and I listened to you, even though I wanted to stay more in the house I was given birth to, the house I spent nineteen years of my life in with my parent… you asked me to leave and I did, promising you would get it back",
Aunt Kat's heart dropped on hearing Nancy's voice, she realized the girl had heard all their conversation. She looked at Uncle Rob who had also stopped eating and was staring back at Nancy.
"Why are you here Uncle? To tell me the news about the house being finally sold or about me staying here forever and never returning to New York?… are you even here to see me? Do you even wanna check on me or to tell me how I would stay here forever?", Nancy exclaimed.
"Nancy", Aunt Kat said.
The girl stood up and stared down at her uncle.
"Well congratulations, you did already… I hope you enjoy your stay with Aunt Kat", Nancy said, narrowing her eyes at Uncle Rob.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she walked towards the door.
"I am here to see you Nancy, I came to check on you!", Uncle Rob said while hurrying up but it was too late, the girl had walked out of the house.
"Nancy…", Aunt Kat hurried up and followed her, Uncle Rob followed.
They got out and saw Nancy in the distance, running farther away from the house.
"Why won't you just give her a break, must you make it super obvious she needed to stay, you know how much Nancy loves NYC", Aunt Kat said in an angry tone before walking back in.
Uncle Rob stood there and could still see Nancy in a far distance, still running.
6:20 pm (Mrs. Williams apartment)
Jada had waited for Nancy at the front of the house, immediately she saw her friend approaching the house, she hurried towards her and saw how red her eyes was.
She allowed Nancy in and they both walked to her room.
Nancy told Jada about everything that happened starting from how her parent had died and all her dream shattered in her face, and now the current decision of her Uncle.
Jada held Nancy's hand throughout the conversation as she listened carefully to her friend who was sobbing as she talked, this was the first time she would open up to her, and seeing Nancy's tears broke her heart.
"I am so sorry Nancy, come here", Jada said in a worried voice, she moved closer to her friend and hugged her.
Nancy needed that hug, she held on to her friend and sobbed quietly in her arms.
After a while, the door to Jada's room was gently opened and Mrs. Williams peeped in, her eyes met Jada's eyes, the girl who had seen her mother, shook her head gently warning her not to come in.
The woman who was on a call gently closed the door on seeing the two girls hugging, she tip toed back to her room.
"Yes I just saw her now with Jada… what on earth did y'all do for that lovely child to be that sad?", Mrs. Williams said on the phone with Aunt Kat.
Nancy sniffed as she stopped hugging her friend.
"I can't believe this…", Jada gasped while staring at her friend, she knew she needed to say something to take off Nancy from the sad mood she was in.
Nancy stared at her friend confused at what Jada meant.
"What?", she said in a low voice.
"I can't believe you would still remain this cute even when crying, have you seen me while crying?, I literally look like Sideshow bob from the Simpsons", Jada said.
Nancy burst into laughter when she realized who she was referring to, Jada also laughed along with her friend.
"You are crazy", Nancy said, still laughing with Jada.