Emily's POV*
"So Emily, did you grow up in LA?" Lisa asks, as we all dig into the delicious food she cooked.
She really went all out. There's everything here.
"No, I actually grew up in Denver, Colorado" I said and she nods her head.
"How did you guys meet?" Cameron asks, and I tensed up almost instantly.
I cleared my throat and Grayson grabbed my hand in his. "Well it's a funny story actually" I started.
"My best friend Madison, Ethan's girlfriend, and I moved to LA a while ago. And Madison went out to get to get some food, and she left for a while. A long while" I said and Grayson chuckled.
"Turns out Madison was busy chatting up Ethan and they went to get breakfast without me!" I explained and everyone laughed.
"So, I went out looking for Madison and I happened to sit down on a bench beside Grayson. He over heard my conversation with Maddie on the phone and then asked me if I wanted help to find them, since neither of them were answering their phones"
"We ended off hitting it off and here we are" Grayson added, smiling at me.
"You two are too cute" Lisa smiled in awe. "How come you and your friend moved to LA, Emily?" Sean asked and I froze.
"Dad-" Grayson said but I cut him off. "It's okay Gray" I assured him, placing my hand on his knee.
I cleared my throat. "Um, my mom left me and my dad when I was 11 years old" I began, and already seeing their reaction made me want to cry.
"My dad turned to alcohol, I guess to take the pain away. He began losing his mind and eventually the alcohol took over him" I took a deep breath and Grayson squeezed my hand.
"He just got angrier and angrier, and he took the pain out on me. H-He hit me and abused me, but Madison got it worse. My dad didn't do it too often"
"Madison dads did it to her everyday. People noticed it at school and they bullied us for it" I said and Lisa looked like she was on the verge of tears.
"Eventually, we got tired of it, and decided to run away. And that's exactly why I'm here" I smiled at the end, looking over at Grayson.
"I'm so sorry. If I knew I wouldn't of asked-"
"It's fine. It feels good to get it off my chest again" I said and they all smiled.
"Why don't we do something fun. To lighten the mood?" Lisa suggested.
***
"Ice skating? Really?" I chuckled at Lisa.
She smiled. "It's super fun. I used to take Gray and E here all the time. They loved it when they were kids" she said.
"Yep and I've known how to skate ever since..."
"Cmon Em, let's get you some skates" Grayson said, grabbing my hand and pulling me to the desk.
I told the man my shoe size and he got me some skates. We sat down at a bench, and Grayson helped me get my skates on.
"You ready?" He asked me.
I stepped onto the ice rink not letting go of Grayson's arm, still barely standing.
