~I was sitting in the car with my dad at a red light. He was teasing me, calling me a powder puff. It was 2 a.m. and he had to go pick me up from Emma's cause I got sick. By the time he showed up, I was feeling better but still wanted to go home. I whined at him, "Daddy! Stop it, please!" I look at him, giving him my best puppy dog face and try not to giggle. "Aww honey, you know I'm just teasing you." He pokes my side and I roll my eyes. I was sitting on the driver's side. It wouldn't be too long till I would be 16 with my driver's license; I needed all the practice I could get! Glancing out the side window, I see a sign advertising the new mall opening soon. I get this weird feeling of deja vu, but I shake it off. Emma will probably drag me there and make me try on so many stupid clothes... I should probably make up some excuse like how we don't have a ride because our mom's work all day- which she would probably rebuttal with the fact that my dad has Saturdays off. I should probably have some other excuses ready... When I realized my dad really wouldn't be able to take us and why I couldn't shake that feeling of deja vu because when that light turns red my whole life is going to change. I try to scream and hit the brakes, but nothing comes out, and all I can do is sit there and watch as the light turns green and the car starts moving forward all on its own, as the 18-wheeler runs his red light and all I can see are his headlights blinding me, coming straight at my dad's side of the car, glass shatters around us as everything goes dark.~
I sit up, screaming from my dream. Shaking and pulling my hair, I try to calm myself long enough to catch my breath. That felt so real... the intense pain I felt that night before passing out... I wanted to throw up right then and there.
I feel someone climb on the bed next to me, but I don't look up knowing it's Emma. She wraps her arms around me, pulling my hands from my hair.
"Shhh- calm down, it's okay." I start sobbing loudly, unable to control myself. My bedroom door opened with my brother and Zack coming in with pool sticks, looking ready for a fight. "What's going on?!" I just sat there shaking and crying, unable to talk.
"She had a bad dream I'm guessing. I don't know yet, she hasn't said anything." My brother sits down on the other side and makes me look at him.
"Aria calm down, tell me what the dream was about." I sobbed loudly and said with a quivering voice. "I- I- It ...wwwas- *hic* ...about...d- d- d- *hic* daddy ...a-nd ....the wreeeeccckkkk." *sob*
I couldn't control it anymore, I started crying harder. He sighed and his face softened. "It's okay, I'm here for you... Everything's going to be okay." His voice cracks a little. I shook my head.
"No! It's not- he's not here! He's gone and never coming back..." They both tightened their arms around me and just sat there; letting me cry till I had no more tears left in me. After who-knows-how-long, I was barely shaking anymore.
"I'm sorry you guys." Emma set back. "Don't worry, darling... You know I'm always here for you and so is Andrew." My brother reaches over to my nightstand and grabs a glass of water, handing it to me. I take it wondering when Zack had left to get it. I take a sip, not realizing how thirsty I really was and how sore my throat was.
"Emma is right, we are all here for you so don't worry about it." I sigh, really wanting to change the subject. I look over and see that it's 12:00 a.m. "I'm sorry for *sniffle* waking you guys up..."
"You didn't. We were just hanging out listening to music and playing pool." My brother gives a slight smile. "Yeah and I was kicking your brother's ass!" Huh, I guess that explains the pool sticks.
"Oh? You're just having some good luck. Trust me; if we go again, I will so beat you." I knew he was trying to lighten the mood, but I just didn't have the energy to force a reaction. I just wanted to let my body curl over itself and do nothing.
"Would you guys want to play a round?" He asked slowly, unsure if that is the right thing to do. Emma rubs my back and speaks to me in a soft whisper.
"What do you feel like doing? Wanna try to get your mind off things, just for a little bit?" My throat tightened at the thought of moving. My heart feels heavy and I just can't shake this horrible feeling.
It was like I was re-living the accident all over again and the pain was too much so I just weakly shook my head. "I- just want to be alone for a moment." Andrew hears me and leans in.
"That's fine. How about a quick snack?" I just shake my head and stare down, not really focused on anything. Andrew gets up and as if by an unspoken action, Zach and him leave the room. Emma gets up and rubs her arm.
"I guess I'll... just... be across the hall for a bit. Try not to think about it too much and get some sleep. I love you..." She seemed to wait a moment too long in silence. I got the feeling she wanted me to return the phrase.
"I love you too, Em." Once she shut my door I let my body fall back. I hugged my pillow and closed my eyes thankfully, drifting into a dreamless sleep.
I sit up on my bed, stretching and looking around. Where the heck is Emma? I heard laughter coming from downstairs and decided to go check it out.
As I get down the stairs, I see my mom making breakfast and Emma sitting at the kitchen counter. I heard my mom explaining some cooking recipes to Emma. "Well good morning, honey. How did you sleep?" The question shocked me but I was quick to brush it off before...
I walk over to the fridge and pour me a glass of orange juice. "I slept okay, I guess..." She smiles flipping over a pancake.
"Oh, honey, would you mind waking the boys up and say that breakfast is almost done? And tell your brother he needs to mow the lawn today.
"Yeah, mom. No problem" I set my orange juice down and walk back upstairs. When I knock on Andrew's door, I hear a grunt come from the other side. I knock louder.
"Go away." My brother says in a groggy voice. I knock louder and yell, "MOM SAID TO GET YOUR LAZY BUTT OUT OF BED AND COME DOWNSTAIRS TO EAT! THEN MOW THE LAWN!" Giving another round of rapid knocks on the door, I heard, "Alright! Just stop yelling." I smiled, knowing I had won, before walking downstairs.
My mom and Emma were staring at me, trying to calm down from laughing. "Aria, did you really have to yell?" She asked, shaking her head at me.
"Well, yeah. He wouldn't have gotten up if I hadn't, mom." She just turns back around. I stand next to her, watching her flip the yummy pancakes. I look over at Emma who is reading a text. "What's up, Emma?" She looks up at me. "Oh, it's just from Liam. He wants to come over and go swimming."
"That sounds umm... fun." My brother makes it downstairs just as I'm grabbing my orange juice. As he passed me, my drink was taken right out of my hand. Shocked, I turn and see him stealing a big swig of my drink!
"What the heck! That's mine, you big butt!" I grab the spatula next to me and I throw it at my brother. As if anticipating it, he ducks to the side and it flies past Emma. "Hey, watch it! I didn't do anything!" I start laughing so hard.
"Haha- I am so sorry Em! I didn't mean to do that, forgive me!" I smile at her still laughing. She huffs and glares me down. "Mrs. Nova!" Emma whines, knowing full well that we would get scolded.
"Aria! Andrew! You two cut it out and stop acting like children." Oh no, we are in trouble.
"Yes, Mom..." me and Andrew say in unison. I look at Emma and Zack who are trying to hide their laughter. My mom, quick as a whip, says to them, "And you two, stop egging them on and get the table ready." They both look down. "Yes, Mrs. Nova."
We soon were all sitting down at the table, talking about what we were going to do today. My mom pulled me aside. Apparently, Andrew had told her about my nightmare. She asked me if I wanted to start talking to a therapist again. I politely declined but told her I would keep an open mind. Talking to one never helped me.
Emma and I went upstairs to change into our swimsuits. I change into a one-piece to help me hide my scars. Gone are the days of my two pieces.
We went downstairs and grabbed towels and water bottles and waited on Liam. "What are you two girls up to?" My brother and Zack walked in. They had grass all over them. "We are going to go swimming with Liam in a bit."
"Sweet, let's go get ours." They start to walk off. "Uhhh, who said you were invited?" I smirked at him. "Listen, little sis, it's my house also. Plus, I'm older so get over it." He walked away before I could say anything back.
The doorbell rang and I ran to let Liam in. We all walked outside while Liam told us how beautiful we looked in our bathing suits. Emma flipped her hair saying that she knew; I just rolled my eyes and jumped in the pool letting the cold water shock my system. Liam just looked at me with his mouth open.
"Girl, how can you just jump in there like that? Isn't it cold?" I looked up and shrugged. "I guess I just have bigger balls than you." Liam stood at the steps, crossing his arms, still not getting in the pool. Emma, on the other hand, was easing to the second step.
The backdoor opened and I saw Zack stepping out, looking amazing in his lime green swim trunks. I sunk into the pool, where the water was just below my nose. I couldn't stop staring! Lucky for me, he was still talking to my brother, or else he would have seen my intense stare. I think I would have died of embarrassment.
Suddenly, we make eye contact and my heart skips a beat. He smiles and runs to jump in the pool. I had to dive out of the way to avoid the splash. He popped out of the water, quickly running his hand back over his hair.
"WHOA! That's cold!" His body tensed, flexing his muscles, displaying just how cold the water was. I could have fainted right then and there. After that my brother and Liam got in. Liam swam over to Emma and dunked her. "Hey, you butt! What the heck was that for?"
"Sorry, but you shouldn't be such an easy target." She gave him a tiddy-twister and I started laughing. "Who wants to play chicken?" My brother asked. "I'm in! Wanna be my partner, Aria?" Zack asks me. I almost went to heaven and all I could do was nod.
"Well, I'm not having a dude between my legs, so let me be the ref." Liam swam over to the side and pulled himself up. His timing couldn't have been worse, Emma and I had just reached our chicken partners.
"That's not what I heard, Liam. Come on, Emma. It's time for you and me to beat these fools!" My brother said before going underwater. Zack looked at me with a confident gaze, and it took all my mental power to not think about Liam's comment.
He put me on his shoulders and I almost went to hell. "Alright! Aria, you ready to lose?" Emma said while having her arms out. "Oh bring it, missy!" My brother and Zack moved forward as Em and I grabbed each other's hands. Emma gave a quick glance to the boys below, wiggling her eyebrows to convey an unsaid comment. We both were in a happy place.
I shook my head and started pushing her backwards. I have to admit, Emma is pretty strong but I have always been stronger. The boys below were trying to kick each other under the water, trash-talking. Emma used her arm like a wind blade to set off my grip, resetting my attack.
"You don't got a chance, Aria! We've got the sun on my side!" She turned her hips and Andrew obeyed. I tried to hold her in place as they moved my team to face the sun. I pushed my hips to make Zack get closer, I needed to pull my finishing move. Grabbing her hands, I yanked them towards us after a while of her trying to resist. I leaned forward and say in her ear.
"The only sun you'll see is me shining down on both of you." I finally pushed her back and she lost her balance, falling into the water. Both mine and Zack's hands shot up in victory. I ended up falling back, but I was pulled up into a winner's hug with Zack. And I just have to say, O.M.G! This is the highlight of my summer.
"We make a pretty good team, huh Aria?" Zack looked down, smiling that heart-stopping smile. Oh, if only you knew how much I wish we could be more. "Y'all are dirty cheaters!" Andrew says, jumping out of the water.
"Sounds like a sore loser to me!." Zack winked at me and I blushed. I saw Emma give me a thumbs up before yanking Liam into the pool. If I didn't know any better, I would think Zack was flirting with me. On the note, Zack suddenly picked me up and started tickling me.
"No! Zack, stop that! Ha ha ha!" I managed to splash him before he threw me. Was he flirting with me? I hope he was. I swam over to him getting a little nervous. But I needed to get revenge, and so I tried dunking him. Too bad he was taller and stronger than me, he grabbed, dunking me underwater, laughing as he did. Okay, now I am pretty sure he was flirting with me. All this laughing just made me remember how much I loved coming out here...
I usually spent my whole summer out here. But this year I didn't, and I don't know why. With my mind on that track, it slowly starts to click together... because every summer my father would have this giant cookout.
We would invite our neighbors and got to invite as many friends as we wanted. Not that I ever had many friends but my few good ones were enough. but this summer was different. He was gone. The man that brought everyone together; gone, just like that.
It's crazy to think about now. If only we could've known that last year was going to be the last cookout with the greatest dad in the world? I can't hear any more of his cringy jokes. I won't ever hear his laugh again. My eyes instinctively found the grill he used to use, still in the same spot by the patio.
The thought of never seeing him, proudly standing at the grill felt like someone had just punched me in the stomach. My heart was being squeezed and my throat started hurting. And it was all. My. Fault.
Damnit. I knew I was about to cry, so before I let the pain completely take over, I jumped out of the pool. When I heard Emma call after me, I just mumbled something along the lines of sorry. I ran into the house with tears streaming down my face and my hand over my mouth, concealing a sob. The only thought in my mind was 'how come I made it out alive and he didn't?' Why did it have to be him and not me? He didn't deserve to die! He's worth so much more than a nobody like me...
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Poor Aria for having all that guilt for something that wasn't her fault! So what do you guys think of Zack? :P Sorry for dropping another short chapter on you guys but you love me! Drop a comment you guys and....well you know the drill! I hope you guys keep enjoying the book! Love you guys. Picture up top is the swimsuit ^^
Xoxo Night <3