Lights, Camera, Action

Hospitals Suck

NINETEEN - HOSPITALS SUCK

Alyssa's POV

It was happening. I was finally going to meet Mark's family! I was really happy when I found out that Mark was going home for a visit and he wanted me to join him. I knew that I was going to be nervous about it, but as long as I made a good first impression, that was all that mattered. Mark had told me that his mom had seen some of my videos and she really loved them, which was a plus. But, I was a girl with tattoos all over my body, depression issues, and a closet full of mostly dark clothes. I was sure that this wasn't any mother's idea of the right girl for her son. My excitement started to vanish as I thought things through.

"It's not like she hasn't seen you before, Lys. She knows how you look, and she doesn't judge you for it," Mark promised as I brought up my concerns.

"Yeah, but not all of my ink shows in the videos she's seen, probably. And she doesn't know how many issues I have..."

"It wouldn't matter even if she did! She's excited to meet you, and I guarantee that she's not a judgmental person. It'll be fine! Don't worry about it too much. All you have to do is be yourself and I promise that alone is going to impress her."

"And your brother?"

"Don't worry about Tom. The same goes for him - I've talked to him about you, he's seen you in videos...he already approves. Hakuna Matata." Yes, we had watched The Lion King recently. It was my favorite classic Disney movie, after all.

Once Mark finally had me convinced that everything was going to work out well, I officially agreed to come home with him. Aubrey and I had a busy couple of days recording lots of content so our channel would stay stocked while I was away, and I spent as much time as I could with Webster since I knew he would be mad that I was leaving. Finally, I had a suitcase packed and Mark and I were ready to go. Aubrey drove us to the airport and we made it just in time to catch our flight to Cincinnati. 

"You said you've never been to Cincinnati?" Mark asked once we were settled in our seats on the plane.

"No, I haven't. I don't really get out much when it comes to traveling," I answered. 

"Well, I'm sure you'll like it. It's a city, after all! It might not be as cool as LA or Chicago or New York, but it's still something." He had a point - I was a city girl. I missed my house out in the country in Indiana, but there was something about cities that I just loved.

When we arrived at the Cincinnati airport, my stomach dropped. Not because of the plane landing, but because I was nervous. Tom was picking us up from the airport, and I wanted to make a good first impression - better than the one with Mark and my brother.

"Don't worry about anything, Lys. My family loves you already," Mark assured me, squeezing my hand as we got off the plane. We wandered for a bit before we located Tom. I had seen him before in videos, so I recognized him right away. Dark, longer hair, brown eyes...it was obvious that they were brothers. 

"Hey bro," Tom greeted Mark before pulling him into a hug.

"Hey, it's good to see you."

"Well, are you going to introduce me, or what?" Tom smirked.

"I was getting to that! Tom, this is my girlfriend, Alyssa. Alyssa, this is my brother Tom."

"It's nice to meet you, Alyssa. Mark talks a lot of shit about you, though," he chuckled, shaking my hand.

"I do not!" Mark argued, crossing his arms.

"It's nice to meet you, Tom," I smiled.

We got to know each other a little better throughout the car ride, which surprisingly didn't feel awkward at all. I felt a little more comfortable and less nervous by the time we arrived at their mom's house. I decided that I probably shouldn't worry so much about the first impression. I couldn't mess anything up that much, anyways.