Our Time Will Come - An After Story

149

Charlie

She's talking, talking and ..oh.. she's talking! She's talking so fast that I can barely grasp what she is saying. How many cans of red bull did this girl drink before coming here? "Emery!" I glare at her in the hopes that she'll stop with the craziness. "No, Charlie. You can't blame me for thinking what I thought." She stomps her feet, before continuing to waffle on. I completely zone out at this point whilst patiently waiting for her to finish. I find myself reflecting on my week and wondering how the hell it ended up like this.

Considering how anxious I was about this whole trip, It's been an eventful few days to say the least. I've never travelled alone, hell, I've barely travelled at all, but time was ticking and I had a choice to make. I had been offered two scholarships, both in places that I had never stepped foot in. I knew that before I made any hasty decisions, I needed to see both places with my own eyes, so that I did.

First, was Ohio state. I arrived there after a short flight and spent two days there. I got to check out the dorms, explore the campus and meet some of the professors. All seemed good. I also got a pretty good taste of what college life is like over there.. but that taste was like some kind of bland, instant noodles.

I secretly hoped that Michigan was the one, as there was just something about Ohio state that I couldn't quite put my finger on. It just didn't blow me away like I thought it would, but from the moment I arrived in Michigan, I knew that it was the place for me. I knew that the scholarship would be better suited for me and that I'd be able to have a home away from home here.

I met some friends on my tour of the campus and even hung out at the student bar with them. They too had been offered scholarships and had travelled from afar to check out the campus before the move. I probably sounded like the lamest guy there. All I did was talk about the love of my life to complete strangers. They didn't give a fuck, they don't know me.. but I continued to drone on regardless. That's how much I was missing her. I was struggling, man, wondering how I'll cope when I officially move here and am parted from my better half.

Then of course, Molly called and decided that she and Logan would visit. Don't get me wrong, I appreciated that they were willing to travel all the way from Washington just to see me, but I was freaking out at the thought of it. I turned to Emery, hoping that she'd have some words of support or advice, only, she chose to ignore me. I haven't spent much time with them alone, without Emery there and they're not the easiest to get along with. The only thing comforting me, was that I would get to see my baby brother again.

Of course, that's who Emery heard when she came here to surprise me last night. Molly and Logan were leaving and she heard her wish me goodnight. She added dramatics by calling me 'her baby' which quite frankly, made my skin crawl.' I know she's my mother, but we're definitely not there yet.

It's obvious that Emery was plotting to humiliate me. She really just turned up out of the blue all the way from Brooklyn and accused me of having an affair. Yet she's still going off at me like I'm the one in the wrong. There I was, getting ready to meet with the guys that I met on the campus tour, styling my hair and brushing my teeth, when a ridiculously loud knock sounded at the door. When I tell you I low-key shat my pants, I'm not being dramatic.

Of course, I had no idea that the Scott's were here. Emery hadn't been answering my calls or texts and I had several missed calls from Mr Scott last night, which I chose to ignore. I was with Molly and I knew that me talking to him would only cause unnecessary conflict. Those two have a complicated past that resulted in them hating each other to this day.

The first thing that crossed my mind when I heard the vigorous banging on the door, was that something terrible had happened to Emery. I wondered if the reason for Hardin's calls were to notify me of what had happened and my heart dropped at the realisation. Thousands of scenarios were flying around my head of all the horrible things that could have happened and In that moment, I could have vomited. Instead, I raced to the door with a feeling of dread, not realising that I still had a mouthful of toothpaste.

Much to my relief, the whole family was standing there. An overwhelming feeling of confusion but relief invaded my senses as I set eyes on Mr and Mrs Scott, Auden, the twins and most importantly, my girl. I was lost for words, wondering what the hell they were doing here, but thanking my lucky stars that Emery appeared to be fine. Only, she wasn't.

She was a woman on a mission, determined to catch me out after what she heard last night. Of course, it turned out to be one hilarious misunderstanding, but as hilarious as it is, it fucking hurts that she could accuse me of such a thing. I have reassured her countless of times that she's the only one for me. Was asking her to be my wife not enough?

I know it's hard for her. Her fiancé is moving to another state for a football scholarship of all things. She probably thinks that I'm going to be wasted and high twenty-four seven, surrounded by desperate college chicks, but she couldn't be more wrong and now that she's here, I can prove it to her.

"Are you done now?" I roll my eyes when she finally finishes her long, dramatic speech. "Did you even listen to any of what I just said?" My girl scoffs at me and I exhale a deep breath. "Yes. I did. But it doesn't change the fact that you accused me of cheating, with someone who turned out to be my own mom." My frown turns into a smirk as I realise how ridiculous this whole thing is, and before I know it, the two of us are in a fit of hysterical laughter. "You're fucking crazy!" I tell her, whilst pulling her into my embrace. "Yeah? Well you make me crazy." She playfully bats my chest.