Our Time Will Come - An After Story

157

Charlie

Today isn't about me, it's about the twins and celebrating their first birthday, but in a hectic twist, senior prom night fell on the same date. With all of the preparations, I became rather overwhelmed.. making it all about me nevertheless. Typical.

As strange as it sounds, putting on my tux triggered a tsunami of anxiety for me, It brought a flood of unwanted thoughts to my mind. I wish I could say I was reminiscing on the good times, but it wasn't like that. It was more like I was grieving what I never had to begin with. Hell, even if my father was still living, he wouldn't be with me today, helping me fix my tie and tell me how proud he is. He'd either be at work or using a lame excuse to be as far away from me as possible. I guess that's what hurts the most.

With that, and the constant reminder that I'm leaving in less than two weeks, I lost it. I began to hyperventilate and became so distressed I wasn't sure that I'd breathe again. I was in a state of panic and when I wasn't expecting it, Mr Scott came to my aid. He was there to witness me at my most vulnerable and out of sheer embarrassment, I blamed my agitated state on my Damn tie. Of course, he could see behind that and had some reassuring words at the ready. He even helped fix my tie.

I was pleasantly surprised to witness Mr Scott's caring side, but more importantly, I felt ready to face tonight. After such an unexpected outburst of emotion, it's time to put on a brave front and face the music.

Standing at the top of the stairs, I take a moment to collect myself. In my newly calm mind, all I can think about is Emery and seeing her in her highly anticipated ballgown. I am yet to see the dress, but my arctic blue tie is set to match the colour of her gown, and just picturing her is exciting me far more than it should. She's going to take my breath away and I know it. She's going to look like a Disney princess only to be dreamt about. We already haven't been able to keep our hands off of each other lately, I can only imagine what tonight will consist of.

I'm awaken from my trance when Mrs Scott passes me on the stairs. She stops in her tracks to take a proper look at me. "Wow." Is how she greets me. "Charlie, you look so handsome!" Her voice softens as she takes in my appearance. I mime the words 'Thank you' and sport a wholesome smile, as she proceeds to straighten my slightly crooked tie. Mr Scott tried his best, I guess.

Small moments like this remind me that I have all the family I'll ever need in the Scott's. Not only are Tessa and Hardin my legal guardians, but they're becoming the parents that I always wished I had. The thought of moving away isn't half as daunting knowing that I have people back at home who genuinely love and care for me as one of their own.

"Emery will be right down." Mrs Scott enlightens me as I follow her into the sitting room. I almost forgot that the entire family is here for Saffron and Miller's birthday. I consider sneaking away to Emery's room to enjoy a moment to ourselves, but soon realise that it would be too risky. Someone in the room full of people would notice me missing. Well, I hope they would. I'm welcomed with a round of applause and many cliché compliments about how smart I look.

With that, I make small talk with Addy and Mrs Scott whilst I wait. I find myself twiddling my thumbs, but it isn't long before baby Miller has me occupied. My heart melts when he approaches me, holding up his arms for me to pick him up. "Come here, little guy." I tell the blue eyed tot as I scoop him into my arms. I adore his boisterous little chuckle in response to my ridiculously high pitched 'Peekaboos'.

I haven't given how much I'll miss Auden and the twins much thought. In fact, it's just now hitting me. They have literally become siblings to me, which is something I never had until very recently. I'm going to miss not seeing their happy little faces every day more than I thought.

"Look at him, he loves you!" Addelyn coos at the lively little guy. "He sure does, Saffy loves him too, In fact if she wasn't taking a nap then he'd have his hands full with both twins." Tessa giggles and I laugh with her, knowing she's right. It's probably my immaturity that they're fond of. If not that, then it's probably the fact that I act like a one year old from time to time.

We get to talking about the twins and their antics, when we're interrupted by Mr Scott entering the room and rather loudly clearing his throat. The room quietens and all eyes are on Hardin. He appears teary eyed which tells me that he's set eyes on his firstborn in her prom gown. The gown that left a giant hole in his wallet. That's definitely one of the very few things that could get him to cry. "Ladies and gentleman, I present you the one and only ...Emery Scott." He beams with pride. Butterflies invade my stomach as I anticipate her entrance.

"Holy Fu-" I stand to my feet as I set eyes on my ravishing girl. Thankfully Addy covers my mouth before I finish the profanity I was about to blurt out, I'm still holding baby Miller after all and him saying the F word on his first birthday is the last thing we need. But wow, she looks every bit as beautiful as I imagined, if not more. I'm almost speechless.

She sports a sheepish smile as the entire family lose it over the arctic blue, sparkly dress. The women especially erupt into a heap of excitement. Even amongst the sound of screaming women, I can't take my eyes off of her. Her makeup is subtle and elegant and the way her blonde hair is styled in a half up, half down braid thingy..might be my favourite yet.

The most important thing of all, the dress, is insane to say the least. I have no idea how to describe it, but it's the most beautiful colour of blue. The top half of the dress is glittery and full of sequins, then it clings to her in all the right places, and the bottom is full of ..ruffles, I guess. Hell, I don't know the lingo to describe a dress, but It's everything Emery hyped it up to be and more. It brings out her endearing blue eyes more than ever.

I pass Miller over to his grandpa to ensure that I don't drop him like I did my jaw, becoming impatient when the women of the family, Karen, Nora, Abby, Addelyn and Trish continue to crowd her. I'm desperate to tell her how Devine she is and to spin her around like the princess she is. My heart skips a beat when she spots me, her eyes flickering between her hysterical, very British grandmother and I. I widen my eyes in an attempt to grab her attention and with that, she escapes their hostage. I open my arms, ready to catch her as she runs into my embrace.

"You look .. phenomenal." I tell her as I place a kiss into her hair. I didn't even know that word was in my vocabulary, but it sure describes her perfectly. I'm besotted with everything about her, today and everyday. "You look so handsome." she utters and I my smile grows ten times wider. "Tonight's gonna be unreal." I promise her.. a little louder then intended. I swallow the frog in my throat as I realise that Mr Scott is watching my every move. "About tonight." He conspires as he marches towards us. "Time to set some ground rules." He adds whilst cunningly rubbing his hands together. In response, Emery and I glare at each other almost symmetrically... Oh No.