Little Moments

Chapter 7

I look down, playing with my fingers nervously and tugging at the hem of my black dress, waiting to get up to speak after my grandpa is done. I look up at Grandpa and watch him intently, as he fails to keep his bottom lip from quivering and his eyes slowly fill up with tears. I look down at my hand written speech, running through every word in my head again. Then my heart starts to beat a thousand beats per minute as I notice my grandpa is done speaking, and now it's my turn.

I walk up to the podium, hands shaking and my breaths getting faster by the moment. When I reach the podium, I look out into the small audience that consists of family members and close friends. I search for the most familiar faces I can find, which is Mom and Taylor. "Good evening." I say.

I pause for a moment, looking down once again at my handwritten speech. "My dad was the best dad I could have ever asked for. And-" I look back up at Mom and Taylor, tears obviously threatening to spill out of their eyes.

I sigh deeply as I stare back down at the paper, and fold it back up.

The rest of the time, I talked about what an amazing guy my father was, and I said how he was always there for me and all the other normal stuff people say at anyone's funeral. I never said what was written on that paper, and I never will. Because I wanted it to be my story with my dad. It was too special to share with anyone. It will always be mine and Dad's story.

The ceiling slowly comes into focus as I lay in my bed waking up. I sluggishly sit up and let my feet make contact with the soft carpet, as I stand up and make my way into the kitchen.

"What did you guys do while I was away yesterday? Sorry I got home so late last night."

"It's fine. We didn't do anything exciting." I say. She would freak out if she knew I was out with a boy, even though I'm already 17. Corey had dropped us off after about an hour of being at the park, and Mom got home late that night, after me and Taylor had gone to bed.

"Nuh-uh." Taylor says from across the table with a confused expression washing over her face. She turns to look at Mom and says, "We went to a music store with a nice boy who drove us and then went to go play at the park."

I let out a sigh as my face falls into the palms of my hands, and I brace myself for Mom to start yelling at me. But it doesn't come.

"Oh. Who is this nice boy?" She asks as she looks at me with a slight smile.

I let confusion wash over my face as I hesitantly say, "Corey..."

"Hm." She says, her slight smile fading by the second. "So let me get this straight." She says. "You let a boy that you just met drive you and your little sister around a town you don't know, without even asking your mother?"

My heart starts pounding as I say, "Well when you put it that way, yeah, it seems bad. But I had met him earlier, and he seemed nice, and me and Taylor were bored, so I didn't think it was that big of a deal..."

She cuts me off by holding up her index finger and saying, "Wait, when did you ever meet this boy?"

I shouldn't have said that.

"Yesterday morning. In the woods."

"So you went into the woods without asking me, and met some stranger, and then went on some kind of adventure with him, and dragged your little sister along?!" There's the yelling I was waiting for. My breaths quicken, and I can feel irritation and anger bubbling up inside of me as I clench my jaw.
"He isn't a stranger!" I finally yell. "Mom I know I just met him, but I promise you he's trustworthy." There really was just something about Corey that I fully trusted.

She looks at me, her pink lips formed into a straight line. "Never do anything that stupid again. I expect more of you." And with that she walks out of the kitchen and into her bedroom.

I sigh and sit back in my chair with my arms crossed, looking at Taylor from across the table. "What?" She asks, looking so innocent. I just shake my head and get up from the table, and walk back to my bedroom.