Summer Spent with You

Chapter One : Midnight Dances

Ava's POV

I was laying in my bed staring at the dark ceiling when I heard it. I knew right away what it was. It was my parents.

I rolled over and glanced at the clock on my side table. Half past eleven, it read. I should've been asleep by then, all of my siblings were, but I just couldn't.

'You're not going to want to get up for school in the morning, Ava' I thought to myself.

However, I didn't lie there and try to go sleep. Instead I quietly got out of my bed. I grabbed the blanket that was resting at the foot of the bed and wrapped it around my body, then I slowly opened my door and snuck down the hall.

I followed the wall along, and made my way to the living room. I knew I would find them there. I sat on the ground, hidden by the wall, and gazed at the sight before me.

The room was dark, well except for a few candles that were lit along the mantle and the dim light that the iPod gave off, but the room was only illuminated enough to make out that there were two figures swaying in the middle of the room to the sound of 'I Must Be Doing Something Right'. The music was playing extremely softly, they didn't want it to disturb us kids. It wouldn't have been noticeable, but I listened for it. When the house was totally silent, and everyone was suppose to be asleep, I would listen for a small hum, a small sound that was barely audible.. simply because I loved the watch them.

I could hear my father singing the song softly into the ear of my mother as she moved to place her head on his shoulder. They were unaware of my presence, the darkness hid my hiding spot well, but I doubt that they would have noticed me anyways. They were too engrossed in each other.

They only ever did this when they thought the five of us kids were asleep. I had caught them a few time before. It was always the same song, and they always just swayed together, never really moving. I didn't really understand it. I guess it was a love thing.

I envied them. They had each other, and I didn't have anyone. I wanted what they had. I wanted someone to look at me like my daddy looked at my mother. I wanted to love someone like my mama loved my daddy.

I realized it when I was ten years old. My mother and Aunt Bethany, both found out they were pregnant. Seems like great news, right? Well it was, for my Aunt Bethie. It was for my mama too, until the doctor told her he didn't think she could carry the baby to full term and that he didn't even think she would be able to carry her to three months. He said that even if she did make it to full term, she could lose the baby, she could die, or they both would go.

The day the doctor told her that, she had gone to the appointment only taking my little brother Blaine, who was about three, with her. My dad picked my other two brothers and I up from school early. Blaine was napping when we got back. Daddy told me to go find Mama while he and my brothers unloaded the groceries from the truck.

I found her in her room, laying on her bed weeping softly into her pillow. When I stepped inside, she tried to stop and give me a smile, but she failed. I had climbed into the bed with her and hugged her, like she use to me when I was upset.

"I'm okay, Baby.. can you just tell your daddy that I'm napping.. he doesn't need to see me like this." She told me.. as she wiped her eyes. "I'll be out in a little bit."

There she was lying in bed, crying and she was trying to protect my father. She didn't want to upset him. I hugged her again and then did the exact opposite of what she asked. He would never want her to be alone while she was so upset, in fact he would probably have gotten mad that she tried to be the strong one.

"Daddy!" I called as I ran outside! He was handing groceries bags to my brothers. He looked over at me and must've seen the panic on my face, so he walked over.

"What's wrong Ava?" He asked.

"Mama's laying in bed crying.." I told him.

"It's going to be okay." He told me and then he rushed inside, leaving the front door open. I followed him inside. He walked into their bedroom and kneeled down beside their bed. I peeked inside their room and watched.

He kissed her forehead and pushed her out of her face. He sat there whispering to her as she cried. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her, as she leaned off of the bed onto him. Her tears soaking his shirt. After a minute, he lifted her and crawled in beside her. He held her close to him and kept telling her it would all be alright. I even heard him apologize to her. He told her it was his fault.

That was the day that I realized how much they loved each other. They wanted to protect each other, they would've done anything for each other. And that's what I wanted.

As I sat there and watched them dance, six years later. I still had that same wish. I wanted to be in love. I didn't wan to just find love, but I wanted to be in love. The kind of love that makes you stupid, crazy, reckless, and happy. I wanted the kind of love that makes you want to protect the other person and never let anything bad happen to them, I wanted the kind that would make you want to ease their pain no matter what.

As I sat there that night, I had no way of knowing that my own story was about to begin.