Black Raven | Wattys 2018

Chapter Seven

Some advices are good; some are bad.
Choose whichever eases your mind.
One that even if it makes you sad,
You know it'll enrich your life.
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The smell of bacon woke me up. Rays of sunlight invaded my room. My bed was so comfortable that morning; I didn't want to get up. I felt the door swing open and I heard soft, kiddy giggles. I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. The giggles were getting closer and then three, little bodies jumped on me; Lucas, Connor, and Kyle. I started laughing. I moved from side to side shaking them off of me and then, I sat down and started tickling them. They just laughed loudly. We all stopped to breathe again. "Come on guys. Let's go eat downstairs. I smell bacon."-I told them getting up from the bed.

"We ate already."-Connor answered.

"What? You ate without me?"-I said pretending to feel hurt. They laughed.

"Yes. Scott made breakfast and we were hungry and you wouldn't wake up and Nick told us not to wake you."-Connor replied is his kiddy voice.

"But we saved you some."-Kyle added smiling.

"Asher was going to eat it, but we told him it was for you."-Lucas said.

"Who is Asher?"-I asked them. I didn't know who were they talking about.

"Lena's new boyfriend."-Connor answered in a 'duh' tone.

I walked down quickly. I couldn't believe Lena was bringing her new boyfriend to the house. We had told her that we didn't like her bringing strange guys home when the kids were around. To my surprise, the kids were saying the truth. Asher, Lena's new boyfriend was sitting comfortably on the couch with Lena beside him. Scott was in the kitchen eating his breakfast. I sat down beside him and whispered, "What the hell? What is he doing here?" Scott shrugged and with his mouth full said, "I don't know. We told her he couldn't be here, but she told us this was her house and she could do as she pleased; that if we didn't like it, the door was open. When I woke up, he was already here. I think he slept the night." "He what?"-I altered. "If he's staying, I'm not staying; neither are the kids." I stood up from the stool angrily. I went upstairs and told the kids we were going to the beach. "Kids, suit up. We're going to the beach." They cheered. "We're going to the beach?"-Logan asked standing out front of his room. "Yes, we are. Pack up."-I answered and added, "And tell Ian". "Sweet."-He said excitedly.

I put on my bathing suit and grabbed my things, which included my surfboard. Ian, Logan, and the little ones were already downstairs waiting for me, but I stopped by Scott's room first. "Hey, you coming?"-I asked him. He didn't have his wetsuit on, but he had a bathing suit; though that didn't mean he was going. Around there everyone wore bathing suits on their daily basis; it didn't matter if they were going to the beach or not.

"Yeah!!"-He said grabbing his phone and his surfboard.

"Where is Nick?"-I finally asked him before going down the stairs. I hadn't seen Nick all morning.

"Brooke picked him up this morning. She needed a dress, for... I don't remember what, and he was going to accompany her shopping. I texted him already and told him to meet us at the beach."

"Okay, great."

The sun was really bright and hot that morning; spring weather was beginning to feel. After riding a few waves, I got out of the water, put my surfboard down gently on the sand and lay down beside it, exposing my body to the sunlight. Scott stood in front me and blocked the sunlight. I looked up at him and gawked a little. He was all sweaty; his abs shined under the sunlight. I told him to move; he looked down at me and smirked; I think he noticed I was staring at his naked torso. Then he said, "We're gonna go grab a bite. You coming?"

"I'll catch up with you in a minute."-I answered. I was really enjoying the hot weather.

"Okay."-He added before leaving.

Still laying on the warm, smooth sand, I put on my sunglasses and closed my eyes. My sweaty body shined brightly under the sunlight. Again, someone blocked the light. "It's a beautiful day isn't it?" I smiled without opening my eyes. I recognized the voice.

I opened my eyes slowly, adjusting my eyesight to the bright light. "Hi."-I greeted him sweetly with a smile. It was my mysterious, new friend. He stood there in front of me with his gorgeous smile and his big, caramel-brown eyes staring fixedly down at me. I grinned wider and agreed with his statement, "it is a beautiful day". He smiled and sat down beside me. I sat up too and took my sunglasses off.

"How are you?"-He asked.

"Great!! And you?"-I answered smiley.

"Good. Considering..."-He replied. "So, you decided it was a good day to come to the beach?"

"Yes. I needed to get the kids out of the house for a while."-I answered truthfully.

"Oh, your brothers are here?"-He asked curiously.

"Yes. Well, they went to get something to eat, but they're around here, somewhere."-I replied. I didn't dare to bring up the subject about his siblings again, so I thought about something else. "We've talked a couple of times, but I still don't know your name."

He laughed and said, "My name's Dylan".

"I'm Emma."-I told him.

"I know."-He said deadpan. I hadn't told him my name. He noticed my confused face, so he explained, "Don't go running away from me thinking I'm a creep or something, but I have been watching you for a while. The first time I saw you, you were yelling, I guess it was at one of your older brothers, and that made me smile; I don't know why, and I thought you were beautiful". My cheeks turned crimson.

I have to say I found it really creepy, but he was cute, so I guess that's why it didn't bother me. What I didn't understand is why he didn't talk to me sooner, so I asked him, "Why didn't you approach me? You could've talked to me then".

"Because you wouldn't have been able to see me."-He answered.

Every time he answered one of my questions I felt confused; it was like he was talking to me in riddles; like there was a hidden meaning in his answers or something, which there was, but I didn't know it right then. Before I could ask him what he meant by that, he changed the subject. He started asking random, basic, personal questions. "So, what's your favorite color?"-He asked. I looked at him confused but followed the conversation. "Uhhhh, navy blue, I guess. What's yours?"-I answered and asked him back the same thing. "Any type of blue."-He replied. Then he asked, "What's your favorite food?" I thought about that one. I really didn't have a favorite food, but I answered insecurely, "French fries??" "French fries are not food. They're fat, pure grease."-He stated. "I don't care. I like french fries; everything is better with french fries."-I said. He laughed and asked again, "What's your favorite Disney cartoon?". That was a random question and I thought about it for a while, but replied, "Mumble". "Mumble is not a Disney cartoon."-He stated. "I know, but I love Mumble. I love Happy Feet."-I said smiling. My favorite cartoon was Mumble because he was cute and special, different from all the other penguins. At first, he felt left out, but at the end, everyone accepted him and loved him by who he was, and he embraced his unique talent and used it to save his family. "So, I'm guessing your favorite movie is Happy Feet?"-He said questioningly. "Yep."-I confirmed. We kept going on with the questions. He would ask me something and I would answer it, and sometimes, I would ask him back the same thing and he would respond. It was kind of fun; I laughed a lot with him.

I spotted my brothers in the distance. They were headed towards me; Nick was with them. I had texted Scott and told him to bring me food. "There are my brothers."-I said to Dylan pointing at my siblings in the distance. He stood up and brushed off the sand of his pants and hands. "I better go then."-He said. I stood up to level with him, not that it made much of a difference; he was like six feet and I was only five-two. Then, I asked him, "Why? You can stay. That way you can meet them". His eyes shined like two big, honey-colored gemstones under the sunset light. He smiled sweetly at me and answered, "Time with your loved ones, with your family, is precious. You need to treasure every moment with them, 'cause you never know when you might lose them. So, I don't want to take your time with them". I looked longingly at him and didn't say anything. Backing away, he added, "But don't worry, Emma, we'll see each other again". Right then, I thought his poetic words were too serious and sad for our age, so I didn't take him seriously, but what I didn't know, was that he was preparing me for what was coming.