Easy to Love You

Fight

Audrey

I couldn't sleep.

I still can't, but I just got up, grabbed a bottle of water, and went out front of the campers to our little grassy area.

I don't want to leave my family. I want to get away from Emily, but not Spencer's family. I wish Noah and Spencer were close. They used to be so close.

I don't want to leave Ethan and Kendall and my nephews. I don't want to leave Emma either.

I'm frustrated and stressed. I'm so stressed, I just want to cry.

I sink down into the picnic table, sighing slowly.

I need to talk to somebody and I need somebody to understand.

I let out a long breath, putting my head down on the picnic table.

"What's going on between you and Emily?" I look up.

Spencer's Dad. I let out a slow breath. He doesn't really talk to me. I mean he does, we aren't exactly close though. We never have been. 

"Uh..." I clear my throat. "It's just a lot of drama."

He sits down across from me.

"Considering it's three fifteen in the morning and I've been listening to you tossing and turning for two hours, I'm going to assume it's not nothing."

"I didn't mean to keep you up. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize." He says. "I know we're not close." He says. "You're close with Grace." He shrugs. "But she loves you a lot, and..." he pauses. "You're my daughter basically, so I love you also. So, what's going on?"

I swallow.

Nobody in the family knows there's more drama between Emily and I except for us, Spencer, and Noah.

They know something happened because of Declan.

"She hates me and I don't know why. She showed up at the house the day Spencer got back talking about how everyone likes me better than her, how I hate my kids, how I'm a horrible wife and mother, how I'm pathetic, a wounded creature, how I never cared about her..." I trail off. "We went back and forth for a while, in front of Emma which I'm not okay with..." I shake my head, stifling an eye roll. "And when she mentioned the part about me being a horrid mother and wife..." I shake my head again. "I told her to get the hell out, that I wanted to wring her neck, and apparently she went and told my three year old." I grin my bottle of water harder than I should. "And now I've ruined Spencer and Noah's relationship, I've ruined my relationship with Emily-"

"Audrey, you haven't ruined anything." He says carefully. "She did. She went after you. She has been going after you forever. She always goes after you. You breathe too hard and you get a glare. It's ridiculous. She's ridiculous. You haven't done anything. She ruined the relationship between my sons, and I can tell by the look on your face that that upsets you. She ruined the relationship between the two of you. She has managed to ruin everything and make you feel the blame."

I study him for a while.

"I'm not trying to get favorites, I'm not-" I'm shaking my head.

"You're my favorite. You always have been my favorite. You always will be my favorite. Same goes for Grace. Hell, everyone knows you're Ethan and Kendall's favorite, and your father will never admit it but you're his favorite out of the three of you."

"I don't find that okay. I don't want somebody to like me more than my sister? I don't-"

"Name one thing she has done to become a favorite." He says.