It's been a week and Jackson and Kevin are both putting on tough faces but underneath they're completely heartbroken.
I wake up to the sound of my alarm for school. I groan and get up. I walk to the bathroom and take a shower. I brush my teeth and hair and go back to my room with my towel around my body. I change into a t-shirt, hoodie, and jeans, put my phone in my pocket and walk downstairs.
"Good morning, Em" mom says while putting a pancake on a plate for me.
"Hey. Can I talk to you about something?" I ask.
"Sure. What's up?"
"What would you say if one of your kids wasn't straight?"
"Honestly? I wouldn't really care. I mean, as long as your happy, that's all that matters right?"
"Right"
"So, you and Nic are a thing?"
"What?! No!" I exclaim almost chocking on the sip of milk I just took.
"There's another girl?" she asks.
"No, mom, I'm straight. I like dudes"
"Oh, so it's Jackson?"
"Uh...I gotta get to school. Where are the boys and Nic?"
"They already left. They had something to do before school"
"Oh ok. See you after school"
"Have a good day" mom says before I grab my stuff and walk to school. I get to school. I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn around. Logan!
"You're back!?" I exclaim and hug him.
"Hey. I missed you" he says.
"Same. Where'd you go?"
"A mental ward thingy. I had a breakdown the night I left and my mom sent me to this place" the way that he's talking is like he's not all there. His eyes have a distant look to them, kind of a dead look. He's not his usual nerdy self. He looks more tense and shy.
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I heard that Joey went to jail?"
"Yeah, he did"
"That's good"
"Did you get all caught up on everything yet?"
"No. I just heard about Joey while I was there"
"I guess I gotta get you caught up then"
"Ok" he says. We walk to class and I tell him about everything he missed. He found the whole 'Virgil texting me anonymously' thing quite amusing. We go to our separate classes and try our best to survive the hour of torture that awaits.
~<>~<>~
"Hey" Tanner says after we get out of class.
"Hey, T" I say.
"So, what are you doing after school?"
"Nothing"
"Sweet. I was thinking that maybe we could go to the diner or something? Grab a milkshake and a burger?"
"Like a date?"
"Y-yeah. Like a date"
"Sure, I would love to"
"Great. 5?"
"Sure"
~<>~<>~
I hear a knock at the door. I open it and see Tanner.
"Hey" I smile.
"Hey. Are you ready?" he asks.
"Yeah" I say and walk out the door, closing it behind us. Tanner is 16 and he has a car so we get in it and he drives us to the diner. We sit down across from each other in a booth. A waitress comes over to us. She has her bleach blonde hair up in a pony-tail. She doesn't look like she could be anymore than 20.
"Hello, my name is Karen. What can I get y'all?" she asks in a southern accent.
"Can I get a chocolate milkshake and a burger please? Everything on it" Tanner asks.
"Waffle fries or original?"
"Waffle"
"Ok. How 'bout you, hon?" she asks me.
"Same as him" I say.
"Your order will be out soon. What can I get y'all to drink while you're waiting?"
"2 cokes" Tanner says. Whenever we hang out I always drink coke so I guess he could tell coke is my favorite. She leaves and comes back with our drinks.
"How's Jackson?" he asks.
"Pretty bad. He misses Kevin a lot" I say.
"I know how he feels"
"How?"
"I was 13. My girlfriend and I were taking a walk on a bridge. It wasn't that tall and the water wasn't that deep but it was raining pretty hard. I uh...I took her phone and I teased her. It wasn't mean or anything we were just messing around. It was stupid, I shouldn't have been doing that when I knew she would chase me for it. She slipped and fell into the water. The current grabbed her and I ran, I ran as fast as I could but by the time I got to her....she had been under water to long and had too many head injuries from the rocks" he explains. That is so much more worse than that what happened with Kevin and Jackson.
"Tanner, I am so sorry" I say.
"It was a long time ago. I know it's not the same but we still lost Kevin and I'm guessing that it hurts just as much, maybe even worse"
"Worse?"
"His love is still alive. Amy is dead so there isn't a choice if we be together or not. Kevin is still alive which means that the person Jackson loves decided to leave him. Decided he didn't want to be with him anymore. That probably hurts so much more"
"If I were you, I don't think I would have the same look as you. I thought that there's nothing worse than someone you love dying"
"So did I.....I am so stupid"
"What?"
"I'm on a date with a girl I really like and I'm talking about my ex and how she was the love of my life. I just ruined all chances I had, didn't I?" he asks with a slight chuckle.
"No. Not at all. We're friends too, Tanner, you can tell me about your exes. I really like you too" I smile. We continue talking for about an hour after our food gets here. He drives me home, we say goodbye, I get out of the car, and he drives off. I'm about to walk into the house when I feel someone standing behind me. I turn around and see a man probably in his late 30's with 2 snakebite piercings.
"Hi?" I say in a questioning tone.
"Hey, Emma" he says.
"Sorry, do I know you?"
"Not really. I'm a friend of your mothers"
"Oh. What's your name?"
"Snakebite"
YOU ARE READING
Family Is More Than Blood.
Fiksi Penggemar(Sequel to Family Isn't Just Blood) Hailey Evans had been through a lot, I think we all know that. Now, we follow her daughter, Emma, as she tries to find her way through high school and stay ahead of the threats that once faced her mother.
