Life's Too Short To Even Care At All

Chapter 3

There were a lot of things that Emily had never done. Attending a wedding was one of them, and so was meeting her boyfriend’s parents. Today she was going to do both, in one day. The wedding wasn’t the thing that was making her nervous though. From what she had learnt about weddings, they were happy times with lots of dancing and happy people. From what she had heard about Sebastian’s parents, they did not seem to be very accepting. Sebastian rarely talked about his family, even to Emily, but when he did, they all seemed to be negative comments. The most recent incident had occurred a few months before the wedding, when the two had recently got together. The abuse had yet to begin.

                “Only if you want to,” Emily had replied when Sebastian suggested the subject. She knew that talk of his parents was a difficult topic, and did not want to push him. She lay down next to him and nestled into his side, as he wrapped one arm around her waist.

                “They hate me,” he stated.

                “They don’t hate you Seb,”

                “They sent me off to a boarding school as soon as they could, they’re constantly pushing me to be a doctor or a lawyer; they don’t care about what I want,”

                “They just want what’s best for you,”

                “No, they want what’s best for their reputation,” Sebastian said angrily. He hated his parents, even if he had to love them. He wanted to do things his way, and even if his parents did force him to go to Dalton, at least it gave him the privacy he needed. He wanted them to accept him, for them to realise that him being happy should be more important than what they want. He didn’t voice this to Emily however. She picked up on his emotions though and kissed him softly on the cheek.

                Emily remembered the memory as she and Sebastian walked into the large country estate, hand in hand and dressed to perfection. Emily was incredibly nervous already, and couldn’t help but grip Sebastian’s hand tightly in apprehension. The two walked into the ceremony room, being greeted with a few hellos as they passed. Suddenly, Sebastian stopped in his place. Emily followed his gaze to be met with the un-doubtable presence of Mr and Mrs Smythe. Mrs Smythe was just as Emily had thought, tall and skinny, dressed primp and proper in what was clearly a very expensive outfit and a short brown head of hair which sat under the hat she was wearing. Mr Smythe however, was much different. He was not the male version of his wife as Emily had expected, but more plump and friendly. Still, she knew that looks could be deceiving.

                “I apologise in advance,” Sebastian muttered before strutting over to his parents, Emily in tow.  The Smythe’s turned immediately as their son strolled over, a fake smile evident on his face.

                “Sebastian,” cried his mother gleefully, pulling him into a tight hug. He reciprocated the hug, but not as happily as he could have. His mother pulled away and caught her first glance of Emily, looking her up and down once. She took a moment to take in her son’s new girlfriend, before speaking.

                “Victoria,” she stated proudly, holding out her hand so that Emily could shake it, “And you must be?” Emily realised that Victoria was expecting her to finish the sentence, so reciprocated the hand shake and replied, “Emily”. Sebastian’s father was next to bound over and he had a friendlier, yet still equally cold approach.

                “Mr Smythe, but of course you can call me Harry,” he said, the suspicion rising dryly through his voice. There was an awkward silence before Victoria spoke.

                “Well, we’ve heard an awful lot about you from Sebastian… you seem very happy together”. Emily risked a glance up at Sebastian nervously, who’s grip tightened on her hand. She could not tell whether it was a threat or of nerves, but still answered as she knew he wanted. And what would be the only appropriate answer.

                “Oh, yes, we’re very happy,” Emily said, feeling Sebastian’s grip loosen around her hand until it’s gone completely. He knew that she would never blurt anything out in a public place like this, especially not to his own parents, but he still could not help feel slightly nervous at the thought of her telling his parents. He would never hear the end of it.

                “So what do you do then? Are you at the sister school? What’s it called, Harry? Crawford, I think,” Victoria mutters.

                “I’m at McKinley High?” Emily asks more than states, “It’s a high school in Lima”. The looks on the Smythe’s faces are not ones you’d want to see on regular basis. They look at her as if she had just stepped in off the street. Emily was surprised that they didn’t take a step back in repulsion.

                “Oh… how lovely,” Harry replies, offering an un-convincing smile on the end. Emily realises what Sebastian meant, and hopes they would be distracted by another guest to the wedding very soon. She suddenly felt Sebastian grip her hand again.

                “Well, we’ll see you later then,” he spoke, practically dragging Emily away from his parents and over to their seats.

                “Now you understand,” he replied. Emily only nodded as the many guests began to take their seats and the wedding started. The ceremony was long yet beautiful, and Emily couldn’t help but lean into Sebastian lovingly. He reciprocated Emily’s actions by giving her a gentle kiss on her forehead. They may have their troubles, but Emily still couldn’t help imagining their wedding together, if they ever had one. She thought that she wanted too, but her mind could change in one night, and so could his. She dearly hoped that eventually, the abuse would stop, that it was just an early relationship phase, and that they would grow to be the perfect couple. But somewhere in her mind, she had a feeling that would never happen.

                The two had many visits from friends and family during the day, all of them behaving much friendlier than the Smythe’s. Emily enjoyed talking to the guests, especially Sebastian’s grandparents, who made her feel incredibly welcome. Emily also enjoyed the occasional embarrassing story about Sebastian that they would tell her, including the story of the tape chair.

                “He had come over to ours for the weekend,” his grandma, Kathryn, started, “And he had his special little green chair”. She paused to laugh at the memory, as Sebastian shook his head, but still smiling.

                “For some reason, he decided to stick loads of tape on it… and then sit down,” his granddad, Graham, finished. Emily laughed along with them. Kathryn took out a picture of the incident and handed it to Emily while Sebastian wasn’t looking.

                “You can keep this, just don’t tell him I gave it to you,” she smiled.

                “Ha ha, very funny,” Sebastian replied. Emily looked at him dotingly, and slipped the baby picture from his grandparents into her pocket.

She had not thought about the argument all day and as the celebratory fireworks began, she couldn’t help but place herself delicately on his lap, and tuck herself into his chest. Sebastian wrapped his arm tightly around her waist, and they shared a loving kiss as the fireworks went off in the background. It was a picturesque moment, but Emily couldn’t help but realise that one wrong word and it could all go downhill.