After The Storm ♡ Thunderstorms Spin-Off

29. A Welcome Distraction

My parents don't say another word about my plan for all of us to meet up with Dylan's cousin for days which leaves me on edge constantly. If this plan didn't work out I didn't have a back-up. If I couldn't connect Dylan with Aubrey then I could actually lose him...I couldn't lose him. 

I wake up on Thursday morning and walk out of my bedroom, glancing towards my boyfriend's door and finding it closed completely. He was obviously still asleep but the smell of food wafting from the kitchen is enough to leave my doorway and head down to join my family. 

My mom is making me a plate, seemingly having heard me heading down and I smile as I slide onto the stool across from her. "Morning mom" I greet her, picking up my fork and diving right into my pancakes. 

"Morning baby girl" she replies sweetly, leaning forward. "Sleep well?" I nod despite the fact that I find her small talk extremely unnerving. My family was filled with goofy people that loved nothing more than a good morning laugh to start the day. We weren't ones for small talk about sleep and the weather. 

"Is everything okay?" I ask bluntly as my dad walks in with his hands stuffed into his pockets.

"The meeting is set for Saturday" he announces and my eyes widen. Meeting. There was only one meeting my family could be setting up. 

"The meeting with Aubrey?" I shriek, my excitement building up inside. This was it. This was the moment I had been waiting for all week. My plan was actually in motion. 

"Yes" my dad nods, walking towards me. "But there's a condition."

I raise an eyebrow at him. "A condition? What kind of condition?" He exchanges a glance with my mom and my nerves triple. "What condition?" I demand again. My dad releases a deep sigh, placing his hand on my shoulder. 

"You and Dylan can't come" he says simply and my mouth drops open in shock. He couldn't be serious...could he? 

"You're kidding me, right?" I ask, looking between them, praying that somehow I have this all wrong. "This is Dylan's future" I begin and my dad nods, ending my rant in it's tracks. 

"Precisely. Emma, your passion is something you inherited from your mother and it's one of the things I admire most about you but in this case, it's going to get us nowhere. This woman has a life, a new husband" he lists. "Taking in her estranged cousin isn't going to be a simple decision and it can't be one she makes because of your puppy dog eyes and tears. She'll only grow to resent her decision and Dylan will end up in the system anyway. We need you to understand baby girl and we need you to promise that you won't get in the way."

I could see his point but the thought of putting my boyfriend's fate in anyone else's hands scared me to death. "Emma honey, we need to hear you say it" my mom interjects and I release a deep sigh, biting back tears as I nod my head. 

"Okay" I concede. "Can I be excused?" I ask, pushing away my food and running up the stairs before they can protest. Of course, Dylan is at the top of the steps and catches me as I try to pass him. 

"Woah there" he says, wrapping his arms around me. "What's going on beautiful?"I start crying and his eyebrows furrow in fear as he pulls me into his embrace. "It's much too early for tears. What's going on?" he asks, pulling back to look me in the eyes. 

"Can we go to your room?"

"Yea of course" he nods, taking my hand and leading me to his room. I plop down onto his bed as he closes the door and I take a deep breath, taking a minute to wipe away the tears under my eyes as I try to compose myself. "Ems what happened?" he asks, kneeling before me. 

I shrug. "I honestly don't know" I admit. My breakdown had really come out of nowhere. I trusted my parents completely but somehow the idea of being out of control of the situation had driven me to tears. I couldn't live without Dylan and somehow my plan to keep him with me had turned into my parent's solo mission. Now, all I could do was wait until they returned with an answer. "I found one of your family members" I explain and he quirks an eyebrow at me.