Drowning

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My date with Emmett had gone wonderfully. He took me to dinner tonight, I assume because it makes our whole going out thing more official. Either way, I had a good time. We talked a lot, and managed to clear up the whole newspaper fiasco, as well as Emmett's “minor misdemeanors”. It turned out that he was as indifferent as I was, well, for the most part. It seems that he has been dealing with nosy reporters his whole life, which doesn't surprise me based on his father.

I learned from this conversion that Emmett and his father have a pretty good relationship. I could tell by the way he was talking about him, that Emmett had, at one time, been even closer to his father. I couldn't help but think his mother's passing might have loosened those strings.

One of the worst things about that newspaper article, and Emmett's father being who he is, is that now Emmett new about my situation too. His father had seen my father many times in court I would think, and I'm sure that one hundred percent of those times were not on good terms. I did plan on telling Emmett, but in due time. Explaining my life story was something that I didn't care to open a conversation with.

I laugh to myself now, thinking of how Emmett suggested we get to know each other. It was ridiculous, but definitely original. We had to ask a question, and write down on a napkin what we thought the answer was for the other person, and guess until we got it right. Favorite color and food were easy; it was the questions like childhood school and least favorite smell that became difficult. We stayed on light subjects and steered clear of the heavier ones. The thing about this relationship is that it was okay to keep those demons at bay for a little while longer, since really, we weren't keeping secrets at all, because both of us knew the other was hiding something. Looking back on the night, my favorite moment would have to be the waiter's face when Emmett asked for fifty napkins, oh and a pen.

My day may not have started out very well, but it ended with a smile on my face. I didn't even care when Emmett mentioned that someone could be watching us right then. Let them watch us, we weren't doing anything bad, and as far as I knew, all those creeps had on me was my name. If they had realized anything else, I'm sure my parents would have been mentioned. I am extremely thankful that they were kept out of it. I didn't need to be compared with my parents and I definitely didn't need any negative stories coming out about me or Mark; that would not help his upcoming campaign.

I closed my eyes for only seconds it seemed before the morning sun was blinding me through my window. I realized with a start that my phone was ringing, so I did the rational thing on a Sunday morning during holiday break, and pressed the end call button, rolling over to go back to sleep.

* * * * * * * *

Sunday mornings were always my favorite. They served as the calm before the storm of another coming week. I always made sure to finish homework on Saturdays so that I could have the entire day to myself, just to enjoy that little moment of tranquility. Rainy Sundays are the best Sundays. Any other day of the week, I hate the rain. It keeps me up at night and makes any type of travel difficult because no matter how hard you try, you always end up soaked. On Sundays, I never left the house, so the rain was welcome.

This Sunday morning happened to be one of those mornings. The temperature hadn't dropped enough yet for the liquid rain to be solid snow. I was sitting in the window seat, drinking a cup of tea and reading. I felt as if the real world didn't affect me, and I was able to enjoy quiet time to myself. I had a heated blanket wrapped around my legs and a huge pillow behind my back, only adding to the comfortable atmosphere. It was nearing noon, but I still considered this morning, since it was only the second day of my break.

I had just started a new chapter when my phone starting vibrating on my bed. It took me awhile to realize it was even my phone; I always had the ringer on. I set the book down on the windowsill, not bothering to bookmark it because I planned on this call being a short one. Mark's name appeared on the screen and I knew my wish had been granted. “Hey, what's up?” I asked him, trying to avoid any small talk and save time that could be spent reading. “Grace, why didn't you answer your phone this morning?” He was so angry, and I had no idea why. He was creating a stark contrast between what my morning had been to what it was becoming. I didn't even know he had called this morning, and, either way, he should have known I wasn't going to answer, especially because it was a Sunday.