Pinky Promise

Chapter 31

Chapter 31
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Josh and I finally get to a huge field with a lot of trees surrounding it.
I look out the window and see tons of people.
Kids running around.
People in a gazebo.
Everybody!!
I slide down my seat and watch Josh drive on the dirt road looking to park.
He puts his hands on my leg. I sigh.
We get out of the car and Paige comes running over, along with Mikey.
"Hey!" She says giving me a hug.
While still hugging her I whisper,
"Where did all these people come from?"
"We all have a big family! Mikey's parents have 5 siblings, and they have kids and grand kids." Paige says.
I release from the hug and grin at her.
"Hey Chloe!" Mikey's says. I wave.
Josh grabs my hand and we walk toward the field.
"Josh!" I hear someone yell.
I look in the distance and see a little boy running over.
Josh let's go of my hand and squats down with his arms open wide.
A little boy about 5 runs into his arms.
Josh picks him up.
"Hey Brad!" Josh says.
Brad laughs. "Who is that?" He asks pointing to me.
"That's Chloe! She's my girlfriend!" Josh says. I smile.
"Can you play soccer with me?" Brad asks.
"In a few minutes I'm gonna make sure Chloe meets everyone." Josh says putting brad down.
Brad runs away. I laugh, "He's cute!"
"Yeah. He is!" Josh says grabbing my hand again.
We walk over to the gazebo and I see kelly. She walks over and introduces us to Josh's grandmother.
"Hi! You must be Chloe! I have heard so much about you." She says.
I smile.
"I hope that's good!" I reply looking over at Josh. He grins.
"You are so pretty!" She says.
"Thank you!"
"I heard you turned down the elite program at Yale?" She asks.
My smiles goes away and look at Josh. I say, "Yeah! It's too hard to move back and forth through things."
"Oh yeah! That was an amazing opportunity and you just turned it down for love! Same with you Josh! University of Toronto! Wow!" She says.
I look over at Josh and he says, "let's go get a drink!"
He leads me over to the cooler and hands me a coke.
I state, "Well she is opinionated."
"Yeah. Watch out for that."
"When is the DJ coming? It is very.... Well quiet!" I ask.
"About 6:00. When it's getting dark." Josh says.
----5:30----
"Here is your burger!" Josh says giving me a plate. I smile then grab some of the snacks on the side.
Josh and I walk to a picnic table. Mikey and Paige come over.
I take a sip of my coke then hear,
"Hey Josh!" I look up and see a tall brunette.
"Hey Mandy!" Josh says.
He grabs my hand under the table.
Mandy sits Down with a guy.
"You must be Chloe!"She says.
I nod.
" I'm Josh's cousin. So tell me a little about yourself. Where do you work?" She asks.
Oh didn't know we were playing 20 questions.
"Um actually I don't work right now. I am a full time dancer." I say.
She has a confused look on her face.
"So how do you pay for things?" She asks.
"I babysit." I say.
"Oh wow! Please excuse me saying this Chloe but wow! Every teenager I know has a job. Babysitting gets me nowhere. Josh how do you-" Josh interrupts her, "Mandy...."
"No. I still can't believe she can make a living with this. My parents always make me get a job." She says.
I look down and a tear falls from my eye.
I put my napkin on my plate and croak out, "Excuse me."
I stand up and start to walk away. Josh is talking to Mandy.
I walk far into the forest of trees and sit down on a log. I look into the distance and tears fall from my eyes.
I wipe them with my wrist and hear someone come running over. Josh.
He finds me. His face looks concerned, "Hey!"
He comes up to me and wraps his arms around me embracing me into a hug.
I ball into his shoulders.
"Your family hates me!" I manage to croak out.
"Shhh. Don't worry about them. They don't control your life."
I let go of his hug. He wipes my tears with his thumb. "It's ok! Don't cry." He says.
I look at him and he kisses my forehead.
"I love you and that is all that matters." He says.////end of chapter 31

Long chapter!!! In the next few chapters there will be a time skip. So make sure you read the top