My life was crazy but I loved it. I, Emma Scottson, lived above a small but locally famous restaurant that my two gay dad's owned with their best friends. The Gaskarth family. Peter and Isobel and their son Alex. We ended up being really close neighbors when we renovated the restaurant and made room for two families to live upstairs. When Alex and his family moved in we became like brother and sister. But, when we started high school, things changed.
Alex became less like a brother and more like someone that I lived with, and noticed more as he got older. When my dads and his parents were busy, we used to make dinner and eat together. We used to get in the car, and drive to Baltimore for a day. We would sit on the docks where we had our first kiss near the restaurant until we had to go back in for closing. We were never a couple, but we kissed and said I love you enough times to make it look that way at school. But we never were because that just never crossed our minds.
Alex and I had a perfect life until our senior year when Alex started to party more and his band got a record deal. This separated us, and after spring break we stopped talking as much and he started dating another girl named Kyra. The last time I saw Alex was at my going away party, the week after graduation. I got accepted to a exchange program in Italy, so my dads invited over some family friends to get dressed up and have a dinner with me since I was going to be gone for a year. The dinner was amazing thanks to the kitchen staff and the dress I was wearing, but I realized as all the people were leaving, that Alex wasn't there. I waited on the docks until one-thirty that night until his mom came out and told me that he was probably going to be out for the night, and I could see him in the morning.
I woke up before every one else the next morning to finish packing, but when I went in the kitchen to make coffee there was already a pot made and Alex was sitting at the table. I remember it like it was yesterday.
"Morning", he said as I closed the cupboard.
"Hi.". I really didn't want to talk to him after his no-show last night.
"The party was bomb last night. Where were you?"
"I was here at my party. Last night. In case you already forgot, Alex, I am going to be gone for a year. So I'm sorry If I didn't want to go to some lame party that one of your girlfriends threw with stolen beer and cheep champagne when I could be enjoying time with my family."
By now he was standing up facing me. "First of all Kyra is not lame, and second of all I'm sorry that I didn't show up last night. I've been under a lot of stress lately with the band and I needed some time."
"Do you really think a mini frat party is going give you some "time"? Because, I'm pretty sure some family time would have been a lot better for you than beer."
Now we were yelling at each other. "You're not family. You're a pain I've been force to live with.", he spat.
"Oh thanks!"
"You know what? I bet you're not even going to Italy. You're just doing this for attention."
"What the hell does that mean? That you're not going to say goodbye?"
"No. I'm not because I know I'll see you next week."
"Thanks, Alex. Thanks a lot.", I said as I turned away and tried not to cry until I got in my room.
He crushed me that day and I haven't seen him since. I am now twenty-two, and I ended up spending two years straight in Italy before I came home for a year to go to school and start to get my degree in journalism. I was also lucky enough to get a job at a newspaper in New York. So, I packed up my bag and moved from Baltimore to a townhouse just out of the city with my best friend Brigid, and my gay best friend Chris.
I haven't seen Alex in four years, and I'd like to keep it that way. But, my birthday, and Christmas are both within the next and I'm going home for the holidays, so I have a feeling that is going to be really hard.