Chapter 7
The next morning I woke up suddenly. I was woken up by a nightmare. In the dream I was inside a coffin getting buried alive. I must have been swatting around trying to escape because my arms were very tired. I slipped out of bed. It was the Fourth of July. This holiday had always been very close to my heart. There was nothing I liked more than barbeque, fireworks and family by your side. Ian invited me to a cook-out at his parents house. I accepted the offer. It would be my perfect opportunity to get closer with his family. After putting on my make-up and clothes I decided I should probably go make sure Ian was awake. I walked out the door. It was a nice day. Warm and windy. I let myself in. I was greeted by a chewing Anthony. "Hey Emily," he said dropping his spoon back into his bowl of cereal. "Ian's still asleep,". "Thanks I'll take care of him," I said smiling while walking into the hallway. I slowly opened his door trying not to make a lot of noise. He was slightly turned, covered in a blanket and grasping his little domo stuffed animal. I smiled to myself. He looked so adorable when he was sleeping. I almost felt bad about waking him up. I walked closer to him putting my hand out to stroke his hair. He slowly rolled over. "Hey Em," he said lazily. "Hey how'd you sleep?" I asked him quietly as I sat next to him. "Good you?" he replied. "Nightmare," I said rolling my eyes. "Tell me about it," he said sitting up. "No it was nothing," I said waving my hand. "No really. I want to know," he said again. He knew just what to say. "I was buried alive," I laughed. "How original!" he smiled flashing me with his white teeth. "Come on," I said putting a hand on his. "We don't want to be late to the the cook out," I reminded him. "Oh yeah. By the way. Is it cool with you if Mari and Anthony tag along?" he asked. "Sure why not?" I answered. "Great," he said standing up. I went over to his dresser. I opened up his drawer and pulled out a pair of jeans and a nice blue shirt. "You're wearing this," I said handing it to him. "Whatever you say little Ms. Fashion Queen!" he teased. "I'll meet you in the kitchen," I said walking out the door.
"You coming to the cook out?" I asked joining Anthony. "If you don't mind!" he replied. "No problem! The more the merrier...I actually can't believe I just said that!" I laughed. "Ian want any breakfast?" he asked. "Probably, where do you guys keep the cereal?" I asked. "In the cabinet," he said pointing. "Bowls are in the drawer over there," he pointed. After the bowl was full and on the counter Ian came out. "Breakfast?" I asked pointing to the cereal. "Thanks," he said taking a seat next to Anthony. I heard the door open. Mari walked in. "Hey guys," she said putting her purse on the couch. "Oh hey Em, didn't see you there!" she waved. "Hey you coming to the cook out?" I asked. "Sure! Ant, you coming?" she asked. "Yeah, when do we have to leave?" he asked turning to Ian. "My parents live like 25 minutes from here so I'd say in the next half an hour or so," he replied. "Alright I'll be back here in a few minutes, I just want to grab my purse and stuff," I said walking to the door. "Ok want us to pick you up?" Ian asked. "Sure why not," I said closing the door. Once all my things were gathered, Ian pulled up. I walked out and took the backseat next to Anthony because Mari was in the front seat. Why wasn't she sitting with her boyfriend? Whatever it didn't matter. I was going to have a nice Fourth of July.
We drove in an awkward silence with the radio playing softly. Not long after we hit the road, Ian pulled into a driveway. The house was small and old but had a large yard. We all unloaded from the car and started towards the door. Ian rang the doorbell. His mom opened it. They immediately embraced and he kept walking through the door. "Hey Mrs. Hecox!" Anthony said as he gave her a hug. "You remember my girlfriend Mari right?" he asked. "Of course! How could I forget a girl as beautiful as you!" she replied leaving Anthony and hugging Mari. "Oh yes and you are...Amelia right?" she asked looking at me. "Emily," I smiled. "Oh yes forgive me, we met at the hospital right?" she asked. "Yes," I nodded. "Nice to see you again." I followed Anthony through the house and into the backyard. There was Ian's father barbequeing, an array of chairs and decorations everywhere. I found Ian running around the yard with his dog. I joined him. He looked very happy to see Sparky again. I turned around to look at the door. Standing there was a small blond teenager with glasses looking towards us. Ian turned around. A large smile appeared on the girls face. She swiftly ran out of the house and towards Ian. He quickly hugged her and picked her up. "Hey Miss Liss!" he said with delight. "Hey Eeny Meeny," she quietly replied. "How you been?" he asked letting her down. "Good...," she paused focusing her gaze on me. "Who's your friend?" she asked with a giggle. "Come on," he replied taking her hand. "Em, this is my little sister Melissa," he exclaimed. "Mel, this is my...girlfriend Emily," he continued flinching at the word girlfriend. "Nice to meet you," she said looking down and folding her hands. After a few seconds she looked up at Ian. "I'll take to you a little later," she said walking away joining her mother. Ian joined me. "Haha sorry she's a little shy sometimes," he laughed. "That's ok. All young girls are like that," I reassured him. After a long time of eating and talking, there was a huge display of fireworks. They were beautiful. After the show I decided I would go look for Ian. "Hey Anthony you seen Ian anywhere?" I asked. "NoI haven't. Want me to help you find him?" he offered. "Sure why not," I replied. He stood up and led me to the door. We walked down the hallway to where the bathroom was. The door was open just a little bit. I stuck my hand in and opened the door. Both Anthony and I gasped and took a small step backwards. Inside was Ian and Mari kissing.
"What the fuck man?" Anthony screamed shoving his way into the bathroom. I was stunned. All I could do was cover my mouth and start backing away. I suddenly felt extremely light headed and dizzy. I heard screaming from in the bathroom. I ran outside and found Ian's dad. "You've got to get to the bathroom! There is about to be a huge fight!" I exclaimed grabbing his arm. I just stood at the end of the hallway and watched. His father yanked the two apart. He told Anthony to get out of here and take me home. He was completely infuriated. Ian kept trying to escape the bathroom to confront me but his father would not let him. Mari just sat there on the floor. Anthony stormed out. "Let's go," he said pushing me out of the way. He left the door and unlocked the car. I truly thought I might be in danger of Anthony's fast reckless anger-filled driving. Not a word passed between either of us but a few tear filled glances did. He let me out when we got to my house. "Anthony," I asked quietly. "What?" he asked hostilely. "I'm sorry," I cried. "It's alright, it's alright, it's not your fault," he replied giving me a hug. "Ok," I said wiping the tears off my face while walking towards my house. Why did this happen?
