The Party Scene Got The Best Of Us...And Look Where We Ended Up.

Emmy walked into the house and threw her book bag and purse on the floor. "Hey guys, I'm home," she yelled.

"Hey honey," Sarah told her daughter walking into the front room from the kitchen. "How was school?"

"Fine," she said in a dismissed tone as she walked up the stairs.

"Honey, we're having a family dinner tonight so I don't want you going off anywhere," Sarah said.

"Alright, sure Mom," Emmy said as she walked into her room and shut the door. She walked over to her stereo and turned on some music to do her homework to. An hour and a half later Emmy had finished her homework and was sitting on the couch watching tv. Zack walked into the room and sat next to her on the couch. They sat there in silence until Sarah called them for dinner.

"Mom, what did you make?" Emmy asked as she walked into the dining room followed by Zack.

"Spaghetti," Sarah replied as she put the pot on the table. "Zack, can you go get the salad and French bread out of the kitchen for me?"

Five minutes later, the three Merricks were seated and ready to eat. They each dished out food for their plates then ate in silence for a few minutes until Sarah broke the silence. "Em, how was school today?"

"Uhh Mom, you already asked me that and I answered you," Emmy told her mother giving her a strange look.

"Well, tell your father how your day was and what you did."

"I went to school and my day was like any other day," Emmy said pushing her spaghetti around on her plate with her fork.

"I'm sure you did more than that honey," Sarah told her.

"What do you want me to say Mom?" Emmy said raising her voice slightly getting annoyed with her mother.

"Your father and I just want to hear about your day, that's all," she told Emmy.

"I never actually asked about her day Sare," Zack told his wife. "It's not a big deal."

"Oh my God, do you even care about your daughter? You don't talk to her, ask her about her day, or anything a normal father does!" Sarah yelled, as she stood up from the table.

Emmy sat there and she watched her parents for a minute then ran upstairs into her room, grabbed her hoodie, then ran out the front door. Emmy didn't stop running for almost five minutes then stopped and looked where she was. She realized that she was by the park she played at when she was younger. She kept walking for another five minutes until she reached the park. She walked over to a swing and sat down. Emmy sat there and watched the sun go down, pretending that she didn't have family issues and that she didn't have a care in the world. As twilight fell, she noticed a male figure walking her way but couldn’t see who it was because of the glare of the setting sun. Once he got closer, she recognized him as Travis.

"Hey, what's a pretty girl like you doing here all alone?" he asked when he was about five feet away from her.

Emmy looked at him a moment before answering him. "Uhhh, I like to come to the park by myself," she said keep her face averted and trying not to cry but failing as two tears slipped from her eyes and a sob came out.

Travis stood there for a moment not really knowing what to do about the girl in front of him crying. One part of him, the jackass, told him to leave her alone and that her crying was her problem. The other part of him, the nice guy, told him that he should see if she was okay and if she needed anything. "Ahhh, fuck it," he mumbled to himself as he walked over and sat on the swing next to Emmy. "Are you okay?" Emmy looked up, tears streaming down her face, and nodded. Travis kept looking at her and she finally shook her head.

"No, I'm not," Emmy told him, wiping her eyes. Travis just sat there looking at her waiting for her to keep talking. "My parents have been fighting a lot lately, mostly about me; I can't stand it anymore."

"Look, I'm a guy and we don't talk about feelings and shit but my parents fight about me. Well, they did before they got divorced so I think I know how you feel and I'm sorry. Do you want me to walk you home?" he asked her, looking at the sky that was turning dark.

"No," she told him trying to hold in more sobs.

"I can't just leave you here to get raped and killed. If that happened and I'd left you here, I'd never be able to forgive myself. Please let me walk you home," he told her.

"Travis, I don't want to go home. I can't go home to my parents right now. I can't deal with them and all the crap," she told him.

"Is there somebody you can stay with? Bryony maybe? I know that you guys are friends."

"No, I can't go there. As much as I love Bryony, I don't want her pity and I don't want Ian or Alex to know what's going on, especially not Ian. He'd give me shit," Emmy told him standing up from the swing. "Can I go back to your house?"

"Emmy, I don't know if that's a good idea," Travis told her.

"Please, I won't be a hassle and I'll leave you alone and you can do whatever you want. I just can't stay where any adults are and I know that your dad isn't home right now."

"Alright, I guess."

"Thanks," she said smiling up at him. "Oh, I should probably text my mom and tell her I'm going to Bryony's so she won't worry." Mom, I'm staying at Bryony's tonight, I'll be home tomorrow Emmy texted to her mom.

"Em, are you sure that you want to go with me? I'll walk you home if you want me to," Travis told her.

"No, I want to go with you. I told you, I just don't want to be home right now."

"Okay," Travis told her smiling at her. Jesus Christ Travis, when did you become so nice? he asked himself.