The following week of school went by without any issues or conflicts arising for either Emery or Austin. They saw each other in the halls, but neither made an attempt to talk to the other. There was a football game on Friday, one that Laney talked Emery into going to, just to support the dance team and nothing else. Emery decided to go because there was nothing else planned and she didn’t want to spend it sitting around watching old movies and eating popcorn with her parents. The following day was her eighteenth birthday, she and Austin did have plans, but now everything was up in the air of what she was actually going to do.***“Just make sure you sit on the opposite side of where Apryl and her whores will be.” Laney gave Emery instructions of where she needed to sit so that she would be near the dance team and not the cheerleaders.“I know.” Emery patted Laney’s shoulder. “I’ve been to almost every game

Emery walked up the stairs toward the second floor of the hospital. She took deep breaths and tried to calm her nerves before she went in to see Austin. The door leading to the second floor creaked open as the light flooded the stairwell. There were several nurses in the hallway, but none of them paid her much mind as she walked past on her way to Austin’s room.The door was shut when Emery finally came to the room that Dr. Holt had told her Austin would be in. She knocked softly, but there was no answer. She slowly opened it up and peeked inside. Austin was laying on the bed with the covers pulled halfway up. There was an IV in his arm and the TV was turned on low. It seemed whoever had delivered him had already done their thing and left.Emery sat on the chair beside the bed. Her eyes carefully gazed over Austin’s body, looking for any signs of trauma, but he looked like he normally did, only now he was asleep. She took hold of his hand and lightly intert

Emery squinted her eyes open. There was faint sunlight shining through the window like the sun was just coming up over the horizon. She remembered where she was instantly and sat upright. Austin was still laying on the bed, carefully watching her as she woke up.“What time is it?” Emery tried to sit more upright, but her stiff neck and back stopped her from doing so graciously.“It’s a little before dawn.” Austin motioned toward the sun peeking in the window.Emery grabbed her cell phone on the stand to see what the exact time was. Her clock read a little past six in the morning. “Why did you let me sleep so long?” Emery ran her hand through her hair, knowing it must be a total mess. “Didn’t anyone come in and try to kick me out?” She knew it was a big no-no for non-family members to stay the night.“I tried to wake you up, but you kept making these small noises and never fully woke u

“They should be here in about half an hour.” Emery made sure the living room was cleaned up to her grandparents’ satisfaction. Not that they were critical about how the house was kept, but she liked to keep everything cleaned up just for show. She kissed Austin on the cheek. “Don’t be nervous.” He was fidgeting around with the remote, which was a sign that he was trying to hide his anxiety.“I’m not.” Austin knew his attempt at sounding sincere failed as his voice crackled. Emery smirked at him and went about her business. “Well, the way you’re all acting makes me think that these people are uptight.”“They’re not. We just like things to go well when we see them.” Emery finished the last of the dusting then settled in beside Austin on the couch. “Mom and Dad like to cook them dinner and I just like the house to be clean…no biggie.” She saw him nod his head okay,

Emery felt someone touching her arm and instantly jolted awake. “Mom, what’s wrong?” Her mother was standing near her bed and had a worried look on her face.Mrs. Warden patted her daughter’s arm to let her know everything was all right and walked toward the closet. “It’s almost five and I know you have to get ready. I thought you might want to get up now from your nap.” She brushed the hanging dress on the door with the back of her hand and couldn’t wait to see both Emery and Austin all dolled up for this occasion.“Thank you.” Emery thanked her mom for waking her up. If not, she probably would’ve still been sleeping when Austin got there at seven. Her mom waved her hand in response and continued out through the door, shutting it on the way out. Emery ran her hand over her face to wake herself up more. No time to be wasting, she thought to herself as she jumped out of bed and grabbed her robe t