Emily

Everett texted me early the next morning and ask if I was awake. It was seven am. I didn't sleep until four am.

"What's up?" I texted back and he called me immediately.

"Hello." I said, groggily.

"How was the concert last night?" he asked.

"You called me this early to ask about that?" I asked. "It was fine."

"Just fine?" He asked.

"I had fun." I said. "The music was good and I had lots of fun."

"Would you like to go for a walk with me?"

"When?" I asked closing my eyes.

"Now." he said. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"It's cold out." I complained.

"Please." he pleaded. "It'll be fun and it will make you feel better."

I rolled on my bed and sighed. "Fine, but I need more than just fifteen minutes. I can't get ready that quickly."

"I will be there in fifteen minutes, but you can take your time." He said.

"No. You take your time and come a little later." I said and he laughed.

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

Like he said, he was at my place in fifteen minutes. When I stepped back inside my room from the washroom. He was sitting on my bed, playing with his phone.

"How did you?" I asked.

"Come in?" he smiled. "the door."

"I shake my head, I thought you will be downstairs."

"Your Dad opened the door for me. He went to buy some breakfast. I told him we were going for a walk and breakfast."

"You seem way too excited for someone on a Saturday morning. How come you didn't sleep in? It's weekend."

"It would be a lie if I said that I woke up early, today. I couldn't sleep well last night knowing you went on a date and it would be a lie if I said I wasn't jealous, I'm trying to be a good friend- so bear with me." he said.

"It was not a romantic date, but a friendly date."

"Friendly date..."

"Yes, Troy calls it a friendly date. He said-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I honestly don't want to hear what he said to you on your date." he pouted. "If its something you said, I would like to listen to that." and I laughed and he give me a small smile.

He made sure I was warm and helped me put on my jacket and shoes. We walked in my neighbourhood. It was cold, but it felt nice to go for a walk. Some people were walking around their dogs.

"What did you do yesterday?" I asked.

"I had family lunch." he said looking thoughtful.

"Was it better than before?"

"Its always the same. Dad introduced us to his new girlfriend, who's two years older than my oldest brother, how f*cked up is that?"

I grimaced a bit.

"Dad always have someone new every six months." he rolled his eyes. "but the one from yesterday was very annoying."

"Did you like any woman that your dad brought home?" I asked curiously.

"There was one, she was decent compared to the others. She didn't fake as much as the others did, the only problem with her was she tried to act like she was my mother."

I grab his hand and squeezed it. "Are you okay?"

He intertwine our hands together as we continued walking.

"I snitched on my brothers for the first time and I enjoyed it." he laughed and I give him a confused look. "He was screwing one of his employee and was giving her the company's benefit and Dad have strict policy when it comes to staffs dating each other. That guy always minded my business more than his, so I give him some taste of his own medicine."

"That's harsh." I said quietly.

"Our family is screwed up that way.. we try to get on each other's nerves to see who reacts the most. At the beginning, my brothers were always after me. I'm older, now." he shrugged.

"Would your older self from the future regret doing everything that you are doing, now?" I asked.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "There's possibilities, but at the same time I don't think so. My brothers and I will never get along. They want the company and my Dad is just playing around with all of us."

"What would you like to be when you are older?"

"I have applied for Creative Arts and Design programs. I'm in between Graphic Designing or Illustrator. Whichever one I get into or if I get into."

"You draw?" I asked.

"Not so well. I just want to annoy my Dad." he laughed. I don't know if he's been serious about it. "He wants me to study something related to his business. My brothers are very satisfy with what I chose for college."

"It's your life at the end, why are you making decisions that could hurt you, all because you want to annoy your dad?"

"I applied for those programs mainly because I'm interested in it and also I want to tell my Dad, not everyone have to follow the same path he did. We all should try something different. Things may or may not work out, we never know if we never tried. Dad chose a different path and a different life. His parents were grocery store owner, my Dad had dreams- big dreams and instead of just wanting to take over the grocery store. He decided to do something big and he's where he is after all the hard work."

And something in me tells me, he's going to be successful, or maybe it's the wish and hope I have for him.