Chapter Ten: Family Dinner

I got home, mind set on having my first drink Friday. It was only two days away. Mufasa leaped on me the second I opened the front door. After greeting him, I headed straight to my room. I only had two days to figure out what I'd wear to the party. So far, I had no idea where to even start. It was definitely going to be cold since it's November. But parties are usually packed and get hot quickly.

I decided I needed the help of my sister. Lindsay was good at these kinds of things. Party attire is her specialty. She used to always sneak out and go to some party. On the rare occasion I caught her, she always looked fierce. I needed that look for Friday. I needed a fond memory of that night.

"Lindsay!" I called, sticking my head out of my room.

"I'm busy!" She shouted back.

I sighed, "It's a fashion emergency!"

Footsteps quickly formed. She was in my closet before I could register what happened. Clothes began flying everywhere. I rolled my eyes, knowing I'd have to clean them up. She emerged holding the perfect outfit. She was holding a pink crop top sweater and high-waisted skinny jeans.

"You're welcome," She smirked before leaving my room in shambles.

I groaned, beginning to clean my room again. Once the clothes were back in the closet, I took a second to admire my room. My walls were pale blue so I could change the theme whenever I wanted. Right now, my room had a nautical theme. My comforter was blue and white striped. The pillows were blue and white. The throw pillow was yellow with white anchors all over it. I had white carpet so I didn't have to worry about rugs. My nightstand was white. A small white lamp sat on top of it with a yellow shade over it.

My desk was white. There was a mess of notebooks and utensils on it. No doubt my laptop was probably hidden under the mess. There were small yellow containers to hold all of my utensils, but I hadn't gotten around to organizing my desk again. My desk chair was yellow just like my curtains. Small pictures of my family and friends were displayed all over the walls.

I'm gonna miss this room. I thought sadly.

"Knock-knock," I heard mom's voice from behind me.

I spun around and smiled, "Hey mom, what's up?"

She shrugged, "I just got out of cooking so I decided to mess with my favorite child!"

"Lindsay and Tanner locked their doors, didn't they?"

"Yeah," She nodded. "Did you take lion king here for a walk yet?"

I rolled my eyes, "I'll go soon. I need to talk to Tanner."

She frowned, "So you're just gonna leave me?" I shrugged and she shook her head. "Ungrateful brats."

I laughed before heading to Tanner's room. His door was shut, probably to keep mom out. I softly knocked on his door. If he was asleep, I didn't want to wake him. He tends to get the most sleep during the day. Right as I was about to walk away, I heard the door open behind me.

"What do you want?" I could hear the anger in his voice.

I raised an eyebrow at him, "Did I wake you or are you on your man period?"

He didn't find my joke funny. In fact, he scowled before slamming the door shut in my face. My jaw dropped. He couldn't seriously be mad at me for what happened earlier. I was only trying to protect him. Instead of barging into his room and yelling at him like I wanted, I marched away.

Not long after our encounter, dinner was ready. My parents wanted us to eat all together before Lindsay left. She was going back to her college dorm tomorrow morning and they wanted to spend her last hours here together. Tanner tried leaving but dad made sure he took a seat.

"So! How's that little friend of yours, Kenzie? Griffin, was it?"

I bit my lip, "He's fine, I guess. We're not all that close."

Lindsay snorted, "Sure you aren't. That's why he went after you yesterday and left you with his coat!"

I shot her a glare. Dad frowned, "He did what? Did he touch you?! I swear if he-"

"Can we just stop talking about him? We're hardly friends. He just gave me his coat because I was shivering but too stupid to get up and go home. The end."

They all agreed and went back to eating. After a few minutes of only the sound of forks scraping against plates, mom cleared her throat, "How was everyone's day?"

Lindsay was quick to answer, "Awesome! I went to the mall and found this cute outfit. And I bought some more accessories because you can't buy a new outfit without new accessories! Then I met this guy who was kinda cute but only kinda. If you look at him from the right angle-"

"How was your day, Kenzie?" Dad interrupted Lindsay, obviously wanting to talk about anything else.

I shrugged, "If you don't count the part where Tanner decided to be an idiot and get into a fight, it was great. Thanks for asking."

"Tanner got into a fight?!" Mom seemed genuinely intrigued. "Did you win?"

"Don't encourage him, Maya!" Dad snapped his head in Tanner's direction. "But did you win?"

Tanner set his fork down, a sarcastic smile on his face, "I don't know, why don't you ask Mackenzie? I mean she is the one who pulled us off of each other just to fight the guy herself."

"That's not what happened-"

"Isn't it though?"

"It isn't! I was just trying to protect you! You clearly needed help-"

"Because you're such a great help! Why don't you try helping yourself for once?!" I knew what he was talking about by the look in his eyes.

Mom finally decided to intervene, "What are you talking about, Tanner?"

He smiled wickedly, knowing he was about to get his revenge, "Go on, Mackenzie. Tell them. Since you're so focused on helping someone!"

"Real mature, Tanner!" I snapped, though he knew I wasn't as bold as I was trying to sound.

In reality, I felt claustrophobic. I knew they weren't going to let this go and I had to come clean. There wasn't a single thing I could do about it. What's worse, I don't have any dirt on Tanner so it wasn't like I could turn the conversation back to him. Everyone at the table stared at me expectantly. With a sigh, I gave in.

"I've been having the nightmares again," My voice was small.

Dad's expression softened while mom looked like she was ready to murder me, "How long have they been happening?"

I shrugged, "A week I guess. I don't know."

"And you're just now telling me this?!" Mom's jaw clenched.

"Maya," Dad tried calming her but it didn't work.

"You said you'd tell me if they came back right when they did!" She snapped. "What else have you lied about?!"

I held back tears. From the corner of my eye, I saw Tanner grinning with satisfaction. I wanted nothing more than to rip that grin off his face. No matter how embarrassed he was, this was too far. He knew how sensitive I was about the subject and he just brought it up. He also knew I wasn't ready to face the light and talk about it. Knowing all of this, he let his ego get the best of him.

Nothing hurt more than disappointing my mom. She and I have a closer relationship than dad and me. It's not like I don't have a good relationship with my dad, it's just easier to talk to my mom about things. I've been focused on not letting her down since she never let me down or gave up on me. Right now, in this moment, I could see it. I had done just that.

"Could I be excused from the table?" I knew they could hear the tremble in my voice.

"No! You're gonna sit right here and-"

"Maya!" Dad shouted over her before turning to me. "Please take the dog with you."

I nodded, silently thanking him. As much as I wanted to say goodbye to my sister, I knew I couldn't stay in the room any longer. I grabbed my dog's leash and attached it to his collar. This time, I made sure to grab a jacket before leaving.

It was absolutely freezing. Summer was definitely gone until next year. There were hardly any leaves left on the trees. They were all raked up in piles or crunched up on the sidewalk. Mufasa happily ate half of one before continuing. I knew I was going to catch a cold one of these days. However, I couldn't seem to make myself care. I had too much on my mind.

Tanner was right: I needed to get help. My nightmares were starting to get worse. I just hated the thought of having to start taking those pills again. They were annoying and made me feel like less of a human. I was hoping they would go away so I wouldn't have to worry about the medicine, but they didn't. They won't be going away. They've gotten too bad.

I continued to walk until I got to the cemetery. I needed to visit her grave. It usually made me feel better. Just the thought of being with my grandma again. Even temporarily. I tied my dog up to the bench near her grave and went to the grave.

Carolynn Scarlett Oliver

I took a seat next to the headstone, "Hey grandma. I feel like it's been so long since I last visited."

I knew I wouldn't get a response, but I waited anyway. When she didn't respond, I sighed and pulled my knees to my chest. My chin rested on my knees as I watched my breath in the cold air.

"The nightmares came back. Horrible, I know. The Grim Reaper also visited me. He told me I have a year left. Actually, I don't even have a year anymore. It's less. And another thing, I disappointed mom tonight. I always visit you doing my worst times, huh? Just like before," I finally let go of the tears I held back. "I know you always told me to keep my chin up, but I don't know if I can anymore, grandma. I miss you so much-" I let out a sob.

I knew it was late, but I couldn't get myself to move. I felt too weak to move at all. I sat there and let myself cry. I allowed myself to feel sorry for me. It was like I had no control of my life anymore. Everything was spiraling out of control. Nothing had order in my life anymore. I couldn't pretend it did.

I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. I caught a glimpse of her hair. It was enough for me to throw myself into her arms. Lindsay sat down next to me, cradling me in her arms. This made me cry even harder.

"I miss her too," I could hear her tears, despite her trying to hide it.

We sat there for a while. Once I felt the tears stop, I sat up and wiped my face. Lindsay smiled at me, her eyes just as puffy as mine. She helped me to my feet and began walking me to her car. I stopped midway.

"I'll just walk," I smiled softly at her. "Besides, Mufasa's probably tired of sitting around."

She nodded before hugging me again and walking the rest of the way to her. I watched her drive away before I headed back to Mufasa. I smiled to myself, happy to have a sister like that. She's always been there for me. Even though I probably didn't deserve her, I had her and I was thankful for that.

Once I reached the bench, I noticed Mufasa wasn't there. My heart beat against my ribs. I couldn't lose that dog. Especially now. I couldn't walk home alone for multiple reasons. My anxiety being one of them.

"No, please no. Please let this be a dream," I quietly prayed.

"Sorry for scaring you," His voice came from behind me. I turned around quickly. "He was getting restless being tied here and your sister said it was fine."

I sighed with relief, "Griffin, you don't know how happy I am you have him."

"Now that you're here, I'll being going," He said, handing me the leash.

"You don't have to go," I replied, holding onto the leash. "Please don't make me walk alone."

He nodded, "As you wish."

//

No cover again! Sorry! I've been writing all day and my mind is really tired. Even though there's no cover, I hope you enjoyed! I'm really enjoying writing this book and it almost has 100 reads, so thank you to all of you reading!

Tatty bye <3