Faded Heart

XV. What the Heart Wants

"Emerson, sweetie. Why are you pouting?" My dad asks, watching me in the back seat of the car while Elise is dozing off next to me. I must have been staring out the window for too long for him to think there was something wrong. The rain was beating against the car, so sometimes I liked to just watch the drops race down the window. After being with people who stressed me out all day, it was comforting.

"I'm not." I sighed, turning my attention back towards my family. I wasn't pouting, I was just thinking again. It's not my fault that I look mad sometimes when I'm not. "Just because I'm not smiling doesn't mean I'm upset." To be honest, I was more exhausted than anything.

"Did you have fun at Midsummers?" My mom asked, as she drove us back home. There was tension between my parents. My dad had a little too much to drink during the celebration, which meant that there would be some kind of fight between them tonight about my dad embarrassing our family.

"Yeah." I lied. Minus seeing JJ and getting attacked by Rafe and his minions, Midsummer's was just as boring as always. Definitely not what I would consider a good time. It was exhausting pretending that I wanted to be a part of that world the entire day.

"How about the Maybank boy making a scene, huh? I guess he's taking after his old man." My dad laughed. His words slurring a little bit from the alcohol, "I can't believe you were friends with him once."

My blood started to boil at the thought of my dad looking down upon JJ. I wasn't just friends with him. That was someone who I cared about so much. My parent's were more involved in criminal activity than JJ was, so we were they to judge him, "Dad, you don't know anything about him. Just shut up."

"Emerson, don't speak to your father like that." My mother chimed, quickly shooting a look of daggers at me. "Apologize now."

"No." I shouted, loud enough to wake my sister next to me. I was so upset from what my father just said about JJ. They know nothing about him and can't pretend like they do. JJ is one of the best people I know. He deserves so much more than everyone scolding him. Plus, being mad I practically began to word vomit out everything that I knew about my parents and what they've been doing these last couple weeks. I couldn't hold it back anymore. "I will not apologize to either of you. You guys are seriously messed up. Don't you think I don't know what you two have been up to this entire time?"

"What are you talking about?" My mom yelled, immediately swerving the car on to the side of the road causing me to bump into Elise. I could see she was more upset than she's been in a really long time. "You do not talk to either of us like this!"

"Mom, I'm seventeen. I'm not a child.. I'm way smarter than you think. I see through this little facade you've been playing, trying to hide behind Midsummers like nothing else was going on. I know you're looking for the Royal Merchant gold. Also, I know you hired two hitmen who beat up Lana Grubbs and chased my friends around two looking for this stupid gold. You two are absolutely ridiculous. How could you do something like this?" I shouted once more, my face beginning to redden and my fingers gripping the side of my seatbelt.

"You ignorant child. How dare you accuse us of things like that." My father joined in, turning around to face me. His face was beat red now too. I hated how both of them immediately looked down upon me too. I was their daughter and they were so quick to write me off like I was just an idiot.

"Those two guys were in the office the night of the storm. Emerson and I heard you talking to them." Elise chimed in, trying to defend me. She now was beginning to perk up from her sleepy state.

I appreciated her sticking up for me, but I didn't want her getting into this. This was my fight with my parents, "Elise, stay out of this." I shouted, turning towards her for a moment and then back to the angry eyes of both of my parents.