It's You

I could hear Mom in the kitchen getting breakfast, Dad laughing out loud at whatever he had just read on the funny pages. It's Friday and I get to spend the next 2 nights with my BFF Missy! Last weekend she stayed with us and Mom took us to the spa for a girls' day! We don't always get to do things like that, but Mom got a bonus from work and wanted to do something fun with just the girls. Dad took Jamie, my 7-year-old little brother, to a baseball game so it all worked out! Missy and I met when I started preschool at 4 years old, and we have been inseparable ever since. As a result, our parents became the best of friends, so when my little brother Jamie was born, my parents asked Missy's parents to act as Jamie and my guardian if anything should ever happen to them, which of course they said yes. We took 2 families and made them one that day. We even moved to a home a block away from theirs to be closer. Missy has a brother 2 years older than us. He mostly stays to himself but likes to binge-watch shows and eat way too much pop corn with us on the nights he is not at a party or date with his flavor of the week. I popped my head into Jamie's room to tell him to wake up, get dressed, and come eat before we missed the bus. He's a good kid, loves to read comics, play video games, and listen to music with me. He can be so annoying, but I have loved that little twerp since the day I met him in the hospital. Downstairs, mom is finishing the eggs and bacon. The table already has pancakes, OJ, milk, cream, fresh fruit, and syrup. Mom loves to cook. She got lucky with us. We all love to enjoy her wonderful cooking, which she is teaching me! During the week, I get to help her chop veggies and get her ingredients as she shows me how to properly measure and combine everything to make a full meal. It's really fun, but she likes to go big and cook for an army. She says it's from when she used to cook for her parents and all their friends. It's very easy for her to go overboard and cook way too much. Jamie is chatting with Dad about what he and Mom are getting to do this weekend while I am at Missy's. He tried to get me to cancel plans with Missy and go with my family to the interactive Science museum. "I love you, and you can tell me all about it on Sunday when I get home!" I said, looking into his little eyes. "But the Science Museum is not as fun for me anymore as it is for you!" "I love you too, Danny. "I will have mom take lots of pictures and videos for you to watch when you get home!!" he said, getting a little more excited about me having to watch all the videos he is going to make Mom take while at the museum! "Great Idea". Dad chimes in, knowing full well he will be right beside Jamie the whole time, making sure he is having fun but keeping all his fingers and toes. "Come on Squirt, we are going to miss the bus." I say, tossing my backpack over my shoulder. Jamie follows suit and quickly kisses Mom and Dad on the cheek. I give Mom a quick hug and plant a quick kiss on Dad's cheek before heading out the door with Jamie. Missy catches me as soon as I am off the bus and takes me to her moms car so that I don't have to carry my duffle bag around school all day. Thank the gods!! "Hey Mrs. Baker!" I say, tossing my duffle into the trunk. "See you after cheer-leading!!" "You girls behave!" She hollers as Missy and I run off towards the school. "Yes Ma'am" we both bellow without turning our heads. For the most part, we did behave, aside from taking too long in the locker room before Gym, cuz who really wants to go to Gym?? The rest of the day went by quickly, and before we knew it we were in the back seat of Mrs. Baker's car singing along with the radio. Dom, Missy's older brother, sits in the passenger seat texting. Dom is a senior and will graduate in 3 weeks. Then, according to him, he is going to move to Boulder and work with his uncle on motorcycles. They have a tech school there he can attend for all the certifications he needs to open his own shop. Mrs. Baker is not thrilled by the idea of him living with his uncle Damien, her baby brother. Missy isn't thrilled about him leaving either. She and Dom are so close, but I am sure he will come back for visits. Back at Missy's house, we were making tacos so that we could sprawl everything out in the living room and watch Scary Movies with Dom for the evening. After all the veggies are diced, the meat is cooked, and the rest of the fixings are ready, we make our nest on the floor and get started. Missy yelled for Dom to hurry up before we got to any terrifying parts, and she needed him to hide behind. He comes bounding in the room, leaps over the couch and starts making a plate full of tacos before he misses his chance. Somehow, we always get away from watching the movie and Dom is telling us about all the parties everyone is having over the next few weeks for graduation. He tries not to bring up his moving away and living so far away. Missy lit up when he told her that he was only going to pick 1 night out every weekend so that he could spend the rest of his time with her before he graduates and starts his new adventure. Missy and I will both turn 17 before he leaves, and we were planning on having a joint birthday party at the lake house. Our parents agreed that if we kept our grades up and attendance high we could have a party without them. I promise they will be at that lake house first thing in the morning on Sunday though!! All 4 of them! Missy and I woke up on the floor with Dom snoring on the couch. It was already 10am so we ran upstairs to take turns showering and getting ready for the mall! New swimsuits for the birthday party plus new outfits for the actual party! I just got out of the shower and Missy just got in. By the time I was dressed and hair was up, Missy was prancing out of the bathroom hair up in a towel. She got dressed and helped me with my make-up before rushing to Dom's room to beg him to take us to the mall. Of course, he takes us with minimal protesting, too much make-up. Missy's shorts are too short, brotherly crap that she says she wont miss when he moves. "Is everything OK?" Missy asks while we are trying on bathing suits and covers to match. "Yeah, I think so," I said, not sure why I had such a weird feeling. "I just have a strange feeling." "Let's try to distract you with new outfits!" she says as we make our way to the front counter with our new suits and matching covers. "You think maybe you did badly on the Geometry test Friday?" "No, I think I pretty much aced that!" I said, feeling quite confident that studying for 9 days straight did the trick and I will get an A for all the effort! After letting Missy talk me into a fantastic baby blue club dress to match her pink one, plus shoes i am going to have to practice walking in, we called Dom to come get us. Dome drove us through McDonald's on the way home, and we went over board ordering nuggets, burgers, fries, and milkshakes to top it off. Dom will gladly finish whatever we cant so we can never really go wrong with over ordering! Dom's phone rings. When he answers, he is quiet for a moment, then glances in the rear view mirror at me before saying "No problem, I'll keep them with me for a little while" and then hanging up. "How about we go hang out at the skate park for a bit?" Dom asks without offering an explanation. "Um, no. We want to go home and try on our new clothes!" Missy protests. "What's going on, Dom?" I ask. "Why can't we just go back to the house?" "Can't a big brother just want to hang out with his kid sister and her bratty friend?" he responds as he shoots Missy a look in the mirror that tells us both he is not going to spill the tea on this one. We are at the skate park for 2 hours when Dom finally says he is ready to go home. I have not been able to shake the weird feeling, and it is only getting worse. As we pulled up to the house, I could see a police car in the driveway and give Missy a questioning look. She responded with a shrug before grabbing my hand. The last time I had a weird feeling like this, my Grandmother had a massive heart attack and passed away. This couldn't be good, I thought as we all approached the door preparing for the worst, although I had no idea what was about to happen.