The Four

Emmet Jones

   Having a mom that leaves you when you are ten years old, and a dad that turns into a drunk not even a month later can make it feel like your entire world is caving in. At least that's what it felt like to Emmet Jones. It still felt like that six years later.

    Emmet grew up in Australia and bolted the first chance he got. However there was one plus living on the coast of Australia, you learn how to not be afraid of spiders.

    Around this time it was nearing the boy's sixteenth birthday and he had managed to convince his dad to take a trip to the United States: more specifically New York City. His dad was slowly starting to get better about drinking and even went to rehab just three months prior.

    Emmet sighed as he leaned back in his desk chair staring up at the calendar on his wall. The date was November 25th, in three days he would be sixteen. One of the big birthdays according to most but it didn't feel big. It felt shitty.

    Sure, he had a good life now but back when he was growing up it was hell. His mom had left a week after he had turned ten and his dad had turned to drinking to try and numb the pain that he was feeling. But instead all the drinks did was turn the man numb to everything. Emmet was left to fend for himself against the world and his dad. He had to be the model son. Get amazing grades, be an amazing athlete, get scholarships, take care of not only himself but his dad as well. And if he messed up, he earned lifelong bruises and scars.

    But his dad was doing better now and had been doing better for a while. However, that didn't take away all the hurt and suffering Emmet was put through as a young child.

    The knock on his door took the boy out of his daydreams.

    "Come on in!" Emmet called out as he shut his laptop to make sure his dad didn't see what he was searching up.

    "This isn't packing." Howard Jones stated as he scanned the room looking at the mess of clothes and an empty suitcase, "We leave at 2 a.m. bud, that's in three hours so get to packing." He picked up a shirt from the floor and threw it at his son who caught it with ease.

    A small smile found its way onto Emmet's face as he just tossed the shirt into the open suitcase, "There. I'm packing!"

    "Funny." His dad replied as he watched him, "But seriously I won't hesitate to leave you here." With that he turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

    Emmet's smile fell as the door shut. Although he liked joking around with his dad, he always felt like he had to be on guard at all times just in case he slipped back into his old ways.

    He opened up his laptop again and stared at the college website that was now open. Howard had wanted him to work hard in school so he could go to the best University he could. But he never specified that it had to be in Australia.

    The very next day Emmet found himself standing right in the middle of Times Square. The lights and all the people were very overwhelming but it was oddly calming in a way. All the people rushing to get to where they had to be, all the different advertisements and of course how bright and colorful everything was.

    He wished he could stay there forever just living in the moment. Even though he was mostly looking at schools in North Carolina and Maine, he knew he couldn't pass up the opportunity to live in New York City and go to school here. He had made it a goal for himself to at least try and make it into NYU.

    Emmet was only assuming he had the grades to get in but if he really worked until graduation he had a feeling he could do it.

    Him and his dad walked around trying to do as many tourist things as they could. They were only there for a week despite wanting to stay there for longer. It was a little bit of a miracle that they were even able to go in the first place. Now with his dad now working at a high profile business and Emmet making money by working at a restaurant they were able to take the trip. But if you told them that they would be travelling like this three or four years ago both would have punched you in the face.