One Last Chance

Lets go!

We left today to Bryan's moms house.
The whole time Bryan told me the story about when his parents got divorced.

"It was a normal day. Mom and dad making breakfast together in the kitchen, Stacey was teaching me how to make friendship bracelets, life was good. Then, Stacey started something.
"Mom, we should go on vacation. I want us all to spend more time together." She said.
"Your father is too needy to miss work sweetheart, not even for his own family." She says to Stacey in a low voice.
That sentence really upset my dad.
"The only reason I work 6 hours a day is to pay for family bills!" He screams at my mom.
"Well maybe you wouldn't have to pay so many bills if you would stop buying stuff for yourself. Our boat, our golf cart, that trampoline-"
" Stacey and Bryan begged us for those things!"
"And you didn't bother saying no?"
"I actually care about both of our kids! I just don't want us to be poor like your sisters family!"
"Don't you dare bring Nicole into this! She at least loves her family more than her work!"
"That's because she doesn't work!"
"She can't get a job! It's not her fault!"
" you know what, you used that same excuse!"
" Nicole is living on the streets with three kids, no job, and no husband. She's a role model to me!"
"Well, if Nicole can live without a husband, so can you!"
Stacey gasps and I watch a tear run down her cheek. We both ran into the bathroom and locked the door. I just held onto her as tight as possible, I refused to let go. Sadly, we could still hear mom and dad.
"FINE! I will live without a husband and the kids will live without a father!"
" you cannot take the kids from me!"
"Maybe they should decide."
Right then they stopped talking and ran to the bathroom door.
"Stacey, let's go." My mom says unlocking the door. She pulls up Stacey who burst into tears as mom dragged her away. Dad held me back. The last words Stacey said to me for two years before this past Christmas was
"I love you Bryan, come find me"
I won't give up on finding her!"

As soon as he was done telling his sad story I had already heard 3 times, I put back in my headphones and zoned out. I eventually fell asleep and had a dream. There was Bryan and I at prom, we both got stood up. We decided that we should be each other's dates, and then we became a couple. Right after I had to move, and Steven was reading a book about waffles in the car, weird, he has A book!
I woke up to see us at this small hotel.
"What are we doing here?" I asked Bryan.
"I'm way too tired to drive anymore, we still have 20 miles left and it's 1:32 in the morning."
I got up and walked up to the front desk.
"Do you have any small rooms left? We only need it for tonight."
The lady nodded her head and handed me a key. We got on the elevator and I could see Bryan was happy, he was ready to see Stacey again. We got into the room and he sat down on one bed and I sat on the other.
"Night, sis."
"Night, bro."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bryan woke me up at 7 in the morning.
"HELLO? Wake up!" He screamed in my ear.
I groaned and threw a pillow over my face. He took the pillow and jumped on top of me. I groaned again as I got up and went to the bathroom. Bryan was yelling at me while I was in there.
"Just leave on what you have on, we will go get something to eat first."
"McDonald's sounds fine to me." I say to him with a laugh.
After we were done eating I started to ask more about Stacey.
"Does your mom know you're coming down here?"

Nope! It's a total surprise!"

"Not to burst your bubble, but what if they aren't at home?"

"I follow my mom on Instagram, here, check out this picture." Bryan hands me his phone with a picture of a TV that has a caption that says: just doing nothing today.
I gave the phone back to him and sighed.

"What about your sister?"

"She doesn't have an Instagram."

"But your mom does? LAME!"

" I know she's at home though. Where else would she be?"
I shake me head and put back in my headphones.

~~~LATER.....~~~

"WERE HERE, WAKE UP JJ!"

"I'm up!"
I stepped out of the car to see this cute little two story home with a garden. Bryan walks up the steps onto the porch and sits down on the bench.
"What are you doing Bryan? Are you ready to see Stacey?"

"What if she really isn't here? Or she doesn't miss me?"

"She loves you and she told you 'come find me'! She has to miss you!"
Bryan stands up and pounds on the door three times.
We stood there in the cold.
No answer.
He pounded on the door three more times.
We could hear somebody stomping down the steps and somebody yelled, " hold yo horses I'm coming!"
The door opened fast.
"Bryan? What in the world are you doing here?"

"Momma, I've come to see Stacey!"

"Sweetheart, Stacey isn't really with us anymore."

"Who's 'us' and where is she?"