UNEDITED
Not all storms come to disrupt your life, some come to clear your path.
Those are the words that Justin McCallister has been repeating in his mind since the day he was diagnosed with a non-cancerous brain tumour that's been causing partial...
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Justin
Something's up when we get home from the grocery store.
How do I know?
Because Addie's vehicle is parked in our driveway, while four others are parked along the side of the road, their tires almost on the front lawn.
"What the hell?" I mutter to myself as Mom pulls into the garage. I turn to look at Mom. "What's going on?"
She flattens her lips into a line and she shakes her head.
It's her way of telling me that she's not going to reveal why Addie and other guests are here. I look back at Chris. He's gazing out the window with a smirk on his face.
Wow. I'm getting the cold shoulder from my two favourite family members. How sweet.
I enter the house cautiously, a couple of grocery bags in hand, wondering what I'm going to find in the kitchen because, from the hallway, I can hear voices. Addie is definitely here. I think I hear Sophia and Zander, too. The rest are just too muffled for me to make out.
I pause, taking a deep breath in case they catch me off guard. They all know what's wrong with me, but it's still embarrassing to have a seizure in front of my friends – tonic-clonic or partial, it doesn't matter.
Finally, I round the corner and step into the kitchen.
Sure enough, I see Addie, Sophia, Zander, Jacey, Nadira, Jake, Alex, Addie's parents, and a couple other adults I recognize as Sophia's parents. My eyes widen the slightest bit as I set the grocery bags down on the counter. As I do that, something in the bag clinks against the granite, and everyone turns to look at me, suddenly going silent.
"Uh, hey," I say slowly.
Addie walks over and gives me a hug. "I tried to tell Sophia that a party wasn't really your thing, but then she pulled everyone in, and, well, I couldn't stop them. Sorry."
I smile against her neck. This has got to be one of the best things anyone has ever done for me. "It's okay," I reply. "Seriously. This is awesome. Thank you."
When Addie pulls away, we stare at each other for a moment and I realize just how exhausted she looks. I can see the nervousness in her eyes. It mirrors the look I saw in my eyes when I was brushing my teeth this morning.
I reach out and squeeze her hand. "Let's forget about what's to come for now," I say softly. I gesture to the stacked boxes of pizza and the board games on the dining room table. "Right now, I want to eat pizza and play board games with our friends."
She smiles. "That sounds fantastic."
After that, the party starts. First, I make my rounds and say hi to everyone, thanking them for coming. Next, the teenagers migrate into the living room, while the adults hang out in the kitchen. As I exit with the group, I glance over my shoulder and look at my mom. She's smiling and laughing with her newfound friends and I feel my eyes burn. My father was controlling; barely let my mom spend time with her friends or have them over while they were married. In fact, I heard him say multiple times that he hated her friends back in Cache Creek.
