Story pt 1

"It's not fair!" I cried as I hunched down besides the grave stone. It read Here lies Matthew Funds. Husband. Father. Friend. Our time with you was short, but well lived. The overcast sky, pregnant with rain, threatened to open up at any moment. I repeated the sentence in a softer tone.
"Life rarely is." said a soft voice from behind me. I didn't have to turn around to know that my mom followed me after I stormed out of the house. A fresh fiery rage was kindled inside me. With nowhere to direct the anger; I swallowed it.
"You guys always said that God had big plans for me." I spoke through gritted teeth. It was all I could do to conceal the stream of tears which began to travel down my cheeks.
"And he still does, This doesn't change anything He has in store for you." She spoke assuringly. Her tone made me sick: so sure of how life would turn out. Rain drops began to patter around us with soft plunks. I shook my head and tried to constrain my anger.
"How can you say that?! This changes everything! If God wants me so bad, why did he have to go and take Dad?!" I yelled, startling a bunch of crows sitting near by. Was she really so naive to think that life would be the same when we woke up tomorrow?
"Because I have faith. You should too." She spoke matter-of-factly.
"Put faith in that thing that let dad down? No. He doesn't care about us at all. If he did then dad would still be alive." I heard her gasp, and I knew that I hit her hard.
"You aren't the only one who misses him. Do you think that the rest of us haven't felt the sting of his loss? That's incredibly selfish of you." She bellowed, stalking her way back to her car.
"I'm not the one that's pretending he never existed!" I called back. The rain began to fall steadily now, I could hear the fat rain drops hit the ground with a plop. I couldn't hear what she was doing anymore and that was a blessing in disguise. I waited for her to leave and began talking.
"Things have been rough at home, dad." I said absently. I paused as if waiting for the stone to speak back to me, and then continued. "Mom pretends this whole thing didn't happen, it's almost as if she's trying to forget about you completely. I can't live in a place like that. Our lives have changed and she wants to keep on living the happy carefree life she's used to." I broke my line of sight with the stone. Suddenly the ground was much more interesting than my father's resting place. Try to hide it as I may, I knew he could see the shame and desire etched into my eyes.
"I love you and miss you dad." I got up and headed back to the car, it was time to go home. The falling raindrops still crashing all around me, masking my tears as they fell. I sat in the car, listening to the rain hit the car, lost in thought. I hoped that she would be asleep when I got home.

2
From outside the living room window I could hear her sobbing into the phone. The words were barely understandable in between the deep breaths, but still I wanted to wait to hear what she was saying. I put my back to the house and slid down to a crouch underneath the window.
"I don't know what to do anymore, sis. I am trying to keep everything from falling apart, I'm trying so hard." She paused to blow her nose. "Nathan doesn't seem to see it that way, rather he's acting like I'm trying to sweep his father under the carpet." There was a silence as my Aunt put in her two cents.
"No, I refuse to send him to private school. He doesn't need that, Nathan isn't a bad kid. He's just hurting worse than the rest of us, Matt and Nate used to do everything together. When the accident happened he lost his best friend more than his own father." She paused again and I could hear her stifle her sobs as clearly as I could feel the rain.
"That's a nice sentiment to have, but it's unrealistic. I think sending him away would just rip his heart apart even more. I'll ask him what he wants to do when he gets home, I love you Sis." My mom replied and hung up the phone. She went into the kitchen and I waited for a while before getting up and heading into the house.
"Mom, I'm home!" I called out closing the front door behind me. She stepped out from kitchen holding a mug of tea. Her eyes were sunken and she wiped the back of her hand across her face, leaving a trail of smeared mascara.
"Hey." She said quietly. "Do you want a cup of tea? You were gone pretty long and it's frigid out."
"Sure." I lied. I just didn't want to hurt her feelings any more than I already had that day. "Got any green tea?"
"Yeah." She turned on the spot and went back into the kitchen to put the kettle on to boil. I followed her and sat down at the kitchen table.
"Mom, I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I know you're trying your best." I said looking at the table. She came over and sat down. When I looked up she was wearing a reproachful look.
"I know. You were right, things will never be the same around here. But that doesn't mean that our lives have changed as drastically as you think." She got up and pulled the kettle of as it began to sing. She came back with a cup of green tea and a bottle of honey. She set them on the table and sat back down.
"What's with the honey?" I asked bemused.
"It helps soothe your throat. With all the grievances we've had in the past two weeks it is a good idea to use it." I nodded and added some honey to my tea. I took a sip and smiled at my mom.
"So what comes next? How do we move forward from here?" I asked, trying to pick at the topic Aunt Katherine and her were discussing. She pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit a smoke.
"I was talking to my sister earlier and she seems to think that it would be a good idea for you to go to a private school this fall." She took a hit off of the smoke. "I thought that sending you away would just further the issue, rather than solving it." She exhaled the smoke and looked at me.
"So what's going to happen?" I spoke hesitantly, as if hearing the next few words would end my life as I knew it. I watched as she took another drag on the cigarette.
"That is up to you. You are old enough to decide what you want to do. So, do you want to stay here for the summer? Or go live with Aunt Katherine, Uncle James, and your cousin Brian?"
The words swirled around my head blurring my comprehension. I had the choice to stay in this tiny town or to go live in the country with my crazy ass relatives.
3
"Brian can you go get the door?" A woman spoke from the kitchen. Brian didn't seem to hear her, instead he just kept on browsing face book. A few moments went by before she spoke again. "Damnit Brian, if I have to come in there –"
"I'm goin', I'm goin'." Brian mumbled heading towards the front door. "Ma there's no one here!" He called out, frustration setting in from being torn away from his precious  web page.
"Check again in a few minutes, your aunt and cousin aren't too far out." She called out from the kitchen. Brian's eyes went wide with fear.
"You didn't tell me they were coming today! I made plans with the guys!" He whined as he thought the visitation was going to cause complications to the rest of the day.
"Yes, they are coming today. I've told you at least a dozen times. They are going through a dark time in their lives, or have you forgotten Uncle Matt's funeral?" The words cut deep, he couldn't forget Uncle Matt's funeral. Not after what happened there. Brian walked to the kitchen where his mom was making the crust for a pie. He put his hands on the counter and propped himself up across from where she was working.
"So–" He started, "What's going to happen?" A hint of concern was dropped in the words  as he spoke softly to his mother. She kept rolling out the stubborn dough and molded it to the pie plates. Brian waited patiently for his mother to stop what she was doing and talk to him.
"Your aunt and cousin are coming for dinner, and your cousin Nathan is going to spend the summer here with us." She paused and waited for Brian to protest but all he did was gape in anger. Brian didn't have anything to say, or more likely, couldn't think of anything to say.
"He's staying–" He spoke incredulously.
"With us, yes." She said, piling in the raspberry filling for the pie.
"All summer?" Brian spoke the last part as plea for sanctuary.
"Yes Brian, and there's no way around it. You will be nice to him as you always are, but you will also include him in your shenanigans or adventures, what ever you call them. Are we clear?" She spoke with a clear and resolute tone, there was nothing that Brian could say or do that could affect the outcome of tonight's events.
He skulked away and sat back down at the computer. From the kitchen the clicking of the keypad could be heard. Several minutes later a new status popped up, which read: "Doorbell just rang. My summer's done."

"Hey Katie!" I heard my mom cry as I pulled my bags out from the trunk of the sedan. I looked at the ground as I carried my duffle bags full of clothes and books towards the house. I heard the screen door whir as it swung open.
"Hey Cassie! It's so good to see you!" Before I could see the lie on her face, I heard it seep through in her voice. To her I was merely more than a cursed item being passed on. No one wanted to deal with me and I didn't blame them either.
"It's good to see you too sis." My mom spoke as Aunt Cassie released her and came to hug me. I dropped my bags and allowed myself to be hugged.
The embrace was weak and forced. She asked me how I was doing and I lied. We both knew that if I was doing okay that I wouldn't have been shipped over to her. Still, no one wanted to start the summer off on the wrong foot. It was promising to be a very boring and very long summer already. There was no need to add any further complications to the matter.
"Won't you two come on in and have some lunch? Steve's out playing golf with his buddies today, so he won't be joining us." Cassie led us into the massive and well furnished house, through the living room and into the kitchen where she had sandwiches already made.
"So how have you been doing?" I asked rather numbly. I pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. My mom did the same. Aunt Cassie came to the table with the sandwiches. As she set them down on the table she called out for my cousin Brian, whom I suppose was upstairs. When food was mentioned you didn't have to tell him twice.
"What were you asking Nathan?" Cassie said as she finally sat down and fixed herself a plate.
I swallowed the bite I took, "How have you guys been?"
"Oh we've been just swell dear, thank you for asking. We're glad that you're going to be spending the summer with us. It'll be a nice change of pace around here." Brian looked up from his food to stare at his mother. He wore an expression which said 'Really? I'm right here you know.'
I didn't know what to say back so I just smiled back at her. Cassie watched me as I ate my sandwich carefully. I honestly don't know what she was trying to figure out by staring at me, but it was getting weird. I just kept eating until she looked away, I didn't know what else to do. No one really talked after that until Cassie had had enough.
Aunt Cassie looked over and held up her plate, "Brian why don't you show your cousin to his room for the summer. I am quite sure that he will want to unpack his things and get comfortable. Besides, his mother and I need a word in private."
Brian got up and cleared the table before helping me with my bags. The trek up the stairs was easy for him, he'd been lifting weights since the seventh grade. I, on the other hand, hadn't touched a set of weights in 3 years. It was safe to say that I was out of shape, and lacking in the gun department.
We passed three doors on our right and then finally sat my bags down in a cozy guest room which had been cleaned from head to toe. The place looked as if dust was afraid to accumulate on anything. The sun shone through a lone window in the center of far wall, casting distorted silhouettes of the bed and dresser on the floor.
"My room's at the end of the hall. Come and get me when you are done unpacking and we'll get ready for tonight." Brian began to leave the room, but I stopped him before he was out of sight.
"What do you mean 'Get ready for tonight.'? Is there a party or something going on here?"  I was seriously confused. No one had told me that there was going to be anything going on the day I had gotten there.
Brian shook his head, "No, not here. We're going to my friend's house where he's having one of the biggest parties of the year. I'm going to get you laid if it's the last thing I do." On that note he left the room and I just stood there staring at the floor in a kind of limbo between being scared and excited.
His words rang in my ears for minutes as I put my stuff away. After a while the fright had given way to the excitement and put a spring in my step. 'I'm going to get you laid if it's the last thing I do.' As I put the last of my possessions away and stowed the bags away I realized that my feelings about this summer had changed. Maybe this summer wouldn't suck after all.