Forever & Always

Four

Emma rolled over in bed as the sunlight flooded in and grabbed her phone. 11 AM.

Groaning, she rolled back over, covering her face with her pillow. She heard the door unlock and groaned again.

"Em," her sister's voice sounded, and Emma looked towards the bedroom door.

"Yeah, Carter?" Emma called out. She heard the door close, and her littlest sister, whom she adored, walked in. No sign of Ariana, though, thankfully.

"Hey, can you drive me to the mall later?" Carter looked at her with pleading eyes. She was a year away from her license, and Emma chuckled.

"You are in luck. Ash is taking me at 1," Emma replied, and Carter squealed.

"Thanks!" She said, and Emma turned.

"What do you need at the mall?" Emma asked, looking at her sister. Carter blushed.

"I am watching a movie with Mickey," Emma's eyes narrowed.

"Mickey and who else?" Carter looked away; her avoidance only made Emma more curious.

"She invited some boys, OK?" Carter yelped out, and Emma chuckled, sitting up and headed towards the bathroom to relieve herself and brush her teeth.

"I know, Carter, I was teasing you," Emma said, and Carter threw a sock at her.

"Really?" Emma asked, and Carter shrugged.

"You have nothing else to chuck at your head." Emma laughed and hugged her sister.

"Come on, I'm hungry," Emma said, guiding her out of the casita and towards the main house.

Her parents had French doors around the whole first floor. It was a beautiful home, and the back doors were wide open as the sound of college football was going and her mom was in the kitchen. From the smell, she was baking something.

"Mmm, smells delicious, Mom," Emma said as her mother, Shannon, smiled.

"Your grandma requested an Almond Pastry," Emma chuckled. Her great-grandma loved her other great-grandma's Swedish pastry.

Emma moved towards the espresso machine, putting a pod in and getting herself a bagel out of the pantry.

"What time did you get back?" Her mother asked, and Emma yawned.

"Around 9, it was busy last night, and we both decided to head out early," Emma said, and her mother looked at her.

"How is Collin," her mother asked. Emma didn't have the heart to tell her mother what had happened between them. Her dad, Mark, however, interrupted the conversation, and Emma smiled at her mom.

"Em's come to watch the game with me." He called, and she got off the chair at the counter and moved towards the living room. She chuckled when he had the surround sound going and plopped down on the recliner seat next to him.

"How are they looking?" She asked and looked at the score. USC had 21 points to 6 against Arizona, and it was almost the end of the half. "Good so far, who knows, though." He muted the TV as commercials came on, and she smiled, sipping her coffee. He hated commercials and complained they were always louder than the show you wanted to watch.

Her dad leaned over and looked at Emma, "I can't keep covering you forever. You need to tell your mom what happened with Mr. Rodriguez," he said, patting her head.

"I know, Dad, I know," She replied. They settled in for the last few minutes of the game and yelled when the refs usually ignored clear calls against the Trojans. She walked out to get ready to go to the mall at half-time. She glanced at her phone and saw Collin had texted, but she ignored it and called Ashlyn.

"Hey you," Ashlyn said, "I am down the street."

"No worries, I am just doing my hair. Hey, Carter needs a ride," Emma said, and Ashlyn giggled.

"Mickey roped her into a movie date, right?" Emma laughed at her guess.

"How do you know?" Mickey was Ashlyn's little sister and was the same age as Carter.

"Um, who is her sister?" It was Emma's turn to laugh at that.

"Right." Emma said as she heard Ashlyn's car shut off, "See you in a sec." Emma hung up and finished straightening her thick brown hair. She loved the wave of her hair but hated how it was frizzy. Ariana got the better deal with wild, beautiful curls. She heard Ashlyn yelling and sighing. Shutting off the straightener, Ashlyn pulled open the door.

"I am going to kick Ariana in the shin," Ashlyn said, looking pissed. Emma laughed.

"What did she do to you?" Emma asked her.

"She told me I looked like a stripper." Emma looked at her friend and snorted.

"I mean, she's not wrong," Emma said, and Ashlyn twirled laughing.

"I know, but she didn't have to say it in front of your dad," Ashlyn said, and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Stay away from my dad," Emma said, and Ashlyn smirked.

"Make me." Ashlyn purred.

Emma rolled her eyes, shut off her straightener, and put everything away. "Let's go." Emma grabbed Ashlyn's hand and pulled her out of the house.