When I texted Jack later that day to find out what I should wear, I was delighted to hear that he was wearing a black NorthFace jacket with some jeans and Spearies. So I decided to wear my soft white Columbia jacket with a blue striped infinity scarf, jeans and boots. I braided my long brown hair down in a side braid. Once satisfied, I grabbed my phone and ran downstairs. Mom smiled at me.

"You look cute!" She said. I smiled at her.

"Ready to go?" I asked her. She jangled her keys and we headed for the door. Before we could leave, Dad's voice called us back.

"Where are you two going?" He asked. Mom and I turned to look at him.

"Well, I'm taking Megan to Le Rose to meet Jack then I'm going to drop by Lily's house. She suggested we had a little sit down to catch up on things." Mom said. I smiled and waved at Dad.

"Hey, Dad." I said. He didn't look at me.

"Megan's going on a date?" He asked, crossing his arms. Uh oh, I thought. Mom just nodded.

"Yeah, why not? She's in the eight grade!" Mom said. I saw Michael pop his head out of his room. He asked me a silent question with his eyes; Are they alright? I gave him a look that said 'go back in your room and wait until mom gets back.'

"Come on, Mom, I'm going to be late." I said. Mom and Dad were glaring at each other.

"She's not going." Dad spat. My jaw dropped and my heart sank. I felt tears beginning to form in my eyes.

"What? Why not?" I asked. Dad's gaze hardened.

"You are fourteen years old, Megan Lowe. And I will not have you going on a date with some random boy!" Dad shouted. I stepped closer to Dad.

"He's not some random boy! He's Jack Rainer! We've known the Rainer's all our lives! Jack's been my best friend since I can remember! Since before I can remember!" I shouted. Rage filled Dad's eyes and he pushed me away from him. I stumbled and knocked over the lamp on the coffee table. Michael, who had refused to listen to me, ran down the stairs to see if I was alright. I assured him that I was fine as I got to my feet. I felt hollow inside.

"You will not talk back to me, young lady! Am I understood?" Dad snarled. I set my jaw in devastated defiance. Mom was livid. Her face was red, her fists clenched.

"Get out." She growled through clenched teeth. "I don't care where, just out! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" She shouted at Dad. Michael buried his face in my jacket. Checker whimpered and slunk away to the farthest place from my dad. I was frozen with shock, fear, and anger. Mom took a deep breath. "Just for tonight. We all just need to calm down. We're all getting out of the house, tonight. Megan, Michael, come on. Terrance," Mom said, her cold gaze settling on Dad, "I will see you tomorrow." Then she spun around and herded us out the door and to the car. I sat in the front seat with Mom and Michael sat in the back.

"What about Checker?" Michael asked. I bit my tongue to keep from snapping at him.

"He'll be okay, Michael. I promise." Mom said. I turned around and gave him a reassuring smile. Michael smiled back at me and I turned back to face the front. My phone vibrated on my lap. It was Jack.

Are you alright? He texted. It was six forty.

Yeah, sorry. On my way. Got a little held up! C ya soon! I replied. A few seconds later, he sent me a smiley face. I reached up to pull down the visor mirror and pain jolted through my side. My hand shot to my side and I breathed in through my teeth.

"Megan, sweetie? Are you okay?" Mom asked. I nodded and rubbed my side.

"Yeah, I just.....I'm fine." I said. The car slowed for a red light. Mom looked over at me.

"If you're hurt, Megan, you need to tell me." She said. If I told her that when Dad pushed me, the coffee table had jabbed me in the side and the lamp had hit my temple on the way down, she would call the police on him. For a minute, that's what I wanted. I wanted Dad to get in trouble, see his guilt for hurting me. But then I remember when I was six. I had fallen and scraped up my knees and arms. He had patched me up and held me in his arms and let me cry. Then he had sat me on his lap and let me watch America's Funniest Home Videos way past my bedtime. Oh, we laughed so much. The anger was gone and I smiled at Mom.

"I'm fine, Mom. Perfectly fine." I said. She looked at me for a minute before smiling.

"Have fun, sweetie. Text me when you want me to come pick you up. Then we'll run home, grab your stuff, and we'll see if Kayla's parents will let you stay over for the night." She said. I nodded, gave her a quick hug, winked at Michael, then jumped out of the car. Jack was waiting at the front door. I waved at him and he smiled. I walked over to him.

"Hey." I said. He gave me one of his cute little smiles.

"Hey, there." He said. My hand drifted to my side, pain beginning to pulse. Jack's eyes turned concerned.

"Are you okay?" He asked. I opened my mouth to give this long excuse, but when our eyes met, I couldn't do it.

"I'll tell you over dinner." I said with a smirk. He smiled hesitantly. He held his arm out and I linked mine around it. He led me inside and rung the bell at the hostess stand with a flourish. I let out a little laugh. Jack's uncle came to the stand. He spread his arms wide and embraced Jack and I in a big bear hug.

"Megan Lowe! It's about time!" He said with a booming laugh. I laughed as well. He let us go.

"Nice to see you too, Mr. Possler." I said. He smiled at me.

"I told you, call me Uncle Nick." He said. I nodded.

"Alright then, Uncle Nick. Jack tells me you reserved us a table on the roof?" I asked. Uncle Nick winked and motioned for us to follow him. We made our way through the restaurant, the sounds of glass and silverware mixed in with the harmony of voices throughout Le Rose. We made our way to the back of the building to the staircase. I went up first, followed by Jack and then Uncle Nick. I reached the door to the roof and opened it. There was a table for two set up. It had a white table cloth draped over the cast iron picnic table. There were two cast iron chairs set up with seat cushions for comfort. There was a candle in the middle of the table and a rose set on both of the fine, white plates. The sun was setting, throwing the whole set up into a glowing warmth. I smiled as happiness played tag with my heart. Jack gave me another one of his winning smiles and pulled my chair out for me. It all seemed rather silly, two eighth graders on a date in the sunset on top of one of the Le Rose, but at the moment, my Dad's voice still ringing in my ears, I needed a little silly. I sat down in the chair and Jack pushed me in. Then he walked around the table and sat down in his chair. Uncle Jack gave both of us menus and we started looking. Jack ordered a Coke and I ordered a Mountain Dew. Uncle Nick went back downstairs to fetch our drinks.

"So, Megan," Jack began, "What happened? Why were you late? You're never late. I know you got held up, but by what?" I sighed and looked at him. His eyes were full of concern as he leaned in, his hand covering mine. I took his hand in mine and took another deep breath.

"My mom and dad haven't exactly been getting along lately," I began slowly. "Everyday, when Dad would come home from work, Checker would go crazy, Dad would give Michael and me hugs, then he would give Mom a kiss. A few weeks ago, Dad came home and instead of Checker running to see him, he hid from him. I remember thinking that something was wrong. Dad didn't give us hugs anymore, and he completely ignored my mom. I would come downstairs and find him sleeping on the couch, the door to their room closed. I would be lying in bed and I would hear shouting. Then something broke downstairs. I ran to see what it was and found that Dad had thrown a hairbrush at Mom. Thankfully, it missed. It broke the mirror, though. We didn't tell Michael. No point in making him worry. Dad left for a couple of days after that. When he came back, it seemed like things were getting better. Dad would come home earlier from work to help with dinner, and he would give us hugs. But he still wouldn't kiss my Mom. Checker was still scared of him. Today, when we were leaving to come here, Dad got mad. Saying that I couldn't date some random stranger. I told him that we had known you our entire lives and that you weren't some stranger. I.....he....." I trailed off. Jack didn't say anything. He just squeezed my hand. I took a deep breath and continued. "He pushed me. He got mad, I talked back, so he pushed me. I fell over backwards and hit the coffee table. The corner of the table hit my side and I knocked the lamp over. It hit me in the head as it fell. Everyone is getting out of the house, tonight. Mom says we just need to cool off. Dad's going to a hotel, probably, Mom is most likely gonna stay at May's mom's house with Michael, and I'm going to Kayla's." I said. I felt so much lighter having said all that. As if someone had taken half a weight off my shoulders. I guess that was true. Jack was the first person I had ever told this to. Now he was helping me carry the burden. He leaned in and kissed my cheek.

"I am so sorry. There's nothing I can say or do that will make what is happening to you alright." He said. "But I can try." Then he smiled. "How about, for one night, we forget everything? No Dad, no Mom, no fighting. Just us. Deal?" I smiled.

"Deal." I said. Uncle Nick came back with our drinks and Jack and I clinked them together in cheers.

"What can I get you two to eat?" Uncle Nick asked. I glanced through the menu one more time.

"Uh, how about Chicken Alfredo?" I asked. Uncle Nick nodded and wrote that down.

"How about you, Jack?" He asked. Jack finished looking through the menu and looked back up at his uncle.

"I will take Chicken Parmesan, please." He said. Uncle Nick smiled and wrote that down as well.

"I will be back with your meals." He said. Then he left. I brought my Mountain Dew to my mouth and took a sip. Jack winked at me in a stupid way before taking a drink of his Coke. I laughed and spewed out Mountain Dew. That made Jack laugh. He set down his drink so he wouldn't spill it.

"Nice." He said, handing me a napkin. I wiped my mouth and the table, laughing.

"That took skills." I assured him. He nodded, still laughing. We went on like this. Just talking and laughing. I did, in fact, forget everything else. And as Jack and I talked and laughed over our food, the sun turning everything gold and red, nothing else mattered. When we were finally done eating and talking, it was just turning eight o'clock. Uncle Nick cleared the table and told us to take our time. Jack and I got up and stood at the edge of the roof, leaning on the metal railing, his arm around my shoulder, me snuggled in the crook of his arm. We watched as the last bit of the sun slipped under the horizon, the sky red, blue, black, orange, pink, and so much more. Stars were sprinkled across the inky blue sky, all the clouds retreating from the sky, away from the moon's soft light. There was a breeze that chilled the air, but I was warm in Jack's strong embrace. I let out a sigh.

"Thank you, Jack." I said. "For everything." I rested my head against his chest and he kissed the top of my head. He didn't say anything, and I was glad he didn't. There was no good reply. He just squeezed me tight, shielding me from haunting past, the harsh present, and the foreboding future. I wanted to freeze time. I just wanted to stay here, locked in this time period forever. But then my phone buzzed in my pocket. I groaned and pulled it out. It was Mom.

'Come to the front of the restaurant. Now.' Was the text. Jack read it over my shoulder and nodded.

"Come on. Let's go." He said. He took my hand in his and led me downstairs. Uncle Nick nodded to us on our way out the door and I sent him a silent thank you with my eyes. I wrapped my jacket tighter around myself and shivered in the cold night winter air. Jack rubbed his hands against my arms to warm them up. We glanced around and saw Mom running up to us.

"Come on, Megan. We have to go. You're father. He's....." She began. She was cut off by my dad who drove his truck up onto the sidewalk before stopping it. He fumbled his way out of the car and stumbled as he tried to walk toward us. He let out a shout and my mom tensed. "Drunk." She finished. I looked from Jack to Mom then to Dad who was running up to us now. Before any of us could react, Dad grabbed my arm and yanked me towards him. He pulled hard on my arm so that our faces were inches apart.

"I said that you couldn't go on this date!" He snarled, his breath making my nose itch and my eyes water, the smell of beer and other alcoholic beverages.

"I..." I began. He shoved me hard and I tumbled to the ground with a screech of shock. I landed hard on my side and rolled over to get farther away from him. Jack ran over to me and I saw Uncle Nick starting to the front of the restaurant.

"And you!" Dad shouted, his words slurring slightly, his face a purple red. He turned on my mom. He grabbed her arm and I scrambled to my feet, Jack at my shoulder. "You good for nothing wretched mule of a wife! You have never done anything right!" He screamed, raising a hand to strike my mother. I screamed at him and ran forwards. I grabbed his arm and he spun around and punched me hard in the ribcage and elbowed my face. I gasped as all the air left my lungs, pain spreading across my face, bringing tears to my eyes, and I clutched my side with one hand, my face with the other. Jack cradled me in his arms and I melted into his arms. Uncle Nick ran out, putting his phone away and he tackled my Dad. After a brief struggle, Uncle Nick had Dad pinned to the cement. My face was throbbing, mainly my cheekbone. One of my eyes was starting to swell shut as well. I took deep breaths, trying to regain the air I lost. My ribs felt bruised. Jack helped me to my feet and Mom ran over to hold both of us. We stayed like this until the police came. The arrested Dad, thanked Uncle Nick, made sure Mom, Jack, and I were okay, then took off. Jack turned me to face him.

"You okay?" He asked. I nodded, and he gave me a look of concern. "Okay, well I'll text you. Don't let Kayla bug you too much. Have her make you some hot tea. She makes very good hot tea." He said. I laughed slightly.

"Well I would hope that she was good at making hot tea, considering she spent four years of her life in England!" I said. Jack smiled at me. He kissed my head lightly then went to talk to Uncle Nick. Mom led me to the car. We went home, I packed a bag for a few days, took some medicine, then Mom, Michael, Checker, and I all got in the car and drove off. Mom dropped me off with Checker at Kayla's house. She greeted me at the door. I followed her inside and set down my bag next to the stairs. Her kitchen was nice, black and white tile flooring with a red table and chairs. The counter tops were metal and polished so that they shone in the artificial light. Kayla sat me down in a chair and made me some tea. There we sat, drinking our tea, not saying a word. I just stared into my tea, swirling the tea bag around in it. My phone vibrated, shaking the table. I opened it and checked the message. Checker sat down next to me, his head on my lap. I rubbed behind his ear as I read.

Your father and I are getting a divorce. He is going to jail for drunk driving, abuse, child abuse, and having an unlicensed gun in his car. One that he had intended to use when we got home until I found out what was going on. We are moving out on Tuesday. Your Dad has legal rights over the house, even if he is in jail. We will stay with Aunt Stacey for a while until we get back on our feet. I am terribly sorry, Megan. See you tomorrow. <3 XOXO Mom texted. I turned the phone off and tossed it back onto the table. My throat was aching and my eyes were starting to water. I took a shuddering breath and took another sip of my tea. The hot liquid burned down my throat, filling my body with warmth. My throat became even tighter; my vision blurred by the water in my eyes. Kayla didn't say anything and neither did I. I raised my tea to take another sip, but before it made it to my mouth and set it back down. Checker whined and put his paw in my lap, and I wanted to comfort him as well, but I couldn't. I couldn't move. I was frozen, my eyes and throat burning, my chest aching from trying not to cry. I couldn't do it. All I could do was put my arms up on the table, burry my face in the sleeves of my shirt, and cry.