"I woke up to a twitch in my leg that day, I only woke up with twitches in my legs when something bad was going to happen. I waited all day just to see what would go down. I thought maybe I was just wrong by the end of the day. Then, my father got a call from the hospital. My mother had gotten into a car accident and was scheduled for an operation he then had us get in the car and  we sped to the hospital. At 5:00 a.m. the next day, it was revealed to us as her time of death." I saw tears in my grandparents eyes and people sitting in their seats staring at me. I was only saying what had happened. It was all easier that way. I took my seat next to my brother, Niklaus, as he nudged me. I whispered "What?" he looked at me and whispered in my ear "Nice choice of words you doof." He is the 16 year-old version of the devil. I mean, he tore up my black sweater. "Oh, like you would've done any better. You won't even speak for our mother!" I immediately regretted my choice of words and the volume at which they came out. Everyone looked my way. I thought maybe it was not the best time to argue with him, after all, this was my mothers funeral. "Winter!" and out comes Rain, my other brother. "Rain please mind your business right now please." He pushed Niklaus over just to jump in the space between us and start whisper-yelling at me. "You are a loudmouth, you know that? What in the hell were you thinking? You are going to freak dad out and trust me, now is not the time for this." Rain was my older brother. Niklaus however, was not (even so, he still acts as if he is). Rain liked to pretend to be a father when our own father was either too busy working or too drunk to be one himself. Rain was a 17 year old father figure to his own siblings but I, of all people, hated that. I hated that he felt he was able to tell me what to do or even to make everything about him constantly and say it's not just his opinion, it's what our father would say if his speech wasn't so slurred. He was wrong almost always, my father couldn't care less, especially now. "Of all the things you could be doing at our mother's funeral, you choose to try and torment me with your judge mental mindset and bossiness?" I asked. I could feel people staring and trying to listen in on our conversation but Rain was good at keeping his composure so when people would look at us, he'd make faces to indicate it was a normal conversation to be had at our mother's funeral. 

       I would soon hear more about my behavior from a drunk father who, also, did not provide my mother with a eulogy. Honestly, I felt as if I was the only one who truly accepted that she was gone and was not ever coming back. Although this was true, I will always do whatever I can for my mother, even in death. By the time the funeral was coming to a tragic end I had nearly forgotten Tommy Brimstone was supposedly going to take me for dinner tonight, to celebrate my mother's life. After the funeral service was over and my mother buried, I drove my car home with Niklaus riding shot gun with me. "So tell me again why you wanted to ride in my car to the house rather than ride home with Rain and dad?" I asked Niklaus without making eye contact. "Well, you see, I don't really see the point in joining them when you drive faster and you aren't pissed off or drunk." I nodded in agreement and smirked at his statement. It was true, I was not angry with Niklaus, therefore I did not need to be so aggressive toward him and I would never drive drunk. I found myself wondering what life was going to be like now that our mother has passed. It was different already, my father was going on more benders than usual and Rain was especially uptight. Niklaus however, did not seem to change much. He seemed almost the same, of course he was sad, but the same person through and through. I liked the consistency of it and I prefer consistency in my life. I guess that was because that was also how my mother liked it. She liked life to have a constant somewhere. I truly did think my mother had to have been the greatest of philosophers of this day and age but nobody knew it. She was a thinker with rebellious opinions because of humanity's best interest being pushed aside by most of the leaders in the world. Her wit sometimes intimidated my father. I felt it when he wold wince at her rants on fact and fiction or as I like to call it, one of her "factual times". I never really thought about her so much before. I guess I just really missed her. I have never been far or gone very long without my mother. I guess I didn't feel the hot tears rising until they were crawling slowly down my face making it difficult for me to see. But by the time I noticed, Nik had too. "Winter? Are you...okay?" I nodded but he looked unimpressed with me. "Now you know you can lie better than that"  he leaned over to carefully wipe my tears. "You know she really wouldn't want you to cry" I stopped the car in a gas station. "I know. She would want me to sit and ponder as to why we miss people or something like that." I laughed a bit at the thought. Because I really did believe that would be what she would want me to do. I was happy for a split second. Then I saw Reggie and his "thug" friends, Tylir and Scott. Tylir asked me out as his date for homecoming last year, I rejected him, and now he and his buddies do not like me one bit. They've even wrote that I was a slut on the school's Facebook page. I never really bothered to be in their general direction, but as it seemed I still needed gas, I guess I needed to endure their company for a few minutes, which I could've guaranteed would feel as if it were an eternity.

       I stepped out of my car and decided to walk in. Nik followed me because he had seen me look in their direction. He knew my history with the group and decided it would be good to be there just in case one of them decided to pull something stupid. Nik was always pretty good backup to have when it came to situations that could end up becoming physical.  He was on the varsity football team scheduled to be meeting with a new college recruiter every other week and he was just a junior. He is the best quarter back to have ever existed in our shitty town.  As we were walking in, I could see Tylir sitting in a chair in front of the counter. He was...crying? I quickly became sure that he was most definitely crying. Tylir looked in my direction and quickly stood up and pushed the chair back with his foot. Scott turned to see me and his face turned a slight red color. Tylir stood not making an expression. Reggie made his way up front and saw both Scott and Tylir looking at me. He rounded the corner to see my brother and I standing there. He dropped his bag of chips and walked up to me. Nik jumped in front of me and looked at Reggie. "Relax Nik. It's okay" I put my hand on his shoulder and he moved aside. Reggie got closer and gave me one of those huge hugs that make you feel like you're suffocating but you just wish you actually were. He kissed my forehead and said he was sorry for my loss. "I'm sorry, not just about your mom but about this past year. Mocking you and making fun of you was childish of all of us and we regret every minute." I wiped my forehead and walked towards the counter. "It's fine you know. I never really cared anyways." Tylir walked closer to me and I asked the clerk to put $30 on pump three. Tylir hugged me from the side and I felt a little uncomfortable. Scott on the other hand, grabbed my hand and kissed it. "I'm glad they never got to you. And I am so very sorry I never said anything to stop them." He patted my back and walked towards the sodas. I paid and walked outside to pump my gas and wait for Nik to say bye. He came out to the car and told me they wanted to hand out sometime. I got into the car and told him maybe we would.  We began to drive away as my face stood blank and expressionless. I began to see that this was not going to be as easy as I had thought it would be. Hearing people say they were sorry for my loss constantly. It would be tremendously horrible to handle. I began to think we would be better off somewhere where people wouldn't know us or our predicament. I was lost in my thoughts the entire way home.

       When we reached the house, I ran inside to begin getting ready for dinner with Tommy tonight. To get dressed was pretty easy.  I wore my favorite black shorts with fish-net leggings and some old black high tops. I threw on a shirt and did my makeup. I brushed my hair and teeth, then I was out the door having said my goodbyes and answered all the questions about Tommy that Rain had. I did the best I could to answer Rain  but I was not entirely sure of who Tommy really is. I didn't know him too well and I guess that was the purpose of the dinner, you know, along with helping to grieve. I drove out to a nice diner just within the outskirts of town, and pulled into a parking spot.  I caught the glimpse of a man sitting in the window seat of what seemed to be a booth. I walked up the steps to this 50's themed diner and instantly fell in love with it. The building was old looking with a brownish tint to the corners of the outside of the gray building. But they also had bright red and pink neon lights lining the front two sides of the building and some surrounding the glass door. The inside had such a rustic look and I loved the used of darker wood with the silver-like metal tables. I walked down what seemed to be an intentional aisle leading down to the window booth that Tommy had chosen. As I got closer to the booth I slowed down and waved hello. He motioned me to take a seat and I sat down right across from him in a red booth. I caught glimpse of the man I had spotted from the outside and put my face into a menu as soon as our gaze met. I nearly jumped out of my seat because the waitress had made her way over. "Oh! I'm sorry sweetheart! I didn't mean to give you a scare!" She gave a hardy laugh and I smiled. "So, do y'all know what you're drinkin'?" Tommy pointed out the drink menu and it didn't take me long to figure out what I wanted. "I'll have a glass of lemonade, but is there any way I can get you to throw some cherries in there?" I asked her with a smile. "Well of course honey! And for you, young man?" Tommy ordered a sweet tea with lemon in it. The waitress walked away ensuring us she'd be back "with a quickness". I smiled at Tommy when I caught him staring outside at the trees. "So do you like nature?" I asked. "Oh, yes. I really do love it. It is so beautiful in many ways. Even the darkest parts of her are wonderful." I thought his response was sweet. "I love nature too. I wanna be a photographer so I take a lot of pictures of nature. It fascinates me in ways I'd never imagine." I saw his face begin to blush a bit after I told him I wanted to be a photographer. He smiled at me with a sweet look on his face. "Well you know, I love photography. I have a Canon EOS Rebel and I usually use it to take pictures of people. Although they are not always as beautiful as nature, they are interesting." I was surprised we had found something in common already. "And having said that, I would love to take photos of you sometime if you'd be up for it. You are one of the most beautiful girls I have ever laid eyes on and I think your beauty deserves to be captured." I could feel myself turning red as he looked down at his shoes. "I did not mean for that to be so flirtatious. I'm sorry" I gently laughed. "No, it's alright. That's the sweetest thing any guy has ever said to me. Although the bar was not set too high, seeing as how most of the comments I used to get were about how I was supposedly a slut." I laughed a bit and he gave me a sorrowful look. I turned to see the waitress coming back with drinks, eating utensils, and napkins. "Here you go sugar, got you a nice amount of cherries in there for ya. And here you are honey, we just brewed this sweet tea so it should be nice and smooth." She handed us our drinks and I opened up my straw and plopped it in the cup. I glanced away to catch the same man from before yet again, staring right at me. I looked back down at my drink quickly as to avoid the awkward encounter. Tommy sat drinking from his straw smiling at me. I saw him from my peripheral as I stayed looking down at the menu so that I had an order ready so that I wouldn't waste the waitress's time. "Is it okay if I just get a grilled cheese? I'm not very hungry." He looked at me for a moment "well yeah of course. Whatever you want to eat." We smiled at each other and waited for the waitress to swoop by.

       I saw her walking towards our table and kept my order in mind. The only problem was, she looked nervous. I am far too observant so I knew something was wrong. She looked outside as a big man got out of his truck. Her face began to turn a white color as he opened the door. She rushed over to us and attempted to take our order. "Hey! I actually was wondering if you could show us the kitchen? We are students at the local high school doing a project." Tommy looked at me and I guess he knew I needed him to go along with it because he began nodding quickly. "Why of course! Just follow me." We followed her back and I waited until we were out of sight from the lobby to confront her. "You were scared of that man, can I ask why?" She looked back at me. "He is my husband. You are just a child so I'm not sure you will understand but he gets a little drunk sometimes and it turns violent. I am okay though sweetheart I wasn't scared." I put my hand on her shoulder as a tear escaped her right eye. I hugged her. "Where can you go? We can distract him while you make your way out to your car." Tommy suggested. "I don't have a car, he wouldn't let me get one and I have no friends so I would have nowhere to go. Not to mention I don't have another job lined up." I looked at her with tears in my eyes. "I want you to go out the back and get in my car. Grab your things and I will take you to your house. Pack a bag and you can come stay with me. We have an extra house out back and plenty of money for food and such. My mother ran a restaurant on the other side of town, if you can cook, you have  a job. No one ever sees the cook so it would be safe. My father has guns and our property is out in the woods. He'd never find you. You would have a chance to save money and find somewhere to go outside of the state." She started crying and told me she could  be that kind of burden. I grabbed her face to have her make eye contact with me. "We need another woman at my house. My mother recently passed away and no one is there to help out. I will pay you for whatever you do around the main house and the barn. You will not be a burden on me or my family. My brothers will understand and accept you." I turned to Tommy. "Is it okay if we finish dinner another time? If you want you can come with and I can cook you something at my house." He nodded and gave the waitress a hug. "My name is Tommy and this is Winter. We go to school together." She smiled "I'm Annamae. You are gifts from God Himself I tell you." I smiled at her and told her to go get her stuff while we go pay for our drinks and leave out of the front door. I gave her my keys and grabbed Tommy's hand so we could walk back to the front. Luckily, Annamae was not the only waitress on duty. So I informed them that Annamae would be coming back to get her last check another time. They promised not to say anything to her husband and we sat back down. We finished our drinks and paid the bill. Tommy took off his coat and put it on my shoulders while wrapping his arm around me so we could look inconspicuous when we were walking out. The windows on my car were tinted so I wasn't worried about Annamae being seen. I got in the car and we left.