"Emily Winston?" the officer called.

I stood up and was released from the holding cell, and into the custody of my parents.

And neither one of them looked too thrilled about it.

"Thank you so much," mom said to the officer.

Thank you for arresting me?

"Of course Mrs. Winston."

My dad said his goodbyes before the three of us headed out to my parents Range Rover.

The silence was deafening.

My mom sat with her right leg crossed over her left, her hands tightly clasped in her lap.

My dad reached over to turn on the radio, and then retracted his hand, instead drumming his fingers on his leg.

And that's how the car ride was the entire way to the apartment.

My dad unlocked the apartment door, and I took a seat on the couch, sitting criss-cross as my mom paced the floor.

My dad took a seat in the armchair, leaning back with a sigh.

"I can't do this," my mom said, her voice shaking.

Dad looked over to her.

"You wouldn't see your brother doing something this stupid," mom lashed out.

Of course not. Emmett at a party? Never.

"Lorraine," dad said, standing up. "Why don't you take a walk?"

Mom wiped a tear off of her face before leaving the apartment, letting the door slam behind her.

Dad let out another sigh before turning to face me, taking a seat at the other end of the couch.

"So the good news," dad said, after a few moments of silence, "is that your mother and I were able to talk them out of pressing charges."

"Wait, what?"

"No charges have formally been... well charged against you I guess. What we're calling last night is Scared Straight, just to try and make you realize the consequences of your actions."

"So I'm not going to Teen Court?"

"No. Your parents are the Winstons. We own half of the state. Our daughter is not going to any type of court."

Great. Now my dad is going to hold this over my head for pretty much the rest of my life.

"Your mother is pretty upset," dad commented.

"I noticed."

"I'm not naïve," dad said. "I know that you and Emmett go to parties, you've both had a couple of drinks, and I hope you're smart enough to find sober rides home."

I looked over at him in surprise.

This is not how I expected this conversation to start off.

"I was the same in high school," dad continued. "But you have to know a good party from a cop party. And you can't let your Blood-Alcohol Level get that high Emily, you're still young."

So is he getting to the part where he's going to start yelling at me or?

"Any party that's advertised on social media is automatically a cop party," dad informed me. "If the address is passed around, or if people leave the party to bring back more people? Those parties are automatically targeted."

Well I'd learned about the party on Twitter. So I guess I set myself up for that one.

"And you have to drink responsibly. Eat before the party, that way you're not drinking on an empty stomach. And since you're so small, the alcohol is going to go straight to your blood stream. So you have to take the drinks slow, one beer, two at most."

I stared at this man before me, certain that he wasn't my father.

My father would be yelling at me right now, telling me how imperfect I am, and why Emmett was the better child.

Not reasoning with me and giving me tips on how to party safer.

Dad stood up, placing his hands on his hips. "Your mother is pretty upset though. She feels as though it's her fault, because we leave the two of you so often."

So what does that have to do with anything?

"Your mother was always conservative, quite the good girl. She would've never gone to a party or taken a sip of alcohol. So this is all shocking to her."

Dad turned back around to face me. "Just be careful, yeah? Because if I ever get a call in the middle of the night again, informing me that my daughter is in jail, things will be a lot different."

I nodded.

"Well you've been quite silent throughout all of this. What's on your mind?"

"Kind of just wondering why you're being so nice to me."

"Because I get it," dad said, with a shrug. "And I don't mind if you go to a few parties, have a drink or two. But I do mind when you do it irresponsibly."

"You've never gotten anything about me in my entire life," I pointed out. "So what's so special about this?"

Dad looked at me for a few seconds before looking around the room in silence.

"I know that I screwed up with you," dad said, looking back at me. "You and Emmett both."

Whoa, wait. Did my dad just admit to making a mistake?

"I wasn't made to be a dad," he continued, shaking his head. "I'm actually probably a terrible dad."

No, there's no probably about it. You're a terrible one.

"But I didn't have a dad to be my role model. My mom was never home. I don't know how to do this parenting thing, and believe me when I say that I know I didn't do it right."

I looked away from him, tears forming in my eyes.

"And what I said to you when I said that I wished I never had a daughter?" dad asked, his voice thick. "I was wrong. Because I'm lucky to have you as my daughter Emily."

And now I was crying.

"You're everything I could ask you to be," he continued. "You're beautiful, sophisticated, smart, and you know how to hold your own. And none of that came from me."

I tried to wipe the tears off my cheeks, dabbing at them with my shirt sleeve.

"I'm sorry Emily," dad finished, shaking his head. "I'm sorry."

~*~

"Hey!" I called out to Parker, as he came through the apartment door.

I ran to him, throwing my arms around his neck. "I've been so worried about you."

He hugged me in return, before I stepped away. "Where have you been?"

"Well I had to wait for your parents to come get me from jail."

"Same."

He managed a smile, which is when I knew something was wrong.

"Babe, what's the matter?"

He ran his hand through his hair, stress lines evident across his face.

He was making me nervous.

What if he'd been charged with something? What if he had to appear in court?

What if he had a charge permanently on his record? That could ruin his chances to get accepted into college, get a job in the future.

"I have a meeting with Social Services tomorrow," Parker said, with a sigh.

Wait, what?

"Social Services?" I asked. "Why?"

"Because it's irresponsible to drink and party as a legal guardian."

"But you were sober," I pointed out.

"That was my argument," Parker agreed. "But Social Services doesn't see it that way."

"Well how does Social Services see it?"

"They see it that I put myself in an environment surrounded by people drinking and smoking marijuana, which makes me no better than those teenagers," he explained. "And for them, who's to say that I'm not one of them? If given a couple more hours, who's to say that I wouldn't have been drunk?"

"But you wouldn't have been," I pointed out. "You never are."

"But Social Services doesn't know that because they don't know me," Parker pointed out. "All they know are the statistics. And they saw me in that type of environment, and they've decided what type of person I am."

"But that's not fair."

"So tomorrow I have to meet with Social Services, and if they decide to they can take me to court and take away my guardianship rights," Parker said, with a long sigh.

"You're like the best guardian Lee could ask for."

"Yeah I definitely wouldn't go that far."

"You don't give yourself enough credit," I said, leading him over to the kitchen and pulling out the barstool for him. "You spend every month arguing for hours with the insurance company just so that he can have his medication. You gave him a birthday party, and a new surfboard. Even when he wanted to take our heads off on Christmas morning, you still loved and supported him. And even now, while he's dealing with self-harm and depression, you've been there for him every step of the way. You're a good person Parker Adams, and it's about damn time that you realize that."

Parker raised his eyebrows at me, taken aback by my outburst.

"So when you meet with Social Services tomorrow, don't let them push you around," I ordered. "Because Lee can't get any better than you."

~*~

"So you managed to get yourself into quite a mess this weekend, didn't you?" Emmett asked me, as I came out from my afternoon nap.

"Mom and dad told you?"

"Dad told me," he corrected. "He also lectured me on how to party safely."

"Same."

Emmett laughed, taking a sip of his bottle of water. "And then he apologized for sucking as a father."

"Wow, same."

He raised his eyebrows, taken by surprise. "Dad apologized to you?"

"Right?"

"He must be dying or something."

I rolled my eyes, tossing a grape up into the air and trying to catch it in my mouth.

I missed.

"I think he's going through a midlife crisis," I guessed.

"That too."

I tossed another grape into the air, and this time I actually caught it in my mouth.

"Toss me one," Emmett called.

I tossed him a grape, and he caught it in his mouth.

"Bet you can't do that again."

He opened his mouth, and I tossed him another grape, which he caught.

"Lucky."

"You can't get lucky twice." He couldn't help but laugh. "Unless you're Emmett Winston."

"Shut up." I tossed another grape up, and it hit the floor again.

"So mom and dad are flying out tomorrow," Emmett informed me. "But they're stopping by later tonight for dinner."

"Are we supposed to like make them dinner?"

"Are you going to help me this time?"

I scoffed. "As if."

"Then don't use we in that sentence."

"Snappy today aren't we?"

He narrowed his eyes at me.

"So do you know if Parker has told Lee about anything?" I asked, switching the subject.

"No he hasn't," Emmett declined, with a shake of his head. "Said he didn't want to worry Lee until it became an issue."

"I'd think a meeting with Social Services would be considered an issue," I pointed out.

"Yeah, well when your brother has a list of issues he's already dealing with, you sort of pick and choose what you bring up."

"I don't agree with that. I think that you tell him what he deserves to know."

Emmett opened his mouth, and I tossed him another grape.

Which he caught, again.

"It's Parker's decision. He's the guardian, not you or me."

"I'm not saying I'm going to go and tell Lee," I scoffed. "Have some more faith in me than that."

"Not sure that I do."

I stuck my tongue out at him and Emmett just chuckled.

"So what movie are we watching tonight?" Emmett asked me.

"Fame," I informed him. "The newest version though, not the 1900's old one."

"But I like the 1980's version," Emmett complained.

"But it's my night to pick," I whined, mocking him. "And I choose the 2009 Fame. So ha."

"Fine," Emmett conceded. "But don't be surprised when next week you're forced to watch the 1984 Footloose."

*************************************************************************************************************

So what did you guys think about Emily's parents? Were you surprised by her mom's outlash? What about her dad's reaction? And then her dad's confession? What about Parker's meeting with Social Services? And then Emmett's little fill-in part there?

The picture off to the right was submitted by awsmprsn. Check it out! -->

So I just got home about 30 minutes ago. I got 11 hours of sleep last night because I really haven't slept well at all this week, and I'm still exhausted. I just need like a 3 day nap and I'll be good to go.

Teaser: Parker meets with Social Services, and they decide his fate with Lee.