"What are you doing?" I demanded. "Waiting." I stared at him for a few moments, having no idea what he was talking about. "I know I'm sexy babe, but take a picture or something, it'll last longer." I threw a pillow at his face before turning back to Wendell & Vinnie. "Is that a sexual innuendo?" Parker asked, a few minutes later. "I'd think you'd be good at those," I muttered. He rolled his eyes. "Isn't this Nickelodeon?" "It airs on Nick at Nite." He stared at me. "It's like 10:00 in the morning." "Well aren't you just the smartest guy in town?" I turned up the volume a little more. "It's recorded." "That's still pretty dirty for Nick at Nite." I went to turn up the volume again so I could hear Wendell over Parker's annoying voice, but then I heard a click in the door. Parker immediately stood up, but I stayed rooted in place. I had no interest in seeing my parents. "Hello Parker," I heard my mom say, with earnest. "Hello Mrs. Winston," he said. "Parker," my dad greeted. "Mr. Winston," he answered, and I could hear their hands connect as they shook. "Would you stay for lunch dear?" mom asked. "I actually have to run, but I just wanted to wait to say hello." That son of a bitch. I heard the front door close. I let out a sigh before turning off the TV, standing up and turning around to face my parents. "Hello dear," mom said, opening her arms. I gave her a quick hug. "You look healthy dear." If she calls me dear one more time, I might lose my mind. Dad was already observing the apartment. "See this right here?" dad asked, pointing to the dishwasher. Oh great. "Yeah?" Emmett asked. Why engage with him? "This is the upgrade," dad pointed out, opening it up. "It's the newest one IKEA has on the market." Mom rolled her eyes. "Phil, I'm sure that the kids don't want a rundown of the apartment." "This refrigerator?" dad asked, ignoring mom. "Another upgrade." "So you charge people more for this?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him. "You make college kids, who can barely afford tuition as is, pay more for a working dishwasher and refrigerator?" "Not now please," mom said, laying her hand on my arm. "We have reservations at a nice café down the street, are you ready to head for lunch?" "The other dishwashers and refrigerators work," dad informed me, ignoring mom. "I'm just pointing out that you should be grateful for the upgrade." "Oh, well thank you for putting me in your nicest apartment dad, I sure do appreciate it. Is that what you wanted to hear?" "We do appreciate it," Emmett said, slinging his arm around my shoulder. When did he come over to stand next to me? "So those reservations?" Emmett reminded mom, with a smile. Emmett, always the peacemaker. "Of course," she agreed, matching his smile. The two of them were quite the pair. Mom and dad left the apartment first, Emmett forcefully holding me back with the arm around my shoulders. "One day," Emmett said, raising his eyebrows at me. "Behave for one day." "Do you know how much this apartment costs?" "I'm sure you looked it up." He shook his head at me. "This is not the time, got it?" I rolled my eyes but nodded in agreement, and then he released his arm off my shoulders, allowing me to leave. Mom and dad were waiting downstairs, dad examining the lobby. "Ready?" mom asked. Emmett nodded in agreement. "See this?" dad asked, pointing to the painting on the wall. I placed my hands on my hips, swiveling so I could see it. "This is a real Picasso," he informed us. "That's just amazing," I informed him. "So the café you made reservations at," Emmett said to mom, leading us towards the lobby door. "How far is it?" Too far if you ask me. ~*~ "And for you?" the waitress asked me. I closed my menu, looking up at the waitress. "Fuji Apple Chicken Salad, hold the tomato?" She nodded, taking my menu from me. I crossed my right leg over my left under the table, resting my head in my palm. "So have you been readjusting well?" mom asked, swirling her water around. "I guess," I muttered, sipping on my own water. I swished it around, watching the lemon clunk around in the glass and the seeds float to the top of the glass. "How's business dad?" Emmett asked. Why? Dad launched into his tale of their new apartment complexes in New York, and I leaned back in my seat, my eyes flickering around the café as I waited for this nightmare to end. As dad's story wore out, I saw mom and dad exchange glances, like they wanted to say something but didn't know how. "What?" I asked, taking another sip of my water. "We just want to be sure that you're doing okay," mom said, reaching across the table to grasp my hand. I didn't like where this conversation was going. "I'm fine mom." "Well there was a large selection on the menu," mom pointed out. "Why salad?" "Are you serious?" I demanded. "Emily-" "Is this why you took us, well me, out to lunch? So you could analyze me?" "We're just worried about you," mom said, watching me with careful eyes. I stood up, tossing my napkin on the table. "Well analyze this, screw you." And then I stormed out of the café. I didn't make it far before I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders, and I was being whirled around to face Emmett. He wordlessly wrapped me up into a tight hug, and that's when I realized I was crying. "They're just worried about you," Emmett said, quietly. And I just cried harder. "And they went about it the wrong way," he continued, rubbing my back soothingly. "You know how they are." "I want to go home." "Okay," he agreed. "I'll call Parker to come pick us up."