“Chase!” Max shouted my name from where he and the guys stood off to the side. A few people were funneling out now, but the ceremony wasn’t quite over yet. “We saw your dad leave and then you never went back to your seat, so we came out here.”
“Emergency meeting with the mayor.” I shrugged my shoulders, not like it had been the first time my father had ditched something important to me. Greg wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me in.
“And with that, I say we get some Mexican food and drown the day away in margaritas!”
“You mean virgin for you.” I pulled Greg’s arm off me and laughed at him. I was the only one old enough to drink yet, but I was betting we could get some mix and head to my empty apartment and make due.
“Whatever,” Greg mumbled to himself and I fist bumped with Jack, who shot me a congrats and Max who gave me a sympathetic look, knowing what I was going through. Max and I were the closest of the guys, him being there for me throughout college any time my father tried to meddle in my life. The worst time before was when my father called the dean my second semester and tried to change all my classes, but luckily my scholarship saved me and I wasn’t under my father’s thumb and didn’t have to bend to his every whim.
My phone buzzed in my hand and this time instead of a text, it was a notification from Facebook. I pulled it open to see that Erica had liked the photo I had posted earlier, and when going to her profile I could see she’d also posted a graduation picture with one of her friends. I clicked the like button on her photo, returning the small interaction.
My heart raced, but I didn’t let it go much further. Maybe she had just seen the photo and clicked the button. I had never liked anything of hers before, just looking from afar, but this seemed like a huge step for us. That maybe she really remembered.
Another notification popped up for a comment and I prayed with all of me that Erica was the one who had written it, but instead I saw my sister’s name there saying she was proud of me and loved me. I smiled down at my phone and was reminded why I still kept in contact with my parents and it was because of her. The age gap between us was significant, but I knew Tabitha was just like me. A free spirit who wanted to live her own life. She was a lover of painting and drawing, but as of now, my parents only saw it as a hobby, unlike me, who knew she was going to make a career out of it.
My phone was ripped out of my hand seconds later and Greg stood there, waving it in my face.
“No distractions. Just booze and then let’s critique the speech that father of yours gave.”
We all laughed, leaving together as a family, because that’s what we all were.
Family.
Blood or not.
