I woke up in the morning when the alarm on my phone went off, letting a small groan escape my lips. I sat up, grabbing my phone and shutting off the loud-ass alarm, then set my phone down on the nightstand.

I looked over at Patrick, who was still fast asleep, despite the loud alarm that was going off seconds ago.

I smiled a little, thinking about how blessed I was to have him, again.

I was just gazing at him, when a wave of nausea suddenly came over me again. I got out of bed quickly, running to the bathroom and leaning above the toilet, where I threw up who knows how many times.

Finally, after feeling a little better, I went back out and grabbed my dress from my suitcase, along with my shampoo and body wash. I started a shower, getting in and breathing in the steam.

I hoped I would feel better at the funeral, because I definitely didn't want to be puking all over the church.

I was halfway done with my shower when there was a soft knock at the door.

"Hey, it's me." I heard Patrick's gentle voice, then chuckled a little.

"Who else would it be?" I laughed.

"Oh, right.." he mumbled. "May I come in?"

"Sure."

I heard the door open then close, and I peeked my head our of the shower curtain to see Patrick messing with his hair in the mirror.

"Awwww, how cute." I Said, and he smiled, blushing little.

"So...are you at all prepared for today?" He asked.

I raised my eyebrows. "Not gonna lie, I'm nowhere close to being prepared.." I mumbled, pulling the shower curtain completely shut again. "I mean, I miss my family, don't get me wrong, but they can be so tiring. Makes me glad they moved to Minnesota."

"Yeah, I get it." He said. "Hopefully today will be over quickly, then maybe we can spend the rest of our time here around the city?"

"That would be nice." I Said, rinsing out my hair. "Where would we go?"

He was silent for a moment. "Believe it or not, I've been to this city tons of times, but I never actually checked anything out."

I laughed a little. "I guess I'll have to be your tour guide, then?"

He chuckled. "I guess so."

After I finished showering and getting dressed, Patrick ended up getting in the shower so he could get ready as well.

I sat on the bed as I waited for him, watching reruns of old Supernatural episodes from 2007.

I sighed a little, the show not even able to distract me from my stress anymore.

Maybe my family wouldn't do something stupid this time, but literally every other time we've had everyone together in one place, some crazy shit has happened, and talked about every family reunion.

Exactly why I stopped going to those.

With the way I was feeling sick, though, and my stress going through the roof, I just prayed that I wouldn't have to put up with their crap.

After Patrick got out of the bathroom, he came over to me straightening his tie.

"Does this look okay?" He Asked shyly.

"You look great." I smiled at him, bringing myself to my feet and going over to him. "And you're wearing your fedora."

He smiled a little. "Yeah...I'll probably take it off during the service, but I think it goes with the suit well."

"It does." I nodded.

He looked up at the clock. "Should we head to the church now?" He asked. "We might get there a little early.."

"Oh, that's okay." I mumbled. "Mom wanted us there early anyways because we have to sit in the front row with my sisters and my dad's girlfriend."

"I'm guessing your mom's not sitting in front?" He Asked.

"Nope." I Said, popping the 'p.' "She said since she's his ex that it wouldn't be appropriate, and I really just think she didn't want to sit beside the other woman.

"Ah." He said, nodding. "Well, lets go get this crazy day done with."

"Yep." I mumbled, grabbing my purse from the bed.

He held out his hand, and I took it in mine as we left the hotel room.

When we made it to the church, my sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins, and mom were already there, and the only people missing were my dad's girlfriend, friends of my family, and friends of hers.

Mom immediately came up to me and Patrick, calling my sisters over.

"Girls, I want you to meet Emma's boyfriend." She Said, waving for them to come over.

My three sisters, two of which were twins and were three years older than I was, and one of which was younger by seven years, walked over, Abigail and Elizabeth, my older sisters, staring at Patrick expectantly.

A nervous blush crept up on his cheeks as he lifted up his hand to do a little wave.

"Hi," he said, smiling at them.

Jenna, my younger sister, looked over at me. "This is your boyfriend?"

"Yup." I Said. "Girls, meet Patrick."

Jenna was the only one that seemed excited to meet him, and she opened her arms wide, giving him a big hug. "Welcome to the family!" She Said "I'm Jenna."

Honestly, if I had to pick a favorite sister, it'd be Jenna. She never caused any problems like Abigail, Elizabeth, and My Mom. You could say she was uncorrupted by their ways.

Patrick smiled, hugging her back. "Nice to meet you, Jenna."

Jenna stepped away from him, and I motioned towards Elizabeth and Abigail.

"These two are Elizabeth and Abigail." I Said. "It's nearly impossible to tell them apart."

"Hi," Patrick smiled again, waving a little.

They both nodded simultaneously, then turned to mom.

"Figures," Abigail Said. "Dad's girlfriend still isn't here."

"Maybe she won't come?" Elizabeth Asked.

"She's probably just bringing all of her twenty-something friends to hang out with her." Mom growled.

I bit my lip. "This is when we walk away." I mumbled to Patrick.

I took his hand and led him away from my sisters and mom, over to a bench where we sat down. Nearby, I could see the casket, but it was still unopened, likely because not all the important family members were here yet.

I sighed a little, and Patrick rubbed my hand. "You okay?"

I swallowed. "I don't know." I mumbled. "I feel like shit, two of my sisters are already acting like bitches, and my dad's girlfriend will probably be getting here any second."

"Can I get you anything?" He Asked softly.

"A hug?" I Asked, and he smiled a bit, opening up his arms for me. I leaned into his embrace, and he pulled me close to him, kissing me on the head.

"I love you." He murmured into my hair.

"I love you, too, Patrick." I smiled, snuggling up against him.

Just then, my dad's girlfriend walked in, an older couple behind her, who I guessed were her parents.

Patrick looked over at me questioningly, and I shuddered. "My dad's girlfriend."

"Ohhh.." he said, nodding a bit.

She gave my mom a dirty look, then turned to look at me, a look of fake pity on her face.

"Oh, Emma.." She Said, walking over.

I stood, pulling Patrick up with me. "Hey, Laura.." I mumbled.

"It's Lisa." She mumbled, then brought back the pity look. "I'm so sorry about your dad.."

"Oh, thank you.." I mumbled. "Sorry about your...you know...boyfriend.."

Her eyes filled with tears, and she began blubbering. "He was such an amazing boyfriend...it'll be so hard to go on without him.."

She wiped her eyes, getting her mascara all over her fingers. "Oh...I'll have to go clean myself up.." she said. "Nice seeing you, Emma. And..?"

"Patrick." Patrick gave her a sweet smile, and she nodded.

"Are You guys together?"

Both of us nodded.

She smiled a little. "Well, the two of you are just adorable together." She giggled. "See you later."

She walked away, and I looked over at Patrick.

"The two of you are just adorable together." I mocked her, and he laughed.

"See you later." He waved in an incredibly girly way.

We both laughed a little, but I immediately stopped when mom looked over at me, giving me a dirty look.

Patrick was still chuckling, so I reached over and covered his mouth with my hand, making him stop.

He noticed mom, biting his lip as I pulled my hand away from him.

"Sorry, panicked a bit." I mumbled.

"It's okay." He said sweetly.

The Pastor came in from the sanctuary, looking at all of us.

"I'll be opening the casket for anyone who would wish to view the body." He Said, and I felt my heart break a little.

Seeing my dad dead would only make it set in more, and Make it more real. Was I ready for that? Ready to fully accept that my father was dead?

Patrick wrapped his arm around me. He didn't say anything, but I knew he was trying to comfort me. Just not sure what to say in this particular moment.

Lisa came out of the bathroom, her makeup all freshened up.

"Ah, Lisa." The pastor said. "Can we have close family view the body before friends arrive?"

Lisa nodded, then looked over at me and Patrick.

The pastor made sure to line us up perfectly, from Lisa, to Abigail and Elizabeth, Jenna, then me and Patrick.

I guessed I knew why we had been put as last to view the body. I hardly knew him that well, unlike my sisters. They moved to Minneapolis with mom to be closer to him, while I stayed in Chicago.

Everyone took turns looking at the body, and when Patrick and I came up on the casket, I didn't know if I necessarily wanted to look. However, I did, and realized that he looked much different than the last time I had seen him, which made me feel even more guilty that I didn't visit but a couple times.

I sighed a little, and Patrick rubbed my back comfortingly. I felt one tear run down my face, and I turned, burying my face in his chest.

He ran his hand through my hair, kissing me on the head. "I'm so sorry." He whispered.

"I should've gotten to know him better.." I whimpered. "If I would've known.."

"But you didn't.." he said. "You didn't know this would happen."

"I'm such an idiot." I muttered.

"Shh...don't say that." He kissed me on the nose. "Let's go sit down, okay?"

I nodded a little, and he took me back over to the bench where we had been sitting before.

I sighed, rubbing my eyes. "I'm sorry...I've been so emotional over the part few days."

He let out a small chuckle. "Don't worry, I've been emotional, too."

"We've cried like, nearly every day." I laughed a bit.

"As least we know our tear ducts are functional."

"Maybe a little overly functional.." I wiped the remaining tears from my eyes.

He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me into a side hug and kissing me on the forehead.

"Love you, Em."

"Love you, 'Trick."

The funeral was over in a couple of hours, and afterwords, after talking to some old family and friends and introducing Patrick to them, we decided we should head back to the hotel.

However, on our way out the door, Jenna ran up to us.

"Em!" She Exclaimed. "Hey, Wait."

She stopped us, and we looked at her.

"Mom wanted me to invite you over for dinner." She Said. "She's having all of the sisters, and, of course, Patrick."

Patrick smiled a little.

"Um...Patrick, do you wanna go?" I Asked, looking over at him.

He shrugged. "Sure." He said. "If you'd like to."

I looked over at Jenna, who looked excited about us going over to mom's.

"Awesome! So you guys are coming?" She Asked.

I smiled a bit, nodding. "Yeah, sounds fun."

"Sweet! Mom's already headed to her house." She Said. "See you there, then?"

"Yep." I nodded.

Patrick and I made our way out the door, and I reached for his hand. He smiled, taking my hand in his, squeezing it lightly.

"How are you?" He asked.

"Eh...a little sad.." I mumbled. "But whatever. Hopefully whatever mom makes is good."

We approached the car, and I got into the passenger side, and Patrick got into the driver's side, starting up the car.

I opened up the GPS on my phone, typing in mom's address, and setting it down on the center console.

He looked down at it. "Oh, it's not too far from here." He said.

I sighed a little. "I haven't been to her house in four years." I mumbled.

"Holy smokes." He said.

"It's gonna be nostalgic." I looked out the window. "And weird.."