The Saddest Song - By Susie Kaye Lopez Page 0,38

even less okay with the idea of a ski weekend. It was understandable as they had lost their other son in route from a trip with a bunch of kids. Still, they couldn’t keep him home out of fear, and they both were smart enough to know that. Although we had been hanging out with friends a little older than us, we still weren’t babies ourselves. Both of us would turn 18 soon. Max in December and me in January. I told Max that he should invite the guys to dinner at his house and then we could all meet up at my house for dessert so the parents could say they had met everyone.

Sophie and Rylee charmed mom and dad within minutes. Rylee especially, came in and made them feel like she had been one of my friends forever. They loved her. Sophie was quieter, but no less sweet. It didn’t take them long to see how great they were. Everything I had told them about the girls was confirmed. I saw both mom and dad relax as dinner went by.

The guys got to the house after we had just finished clearing away the dinner dishes, and they too made a positive impression. I noticed that Colin had forsaken his usual T-shirt for a conservative button down shirt, its long sleeves covering up the tattoos he was so proud of. He winked at me and I grinned back. I stifled a giggle when my mom laid eyes on Ethan. Her mouth literally dropped open, and then she quickly composed herself. She too must have thought he was one of the cutest guys she had ever seen. Truly all of them were the nicest people, beautiful on the outside, but really kind and genuine on the inside too. I almost felt like Garrett had looked down and made sure we had them right when we needed them.

When I heard Sophie tell my mom she had plenty of snow gear if I needed to borrow anything for the trip, I was shocked to hear my mom tell her not to worry, she would dig out all my ski gear and make sure it was ready to go.

I definitely had plenty of ski wear, and so did Max. The McKinley’s went skiing at Mammoth Mountain every January. I had been included every year since ninth grade. Garrett had a passion for snowboarding, and Max and I were okay at it, but after an hour we would quit and find a cozy corner of the ski lodge to drink hot chocolate and people watch. I always loved pointing out the pretty girls to him, something I doubt I would be likely to do this time. There was that possessiveness rearing its ugly head again. Oops. I pushed that thought away as I helped mom and the girls clear the dessert dishes. Focus on the positive, I told myself. I was getting to go, and I could really use a vacation!

Max

School let our Tuesday at noon for the Thanksgiving break. Rainey and I decided to tackle the huge task we had both been avoiding all semester. We were going to fill out our college applications. Both of us were feeling a lot of ambivalence about College. Our future plans had shifted from what we always dreamed that they would be and instead of being excited for the future we were feeling confused.

At the time of the accident, my brother was being scouted by at least a dozen excellent Universities to play football. Rainey had scored a 2100 on her SAT so she was likely to get into any of the schools that he received a scholarship from. Their plan was simple, she would apply to every school that showed interest in him, and he would accept the offer from one that she was accepted to. It’s likely they would have had several good choices. Now, college was a subject that I could never get her to even talk about.

My plan was to go to a good music school back east. There was a list that I had my eye on since Jr. High. I knew now that those dreams were as dead as my brother. I could not even consider leaving my parents and going to the other side of the country. I know they would support me and be proud of me if I was selfish enough to leave them, but I wasn’t.

We stopped at a taco shop for lunch and then headed