We'd made it to the park. It was around 2 pm. I think. I'm not really good with time. I didn't have many friends at the time either. I had one, his name was Alex. He'd moved a few months ago. Something about his dad being in the military. When we entered the gate to the playground inside the park, I immediately ran for the swings. Jen ran after me. I climbed into the moving seat and sat down, holding onto the chains. Jen pushed me. Higher and higher. I felt like I could touch the sky. I looked back at her. I could see her smiling, but it looked fake. I wonder what that's about. I saw an older boy walking towards the playground. I immediately got excited.

"Stop!" I yelled to Jen, even though she's behind me. She slowly pulled the swing to a stop and I got out. I ran to the gate and opened it.

"Andy!" I shouted. He ran up to me and picked me up.

"Who's my favorite munchkin?" He asked like I didn't know.

"Me!" I exclaimed happily. Jen walked out of the gate with a smile on her face. She walked up to me and Andy. She grabbed his hand.

"Hey babe" she said and stood on her toes to kiss him. I gagged like the five year old I was. Andy looked at me.

"You know one day you'll have a girlfriend. She may not be as amazing as Jen, but one day you will" I gagged again and begged to be put down. Once my feet hit the ground I ran off toward the playground with my ears covered.

"La la la I can't hear you!" They laughed in amusement. I turned to them and smiled. At around 5:30, Jen said goodbye to Andy and picked me up. We headed home for dinner. My aunt would be mad if we were late. We made it home about 5 minutes later. I saw no cop cars, so that must mean that everything is alright. We walked in the front door to hear crying.

"Mom?" Jen asked.

"Kitchen" I had barely caught the words that left Aunt Bella's mouth. Jen put me down and I walked to the kitchen. I stepped around the corner and saw my aunt sitting at the table, still in her robe.

"Mom, isn't the party at six? You should be ready" Jen said cautiously. She didn't turn around. Her sniffles could be heard every fifteen seconds. I walked up to where she sat.

"Aunty? What's wrong?" I asked her innocently. She looked up at me, then I could see the state she was in. She had tear stains on her cheeks, her eyes were bloodshot, as if she'd been crying for awhile. She looked about twenty years older even though she was only thirty four. I hugged her and she tightened her grip around me.

"I'm so sorry you have to go through this, young one" I pulled away, confused.

"What?" I tilted my head to the side. She looked at Jen, then back to me.

"Max, sweetheart, you're gonna be staying with us for awhile" she told me. I was again confused.

"What about my parents?" I asked. She glanced at Jen again.

"Umm...they're gone for a...um...trip for their job. They won't be back for awhile" I smiled, being the oblivious child I was.

"Oh! Well how long are they going to be gone?" I asked once more. My aunt looked down.

"I don't know, child. I don't know" she turned back to her sobbing spot and continued to let the tears fall down her sunken face. I looked at her sadly, then to Jen who was carrying me upstairs to my room.