July 4th, 2020
He wouldn't miss her. All he saw when he looked at her was Sarah, only uglier.
Today was Mabel's last day staying at their house and Edward couldn't be happier that she was leaving. From her consistent talking to the constant odor of smoke radiating off of her clothes, Edward had had enough of her. Of course, he had to deal with her for one more day. He just, simply, had to avoid her as much as possible and try to enjoy Independence Day as best as he could.
Edward sat on the porch, away from his family who were gathered around a table that was set up under the pavilion. Sarah and Mabel gossiped with each other, Lillian sat on the ground, talking to her sheep, Isaac looked down at his phone, and Lucy sat by Edward, waiting for him to giver her something off of the grill. He cut a piece off a hot dog and tossed it to her, hearing her lips clap together and her tail slap against the railing.
"Ed, darling, do you think the food will be done by today?" Mabel said, mockingly. Edward grumbled, not looking back at her. He knew the kind of person she was, the kind to sleep around with numerous men, not caring whose marriage she destroyed. He looked up at Sarah.
Sisters really do share a lot in common.
"You are a loyal man. You are a married man," He mumbled to himself. Sitting next to him was his cooler. He yanked out his sixth bottle of beer and began chugging it. The sooner he could get away from their little family gathering, the better. He always hated that Lillian's birthday had to be a week before Independence Day - too much family interaction for his taste.
The burgers and hot dogs were cooked to his perfection. He tossed the rest of the cut up hot dog to Lucy, plated the rest, and brought them over to the table.
"Thank you, honey. They look wonderful," Sarah said, smiling.
Mabel watched Edward as he sat at the seat furthest from her and Sarah. "These burgers looked like they just came off the cow. Are you sure you cooked them?" She sneered.
Edward kept his gaze towards the condiments. "You are welcome to cook them yourself, Mabel," He said.
Still not looking at her, he could see her mouth open up wide, as if offended. "Alright then, I guess I better go get it back on the grill," She said, standing up.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDHhrVXHFTR
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Edward turned his eyes towards her with more hostility. "Don't touch my grill."
She held her hands up towards her shoulders and slowly sat back down. "Okay big guy, I won't touch your grill."
The table became silent with Mabel looking at Sarah with wide eyes, Isaac looking away from the table while tapping his foot, and Lillian quietly talking to her sheep. Edward didn't give into the tension. He continued on with putting tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, onions, and ketchup on his burger and relish and ketchup on his hot dog.
Sarah soon followed in getting a hot dog ready for Lillian. "So do you think you'll be visiting more now that we're so close," Sarah said to Mabel.
Edward chewed loudly on his burger. Now that they lived further up north, they were closer to Mabel. It was one of the downfalls of their new home.
"I think I will be. After all, I just can't get enough of this little cutie over here," She reached her hand out to Lillian and tickled her side. Lillian jumped up and giggled.
"Stop it Aunt Mabel," She said with a wide smile.
Mabel smiled at her and turned her head to Isaac, who looked back at her with a gloomy stare. "And of course I love seeing my handsome young nephew too," She said.
Isaac gave her a half cocked smile. Edward shook his head before taking another bite from his hamburger. Last thing he wanted was for her to come to his house every other week, nevertheless try to seduce his son.
Sarah turned to Edward, giving him the same forced smiled that he had grown accustomed to over the years. He didn't know if she was genuinely trying to come off as loving or if she knew that her smile angered him to his core. He hated that smile.
"Mabel and I were thinking that we could also go to the river by Matthewsville. We heard that they have a little firework celebration on the mountain and the river is a perfect spot to watch it. Would you like to come with?" Sarah asked.
Edward hesitated before answering. He wanted to say no so he could have the house to himself. But he couldn't bring himself to say no. Edward felt the house was wrong or, at least, the forest around the house was wrong. Not knowing how to explain it, he just felt like he was never alone in it, even when everyone else was gone.
"I suppose," He said. Edward looked up, noticing everyone's gaze focused at them. It was a gaze he could only describe as shock. Needless to say, he didn't spend very much time with his family, aside from Isaac now and then.
"Wonderful," Sarah said. "We'll leave in about an hour."
"The water is pretty calm and warm right now. We might be able to go swimming," Mabel added.
"How do you know that it's warm?" Sarah asked.
Mabel chuckled. "Me and a uhh..." She looked down at Lillian. "...friend took a swim in there."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrTRzEidCJL
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Sarah laughed while Edward glared at her. Sarah looked at Isaac and then to Lillian. "Kids? Would you like to go swimming?" Sarah asked.
Lillian jumped up in excitement while Isaac shrugged his shoulder. "Come on, Isaac. It'll be fun," Mabel winked at him.
"I guess," He said.
Edward stood up, taking a final bite from his hamburger. "I suppose I better clean off the grill before we leave," He said. Sarah smiled at him and nodded her head. In truth, he just wanted to get away from the table. He had a long night ahead with his family and he was not excited for it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edward and Isaac sat on some lawn chairs while Sarah, Mabel, Lillian, and Lucy swam around in the water. The fireworks weren't due to bet set off for around another twenty minutes, leaving Edward time to sulk. Isaac seemed to take right after his father, as he sat in his lawn chair and stared at the ground, most likely not having service.
"How have your friends been?" Edward asked.
Isaac looked over to him, showing Edward his tired eyes. "They're fine," Isaac said.
Edward chuckled. "Oh? That's good, I suppose," He looked over to the girls in the river. What a miserable existence his life had come to.
"Daddy, daddy!" Lillian yelled at Edward. "Look at me!" She dove underwater and came up several seconds later.
Edward looked at her with a blank expression. "Wow," He said sarcastically.
Sarah frowned at him and looked back at Lillian. "That was so awesome Lily! How did you do that?"
Lillian smiled at her mother. "Watch me, I can show you," She put her hand on her nose, closed her eyes, held her breath, and let her body sink under the surface. Several seconds went by - Lillian didn't rise back up.
"Lily, honey?" Sarah said.
Edward watched as his wife slowly became more frantic.
"Lily...? Lily?" She said louder.
The little girl still had not rose from the water. Edward stood up, feeling that even he was getting increasingly nervous. A few silent moments passed by and Lillian emerged from out of the water a few feet from where she dove.
"Lily!" Sarah yelled. "Oh thank God, are you okay?"
Lillian coughed up water and giggled. "See, mommy! That's how you do it!"
Sarah gently grabbed Lillian and pulled her up to her chest. "You need to be careful, you nearly gave me a heart attack."
Edward saw the goofy little smile that Lillian always had was fading and becoming sadder. A few more moments passed by before he heard his wife sigh. "That was pretty awesome though, Lily. You held you breath for so long."
Lily's smile returned and she did her normal giggle. Both Sarah and Lillian returned to shore, followed by Lucy. Mabel continued to float on her back in the river, her bronzed skin reflecting in the sunset. Regardless of her ugly looks, Edward couldn't deny that her skin was a beauty. He shook his head and sat back down, noticing that he was staring for too long.
I'm a loyal man. I'm a married man.
Often times, however, he wished he wasn't. It had become a common thought, to wish he wasn't married - to wish he wasn't loyal.
Further down the river, he could see several other families setting up their lawn chairs, blankets, tables, tents, and various other things. It was a beautiful night but Edward felt that every person that showed up ruined it.
"May, the fireworks will be starting soon. Do you want to come dry off?" Sarah asked Mabel.
Mabel nudged her sunglasses to her forehead and looked at her sister. "I dunno. It's quite cozy in here."
"Suit yourself," Sarah said. She pulled out a basket of chips, trail mix, and other snacks and rolled up a cooler. Before serving anyone else, she popped a cap off a beer bottle and handed it to Edward. "Here you go, love."
Edward looked at her and gave her a faint smile. He looked down at the beer bottle, hesitating to drink it. Mabel looked to Edward, noticing the beer in his hand.
"Where's my beer?" Mabel asked.
Sarah pointed at the cooler while handing Lillian a bag of chips. Edward watched as Mabel began swimming to shore before she stopped and turned around. She was frozen, staring at something on the other side of the river.
"May? Are you okay?" Sarah asked.
Not seeing anything, Edward looked back down at Mabel. Her bronzed skin seemed to be losing her color; her arms shook vigorously; and her breathing became more frantic. Something was wrong with her.
"Aunt Mabel? What are you doing?" Lillian asked.
All was silent until Mabel began splashing.
"May!" Sarah screamed.
Edward turned to see his wife flailing to take off her dry clothes. Other families further down the river were looking up at his family now. Mabel struggled to stay afloat, almost like something was pulling her into the water. Doing something that not even he expected, Edward threw off his shoes and dove into the water. Mabel's flailing had stopped and she had begun to sink. He grabbed onto her arm and raised her head out of the water, dragging her to shore.
"Aunt Mabel! Aunt Mabel!" Lillian screamed.
Sarah and Isaac helped Edward drag her to one of their blankets. Her body was stiff and her pupils were large - she wasn't breathing. Numerous voices began coming from every direction around Edward. Lillian and Sarah were screaming, Lucy was barking, and people from down the river were running to Mabel's aid.
"Help! Help!" Sarah screamed.
Almost as if by call, some man ran up and glided his way past Sarah and Isaac. He began compressing her chest, yelling for everyone to give some space. Edward fell to the ground, feeling his body becoming tired. He felt the blood rush from his face.
The man held Mabel's nose and brought his lips to her lips, blowing in. Edward felt dazed and looked over to the shore, seeing a little wooden figure.
"Come on, breathe," Edward heard the man say as he delivered more compression.
The wooden figure looked like a bird - like a raven or, maybe, a crow. Edward wasn't sure. It smiled at him and then began laughing, its black beaded eyes remaining lifeless.
The man brought his mouth to Mabel's mouth once more. Water spat out and she gasped for air.
Edward tilted his head to the other side of the river. There, a man without a face looked in his direction.
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