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Emily Allen watched the sun begin to rise with a heavy heart. She should have left hours ago.
William had promised to meet her at the bridge and they were to elope. She had grabbed whatever she could fit on her horse and sneaked away from her father's farm. She made it to the bridge shortly before midnight and she expected William to meet her any minute. However, William never showed.
Emily couldn't understand why. Had her father threatened him? Had William simply changed his mind? How could he do this to her?
Angry and saddened, Emily collapsed on the bridge in a fit of sobs. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't return home and face her father. Her father had been against their courtship from the beginning. He chastised William for not being good enough for Emily. She couldn't give her father the satisfaction of being right.
How would she ever face William again? She couldn't pretend that their relationship had never happened nor could she forgive him for what he had done. He had promised her marriage and he had betrayed her.
However, she couldn't leave home on her own either. She didn't have a penny to her name. William was supposed to take care of the money for their trip. He was supposed to take care of everything.
Emily's sobs quieted as she realized the time. Her father would be finding her letter soon and come looking for her. She couldn't let him drag her home. She realized that there was only one option left.
She walked over to her horse and removed a length of rope from the packsaddle. She fashioned a running knot. Looking into the bridge, she saw one long beam spanning the bridge?s width.
She took a deep breath and climbed her horse with the rope still in her hand. She trotted the horse inside and halted him under the intended beam. Slowly, she stood up on the animal. Grabbing the reins with one hand and the rope in the other, she swung the rope over the beam and tied a knot. She pulled on it once to make sure it was secure. She slowly let go of the reins as not to frighten the horse and she draped the noose around her neck. She glanced down, briefly, and almost lost her nerve.
"This is the only way," Emily whispered. She took a deep breath and kicked her horse as hard as she could with her shoe. The horse let out a loud whinny and bolted as Emily fell.
William rode as fast as his horse could carry him. He had fallen asleep waiting for his chance to sneak away from home and meet Emily. He could only hope that Emily would still be there and that she wouldn't be angry with him.
"Of all the stupidity," William muttered to himself as he rounded the turn to the bridge. The horse's hooves had just touched the wooden planks when he saw her.
Emily dangled from a length of rope. William pulled hard on the reins and slid off his horse. He ran to Emily's side, but one look at her told him that nothing could save her. His eyes welled up with tears as he looked at Emily's bluish face and lifeless, bulging eyes.
He had been too late.
The McFly Residence Hill Valley, California Wednesday, May 28, 2003 8:30 p.m.
Marty sped down the Interstate, anxious to get home after another lengthy day at his job. Eight months previous, he had received a promotion to assistant manager of the record label where he worked. Initially, Marty had been thrilled with the promotion as it meant a bigger paycheck and more status in the company.
However, it wasn't long before he realized that his job was only to do what the manager didn't feel like doing, which was everything. Marty had been exhausting himself, trying to keep up with his job and his manager's job. He knew that it would only be a matter of time before something gave. He would prefer that not to be his sanity if he could help it.
Marty pulled off onto the Hill Valley exit and slowed his speed accordingly. He wasn't in the mood to deal with a ticket today. Minutes later, he pulled into his driveway. Marty got out of his car and almost ran to his front door as happy as he was to be home. He was just about to pop his key in the lock, when the door suddenly opened for him. Surprised, Marty almost fell off the front step. Collecting himself, he stepped inside. Jennifer smiled at him sheepishly.
"Sorry," she said. "I wanted to talk to you about something."
"What's so important that you couldn't wait until I opened the door?" Marty commented as they walked into the living room. He gave his wife a kiss.
"I talked to Candace today," she replied.
"That was what you couldn't wait to tell me?" Marty asked. Jennifer shrugged in reply.
"How is everyone?" Marty asked as he sat down on the couch.
"They're fine," Jennifer replied as she sat next to Marty. "Did you talk to your boss yet about when you were taking your vacation?"
"Yeah, but The Tyrant is stalling on his answer," Marty said. He eyed his wife skeptically. "Why do you ask?"
"I mentioned to Candace that you had about four weeks coming to you," Jennifer replied. "She thought it might be fun if we dropped in to see the new baby."
"You mean, "drop in" as in travel to Vermont?" Marty asked. "That's a three-thousand mile trip!"
"I was thinking that maybe we could drive out with the kids and make a real vacation of it," Jennifer replied. "Marty we need this time together. We haven't seen much of you since you started your new job. You need to take some time off before you kill yourself."
"How is driving across the continental United States supposed to be relaxing? That's a pretty long drive with two small kids, especially our kids," Marty said. "We won't have a moment's peace."
"What do you suggest we do then?" Jennifer asked. "You know how Marlene is about heights. We'd never get her in a plane and I couldn't bear the thought of leaving the twins in Hill Valley while we traveled clear across the country."
"Jennifer, driving across the country is not my idea of a relaxing vacation," Marty said. "Do you remember that trip we took to Los Angeles to visit Dave last summer?"
Jennifer grimaced at the memory. The family had stopped at a fast food restaurant en route to their destination. Something in their burgers had given them all a nasty case of food poisoning. Since, they were closer to L.A. than Hill Valley at that point; they had continued their journey in misery. Marty had to stop, literally, every few miles so someone could get out and throw up.
"What are the odds of that happening again?" Jennifer asked. Marty eyed his wife warily.
"I don't want to find out," Marty replied.
"Candace was really looking forward to this," Jennifer said. "Is there anything else that we can try?"
Marty looked at his wife. It was apparent that Candace hadn't been the only one looking forward to the trip. He couldn't disappoint his wife. She was right that they all needed some time together. Marty mulled his options over.
"I guess we could ask Emily to accompany us," Marty. "She's real good with M.J. and Marlene."
"Do you think Doc and Clara will go for that?" Jennifer asked. "I mean, Emily has been giving them a lot of grief lately and vice versa from what she tells me."
Emily was nearing her fifteenth birthday. She and her parents were at odds. Jules and Verne had had their rebellious moments growing up, but Emily surpassed them both. She started hanging out with friends that were nothing short of juvenile hall rejects. Doc and Clara blamed these new friends for their daughter's recent behavior.
At first, Emily's rebellious acts were mild, but no less annoying. She dyed her nearly platinum blond hair raven black and pierced her nose. Clara had been more annoyed by the latter move as she didn't think such a look befitted a young woman.
However, the rebellion had since blossomed and now included some smoking, drinking and skipping classes or whole days of school. As punishment for her behavior, Doc had wanted to enroll her in summer school and she would be under house arrest during non-school hours, though Doc had told Marty that he doubted the punishment's effectiveness.
To flee her "dictatorship" as she called it, Emily spent considerable time at the McFly?s house. Marty found some humor in the fact that one of Doc's children was escaping to his house like he used to escape to Doc's garage back in the day. Jennifer called it irony.
"I'll run the idea by them tomorrow," Marty said. "I mean, it's a worth a shot. I can handle Doc and Clara, anyway. The real challenge will be wrestling my vacation from the jaws of The Tyrant." Jennifer laughed and gave her husband a huge hug
Lone Pine Mall Hill Valley, California Thursday, May 29, 2003 4:10 p.m.
Emily Brown ducked behind the store shelf and waited for her moment. Her best friend, Amy, was with her.
"C'mon, Emily. We all had to do this. Now, it's your turn if you want to be a part of the group."
Emily took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Boy, her parents would kill her if she was caught doing this! After one last calming breath, Emily strode confidently out into the aisle. She walked up to the shelf and glanced around quickly to make sure the coast was clear. Then, in one swift motion, she grabbed a bottle of nail polish and stuffed it into her purse.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned to give Amy a big victory grin. Amy gestured for Emily to hurry up. Emily no more than took a step towards her hiding place when she felt someone grab her arm firmly. Startled, she spun around to find a man glaring down at her.
"Will you come with me, Miss?" the man growled, the tone of his voice indicating that the matter was not up for argument.
"Now I'm in for it," Emily thought as the man led her to the back room. She glanced back to see her so-called friend hurry out the front door.
"It figures," Emily thought glumly.
Later, Emily sat in a chair in the store's break room as she waited for her father to show up. The store wouldn't press charges because she was a first time offender. She had gotten off lucky, they said. That was easy for them to say. Emily knew she wouldn't be so lucky when her father showed up.
The door opened then and her father came in accompanied by the store's manager. Doc looked madder than Emily had ever seen him. The manager told him that his daughter was free to go and Doc nodded tersely. Wordlessly, Doc motioned for Emily to come with him, which she did. They walked in silence to the family car.
The ride home was a tense one, as Doc didn't utter a word the entire time. Emily squirmed in her seat. She knew she was in for one hell of a confrontation when they got home.
They arrived home too soon in Emily's opinion. The look on Clara's face when the two entered the house confirmed Emily's worst fears.
"What were you thinking, young lady?" Clara shouted before her daughter got two steps in the door.
Emily sighed, wearily. "It was no big deal, Mom."
"No big deal?" her father sputtered. "An undercover security guard caught you shoplifting. I would call that a very big deal."
"I wasn't actually going to leave the store with it," Emily explained. "Amy said I only had to pretend to lift the nail polish. She said the other girls in the group all did it. It really was no big deal."
Doc made a noise that was a hybrid of a growl and a sigh. He rubbed his forehead in agitation. "What has come over you, Emily?"
"Nothing has come over me!" Emily sputtered. She had long grown sick of this particular question. "I just want to fit in! Do you know how hard it is for me to make friends? Half this town thinks that this family is a bunch of nut jobs and most kids at school don't want anything to do with me!"
"That is enough, Emily," Clara said, her voice eerily calm. "Go upstairs. Now."
Emily gave her both of her parents icy glares before stomping up the stairs. Clara and Doc could the slam of Emily's bedroom door followed by a succession of bangs and shouted curses.
"Damn it!" Doc cursed as he slammed the heel of his hand into the wall. Just then, the doorbell rang.
"Someone had better be dead," Doc muttered as he went to answer the door. He swung the door open to reveal his friend, Marty, standing on the front step. The younger man took one look at Doc's angered face and faltered a little.
"Is this a bad time?" Marty asked. "I can come back later."
"No, Marty, you're fine," Doc said as he stepped back to let his friend inside. "It's been a bad day, that's all." Doc checked his watch, perplexed. "What brings you by at this time on a work day? Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing like that," Marty said. "Let me guess. Emily just told you that she's into Devil worship."
"One could only wish," Doc replied, tersely. "She was caught shoplifting."
Marty's eyes widened. "You're kidding, right? Emily wouldn't be stupid enough to try something like that."
"Guess again," Doc replied.
"Oh, man," Marty said. "What are you guys going to do about this?"
"I don't know," Doc said. "Grounding her doesn't seem to work. Nothing gets through to her. We're at our wits end."
"Can I talk to you and Clara in the living room?" Marty asked. "I have something to ask you."
Marty outlined his idea to the Browns. Surprisingly, Clara seemed to encourage Marty's idea. However, Doc was decidedly less enthusiastic.
"Marty, I don't want to reward her defiant behavior with a damned vacation!" Doc sputtered. "She needs to learn some responsibility and respect!" Doc turned a skeptical eye towards his friend. "You're a rather soft touch towards her," Doc said knowingly. "She's got you wrapped around her little finger and she knows it."
"I'm as worried about her as you are, and getting her away from Hill Valley might do her more good than you think," Marty insisted. "At least she won't be anywhere near that crowd she likes so much or that psycho boyfriend that she hangs around with."
"Maybe some time away would make her appreciate what she has here," Clara said. "I, for one, would be glad to see her put some distance between herself and that crowd of kids."
Doc seemed to relent as Marty hoped he would. "I suppose," he said. "But how do I know that she will be working and not goofing off?"
"Have you met my kids?" Marty asked. Doc chuckled in reply.
"Does that mean that you're warming to the idea?" Marty asked
"Maybe," Doc replied. "I guess I should go tell her."
"Can I tell her?" Marty asked.
Doc nodded his consent and Marty climbed the stairs to Emily's room. He had to knock loudly to be heard over the Evanescence song playing inside. The din quieted a little as the sound of his knocking registered.
"Go away!" Emily shouted.
"Hey, I come in peace!" Marty said. He stepped back as the door opened slightly.
"What?s up?" Emily asked.
"Can I come in?" Marty asked.
"Depends on whose side you're on," Emily said.
"I'm on no one's side as usual," Marty replied.
"Fine," Emily said as she opened the door all the way and let Marty inside. Marty took a quick look around the place and gave a low whistle.
"I just love what you have done with the place," he quipped as he eyeballed the mess.
"I'm not in the mood for jokes, Marty." Emily said as she sat on her bed.
"Yeah, I heard," Marty said as he sat next to her. "What the Hell were you thinking, anyway?"
"Hey, I thought you were neutral! You sound like Them," Emily said, gesturing downstairs.
"I'm just trying to be your friend and your parents' friend, Emily. Sometimes, it feels more like I'm caught between a rock and a hard place."
Emily leveled a glare at Marty before relenting slightly. "What brings you up here, anyway?"
"I've got an offer you can't refuse," Marty said in his best Godfather voice.
"That is a terrible impersonation, but I'm listening," Emily replied.
"How'd you like to au pair for Jen and I while we're on vacation?" Marty asked.
"Wait a minute. You're taking a vacation? What about The Tyrant?" Emily asked.
"I had to sell him my soul, but I got my time," Marty replied.
"Where are you guys going?" Emily asked.
"We're going to Vermont to visit Jen's cousin and her family," Marty replied. "We're driving out there in a few weeks."
"Yeah, good luck getting Mom and Dad to let me go with you," Emily said glumly.
"I already did," Marty said. "So, are you in?"
"How did you pull that off?" Emily asked. "I thought Dad would ground me for the better part of the century for sure."
"I happen to have a little more credibility than you at the moment. I also had to promise your folks that I would work you to near death. So, are you coming or would you rather spend the summer counting the bits of sheet rock on your bedroom ceiling?"
Emily weighed her options. Marlene and Marty Jr. were no picnic sometimes, but the idea of being under house arrest didn't sound appealing either. Emily shuddered at the thought of spending her summer with her parents lording over every breath she took.
"While we're young, Emily," Marty said, interrupting her thoughts. "We leave for our vacation in a month."
"Keep your shirt on. Please," Emily quipped as Marty shot her a look. "I guess I'm in,"
