Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
The next morning, my phone rang when the first tendrils of light broke through the curtains. I cursed. I’d done no work on figuring out how I felt about Levi’s insistence on doing everything for me, and whatever telemarketer was bold enough to call me right now had to face my wrath.
But the voice on the line was not who I expected.
“Amy?” Emma’s voice broke, and I froze. “I need help.”
“What happened?” I asked as I tumbled out of bed. “Where are you?”
“I-I wanted to come visit you, but my car started smoking, and I’m on the side of the interstate by myself.”
“Okay, first things first, call 911.”
“I—is this serious enough?”
“Yes,” I hissed. “Then send me your location. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” I found the closest shirt and threw it over my head and struggled into a pair of pants I picked up from the floor.
“Thank you,” she said. A message came through and I saw it was her location. “I owe you one.”
“You don’t owe me anything. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
I rushed down the stairs to gather my things.
“Amy?” Levi asked. I turned to see he’d followed me. “What’s going on?”
“Emma. Car issues.”
“Are you going to get her?”
“Yes,” I said as I grabbed my keys.
“I’ll go with you.”
“No,” I snapped. “I’ve got this.”
His eyes went wide, and I paused. I knew I shouldn’t have let the residual annoyance of him trying to handle everything get me like this, but this was my sister. And I would be going to get her.
“Let me help,” he said.
“I’ve got this. Just go back to sleep.”
“Amy,” he began, but I was out the door before he could say anything else.
I started the car and backed out of the driveway, determined to get this done on my own. I got out of town as fast as I could, heading to where Emma was. It looked like she had made it about halfway to me before her car broke down, and I tried to shave off every second I could from the drive. I didn’t usually speed, but I would break a lot of laws for my sister.
Levi called about halfway through.
“Listen, I’m sorry for leaving but?—”
“Amy, it’s fine. You’re panicked about Emma.”
Some of my annoyance melted as I remembered that Levi was trying to protect me, even if it wasn’t what I wanted.
“She’s my sister.”
“Are you bringing her home tonight?”
Home. As in our home .
“I don’t know,” I said. “She usually wants to stay with me when something like this happens, but you’re using the guest room.”
“We can sleep together.”
My jaw dropped. Was he seriously thinking of sex right now? Sure, it had been a few days since the blowjob, but this was not the time. “Wh-what? No, we absolutely can’t?—”
“If Emma is staying, we need to be in the same room.”
“Oh, sleep .”
“Yes, to sleep. I wouldn’t suggest the other thing while you’re worried about Emma.”
“S-sorry. I’m tense right now. I don’t like hearing her that upset.”
“I would be the same if it were Mom or Isra.”
“I’m the only family who gives a shit about her. Neither Mom or Dad would get her.”
“What do I need to do?”
I fought against the rising need to say nothing . I needed nothing.
Because that wasn’t the truth.
“We need to clean out the guest room.”
“I’ll get it done. And I can stay home from work?—”
“No, don’t do that. She’s my sister. I can handle this.”
“And we’re married. So if you need a break, I’ll take over. I can miss a day in the office. And work from home.”
“Emma probably won’t be up to seeing anyone else. But I’ll text you if I need you. As long as you’re not in a meeting or busy.”
“I’ll know if you need me, no matter what’s going on.”
“What, do you have some special alert for me or something?”
“I do. I don’t care what I’m doing. If it’s you, I’ll answer.”
I swallowed around the ball of cotton that had formed in my throat. He would be here. He would answer when I called.
That was something most didn’t give me.
So why didn’t he fully tell me everything? Why was he hiding things?
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I checked the navigation. I still had a ways to go, but I was now in unfamiliar territory and needed to focus on the roads, not question my marriage. “I need to go. I’m close to Emma.”
“Let me know how it goes, darling. Good luck.”
When I hung up, I was still reeling from him calling me darling again. I didn’t know feelings could be so mixed for one person. I was angry he didn’t tell me things and wanted him to do more for me.
But I couldn’t think about that. I had a sister to deal with.
Emma was on the side of the road when I found her, thankfully talking to a police officer. I pulled up and she was running to me the second I was out of the car.
“Thank God,” she said, pulling me into a tight hug. “The car is still smoking, and they’re saying it’s not going to be fixable.”
I surveyed the scene, eyes widening when I saw her Jeep surrounded by black smoke. Along with the police officer was a fire truck, and everyone was monitoring the car closely. The car must have ignited because the red paint was charred too. A tall man in a fireman’s uniform walked over.
“Are you her sister?”
“I am,” I replied. “Did you help her with . . . all of this?”
“We did. The car is, um ...”
“Gone?” I asked. “Yeah, I figured it was when more of it was burned than not.”
“We can tow it. Are you her ride?”
“Yeah, I’ll take care of her.”
He nodded, his eyes moving to Emma. “I hope you have a better day after this.”
“Me too,” she said miserably. He gave her a crooked smile before walking off.
“Are you okay?” I asked once we were alone.
“No,” she muttered. “I thought I was gonna die. It was smoking and there were so many cars going full speed in the right lane.”
My breath hitched. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Can we go to Gram’s house?” she asked shyly. “I was coming to stay for a bit anyway, but now I need to be there.”
“Of course you can.”
“Will Levi be okay with it?”
“He already knows. Family is important.”
She wiped at her nose and gave me a watery smile.
“Now, let’s get out of here,” I said. “I don’t think you need to look at the car anymore.”
“On the bright side,” she said as we drove away, “we were overdue for some girl time.”
“You’re right. It’s been months since you stayed at the house.”
“And I can finally ask about your husband.”
I winced. “Sure. But don’t you need some time to decompress?”
“I’m fine now,” she said.
I raised an eyebrow. “I seriously doubt you’re fine.”
She looked like she wanted to argue, but her face fell. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Don’t worry, you can stay with us. Levi is moving his stuff from the guest room?—”
“Why was his stuff in the guest room?”
Oh, fuck . Her arriving while Levi was in the guest room did not look good for us. I’d have to answer to that later, along with all the other things Emma would want to know.
“His stuff is just in there. It’s not like he’s sleeping in there or anything.”
“I didn’t assume he was, so why did you bring it up?”
“No reason!”
“Are you two not sleeping in the same room? Is this purely a marriage of convenience?”
“No, of course not!”
“It would make sense, especially since our asshole brother fired you. God, if you had to marry someone because of him, I’ll go to his house myself?—”
“Levi just snores!” I said desperately. “It’s not ... Who would marry someone for anything other than love?”
“Someone who needs it.”
“Emma,” I started. “Calm down with the questions. You just had something bad happen. Let’s deal with one thing at a time.”
That was the pot calling the kettle black, but if it worked, I could take being a hypocrite.
“I’m just gonna ask them later.”
“We’re both stressed,” I said. “And I haven’t even had coffee yet. Can’t this wait?”
“Fine,” she said. “You might be right. I can’t believe my car did that.”
“Was it acting up?”
“It overheated on the way to your wedding.”
“What?” The words came out high as I struggled to understand why she wouldn’t tell me.
“I didn’t want to worry you! It was fine after.”
“Obviously not!”
Emma frowned and crossed her arms. “You had enough on your plate, and you know Mom or Dad wouldn’t help.”
“But I don’t need you to handle that for me. Don’t you trust me?”
Silence rang out in the car. I wasn’t even sure why I said it. Emma trusted me, but she still hid something from me.
And that was a pattern these days.
Emma wasn’t the only reason for my frustration, but it took her doing something similar to Levi for me to finally see why I’d been so short with him trying to help.
I wanted him to trust me.
While I’d never had that many people to care about me enough to solve my problems, I was realizing I didn’t want them to fix them for me . I was capable, even with my disability. I’d lived alone and made it all of these years just fine.
I couldn’t deal with the stress or the anger of people hiding things from me, especially when they were doing it in my best interest. They didn’t get to decide what that was.
Only I did.
And now that I was married , I knew I wanted this to be a partnership, not Levi swooping in to save me.
But this wasn’t a true partnership, was it?
We were fake married .
“Of course I do,” Emma said, bringing me out of my thoughts. “Why would I not? I just want to take care of you.”
“Don’t do it by hiding things from me. I swear, everyone treats me like I’m fragile?—”
“Who else does?”
“No one.” I said it too fast.
“Oh no, you can’t get on me about honesty and hide things too.”
“It’s payback for you hiding the car.”
“That’s not how this works.”
“Fine,” I snapped. “Both you and Levi love to fix my problems and hide things. And it’s pissing me off.”
“I can see that,” Emma said. “And ... from my end, I just didn’t want to be another burden on you.”
“You’re not.”
“But you’re my sister, not Mom or Dad, and you’ve done more for me than they have. It’s wrong.”
“It is. Our parents suck, but that doesn’t mean we need to separate ourselves and hide things.”
“But Mom and Dad already fucked up your wedding. I didn’t want to add to it.”
I sighed. “And that’s on them. You wouldn’t have ruined it. We could have figured out a solution together.”
“You’re right.” She picked at the hem of her shirt. “I know you are. I should have told you.”
“Thank you for admitting it,” I said. “Let’s get home and get coffee. Once you’re settled in at the house, we can fix this mess.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.” She looked out the window. “Thank you for coming to get me, by the way.”
“I’d do it anytime.”
And it was true. Even if she didn’t have Mom and Dad, she always had me.
We got on the road and when we arrived at the house, Emma headed to the guest room to put away her stuff.
I flopped on the couch. I needed coffee and soon . But I didn’t have the energy to make it, nor did I want my usual kind. Plus, I still had to deal with the dangerous mix of emotions swirling in my gut.
Out of habit, I pulled out my phone to text the one person I usually would when life got like this.
Why do bad things always happen all together? I need a NAP.
V
You’ve got this.
You’re not even gonna ask what’s going on?
I wasn’t sure if I should. Sorry.
No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned us meeting up. I think it’s making things weird.
Trust me, it’s not just you.
What can we do to fix this?
I stared at my phone, eagerly awaiting his response. I was so focused that I didn’t even notice Emma walking into the room.
“Wow, you really must be having an intense conversation over there.”
I instantly locked my phone. “No, I was just staring into the abyss.”
“Sure. The abyss that also happens to look a lot like a messaging app.”
“It was nothing. Are you all unpacked? I thought that would take longer.”
“I only meant to be here for a day or two. But now I have no idea.” She threw her hands up. “I have a lot to figure out, apparently.”
“We can do all that after coffee. Want to go to my favorite shop?”
“Absolutely. But I dread getting into another car.”
“Luckily for you, we can walk.”
I grabbed my purse and led her outside.
Spring was in the air, and it was only getting warmer as the sun beat down on the ground. In the nights and mornings, winter was trying to hang on. It only lost the battle in the day. Daffodils were already blossoming, and I knew the other spring flowers would soon follow. I loved the time when nature came alive from the quiet of winter.
It reminded me of Gram. Her garden would soon be filled with tulips, her favorite flower.
“So, how is being a rich wife going?”
“It’s fun. I’m sure you saw how many books I bought.”
“I did. And the house is looking good. I can’t believe how fast you filled it up.”
“That was mostly Levi. His mom and stepmom insisted they get all of the stuff from his apartment and moved it in the next day.”
“So, that’s all his?”
“His stepmom made him get rid of the ugly things.”
She hummed. “And how are other things? Are you gonna talk to him about what you were upset about in the car?”
I should, but that kind of ask would mean admitting that I wanted this to be closer to real. And I wasn’t sure if that was something I was ready to say.
“I’ll try,” I said.
“Marriage is about communication.”
“Can we get our coffee before you interrogate me more?” I asked.
“Fine, but you can’t keep me away forever.”
She walked up to the counter and I took a steadying breath to calm myself before following her.
“Can I get a red eye?” I ordered.
“Is that a good idea, considering your migraines?” Emma asked.
Today was the kind of day where I didn’t care about my caffeine consumption. I was getting something that would wake me up, and that was all there was to it.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it. What are you getting? I’ll pay.”
That got her to stop worrying about me. “I guess I can’t question you too much since you have the money now. Can I get a vanilla latte?”
Without thinking, I pulled out Levi’s card and handed it to the barista.
“Is that yours?”
“Mine is in the mail.”
“So it’s Levi’s?”
“What, did you think he gave me an allowance?”
“Kinda. I didn’t think he’d give you access to that much money.”
“We’re married. It’s what married people do.”
“Not all married people. He has to trust you for that.”
“He does.” Kind of. Not really, in some ways. But I definitely didn’t need to tell her that.
I quickly paid and then turned to see if there were any free tables. I spotted Riley cleaning one in the corner.
I waved at her and was rewarded with one of her smiles.
“Hi,” she said. “It’s nice to see you in.”
“I’m here showing my little sister Emma what’s good in the city.”
“I saw you at the wedding,” she said. “You two look so much alike.”
“Unfortunately,” Emma said.
“So, how much do you know about this marriage?” Riley asked, looking between us.
“Hardly anything.” Emma crossed her arms. “She just popped up engaged.”
“Oh, interesting.” Riley glanced at me, and I shook my head.
“I told her that I move fast,” I added. “But we’re happy.”
“I didn’t get to see your ring up close,” Riley said, grabbing my hand. “This is nice .”
“Nice and way too much. I told him he didn’t have to go all out but he did.”
“Rich, huh? I have one of those.”
“Does everyone have a rich husband?” Emma asked. “Where’s mine?”
“You could be a nanny for one like I was,” Riley said.
“Or just marry someone out of nowhere,” I added.
Emma turned to me. “Which I’m still reeling over.”
“I also need to catch up,” Riley said. “I bet a lot’s happened since we last talked. You two looked very cute at the wedding.”
“I get first dibs,” Emma announced. “I’ve waited long enough.”
“Spoken like a sister. I wish mine and I had that kind of relationship,” Riley said. “But we’re getting there. I’ll leave you two to chat, but write down your damn number, Amy.” She said it like a threat, handing me a napkin and a pen from her apron.
“Didn’t Lily give it to you?”
“She wanted to be sure your privacy was respected, which is sweet, but I need to be able to contact you.”
I laughed and wrote it down.
She gave me one last smile before walking away.
“Riley is so nice.” Emma turned to me. “Why aren’t you closer to her again?”
“She’s closer to Lily.”
“And?”
“ And I don’t want to encroach on that.”
“But you three could be a dynamic trio,” she replied. “There’s always room for more friends.”
“With my history?”
“Come on.” Emma rolled her eyes. “You’re walking sunshine. Not everyone will do what Ava did.”
“I don’t want to take the chance.”
“But you’re an adult now.”
“I don’t feel very adult-ish.”
“You own a house.”
“I was given it by Gram.”
“And you have a car.”
“You had one. You bought it yourself.”
“And look at how that worked for me.” She sighed. “I should have done more research on it, but it was so cheap.”
“How long was it having issues?”
She winced. “Since I got it.” I gave her a flat look. “I had a plan anyway. I was working doubles to save up for a new one. I just have to do it earlier now. And now, my amazingly adult sister can help me. Obviously I have bad taste in cars.”
“I can try. Nashville is not a cheap place to buy a car.”
“We could travel. Please? I’m so bad at this adulting thing.”
I rubbed my forehead. I didn’t have the patience to go on a hunt for a car. It had been miserable finding my little sedan.
“How much have you saved?”
She told me a decent amount, but it wasn’t enough to buy one outright.
And she read my resulting wince like a book. “Is it too little?”
“Yeah. You could do a car note.”
“I haven’t built my credit yet.”
“Okay, so that’s out.”
“What am I gonna do ?” she moaned. “I needed that car to last longer.”
I bit my lip and thought about it. My car was paid off since I’d gotten it at a good deal. It was one of the few things I didn’t owe money on.
And I didn’t need it as much as she did.
“You can take mine,” I offered.
“What? But how will you get around?”
“Levi can drive me.”
“No way am I taking your independence from you when you just got married. Never depend on a man.” She sounded so much like Gram.
“I’m not depending on him that much.”
“Still. You said you don’t want him solving your problems.”
“It’ll be fine.”
“I barely know this guy. And so do you. What if he changes?”
“He . . . won’t.”
“Really? You trust him that much?”
I thought about how he was out late two nights ago, and the person he’d been messaging.
“It’s not a huge deal.”
She raised her eyebrows. “That’s not a direct answer.”
“Emma,” I begged. “You’re more important.”
“No,” she hissed. “You have to stop with this. You matter.”
“I know I do, but you do too. And you need it more.”
“I’m still not taking your car. It’s not an option. I’ll figure something else out.”
I frowned, wondering if there was a way to convince one of the most stubborn people I knew to accept my help.
And as she stared me down, I came up with nothing.
I didn’t always watch for Levi’s car, but I wondered if he would leave work early in an attempt to help with Emma. He didn’t need to. I had things handled, but he dropped everything whenever it came to me, and I didn’t understand why.
He pulled in right at three. Emma noticed his arrival too.
“So, how do you greet your husband when he walks in?”
“With a kiss, like a normal person. But since you’re here, I’ll forgo it.”
“Even though I find you kissing a man gross, don’t stop on my account. You’re newlyweds. Act like it.”
“Emma,” I hissed, but she raised an eyebrow and I realized what she was doing. She was seeing if she could find a hole in my story.
And I wasn’t going to let that happen. When he walked in, I stood.
“Hi, darling,” he said. “I hear we have a?—”
I pulled him into a kiss before he could stop me. He froze for a moment before his hands came to rest on my back, pulling me closer.
When I moved away, he stared at me intensely.
“We do have a guest. But I couldn’t skip my favorite thing to do every day.”
“Right,” he said slowly. Then he stepped away and turned to Emma. “It’s good to see you again.”
“You too,” she said. “Sorry to cramp your style.”
“You’re not an imposition. I heard you had a rough morning.” He turned to me. “And you too. Are you feeling better?”
Emma’s eyes shot to me, as she usually did when someone mentioned my health.
“Did something happen I should know about?” she asked.
“I was worried about you. That’s what he’s asking about.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Sure. Because worry never leads to anything more.”
“I’m not the one who had the car issues today. Your day was far scarier.” My voice came out louder than it needed to, but I couldn’t let her keep talking about this. The last thing I wanted was for Levi to catch on and think I couldn’t follow through with the revenge due to my health.
“You’re changing the subject.”
“And I thought you were hungry. We skipped lunch.”
“That doesn’t sound like a good idea,” Levi said. “How about an early dinner?”
Emma’s lips twisted and I knew she caught that I hadn’t told Levi everything yet.
“Fine. Food is a good distraction.”
“What are you feeling, Emma?”
“I was thinking about cooking.”
“Since when do you cook?” I asked. She’d had a stint with it in high school, but she stopped after lighting the kitchen on fire.
“Since I’ve been practicing. I’m working on being a well-rounded adult.”
“What do you want to make?” Levi asked.
“You have a grill, right? I have a hankering for burgers.”
“Someone would have to go to the store,” I said. “I don’t think I have anything for that.”
“I could go, if I could borrow a car. I have a secret ingredient.”
“That worries me.”
She waved me off. “You won’t say that when you try the food.”
“I’ll take you to the store,” Levi offered. “Amy can have a moment to relax while we go.”
“And she needs to drink some water,” Emma added. “You’ve had enough caffeine to kill a lesser person.”
“I’m the one who’s supposed to tell you what to do.”
“Then take care of yourself so I don’t have to.” Emma stuck out her tongue.
“I second that,” Levi said. “Please drink water, darling.”
“Fine,” I muttered. “Have fun at the store.”
I did what I was told, and as I drank water, I realized that the stress had taken a toll on me. A distinct pressure built behind my eyes, which was not a good sign.
I pressed my palm against my forehead. I needed Emma to accept my damn car so she would be okay. Then everything would be fine.
But that would have to take convincing, so I sat after drinking water and read while I waited for them to return.
I was stuck trying to comprehend the same page for the tenth time when they walked through the door.
“So not only is chocolate banned, but so is red velvet, which is honestly the most tragic part of this,” Emma said as she walked in.
“Have a fun trip?” I asked.
“I was just telling Levi here all about your birthday parties.”
“Emma, why?”
“Because some were funny. And I needed to warn him never to get you chocolate. You’ve suffered with enough cake that you hate for a lifetime.”
“And it’s telling me that we need to make sure all of your future birthday parties are better,” he added. “No more of you being ignored.”
Emma nodded with a smile on her face.
“D-don’t we have dinner to cook?”
“We can’t be too hard on her. She’ll explode.” Emma laughed. “Now, time to go light the grill.”
“Did your store run go well?” I asked Levi as Emma went to the back door.
“I think I got her to like me. All I did was say the things I liked about you.”
“And you managed to do that the whole time you were gone?”
“Absolutely. It wasn’t that hard.” His lips pressed to my temple before he went to follow her, and I had to take a second to process before I did the same.
“You’ll have to turn the gas on,” I said as I got outside and saw Emma staring at the grill like it was a command center for a spacecraft.
“Got it,” she said after turning the knob on the top of the gas can, then turned the burners on. “Now, how do you light this thing?”
“You press the button on the side.”
She fumbled with it for a good minute. At that point, I knew we were headed for disaster.
“The gas has been on for a bit, maybe we should?—”
“There it is!” she called, but the fire took off with too much gas. I recoiled and didn’t realize Levi had jumped in front of me until I saw the wall of his back.
“How about you make the patties?” he offered. “I’ll cook the burgers.”
“Since when do they light up like that?”
“It happens when the gas is on for too long,” I said with a wince. “Thankfully, it was clean, or we’d have a fire. Again. ”
“Again?” Levi asked.
“Emma set my kitchen on fire once.”
“It was an accident!” she defended. “I didn’t know grease started fires. And I put it out.”
“With the rag I gave you.”
“Come on. You’re making me look like an idiot in front of your husband! Aren’t there any good memories you have?”
“I laughed my ass off while it happened.”
“That’s not helpful,” she grumbled. “But since I start fires, I’ll let Levi grill. But I’m still flavoring everything.”
“And I’ll help,” I said.
“I can make patties!” Emma nearly screeched.
“Yes, but I’m here for moral support. And monitoring.”
“So rude,” she said as we walked into the kitchen. She grabbed the hamburger meat.
“What’s this secret ingredient?”
“It’s just onion soup mix,” she said. “You don’t think I made a bad impression, do you?”
“Oh no. He’s heard me give myself a pep talk saying not to talk about dicks. You’re fine.”
“That actually makes me feel better.” She gave me a small smile. “By the way, what’s up with you not feeling good?”
“It was just the stress of the day.”
“But you look off.”
“I’m fine ,” I said. “It got better when I had some quiet time.”
Or it was starting to.
“Okay,” she said. “But if you get a migraine ...”
“I’m okay,” I replied. “Don’t worry about it.”
“What’s Levi said about it?”
“Oh, um ... He doesn’t know.”
“What? He’s your husband .”
“I thought you were worried about the kind of guy he was.”
“And then I talked to him in the car. He cares about you, Amy. Like, a lot. And he would be here for you if you let him.”
I wanted to tell her that there was no way he cared that much since this was fake, but I couldn’t.
“I’ll tell him soon. It’s been hard when he’s also trying to solve everything. I need to fix that first, then I can tell him.”
“And if this headache turns into a migraine?”
“The headache’s gone. Besides, I have other things to worry about. Like my sister not accepting my help.”
“I stand by what I said.” She pointed at me. “You’re not giving up your car for me.”
“We’ll talk about that later.”
“Seriously, there’s nothing you can do to make me take it.”
“Seems like my headache never left at all, then.” I gave her a pointed look.
“Always happy to help,” she replied as she stuck out her tongue at me.
She would always try to out-stubborn me. It had been like this for her whole life.
But I’d figure her out and get her to accept my help. I always did.