Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
E MILY
I can’t believe it’s the end of summer already, and I’m officially done with college.
Slamming the trunk of my compact sedan, I turn around to find Trina and Charlie staring into the window of my back seat, then watch as they both glance over to Charlie’s truck.
As I stroll up to them, Trina says, “I don’t like it. It’s not safe for?—”
“What’s not safe?” I ask, while I twirl my hair up into a messy bun.
“You can’t drive this,” Trina says. “The visibility is too poor. You won’t be able to see out the back window. And Charlie’s truck bed is too full to add anything else.” Trina pauses and rubs her fingertips against her temples. “How do you have so much shit, Em?”
“Hey! It’s not shit. I’ve lived here for four years. When you consider that this is almost everything I own, it’s not that much.”
Trina rolls her eyes and Charlie chuckles, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
My low belly does a little flip-flop.
I know I’m a spoken for woman—and I’d never admit this to Teddy, or even Trina—but since the day I met my sister’s best friend four years ago, I’ve had a tiny, completely harmless crush on the gorgeous specimen of a man. What woman wouldn’t? He’s tall, broad shouldered, dark-haired, and handsome with lean muscle for days. And that short beard of his, there’s just something about it. He’s one hundred percent man. I’m not sure why my sister has never shown an interest in him beyond friendship, but she hasn’t.
“Em! Did you hear me?” Trina asks.
“What? Huh? Sorry, I got distracted. What did you say?”
“I said I’m going to drive your car and you ride with Fitz.” Trina puts her hand out with the palm facing up, obviously expecting me to hand over my keys.
“That’s ridiculous, Tri. I can drive my car.” Now I’m the one rolling my eyes. “Plus, it’s only an hour and a half from the university to your house.”
“No. I’ve been driving longer. I’ll feel better if I drive it. I’ll grab my wallet from the truck.” Trina’s tone doesn’t leave much room for arguing and she turns and walks back to Charlie’s vehicle.
I turn toward Charlie, my eyes pleading with him to help me.
“Sorry, Em. I agree with her. Plus, cut her some slack. She had a call at work two weeks ago for a terrible car accident and not everyone survived.” Charlie lowers the volume of his voice on that last bit, clearly not wanting Trina to hear him. “If you don’t want to ride with me, Trina can drive my truck and I’ll drive your car.”
“What?” I didn’t mean it at all like that and now I feel kind of shitty for making Charlie think that was even a possibility. “I don’t mind riding with you. I’m just not seeing why it’s okay for Trina to risk herself, but not me.”
“Because you’re my younger sister, so you have to listen to me. That’s why,” Trina says, as she approaches us.
I decide to give up and hand her my keys, ready to get back to Elladine.
“C’mon, Charlie. Let’s get this show on the road!” I pull my sister into a hug, then make my way toward Charlie’s truck.
Once we’re inside, I sync my phone to his Bluetooth and set my music to play.
Charlie looks at the display and sees the name of the artist scrolling across the screen and groans.
“Oh, no… You’re not going to make me listen to boy bands the entire way home, are you?”
“Hey, you’re the one who wanted me to ride with you.” I try my best not to smirk. “It’s this or we could talk. You could catch me up on everything happening in your life and all the Elladine gossip I’ve missed since I was at school this summer.”
Charlie runs a hand through his hair. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about him over the last four years, it’s that Charlie isn’t one for idle chatter, and he’s definitely not one for gossip. He’s more of the strong, silent type.
Don’t get me wrong. When he has something to say, he’ll say it.
He releases a deep sigh. “Play your music. But if my ears bleed, you’re the one who will have to explain it to Trina when we get home.”
* * *
CHARLIE
Forty minutes into the ninety-minute drive from Emily’s college back to Elladine, I can’t take it anymore. I’ve caught Emily’s intermittent side glances in my direction and, after each one, she’s found an even more annoying song to play than the one that preceded it. I’m guessing she’s amusing herself by finding the most cringeworthy music to play and observing my reactions.
I reach over and press the button to turn off the music.
“You win. What do you want to talk about?” We’re at a red-light now so I glance over at her.
She lets out a fake shocked gasp and holds her hand to her chest, her mouth agape.
“Why, Charlie, I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”
Her devious smirk says otherwise.
“Uh huh. Sure, you don’t, sunshine.”
She wastes no time diving into conversation. “But since you’d rather talk than listen to music, tell me about your girlfriend. Trina said you have a new one.”
I chuckle. Emily is a hopeless romantic who thinks everyone should have a partner.
“Nice try. But Trina knows I don’t have a girlfriend. I just go on dates sometimes.” I pick up my soda to take a sip, my mouth suddenly feeling dry as a bone.
“Still, tell me about her. Is she tall, ginger-haired, and boobalicious like Shelly was?”
I gasp and nearly aspirate my soda into my lungs.
“Jesus, woman. Boobalicous? Really? What does that even mean? Never mind, don’t?—”
“It means Shelly had great boobs. Unlike these little things.”
I make the mistake of glancing over to see Emily cupping her hands under her breasts and pushing them up, amplifying her cleavage in her scoop neck tank top. Thank God she’s looking down at her breasts and doesn’t catch that I’m looking at them, too. I quickly turn my eyes away.
I rub my hand over my face while I try to focus on the road and think of the least sexy things I can. I need to get the vision of Emily’s breasts out of my head.
“Okay. Can we please stop talking about breasts?” I ask.
Emily laughs out loud. “Everyone has boobs, Charlie. Even you.”
“Oh my God. No. I have pecs, not boobs. And I want to stop talking about them. For the love of all that is holy, please stop talking about them.”
“Fine. But only if you tell me about your girlfriend and what she looks like. What’s her job? All the deets, please.”
“Jenna’s not my girlfriend. She’s a friend I hang out with. And yes, she is tall, has dark hair, and she’s a dispatcher for the police department. Happy?”
“Not really. None of those are juicy details. Do you think she’s the one ?”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “Nah. I’m not looking for anything serious. And we just started dating after Shelly and I broke up earlier this summer.”
“Speaking of Shelly, why did you guys break up?”
I hesitate, not sure how to answer. Finally, I settle on a generic, yet truthful answer.
“It had run its course. She had some issues with jealousy.” I keep my eyes on the road, not risking a glance in her direction.
“Jealousy? Who was she jealous of? You’re not one to flirt with other women…”
“She didn’t like that I have female friends. That’s all.” I hope she lets it go.
“Ah. Makes sense. My sister is gorgeous and badass. It’s probably hard being your girlfriend and not worrying about the five-foot nine-inch blonde who’s your best friend.” Emily grins.
I smile back at her, figuring it’s best to let her think it was Trina that Shelly was so jealous of. I think back to the argument with Shelly the night she and I broke up, when she said I left her to “take care” of Emily.
“Yeah, something like that. Now, tell me all about your plans for the new job.”
And, just like that, Emily’s attention shifts away from my love life, and she shines with light and radiates joy as she tells me all about her vision for her first year of teaching.
About forty-five minutes later, we arrive at Trina’s house. The three of us spend the next hour unloading Emily’s things into Trina’s condo. We’re just about to climb back into the truck to go to dinner at Enzo’s Pizza in downtown Elladine when Teddy walks up the drive, his hands in his jean’s pockets and a sheepish look on his face.
Emily freezes. After a brief pause, she runs to him and hugs him. He embraces her in return, but something about the fretful frown he wears as he hugs her and the dark circles under his eyes isn’t sitting right with me. She pulls back from him and looks up into his eyes.
“What are you doing here? I thought you had to work today and that’s why you couldn’t get me from school?”
“Yeah, I was working. But I got someone to cover the second half of my shift so I could come see you,” he says.
“Great. We’re just heading for pizza. I’ll ride with you, and we can all go together.” Emily’s smile is huge, but Teddy is looking downward, toeing the ground.
I glance over at Trina, hoping to see a relaxed expression on her face to telling me I’m reading the vibe wrong, but her narrowed eyes and her tense posture say I’m not.
She clearly senses something is off, too.
“Can you and I just stay here? I need to talk to you about something. Alone, please.”
Teddy glances over to where Trina and I stand.
“Oh. Um, sure.” Emily turns to Trina and me. “Do you guys mind going without us?”
“You sure?” Trina asks.
“Yeah. I’m sure,” Emily frowns. “I’m not that hungry, anyway.”
Though it doesn’t feel like the right thing to do, Trina and I get in my truck and leave for the pizza parlor. A tight sensation in the pit of my stomach accompanies my worry that whatever Teddy needs to talk to Emily about might rob her of that light and joy she had when she spoke about her future on the drive home today.