Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
The two of them exchange a look, the kind where there’s more going on under the surface. God knows Preston and I have had plenty of those conversations.
“If you can’t handle the company…” I tip my head to the side, silently challenging her. Is she really going to throw us out when her grandma seems to like us so much?
“You’re already here. And there is a ton of lasagna.” It’s obvious she’s not happy about it, but she sits down at one of the four chairs around the table, anyway. Lois pours us iced tea and sits down across from Emma, leaving me and Preston to take the other two seats.
This is not the way I saw the night going, but I’m liking the direction it’s taken by the time Lois hands me a plate that now weighs a ton thanks to the slab of lasagna sitting in the middle of it.
“We were just wrapping up our volunteer work at the hospital,” Preston explains as he accepts his plate. “That was when we spotted Emma’s car and thought we’d come by and say hi.”
“Were you visiting your grandpa again?” I ask around a mouthful of cheesy, saucy pasta. It’s really delicious. It makes me think about all the family meals we didn’t have when we were growing up—there was never this intimate feeling, gathered around a home-cooked meal. I doubt Mom has cooked a total of ten times in all the years she’s been married. She’s just not interested.
Another look from Lois to Emma, sharper this time. “What do you—” Lois begins, but Emma gives her head a tiny shake to silence her grandma.
“Yes, that’s what I was doing,” Emma informs us. She’s only playing with her food—cutting off a bite, then dissecting it layer by layer. She never does get around to putting it in her mouth.
Did we ruin her appetite? Poor thing. I’m really enjoying this. Watching her squirm and enjoying a delicious lasagna at the same time? It’s a win-win in my book.
That visit must’ve been pretty stressful. She looks even more pale than usual, maybe a little gray. Tired, too. Instead of sitting up straight, she’s leaning against the back of the chair with her chin close to her chest. When she notices me looking, she sits up straighter, then shoots me a dirty look when Lois isn’t watching.
“So, I guess the three of you know each other from school? Do you have classes together?” Lois is totally in the dark, telling me Emma has kept everything to herself so far. It had better stay that way.
“She and Preston have a class together,” I reply before going for another bite. “This is delicious, by the way.”
I guess the thought of having her wig pulled off is too much for Emma, since she pushes her chair back from the table all at once and bolts from the room. There’s barely time for me to look at Preston before the low-but-obvious sound of puking reaches us.
“Oh, no. Excuse me, boys. I had better go check on her.” Lois doesn’t seem surprised. Concerned, but like this is just one of those things that happens.
“We should go,” Preston tells her, jerking his chin at me before he stands. “If Emma’s not feeling well, we don’t want to intrude.”
She’s already halfway across the living room, babbling over her shoulder. “Oh, I’m sorry to run you off so soon. But please, you should come back.” As we leave the house, I hear her talking to Emma in a low, encouraging voice. I could’ve sat there all night, but I would hang around the hospital if I wanted to hear someone throwing up. And it is kind of an appetite killer.
Now she knows we know where she lives. And Grandma did invite us back, didn’t she? We might have to make good on that.
Somehow, Preston manages to wait until we’re in the truck before he bursts out laughing. “She looked like she was going to shit herself when she first saw us.”
I don’t say anything right away. It’s not until we’re rolling away from the curb that I can find clumsy words to describe what’s on my mind. “There’s something weird about her.”
He snorts. “You’re just figuring that out?”
“Did you see the look when we were talking about visiting her grandpa? Lois seemed surprised and confused, but Emma shut her up.”
Looking at the house in the rearview mirror, I shake my head. “She’s not telling the whole story. Not to her grandma, and not to us.”
12
PRESTON
At this rate, I’m going to flunk out of school. When I show up on campus and all I can think about is finding Emma, it doesn’t really speak well for my GPA.
But the last thing I care about this morning is going to class. She has to be around here somewhere, unless she was too sick to come in. It did sound like she was throwing up pretty hard last night. Maybe I’m wasting my time as I walk around campus, acting like I’m minding my business but always watching out for her.