I swallow my anxiety and fear. “Number one …”
Mom sets my phone down on the table, having listened to the recording twice. Her face is unreadable as she takes a sip of her tea. “Well, that girl’s a piece of work.”
“She’s awful. I don’t care what she said about me. But it’s Cassie and Jen.” Mom listens quietly as I fill her in on Jen and Holly’s history, of how cruel Holly has been to Jen in the past. And each cringe from my mother, each frown, each headshake emboldens me, makes me think that I did the right thing.
“This is not okay, Aria.” She taps my phone. “Recording other girls in your school like that is not okay—”
“Mom, I know!” Tears prick my eyes. Of all people, I know.
“Of course, you do,” she says, squeezing the bridge of her nose. “What did Emmett say?”
“Nothing to me, but he was mad. And I’m pretty sure he dumped her after school. That’s what it looked like it in the parking lot, anyway.”
She nods through a quiet sip of tea. “At least he has his priorities straight.”
“He’s the one who forwarded the video to himself, right after he watched it, before I knew what he was doing. I didn’t send that to him.”
She waggles a finger at me. “See how fast something like that can happen—”
“I know, Mom.” I feel like I’ve said that a hundred times since sitting down. “He promised he wouldn’t send it anywhere else.” I just don’t know if I can believe him.
She purses her lips. “I saw that text come through earlier today, but I didn’t open it. I don’t want to be snooping and monitoring you. Especially when it comes to Emmett and Cassie.” She drums her fingers over the table’s surface. “That’s why you’re telling me now, isn’t it? Because you figured I might see it.”
I shrug and avert my eyes to the table. Guilty as charged.
“I’m glad you told me, Aria. I’m not happy about any of this but your heart was in the right place, which is the important part here. Hopefully, this Holly girl will learn a valuable lesson from this.” She spins the appliance pamphlet around. “Do you think we should go with all black? Or stainless steel?”
I blink at her. Is that it? Is that all she’s going to say?
“Or there’s this model that’s a mix of black and stainless steel. That could be good.”
“Uh … What would Uncle Merv like?”
She waves that thought away with a laugh. “Oh, he doesn’t care. I set him up with an audiobook account and he’s been in that chair all day, quiet. He’s in heaven.” She gives me a pointed look. “And, now, so am I.”
Emmett pulls into his driveway at nine thirty that night, as I’m curled up on my window seat, my textbook in my lap, halfway through my functions and quadratic equations homework.
He climbs out, pops his trunk, and hauls his equipment out, only to toss the bag haphazardly on the grass beside his SUV.
He looks up at my window.
Do I pretend I’m not watching him? Do I wave hello? Do I keep staring out my window, debating what I should do, until this gets super awkward?
He slides his phone out of his back pocket.
A moment later, my phone chirps with an incoming text.
Can you come out to talk?
A mixture of excitement and dread erupts inside me. I have no idea how this conversation is going to go. Marking my textbook page, I head downstairs to the tune of Uncle Merv’s deep snore carrying from his bedroom. Mom glances up from the living room couch, an Ontario law textbook in her lap, her reading glasses perched on her nose. “Where are you going?”
“Outside, to talk to Emmett.” I slip on my shoes. “Be back in a bit.”
“Okay. I hope he’s doing okay.”
Oddly enough, I feel relieved that this isn’t a burning secret between us. I hesitate. “I’m glad I told you.”
She slides her glasses off to regard me. “I’m glad you told me too, hon.”
With each step I take across our lawn and toward the Hartford driveway, where Emmett half leans, half sits against his trunk, his head bowed, my nervousness grows.
“Hey.” I hug my body against the evening chill, wishing I’d grabbed a sweater. “How was practice?”
“Shit.” He chuckles darkly. “Coach yelled at me to get my head into it. Actually, I had skating sessions with a bunch of seven- and eight-year-olds first and then a late practice. It’s been a long night.”
Uncomfortable silence lingers.
“So, about that video …” He shifts to the far side of his trunk, making room for me.
I move in to settle next to him, inhaling his familiar, intoxicating scent. “Like I said before, I only did it because she was talking about your anniversary. I thought she might list a few things and I didn’t want to forget. I wasn’t sure I should even play it for you.”
He sighs heavily. “I know Cassie can be a lot to handle. I lose my patience with her sometimes. A lot, actually. She’s got all these weird little quirks and things about her and sometimes she seems more like a five-year-old than a fifteen-year-old. There are days that I wish she could be like everyone else.” His throat bobs with a hard swallow. “But then she’d be a different person. She wouldn’t be who she is, and I wouldn’t want that either. And she’s my sister. I just …” He bows his head.
“You don’t have to explain. I didn’t like the way Holly talked about her either, and she’s not my sister. Cassie doesn’t deserve that.” And I mean it, crush on Emmett or not. Cassie spent the entire walk home worrying about whether Holly was okay.
He kicks a loose stone with his shoe, sending it flying. “I broke up with Holly after school.”
I temper my voice to sound sympathetic—the bubble of happiness I’m feeling is wrong, I remind myself. “Yeah, we saw you guys in the parking lot. It didn’t look great.”
“She didn’t take it well. Drained my phone battery with all her texts tonight, apologizing over and over again. I haven’t responded yet.”
A dark, unwanted thought stirs in me. “Do you think you can forgive her?” What if he takes her back?
“She says she didn’t mean it, but that’s bullshit. And even if she’s sorry about it, she still said it. And now I know the kinds of things she’s thinking while she’s smiling and pretending to be sweet. I can’t trust her.” He shakes his head. “You should have seen the look on her face when I played that recording.”
My stomach clenches. “You didn’t tell her where you got it, did you?”
“No, don’t worry. She asked, but she doesn’t need to know.”
I sigh with relief. “Good. I don’t need a rumor floating around that I hide in bathroom stalls and record people’s conversations.”
“When did it happen anyway?”
“Last Friday. I didn’t know what to do. But then I figured you’d want to know.”
He chews his bottom lip. “So that’s why you were acting so weird.” And then he cringes. “Not weird. Tense. You’re not weird. Ignore what she said. And I didn’t invite you out to Zach’s because I felt sorry for you.”
I shrug, even as my cheeks heat. Thank God for the dark of night.
Do you think she has a thing for him?
Oh, for sure she does.
What does he think about that part? Does the idea that it could be true bother him?
“I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t get that necklace with the hockey stick charm.”
“I guess not.” I’d wear it with pride.
He laughs, but it’s not his usual laugh; it’s a hollow sound. “I should get inside. I have a ton of homework to do and right now I just want to sleep.” The car lifts as he stands. “By the way, I’m going to drop out of cross-country.”
“Really?” My disappointment swells.
“I’ve got too much going on this year and I don’t need to deal with seeing Holly any more than I have to. It’s bad enough we have a class together. It’s too late to switch out or I would.”