“He’s devastated that he scared you. What happened?”
Emery shook her head and stared at her Coke. “I just freaked out a little bit a few weeks ago. He’s been walking around me like I’m going to break since then.”
“Are you?” Rachel asked, picking at her ribs.
“What?” Emery looked to where Noah disappeared.
“Are you going to break?”
Emery snapped her eyes to Rachel. “No, Rach. I’m not going to break. He just did something that triggered memories for me.” Her voice was harsh. If she was going to break, she would have done it by now.
“You can’t break, you know. I won’t allow it.” Rachel pointed at Emery with her rib.
“Oh,” Emery giggled in spite of her annoyance, “you won’t allow it?”
“Nope. We’re going through this. Me and you.” She moved the rib bone in Emery’s direction to emphasize her point.
“I know. Me and you,” Emery repeated. “Hey, have you talked to Ashley recently?”
“Yes.” Rachel straightened up in her seat and pulled out a note. “She told me to give this to you.”
Emery took the note from Rachel’s hand. “She just gave this to you?”
“Well, no…” Rachel looked around to see if Noah was headed back yet. “I gave her the bracelet you told me to and told her that I knew where you were, but that she had to keep it a secret. She asked me what your middle name was… She’s smart, by the way.” Rachel reached in her purse carefully due to the fact that she still had barbeque sauce all over her hands. She brought out Emery’s bracelet, the pink and teal one that Ashley had made for her.
Emery took it from her and put it on her wrist, fighting to keep the tears at bay. Then she leaned in closer to Rachel, absorbing everything about her sister.
“After a few minutes of talking, she wrote that for you in her notebook,” Rachel finished. “What’s it say?”
“What, you didn’t read it?”
“Of course not!” Rachel exclaimed, scandalized. “It’s for you.”
Emery looked down at the paper and tears threatened to form just seeing her sister’s words.
“What’s it say?” Rachel asked again.
“She says she hopes I’m happy and that she loves me.”
“Ugh, she’s amazing,” Rachel said before ripping more meat from her rib.
“I bet you pick up a lot of men that way, Rach.” Noah laughed as he sat back down. His leg grazed Emery’s and she fought everything in her being not to move her leg from his.
Emily Sanders wouldn’t move her leg, so she didn’t move her leg, even though his leg hair tickled and he looked at her with an expression she didn’t understand.
Saturday night, she and Rachel sat in the stands at the very top of one of the end zones. Emery squinted against the retreating sun. There wasn’t a cloud in the azure sky. She shielded her eyes, trying to see Noah on the field. The sun was just dropping and it was directly in their line of sight; they could hardly see anything.
“I wish I would’ve worn my sunglasses,” Emery whined.
A hiccup escaped Rachel’s lips and Emery burst out laughing.
“It’s not funny, bitch,” Rachel slurred. She’d been drinking at the tailgate with some of Noah’s friends all morning.
“It really is.” Emery laughed again. She was the designated driver until after the football game, but part of her was regretting the decision to be responsible.
Rachel reared back and punched Emery in the shoulder, making her drop all of her popcorn on the person in front of them.
“Oh shit,” Rachel murmured.
“I’m so sorry,” Emery quickly apologized.
“It’s okay,” a guy in a University of Georgia shirt said once he looked at Emery and Rachel. “It happens.”
“I mean, it’s only popcorn, Emery,” Rachel said in a voice that was not her own.
Emery’s eyes widened at Rachel’s slip.
Rachel leaned against Emery’s shoulder and talked to the guy in front of them. “You know how I can apologize? You,” she pointed her finger at him, “are invited to the after party at my cousin’s house. He’s the quarterback. You should come.”
“Rachel…” Emery warned.
“No, it’s cool,” Rachel brushed her off. “Come by and I’ll make it up to you.”
“Where’s your cousin’s place?” the guy in front of them asked politely.
“Just off campus, in Hillsboro. The Village.”
Emery pulled Rachel from their seats and smiled at the guys in front of her. “Rachel, I can’t believe you did that.”