Chapter 4

A school bathroom stall can be quite the educational experience, Emily thought to herself from her position on the closed toilet seat. As soon as this thought left her mind, reality seemed to sink in. She had positively fled into the stall after talking to Brandon. She knew he had dumped her, but it didn't seem real yet. She had never been dumped before—due to the fact that this had been her first serious relationship, and she had always been the one to hand pubescent boys their smashed hearts on a silver platter. As she perched, reading the immortal words of those who had come before her—Jenny is a slut; Joey Preston is a dumbass—the full weight of Brandon's words hit her. I think we should break up. Throwing every ounce of self-respect out the window, Emily let out a deep, guttural wail.

She was alone in the bathroom, and the sound waves of her cry bounced off of the tiled walls, not permeating into the hall outside where it would have surely been lost among the shuffle of students at break. She continued sobbing until the bell rang, when its shrillness shook her from her anguish. Slowly, she stumbled out of the stall. According to the bathroom mirror, she looked like a wreck, but it was nothing to how she felt inside. She pulled her cell phone out of her bag and shakily dialed the ER's number, thanking what was left of her lucky stars that no one else walked in.

"ER," a voice sounded over the line after the third ring.

"Yes, I need to speak with Dr. Barnett, please, this is his sister" Emily said slowly and clearly.

"Hang on," the new desk clerk handed the phone over to Ray as he was passing by. "Dr. Barnett, it's for you."

"Thanks…Deirdre," Ray said, taking a quick glance at her nametag. Into the phone, he said, "This is Dr. Barnett."

"Ray?" Emily's voice wavered over the line.

"Em, hey what's wrong?" Ray asked, immediately concerned at her tone of voice.

"Ray, please, I need you to pick me up," Emily managed to squeak before dissolving in a fit of sobs.

"Emily! Emily!" Ray shouted into the phone, panicking now. "Emily, slow down, and tell me what happened. Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Hiccupping, Emily answered shakily, "He—he broke up with me. I n-need to c-come h-home."

Sighing deeply, Ray said, "Oh, sweetie. I'm so sorry. Where are you now?"

"I'm in the b-bathroom. Can you please come get me?" Emily said.

"Sweetie, I—can't get away right now," Ray answered, cringing as his sister broke into fresh tears. "You know what? Hang on though, I'll find someone who can pick you up. Okay? Emily?"

"Uh huh," she replied softly.

"Okay, I'll call you right back. Can you wait somewhere for about twenty minutes?"

"Um, y-yeah."

"Okay Emmy, I'll call you back," Ray said, hoping to induce a smile on Emily's part. "Emmy" had been the name of a stuffed bunny Emily had had as a toddler, and she had wanted it to have "the same name as me." Since she was three, the name—for the bunny, and for Emily—had stuck.

Ray hung up the phone. "Deirdre," he asked, "Is anyone about to go on their break?"

"Um," the young clerk answered, consulting the schedule, "Looks like…Morris…oh, and Neela, are both due for one."

"'Kay, thanks!" Ray called over his shoulder as he headed off to find Neela. There was no way he was about to saddle Emily with Morris at a time like this. He found her in the lounge.

"Hey," he said to her as she was pulling on her coat. "Can I ask a huge favor?"

Neela looked up at him, surprised at his sudden appearance. "Hey, you," she answered warmly. Seeing the urgency in his face, she asked, "What's up?"

"I just talked to Emily. She got dumped and is really upset. She was begging me to pick her up, but I can't go right now—" he stopped when Neela waved her hands.

"It's no problem, I'll go and get her," Neela answered.

"Really? Thank you so much!" Ray said, stooping down to give her a quick kiss.

"Don't worry about it—I know what she must be going through," Neela said. She fished for her keys in her pocket. "Do you want me to bring her back here, or to your place?"

"Probably my place, that's what she said, but see what she wants. She might not want to be alone right now."

"Got it, I'll be back," Neela said with a quick wave before leaving the lounge, leaving Ray on the couch. She quickly told Deirdre she was leaving before hurrying out to her car.

Meanwhile, back on the couch Ray rubbed his temples. It seemed his life had just hit a new snag. He had no idea how to help his little sister deal with a break-up.

When Neela pulled up to Emily's high school, she found her sitting on the steps. She quickly parked and climbed up to meet her.

"Hey, Emily," Neela said carefully, taking a seat next to her. "Sorry, Ray wanted to be here but had a patient." She smiled feebly. "I know, I'm a pathetic replacement. Do I need to sign you out or anything?"

Emily shook her head, "I took care of it," she croaked as fresh tears filled her eyes. In one swift motion, Neela pulled her into a soft hug, smoothing her hair.

"It'll be okay," she whispered to her. "Come on, let's go," she said softly. They awkwardly stood up together, and walked down to the car. Once inside, Neela faced Emily. "Do you want me to take you home—?" she trailed off as Emily shook her head. "Back to the ER, then? Okay," she said, answering her own question.

The drive back to County was quiet, interrupted only by Emily's occasional dry sobs. "Do you want to talk about it?" Neela asked tentatively. She'd dealt with her own share of break-ups before, but her experience helping others with theirs' was limited, particularly when they were still in high school. Emily shook her head, but seemed to change her mind instantly when she suddenly launched into the story.

"He l-left me a n-note in my l-locker this morning, saying to m-meet him later. I did, and he just said he thought we should b-break up!" Emily cried, her last words nearly lost in the storm of tears.

"Oh—oh," Neela said sympathetically, the right words not quite coming to her. She settled for reaching across the seat and squeezing Emily's shoulder. "I know, I know, Emily. Let it out, go ahead, just let it all out, it's okay" she said, doing her best to comfort the sobbing girl.

Within several minutes, Neela pulled into her usual parking space in the hospital lot. She went around to Emily's side and gave her a tight hug before helping her out of the car. With her arm around her, they walked inside.