I'm sorry for the delay. Seriously. Check the note at the end of the chapter for more info.
The end of the day had arrived. Finally. Emily had laid really low in art. She had kept her head down and hadn't said a word; seeing as how everyone was in that class… somehow. This school was odd like that. She had yet to decide if she liked it or not. But she figured she had plenty of time to figure it out
Emily had trudged her way through language arts, science, and math. And she had smiled her way through photography; she had really liked that class. She liked art too, not that she was any good at it, but it was especially hard to enjoy when there was so much tension in the room.
Zay had offered to give her a ride home. She accepted, knowing that Lucas and his friends would probably take the subway. His mom would only be giving them a ride for the first week, then they would have to take the subway as well. Emily intended to take advantage of this opportunity. She wasn't ready for another confrontation with Lucas or any of his new friends yet.
"Sorry," Zay apologized while they were on their way to her apartment.
"I know you are, Zay. But sorry won't make this situation any better."
"Just talk to him and see what he has to say. Give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe you'll work this all out?"
"I doubt it. And it's not like you were a big help, but I know that's just who you are." Emily sighed. "I'm sorry too."
"What are you sorry for?"
"I'm sorry for blowing up at you in class."
"Hey, it's okay. You had every right to. I wasn't listening to you after all."
"Yeah, I guess. Everyone probably thinks I'm such a drama queen for running out of class."
Zay shrugged. "Who cares what they think? They don't know you. I know you and I know you're not a drama queen. It was just a bad and awkward situation for everyone."
The car came to a slow stop. "Yeah, thanks." Emily grabbed her tote as she thanked Mrs. Babineaux for the ride and said bye to Zay. She exited the car and headed into the building. She rode the elevator to the third floor and walked down the hall until she reached the door to her apartment. She took out her key and unlocked the door before crossing the threshold and calling out. "Hello? I'm home!" There was no response. The apartment seemed to be empty. She figured her mom had gone to get her repaired phone, her dad was still at work, and Lucas wasn't home yet.
She thought it was odd that he wasn't here. Wasn't the subway faster than driving? And he didn't have baseball today, so he didn't come home and then leave for practice. Where was he? Maybe he had gone out with his friends.
Emily shrugged to herself as she headed to her room. Why was she so worried about him? He didn't seem to care about her. So why should she care about him? Because he was her brother. That's why.
She dropped her bag by the door and flopped onto her bed. She let out a groan. If she had known that moving to New York would be this complex and stressful, then she wouldn't have done it. She would have just stayed in Texas. All she had wanted was to be with her family. And the only one who seemed happy that she was here was her mother.
She felt like a parasite. She felt like she was ruining her brother's new life just by being here. Part of her knew that it wasn't really her fault. But a larger part wouldn't stop telling her that it was. If she had just stayed in Texas with Papi Joe, she wouldn't be in this situation and Lucas wouldn't be mad at her. She realized that Zay was also part of the problem, but she had done nothing but make it worse.
At this point, she just wanted to know why. Was he ashamed of her? She wouldn't blame him if he was. She wasn't the biggest fan of herself either.
She didn't know how long she had been lying in bed, drowning in her thoughts, when she heard a knock at her door. She ignored it as she draped her arm over her eyes. She had a pretty good idea of who it was and hoped he would just give up and go away. But that wasn't really his style. At least, it hadn't been. She had no idea what his style was now.
Another knock sounded. It was more persistent this time.
"Come in," she muttered against her better judgment. She didn't actually want to talk to anyone right now, let alone him, but she knew he would just keep knocking until she answered.
The door creaked softly as it was opened. She heard booted footsteps against the wood.
"Hey."
She moved her arm and sat up to see Lucas standing in her doorway. She rolled her eyes. "What do you want?"
"Look, I… uh… I…" Lucas sighed, at a loss for words, as he entered the room. "I missed you."
He sat down next to her on the bed. They sat in silence together for a few minutes. Neither of them quite knowing how to start the pending conversation.
"How was your day?"
"Lucas-"
"Did you like your classes?"
"Lucas-"
"Meet any new people?"
"Lucas-"
"I would have been home sooner, but I decided to take the long way home. To think about things."
"Lucas!" Why was he acting like nothing was wrong? Like everything was normal?
"Yeah?"
"Why didn't you want them to know that I'm your sister?"
"I don't know. I wasn't thinking."
That wasn't good enough for her. She needed a real answer. "I don't buy it. Tell me the truth."
"I guess… I don't know… I was just upset."
"Why?"
"I was surprised and embarrassed. And you know Zay has a big mouth. I hadn't told anyone what had happened in Texas because I was trying to get past it. And I hadn't told them I had a sister either; I thought I'd never see you again. We were on two different sides of the country. Then you guys showed up out of nowhere, and it reminded me of what I had to give up when I left. Of what I had done. Of who I had been."
"You don't want them to know I'm your sister because you were angry at us and ashamed of your past?" If he was ashamed of his past, did that mean he was ashamed of her too?
Lucas let out a frustrated breath. "I don't know. I can't explain it."
"What about now? Are you going to tell them?"
"I don't know. It just seems easier if they don't know. Less complicated. I don't want to have to deal with all of the uncomfortable questions and the teasing that I know is going to come."
"Teasing?"
"Maya Hart." The blonde from class. Emily vaguely remembered the nickname 'Ranger Rick' and the comment about using his name while they were at lunch. "I just need time to process everything."
"Look, Lucas, I won't say anything if you don't want me to. You know that. But the longer you wait to tell them, the worse it will be when they find out. And they will find out. Secrets have a way of coming out… eventually." She knew that from experience. She gently tugged at her sleeve.
"I know. And I'll tell them. Someday."
Emily wanted to say that he should tell them as soon as he saw them tomorrow. Get it over and done with. Rip off the bandaid. But she bit her tongue. She was already tearing up his new life, she didn't want to be more of a nuisance.
"Ok." Was all she said.
"I should go. See you later." Lucas stood up.
"Yeah, see you."
He exited her room, closing the door behind him.
Emily laid back down. She already knew that whatever came next was going to be crazy.
Hey guys and gals (and nonbinary pals - Thomas Sanders... no? ok.) I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. It's only iffy to me. I wasn't sure how I wanted the chat between Lucas and Emily to go. This is what I ended up with. I don't know if it came out as well as I wanted it to (or at all good). Anyway, I have a few ideas i want to incorporate into this story. It won't just be based on the episodes, although some of them may be incorporated here and there. But I kinda wanna explore some more... mature/dark (?) themes.
Sorry for the delay in uploading. I've been very busy. I've had a lot of work for school and I've got finals coming up soon. And I've just been feeling very uninspired and unmotivated lately.
Okay, well, let me know what you think of the chapter. Thanks to everyone for reviewing, following, or favoriting. Thanks for just reading. You guys don't have to do any of that. It means a lot to me. Feel free to PM at any time if you need to talk or if have any ideas or anything.