Found Out
Nothing belongs to me except the plot & the girls. And Ryan. And Tormentor. And now Emmett (although he is based on Emmett from Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer)
This chapter is dedicated to Audrey Woods. Girl, you keep me going! I know it hurts right now, and things aren't going great, AND we have finals (bleh), but hang in there! You're our rock! Look forward to Saturday! Practice the patented Sexy Dance! Print off more ridiculous Shoe-Box-isms!
And never forget...
"We've offended the heavens! Aren't you the least bit excited?"
Chapter 10
"Becks, slow down. So you saw them in our room – together – and he was in her bed and she was buttoning up her shirt? HOLY MOLY!" Betsy screeched into the phone. Ryan winced.
"I KNOW!" Becky whisper-screamed into the phone. "You should have been there!"
"Yeah, I know. Sucks being in an ambulance. I mean, I kinda always thought it'd be cool, but-"
"What? You're in an ambulance?" Becky asked, panicking.
"Corry tackled me and I broke my leg. Ryan's with me and we're on our way to the hospital. It's no big deal. Cor was supposed to call me off practice and tell my parents, but I have no idea if she's done either. Hey, do you know what she was doing with John?" Betsy questioned, changing the subject and repositioning her leg with a wince.
"She was with John? That's news to me… but Ryan's with you? Did he sweep you off your feet and carry you down to the nurse's office, all heroic and manly and sexy?" Becky asked playfully, slightly calming down from her worry about the ambulance.
"As a matter of fact, he did." Betsy admitted, blushing and stealing a glance at Ryan, only to see his deep brown eyes focused on hers. Blushing further, she bit her lip and looked away.
"Oh, my God! You two are meant for each other!" Becky moaned into the phone, feeling her friend's grief at their lack of relationship.
"Don't I know it." Betsy muttered before again changing the subject. "So where is Corrie now?"
"At breakfast with her baby daddy." Becky responded casually.
"They've only got, like, five minutes till the bell rings. Mama D's gonna kill Cor if she's late." Betsy predicted.
"You're not wrong. If Cor's anything like her mom when she has kids, they're going to have 'academic integrity' coming out their-"
"BECKY! I swear, I am a horrible influence on you."
"Yeah, you probably are." Becky agreed, hearing the bell ring signaling the beginning of the school day. She stood from where she had been leaning against her locker, talking on her cell phone (loudly), and scurried to class, scanning the heavily-populated halls for the familiar face of her artistic best friend.
She entered their classroom alone with a sigh.
Mama D was going to kill Corrie.
MEANWHILE
"Oh, my God! That was fantastic." Corrie moaned.
"We're not done yet." Pogue promised, smirking at her cockily.
"Better than that?" Corrie asked incredulously, licking her sticky lips.
"You haven't even had Reid's favorite yet. He's our resident specialist."
"Why does that not surprise me?" At Pogue's look, she elaborated. "I mean, he has to do something after he leaves all those girls alone in bed in the mornings. Why not come here and become a breakfast connoisseur?"
Pogue smiled and continued shoveling in French toast and scrambled eggs, unable to find flaw in her logic.
Corrie smiled in response. Taking the last bite of her strawberry whip cream-covered pancakes, she took the first short lull in conversation which, to this point, had been constant and relaxed, without an awkward or dull moment, to take in their surroundings.
They were seated in a tiny, out-of-the-way, Mom and Pop Bed and Breakfast a few minutes away from the school in the tiny village between Spenser and Old Ipswich, where the Sons and other old money families lived in their sprawling mansions and utter decadence, and on the complete opposite side of the Ipswich suburbs, where the three heroines of this story were born and raised.
The Bed and Breakfast was the kind of place that was so small you wouldn't think twice about it, but they seemed to have enough local business to keep the elderly couple running it comfortable. They had greeted Pogue by name and had seated the couple at the only booth available in the semi-crowded restaurant. A few of the patrons had also greeted Pogue, asking about his parent and the other Sons. He had responded positively, stopping to chat with each of the old men who asked about his father and the young-ish waitress who asked about Reid.
"So, what is it?" Corrie asked as Pogue finished his food and moved to take a swig from his Orange Juice.
"Hmm?" He asked, pulling the towering glass of OJ closer and trying to hide the way her voice had caused him to loose his thirst.
"What's his favorite?" Corrie asked, continuing their earlier conversation, curious to hear what Spenser's own bad boy's guilty pleasure was. (Well, his other guilty pleasure.)
"Sugar-coated French Toast covered in truffles, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and some sugary berry blend with Peach schnapps and apple pie a la mode."
"Oh, my God. He eats that when you're in season? And he doesn't puke it up?" She asked as if doubting his sanity to even suggest it.
"We Sons of Ipswich have strong stomachs." He added in a superior tone, and she could practically hear Betsy's voice in her ear adding among other things... "Among other things..." He added, as if reading her thoughts. She blushed and started looking around for a distraction. Her eyes landed on her cell phone, which sat on the table next to her empty plate.
"Pogue," She asked, starting to panic, "What time do you have?"
"Uh, seven...oh...six." He replied casually, completely at ease with the fact that their first period class started 6 minutes prior and they had yet to pay their bill or hit Caleb's to pick up his uniform.
"We're late." Corrie pointed out, hoping to spur him into action. He shrugged indifferently. "Please, Romeo? If I miss first period, my mom will kill me."
"Your best friend is in the hospital and they are going to care if you miss your first class?" He pointed out, giving her the perfect excuse.
She barely relaxed.
"Yeah, but..."
Seeing her agitation, he swung his long legs out of the booth and stood. With a nod to Agnes, the Mom of the Mom and Pops, he started for the door.
"We have to pay..." Corrie pointed out as she pulled on her letterman jacket and scarf, grabbing her jacket and pulling her wallet out of her purse.
"It's on the house, honey," Agnes assured her in a conspiratorial whisper. "Any girl one of the boys thinks is good enough to bring here, and any one as pretty as you, deserves a free breakfast at the least." She confided. Corrie blushed again and was still blushing as she thanked the woman and followed Pogue, who was rolling his eyes at the two of them and holding the door for Corrie, out to the Hummer.
"Okay, I can take it. What did she say to you." Pogue asked as they climbed into the huge vehicle.
"Nothing. Just that breakfast was on the house." Corrie said innocently, concentrating more than she should have to on clicking her seatbelt on. She was concentrating so hard, she didn't notice the knuckles tapping harshly on her window.
She jumped, a hand on her heart, only to relax into a weary acceptance. She rolled down her window, but didn't move to unbuckle herself or leave the Hummer.
"What, Emmett." She asked tiredly of the hulking guy glaring at her and the long-haired guy he vaguely recognized from his years at Spenser.
"What are you doing here, Cor? And who is this?" The guy asked confrontationally, ignoring Pogue completely but for the flicks of his intelligent eyes to the leaner, younger guy.
"Emmett, I was eating breakfast. With a friend." She said flatly.
Emmett's gaze flicked to Pogue, and his brow creased in a frown. Pogue met his gaze, taking in the impressive physique hidden under an expensive suit. The guy was maybe 22 years old maximum, with short, professional-looking light brown hair and a square jaw. He was tall, easily over six foot.
"Cor, I'm telling Mom and you are going to be in truuu-ble." The guy threatened, mischief and concern mixing in his brown eyes, so like his little sister's, who was sitting next to Romeo and looking annoyed. Pogue could see it immediately, as soon as the word 'mom' was out there. How they had the same eyes, the same hair color. The same spunk.
"C'mon, Em, please?" Corrie started begging. "Bets is in the hospital!"
She fell back on Pogue's excuse immediately. The effect of her words was instantaneous.
"Why? What's wrong with her?" Emmett asked swiftly, eyes clouded over in concern for the girl who had become another sister to him.
"Broke her leg. Again. And this time it wasn't your fault." She teased, seeing his look of alarm which, at her words, turned into defensiveness.
"Hey, that was not my fault. Ask her yourself. She tripped up those steps–"
"And her mom wouldn't let her over to our house for a year." Corrie recited with him. "Look, Emmett, I'm already late. Don't tell Mom, and I'll make it up to you." She promised.
"Just tell me which hospital they're taking Bets to." He said with a resigned sigh.
"Mercy. Thanks, Em. You're the most wonderful brother ever." He gave her a crinkly-eyed smile then turned his gaze to Pogue, who had been silently watching the siblings interact with the Hummer on, heat turned all the way up. His smile immediately turned into a glare and his voice dropped an octave lower.
"We're not done here, ..." He trailed off, waiting for a name, eyes cold as he sized up the guy his little sister was skipping class with.
"Pogue Parry." Pogue responded, holding his hand out to shake and trying to keep cool under Emmett's withering glare.
Emmett slipped his hand into the car with surprising grace for a guy as large as him and briefly squeezed Pogue's hand with enough force to shatter some bones with anyone but a Son of Ipswich. Pogue just squeezed back.
"Emmett Black, Attorney-at-Law."
"Em, you're still an undergrad." Corrie pointed out flatly.
"I still know the law. Any loopholes one has to go through to get out of pretty much anything, like taking care of his sister. How bout you remember that, Mr. Parry." Emmett suggested before ruffling Corrie's hair with an abrupt change in character, leaving the two of them to head back to school, now even later than they were.
Mama D was going to double kill Corrie.
Okay, so thoughts? Comments? Confusion? I will do my best to allieviate the third option, and will hope for many of the first and second!
R & R