Chapter 3: Losses
Sky's Point of View
It had been a week. A week since Sky had started living with the Clearwaters, and a week since Sam disappeared. Try as they might, the Elders were refusing to let Leah and Sam's family report him missing with the police. They claim it was Elder business and that he will return home in his own time. It didn't stop Sky, Seth, and Leah from being scared.
The well talked about, at least around their house, Emily Young was finally coming down today. Sky found herself torn between being nervous about Sam, and over the moon excited to meet another member of the Clearwater family. And plus, Leah said she is one of the nicest people you could meet.
Squeezing her eyes shut to try to sleep in on this sunny Sunday morning, she couldn't help but be up early. Too many butterflies pounded her stomach. A mixture of excitement towards meeting Emily, worrying about Sam, and replaying some of the events that transpired over the course of the last week in her head...
"Hey Sky, I heard your parents decided to leave you again. You knew you weren't worth their attention so you just had to go and get other people's attention, didn't you? I bet you hit yourself over the head and sent yourself to the hospital. And of course Seth would be there in a heartbeat to help you." Sky could feel tears threatening to escape at the girl's harsh words.
"Tiffani Knock it off." Seth had growled at her. Sky turned to him and ran up to him to wrap her arms around him.
"Thank you," She whispered in his ear.
He smiled that goofy grin that she loved so much and whispered back, "Don't worry Cheshire, I will always have your back." With that, Sky squeezed him all the tighter.
People all around Sky were giggling or snickering in her direction when Seth and her walked into the cafeteria for lunch. She frowned and looked down at her feet as they shuffled over to their table. When Sky realized she was the only one moving, she looked back towards Seth. It took a while for her to finally find his figure. He was standing by the table where Tiffany was whispering something into Jack's ear. He was cracking up about whatever it was.
Jack was a little brown haired boy that never really liked Sky. He even convinced a whole bunch of other people to hate her too.
Jack leaned over the table, pretending to be some macho man, and said something to Seth. Whatever it was caused him to burn red from anger. Before she could even make it over to the boys, his fist was flying at Jack's face. Sky paused, staring open mouthed at him before rushing to his side.
"Seth! Why'd you punch him?" Sky whispered in his ear.
"That's exactly what I'd like to know." Their Principal was towering over them with his large circular glasses pushed up his nose. He had his hair greased to the side, and his face was a weird pink color. Seth and Sky both gulped before Mr. Lawrence started dragging Seth away.
"No!" Sky exclaimed, causing Mr. Lawrence to turn and look at her. "You are not taking my best friend away!"
He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "He did something bad so he has to be punished."
"Well, I'm coming with you then."
He looked at her bewildered. "Why?"
Sky smirked. "Because I did something bad too."
He knelt down in front of Sky. "What did you do, young lady?"
With that, Sky made her way over to Tiffani, punched her in the arm and walked back over to the Principal. "Does punching Tiffani count?" He rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm too, making his way back to the office to call Seth's mom.
Sky heard a knock on her door that broke her out of her memory.
Seth peeked over to her through the door with his big brown eyes. "Mom says you gotta get ready because Emily is going to be here soon."
Sky nodded, biting her lip. "Thanks, Dragon."
He smirked at Sky and left the room shutting the door behind him. What should she wear? People always said that first impressions were huge.
Making her way over to her clothes, she started looking through what she had at the Clearwaters. It was less than 5 minutes later that she gave up, settling on a plaid shirt and a pair of jeans. It would probably work, she figured. Looking in the mirror she gave the outfit a nod of approval. That was when Mom called upstairs telling everyone that Emily was pulling into La Push.
Jumping through her door and running down the stairs, she launched herself onto Seth's lap. He just sat there, staring at the other end of the couch. Sky glanced over to where his eyes were focused and saw Leah curled up in a ball fast asleep. Squirming off of Seth, Sky went over to Leah and sat on the floor in front of her, just watching. Poor Lee Lee, yesterday was their 2 year anniversary and they were supposed to go on that special date.
Sky's head snapped up when she heard the sound of tires on the driveway. She jumped up from her spot on the rug and grabbed Seth's hand. "I'm scared, Seth. What if she doesn't like me?"
He snorted. "Who wouldn't like you?" Sky knew it was rhetorical but couldn't help but answer.
"My parents." His naturally happy face hardened and he looked livid.
"Well, I meant what person in their right mind?"
Sky sighed. She had an answer to that too. Tiffani and Jack. But she didn't have time to voice those names because Mom soon had the door open and was ushering in a beautiful girl with that naturally tanned skin, like all the locals. She looked around, taking in the house before her eyes landed on Seth's and a smile overtook her face. "Seth! It's so good to see you! It has been far too long." Seth ran up and hugged her. It was a one armed hug, because he wouldn't let go of Sky's hand the entire time, knowing full well how nervous she was. Emily's eyes then trailed down his arm and saw their interlocked fingers. She then turned that beautiful smile of hers towards Sky. "And who might this young lady be? Could this be the one I have heard so much about from every single member of this family?"
Sky's cheeks turned pink as Seth spoke. "Her name is Sky and she is my BEST friend. She is one of the coolest, smartest, nicest, most loving-est person you could ever meet." He was practically vibrating with excitement at getting to introduce her to his cousin.
Still with that beautiful smile, she said. "Well it is very nice to finally meet you, Sky." She kneeled down and scooped her into a sandwiched hug between her and Seth.
After Sky and Seth erupted into a fit of giggles, Sky said. "Nice to meet you too, Emily." Once the big hug was done, Sky remembered the question she had thought of this morning. "How long are you staying?"
Emily sighed, and looked out the window. "There is some sort of infestation at my school so I'm transferring over to the school here in La Push. So I'll be here until my school is ready, maybe longer depending on if I like this school better or not. It is my senior year after all." At the end she turned and gave them another grin.
Seth's vibrating then turned into full blown excitement as he started bouncing up and down. "Are you gonna be living with us the whole time?" She nodded and he hugged her again. She spun in a circle with his legs flinging around.
In a soft voice she knelt down beside them and whispered in their ears. "Where's Leah? How is she doing?"
Sky opened her mouth to answer when a voice behind them alerted them to their audience. "Leah is right here. And what do you care how I'm doing?"
Emily frowned. "I'm really sorry, Leah. What can I do to help? And I care because you're my cousin and I love you." Leah shook her head and walked up to her room. Sky was quick on her heels.
Once they were on her bed with the door shut tight, Sky looked right in her brown eyes. "Why were you mean to Emily?" She frowned and turned away from Sky. However, she wasn't fast enough to stop Sky from seeing the tears. Frowning she said, "It's about Sam, isn't it?" She asked already knowing the answer.
Leah nodded. "It's been a week, Baby Sky. Where is he?"
"I don't know, Lee Lee. I just don't know." Sky sat there, feeling the tears make their way to her eyes as well. She crawled over Leah so she was laying face to face with the older girl. They just laid there for a long time. She began to smell the pancakes being cooked downstairs for brunch but she wouldn't dream of leaving Leah alone. Sky looked over Leah's shoulder at the bedside table and saw a picture of her and Sam. He had his arms around her and a huge grin on his face. She had the most beautiful smile on her face. Sky could remember that day. Seeing how sad she was now, she wished they could go back in time. How can someone who brings that much joy to someone turn around and cause her so much pain?
They continued to lay in silence for a while longer before Sky sat up, grabbing Leah's hand. Right now, she was too weak to protest so she allowed the young girl to drag her along behind her. Once they were in the living room, she walked in front of the couch where Mom, Dad, Seth and Emily were sitting. Leah collapsed into the nearest chair, not having enough energy to stand there with Sky.
"Okay, listen up people!" They all looked at Sky with a question written all over their faces. "Mom and Dad, you're in charge of cooking up spaghetti dinner." This part of the plan was because it was Leah's favorite. "Seth, you are going to go find some board games in your room. Like Twister, or Monopoly, got it?" He nodded obediently as she continued her directions. "And Emily! You are going to drive me to the store. If that's okay..." She smiled a soft smile and nodded. Sky turned to Leah. Pointing directly at her, she finished her demands. "And you, you will be sitting here watching Danny Phantom, or whatever other show is on with Seth once he gets back." She just sat on the recliner, staring off through the window. "Alright everyone! Hop to it!" And with that, each person in the family jumped up from the couch and went to their prospective station. As Emily flew by, she grabbed Sky's hand and the car keys as they jogged out to the car.
It was a silent drive to the store before Sky gasped. "Shoot! I forgot to ask Mom for money!"
Emily just smiled. "I took care of that," she said, holding up a small wad of cash. Sky smiled and hugged her, careful not to disturb the driver too much. Emily swung into the small parking lot of the only convenient store in La Push. Once inside, Sky grabbed a basket and Emily's hand and ran to the ice cream aisle. When Sky got there, she threw in a container of Chunky Monkey for Leah, Mom and herself, and Phish Food for Seth and Dad, knowing what everyone's favorites were.
Her hand was halfway back in the cooler when she realized she had no clue what Emily liked. She slowly turned towards the older girl. Emily read Sky's question and winked at her before grabbing another Chunky Monkey. "Good taste," Sky mumbled under her breath. Grabbing Emily's hand again, they rushed into the chip aisle. She picked up a bag of sour cream and onion chips, Leah's favorite, and a bag of regular chips. Surveying her basket, she gave herself a nod of approval. They made their way to the cash register to buy their things before heading on their way.
It was on the drive home that Emily worked up the nerve to ask, "What happened to Leah? Auntie Sue said it had something to do with Sam, but she didn't tell me what was going on. I can tell she is just so heartbroken. Did they break up?"
Sky frowned and looked at her hands. "Sam went missing a week ago and Leah's been really worried. So have Seth and I. Mom and Dad just keep saying 'he's okay' and 'he'll come back in his own time.'" It was quiet for a moment before Sky spoke again. "Their 2 year anniversary was yesterday, and they had these big plans but he wasn't here with her for it."
Sky could see the tears welling up in Emily's eyes. She knew what that felt like, she was trying to hold back her own. Neither of them spoke the rest of the short drive home. When they climbed out of the car, Emily grabbed the bag of ice cream to bring it to the freezer, and Sky brought the chips to the living room. Setting them on the coffee table, she reached her hand out gently for Leah's. Leah slowly turned her head towards Sky and placed her hand in the younger girl's hand. Seth followed behind them into the kitchen.
Sky sat Leah down in her normal chair and snuggled up real close to her, right across from Seth and Emily. Sue peeked her head out of the kitchen. "Alright, dinner's ready! Everyone come grab a plate." One by one, everyone got up from the table and made their way into the line in front of the spaghetti.
Once everyone settled in, their eyes landed on Leah, who had yet to move. She noticed their stares and looked around. "Oh right..." As she made her way into the kitchen to collect her food, Mom and Dad shared these silent looks.
Dinner was silent, except for the scraping of their forks. Sue cleared her throat before speaking. "Sky, sweetheart. Do you remember that doctor you had a week ago?" Sky nodded so Sue would continue. "He wants you to go in for a check up next Saturday. I'll bring you, okay?" Sky wrinkled her nose but nodded again.
A few moments later, Sky noticed that everyone had stopped eating. "Okay so the game plan is to have fun and eat chips and ice cream. Who is ready for some Monopoly?!" Everyone but Leah chuckled, and they all made their way to the living room.
Seth began setting up the board as his family found spots around the coffee table. After about 20 minutes, he jumped up and got everyone's ice cream from the freezer and spoons. Another half an hour or so later, the game was winding down with a clear winner.
"Dad, how do you win every single game we play?!" Seth whined.
Harry chuckled softly and tousled his son's hair. Sky gathered everyone's ice cream and went to put it away, instructing Seth to get Twister set up.
When she returned from the kitchen, she smiled and locked eyes with Emily. " Okay, Leah and Emily, you guys have to play with us otherwise it's no fun!"
Emily grinned. "You don't have to ask me twice!" She reached a hand down for Leah to help her up, and also as a gentle way to ask her to honor Sky's request. Leah sighed but reached up and grabbed her hand nonetheless.
Harry and Sue spun the spinner for the kids. Sky had a suspicious feeling that Harry was making up what it landed on when it was his turn, because it only took about 4 spins for the 4 of them to be a heaping pile of limbs. All it took to send the majority of the group sprawling was Sky's slipping foot. Leah, being the one who has always had the best balance, was victorious. The fraction of a smirk was the biggest smile Sky had seen since Sam went missing.
They played a few more rounds until it was 10 o'clock and Mom pointedly told the kids to head to bed. "You all have school tomorrow, even you Emily! I want to see fresh and smiling faces down here in the morning."
The four kids raced up the stairs and took turns readying themselves for bed. Sky spent a good hour or so thinking about what she would do if Seth were to disappear from her life. She knew she couldn't really equate it because Seth and Sky weren't boyfriend girlfriend, but beyond a doubt Sky was convinced she wouldn't survive without him. He was the solid ground in her life.
Emily's Point of View
After the Sunday night shenanigans, Emily felt closer to the Clearwaters than she ever expected to get. She remembered Seth from when he was a baby and he was by far still her favorite cousin. His brightness could light up the world all on its own. The little girl, Sky, who was staying with the Clearwaters was practically a part of the family. In fact, she seemed to be the glue that held the family together. She even called Uncle Harry and Auntie Sue Mom and Dad, and after their car ride together, Emily could see how close she was to Leah. Leah was such an amazing support system for Sky and vice versa.
As for Leah, Emily had always felt close to the younger girl. They texted each other every day, even if it were to just say "I saw this and thought of you." Her texts had grown so sparse since Sam's disappearance, and Emily wanted to do everything in her power to bring back Leah's fire. She was the type of person who cared so deeply and passionately about those closest to her that she would beat down anyone who messed with her people. Emily felt terrible that her boyfriend had gone missing and she aimed to do anything she could to help.
The first week of Emily staying with the Clearwaters passed by very smoothly. Every day after school she would help Auntie Sue make dinner, with the exception of Wednesday night. Her new friend Kim invited Emily over to her house to hang out. Kim was a super sweet girl in Leah's grade, who was actually really good friends with Leah too. Another thing that Emily learned on that Wednesday evening was how big of a crush Kim had on a boy named Jared. Kim told Emily that he was a Junior in their art class and vowed to point him out on Thursday.
Another whole week had passed before Leah got any mention of Sam from anyone. It was 7 o'clock on Saturday night when she got the call. Emily was sitting right beside her so she heard Leah's half of the conversation.
"Mrs. Uley? Did you find him?" It hurt to hear how hopeful she was. Leah's face lit up for a moment and Emily sighed with relief that it was good news. "I'm so glad! Can I come and see him?" Her face fell as Mrs. Uley said something. "Oh... tell him I want him to feel better." Was he sick? "Love you too, bye."
Leah's back stayed facing Emily. "What happened?" She breathed out as soon as she had lowered the phone.
Slowly turning around, she looked up at Emily with tears filling her eyes. "He's back." Emily still didn't understand why Leah was crying. Was it relief? She asked her and got the answer. "It has been three weeks since I've seen him and now he's too sick to see me. It never ends."
Emily could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as her heart yearned for her younger cousin. "I'm so sorry Leah!" She threw her arms around her. "How about if he is not better by Wednesday, we'll make some chicken noodle soup and you can bring it over to him on Thursday."
The spark of hope lit up Leah's eyes. "I'd like that. Thanks Em."
On Monday Emily was surprised when Leah walked into the cafeteria and headed straight for the table that she and Kim were sitting at. Kim had told her that Leah and Sam were her typical companions but ever since Sam's disappearance Leah hadn't been coming to lunch. Kim had called to check on her and Leah had said that being in a crowded cafeteria where everyone would be assaulting her with questions was too much for her.
By the time Wednesday rolled around, Emily felt that her and Leah were truly becoming best friends. When Mrs. Uley told her that Sam was still too sick to see her, they took a trip to the store to get the necessary ingredients for Emily's soup. They quietly worked in the kitchen together, the only thing being said was directions on what to do next. When everything was in the pot simmering with a lid on snug, Emily and Leah walked around to sit at the countertop in the kitchen, mugs of hot chocolate in hand.
Emily cleared her throat. "So I figure tomorrow, we drop off little Sky and Seth after school, pick up the soup, and make our way over to the Uley's. How does that sound?"
Leah sniffled for a moment, nodding, before throwing her hands in the air. "It's all just so... so... dumb. We have been dating for 2 years now and he is my whole world. Why on Earth am I nervous to see him tomorrow?!"
Taking a sip of her own drink, Emily pondered the question. "Well, my best guess is you are worried how hurt he might be. You're scared because you don't know what happened to him for all that time. It's been nearly a month, which is far longer than I am guessing you guys have been apart? It is absolutely valid to be feeling the way you're feeling. Maybe, just maybe, you'll get some much needed answers tomorrow." Saved by the bell, the timer went off and Emily began packaging up the soup. They went to bed early that night, both filled with such an overwhelming mixture of emotions.
The next day seemed to move at an alarmingly fast rate, and before she knew it, Emily was driving Leah, Sky and Seth home. When they got there, Leah stayed in the car while Emily went in to grab the soup. Sue questioned where Emily and Leah were going, her voice guarded. But Emily and Leah had decided to make this their little secret. "Oh just bringing this soup to our friend's house. We won't be gone long." Sue smiled and nodded.
As Emily got in the car she could feel her hands shaking for Leah, or maybe it was Leah's leg anxiously bobbing up and down that was doing the trick. Leah gave directions all the way to the Uley's house and when the car was finally in park, she just sat there looking down at her lap. "I don't know if I can do this." She whispered it so quietly, Emily had almost missed it.
Emily nudged Leah's chin and brought her gaze to meet Leah's. "You can do this. And I will be waiting for you the entire time. You're not alone." With Emily's reassuring smile, Leah nodded and slowly got out of the car. A woman who Emily guessed was Mrs. Uley, answered the door. She was shaking her head and after a few minutes of conversation, she finally let Leah through the door.
It seemed that time had finally decided to slow down because soon enough, every minute felt like an hour as she waited for her cousin to come back out those doors. Emily sat there, twirling her thumbs, trying to decide whether she should burst through the door to make sure Leah was okay.
It was barely a minute later that Leah came rushing through the door, tears both new and old rolling down her face. Immediately Emily was out of her seat and rushing to her cousin. "What happened? What's wrong?"
Leah stayed silent as Emily guided her to the passenger side of the car. When she was seated, Emily knelt until she was eye level with her cousin. "He broke up with me. Said we couldn't be together anymore. That he was dangerous and that I couldn't possibly understand."
Emily felt her eyes growing wide with every word passing through Leah's mouth. This was not the outcome she had hoped for. Pulling her into a hug she whispered, "I'm so sorry sweetheart... What can I do?"
"Can we go home? Please?" She begged with her eyes and Emily practically ran to the driver's side. When she got in the car, she caught a glimpse of something black running between the trees. She rubbed her eyes and looked again, but it was gone. She wrote it off as a part of her imagination. Turning the car around, she drove towards the Clearwaters house. Leah's tears never stopped, though Emily couldn't hear a single sob.
As soon as they got into the door, Emily was yelling for Sky, knowing that was exactly what Leah needed. Sky skidded around the corner with the most adorable grin on her face that quickly turned down when she saw Leah. "What happened?" Her voice was filled with panic and rage, unsure as to what she was supposed to be feeling. Emily felt a few tears drop from her eyes as she looked over to Leah just as she began to crumple to the ground. Emily sturdied her and brought her to the ground as gracefully as she could.
"Baby Sky, he- he doesn't love me. H-he broke up with me..." Sky's jaw nearly hit the floor and she looked to Emily to confirm the story. She nodded tightly and hugged Leah tighter.
That spurred Sky into movement and she rushed up and threw herself at Leah. It was hard for Emily to watch her little cousin broken on the floor crying. How could he do that to her? From what Emily had heard, they were completely in love. It was in that instant that Emily knew she needed to find out the answer to that question. She turned on her heels and walked straight out the door and climbed into the car. It would be easy to find the house since she had just left it. She sped down the road towards him and hopefully answers. She couldn't explain why, but she just knew he wasn't going to be home, but needed to try for Leah.
When she pulled up to the small blue house, her face drained of color. What was she going to say to him? Just wing it and hope for the best? Getting out of the car, Emily walked to the door. Her fist hovered an inch away from the door for a moment before she worked up the courage to knock. The same small woman from earlier answered the door. Emily couldn't place the feeling but she felt like she needed to impress this woman. "Hello ma'am, is Sam here?" The woman frowned and shook her head. Emily could feel her temper rise. He had been here less than 20 minutes ago. "Well.. where is he? I have to talk to him."
"I'm sorry but after Leah left, he ran out the door. I don't know where he is." Emily could tell the woman was telling the truth so she nodded and turned to leave. "Can you tell me your name? You know, so I can tell him you were looking for him. Or you can come in and wait it out if you'd like. But sometimes he just doesn't come back for hours or days even."
Emily nodded again. "Oh it's okay, I will just try again another time. My name is Emily. Though he doesn't know me. Nice to meet you Mrs..."
"Uley, Grace Uley." She filled in the blank and Emily smiled and turned back to her car. She made it a plan to come again the next day.
During the drive home all Emily could think about was what she was going to say to the man who broke her cousin's heart. The drive went by faster than she thought and soon enough she was in the living room sitting with Auntie Sue and Uncle Harry. "How is she?" Emily asked not knowing if she actually wanted the answer.
Uncle Harry frowned and Auntie Sue shrugged. "Okay I guess. Sky was able to calm her down enough to walk upstairs. I think they are both in Leah's room with Seth." Emily nodded and walked up the stairs to Leah's room. Slowly Emily opened the door to her cousin's room. If not for the tear marks covering all of their faces, it would have been the cutest site she has ever seen. Leah was leaning against the headboard with Seth tucked under one arm, and Sky under the other. They were all still asleep and had these peaceful looks on their faces. Leah's head was rested on Sky's head and Seth was leaning on her shoulder. Smiling to herself, Emily turned and walked out of the room. It was then that she realized exactly what she needed to do.
Emily didn't really pay much attention to her morning classes but once she got to lunch, she could literally feel the tension in the cafeteria.
She walked straight to her usual table. Kim was sitting next to Leah rubbing her back and glancing every so often to the other side of the room. Leah had her head rested on the table, and she could tell that she was doing everything in her power to hold back the tears. Emily followed her gaze and saw a very muscular man sitting at a table all alone. He was looking down at his hands but every so often he would look at the guy Emily recognized as Jared, then he would look over at another guy Emily didn't recognize, before he would turn his gaze on Leah and frown.
Emily's eyes widened as she looked at Kim. She mouthed her question to her friend. 'That's Sam?' Kim nodded, with a very constant frown on her face. Emily glared at him, making it a point to avoid staring that heartbreaker in the eyes, then she softened her eyes as she looked at her poor cousin. "How are you Leah?" She looked up at her, the battle against the tears was futile. They brimmed up and she looked over Emily's shoulder, her eyes pausing for a moment before she ran out of the cafeteria. Kim and Emily jumped up from their seats and followed.
Kim said that she had a feeling she would probably go to the library because no one goes in there during lunch. Briskly walking in, the librarian looked up at them as they brushed past her, locating Leah by the muffled sounds of her sobs.
"Sweetheart, what's wrong? Why'd you run?" Kim asked, her voice oozing with empathy.
"I noticed it before too but... he's not even sick. He just didn't want to see me." The tears were teetering over the edge more than one at a time.
When Emily was about to respond, the librarian walked over. "Excuse me but you're in the..." She cut short when she saw Leah's tears. "Do you need to go home?" Leah nodded. "Ladies, why don't you take her home?" She directed towards Kim and Emily. They both nodded and asked her to excuse them from the rest of their classes.
Kim on one side, Emily on the other, they supported Leah as they basically dragged her from the Library to Emily's car. Emily took a moment to be grateful that the majority of the school's population was in the Cafeteria facing the opposite site of the building. Kim explained that she had gotten a ride to school with her mother and would just text her and tell her there had been a change of plans and not to pick her up just yet. Outside of that conversation, the drive was silent even though, looking in the backseat, Emily could see Leah crying into Kim's shoulder. Each time, Emily would find herself frowning by the time she brought her eyes to the road.
When they arrived at the Clearwaters house, they made their way to the couch and sat there for a long while. Emily, being the busy body she was, was the first to speak "You ladies hungry? Or do you want some tea?"
Kim looked at Emily like she had lost her mind. Leah pondered the question for a minute. "Juice?" She asked, her voice hoarse from crying.
Emily nodded adamantly, "Sure, what kind?"
"Apple." Emily got up and went to get Leah the requested beverage. As she handed the glass to Leah she caught a glimpse of the time.
"Oh crap. I have to go pick up Seth and Sky from school. I will bring them home, and then I have an errand to run. Kim, can you stay for a while?" Emily picked up her keys and turned back to the girls.
"Of course, I was just going to suggest maybe watching one of those horror movies you love so much?" Kim shivered in fear and looked to Leah, who gave the slightest smile and affirmative jerk of her head.
Feeling satisfied, Emily slipped back into her car and made her way to the middle school. When she got there, both of them were standing on the sidewalk, silently staring at the ground. They were both so lost in thought that they didn't hear her pull up until she rolled down the window and shouted, "How was your day, kiddos?"
Seth jumped a little. "Fine." Sky nodded her agreement and Emily felt a pit in her stomach. Something had most definitely happened, and fine was absolutely not the real answer.
Emily felt her eyebrows knit together. "What happened, Baby Sky?" She knew that trying to get Sky to spill the beans would be much easier than with Seth.
She looked down at her hands. "Nothing." She said it a little too quickly, but nonetheless, Emily didn't push her just yet. Yet another silent drive home, and Seth was quickly hopping out of the car.
Emily turned around to look at her and tried again, "Sky."
The little girl's lip quivered as she tried to look anywhere but at Emily. Finally she settled on the older girl's eyes and spilled. "I have this bad feeling about today and I just can't shake it. When I told Sethie, he got angry and said that he wasn't gonna let anything happen to me anymore, but I am afraid he won't be able to stop it. Whatever 'it' is, is going to come and hit us feels like the start of the end..." After she took a deep breath to try and steady herself.
"Sky, sweetheart, you are safe at Auntie Sue and Uncle Harry's. This family loves you as their own. I'm sure there isn't anything to worry about." Sky just shook her head at yet another person just not understanding. She scrambled out of the car and rushed to Seth's side, who was loyally waiting on the porch for her. She grabbed his hand and dragged him inside, he had just enough time to wave before the door closed behind him.
Emily took a steading breath of her own as she put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway. Just like yesterday, the drive was over quicker than it began. She determinedly marched up to the door. Knocking lightly, she waited less than patiently. When the door finally opened, it was Grace's half smiling- half frowning face that greeted her. "Hello Emily. Sam isn't here right now..."
"Oh... well... can I take you up on that offer of coming in and waiting for him?" She shrugged her shoulders and gestured with her hand for the girl to follow her before leading Emily to their living room. "Do you know where he is?"
Grace shook her head, sending her long locks all over the place as she sat down next to Emily. "He said he was going on a walk in the woods and that he would be back in time for dinner."
Emily sighed, "Do you know why he broke up with Leah?" She tried not to sound angry as this was definitely not Grace's fault. "I mean, from what I could tell they were pretty serious."
Tears were quickly welling in Grace's eyes. "They were. And I can't tell you why, I just know he had to do it. He just keeps repeating that over and over. It's tearing him up loves her so much." After that quiet admission, the two of them were very quiet for a long while. When Emily took a moment to steal a glance at a clock, it was already 4 o'clock. When Grace looked up, Emily could tell she was startled by the time as well. She hopped up from the couch and rushed into the kitchen.
Emily followed the older woman, watching as she took a large bag of chicken breasts out of the fridge and placed them next to a big bag of potatoes. "Do you need some help? I am awfully good in the kitchen."
Grace smiled warmly at her. "I would love that. Other than grilling up meat, Sam stays far away from the kitchen if he knows what is good for him."
Emily let out a boisterous laugh as she worked on mashed potatoes, and Grace worked the chicken. They were just starting to throw together a salad when the back door to the house opened and slammed shut, and the same gigantic, muscular man walked into the kitchen.
"Sam, this is Emily. Emily... this is Sam." Grace made quick introductions and then just stood there, not sure what else to say. Emily was still chopping vegetables, trying to work up the courage to look at the man who broke her cousin's heart.
Once she did, their eyes connected and her mouth fell open. It was as if the world was realigning. She felt safe, and loved, more so than ever before. After their eyes locked, she could tell he felt it too, the need to be together. Sam took a step towards her to begin to close the gap between them...