Page 29 of For Emery

She shrugged. “Well, here I am.”

My head shot back. Had she really come to Alabama because she told me she would? Why not find me as soon as she got to campus then? Why show up at my house with Flip? I wanted to ask. Man, did I want to ask. But she was being so open. I didn’t want to say anything to piss her off. “What are you majoring in?” Yup. Totally lame question.

“Social work or counseling,” she said, her voice and features becoming animated. It was clear it was important to her. “I ultimately want to open a safe place for women to escape bad situations and get back on their feet, like my mom and I needed when we moved.”

“Like a shelter?”

She nodded.

Of all the scenarios I played out in my head after she left, imagining Emery and her mom in a shelter wasn’t one of them. “You opening a safe place for women sounds like an amazing idea. I’m really proud of you.”

She shrugged, seemingly embarrassed by my praise. “I haven’t done it yet.”

“You will.”

She suppressed a smile, but I knew she appreciated my vote of confidence. She always had. “I was able to get your games online,” she said, changing the subject. “You looked great out there.”

“You’ve been watching?”

She nodded. “I told you I would. I wished I’d been able to be at the stadium. I did make it once.”

My head flinched back. “You did?”

“In Texas last year. I took a road trip with my friends. I could’ve sworn you sensed I was there. Your eyes scanned the seats so many times. It was as if you knew I was there rooting you on.”

I thought back to that game. One hundred thousand spectators packed the massive stadium. Never in a million years had I thought Emery was there. “Thanks for making the trip. I wish you would’ve hung around to see me.”

“It would’ve been too hard to see you only to take off again without being able to contact you.”

Though it sucked, I understood her dilemma. Her life changed when her mom left Wayne. And though it improved in so many ways, it also required her to consider her every move. “Is it safe for you here?”

“It’s been four years since we’ve seen Wayne. With almost forty thousand students here and a new name, I think I’ll be safe. I just need to be aware of my surroundings and stay off social media. Those are a couple things you learn early on when you’re starting over.”

We drank our drinks in silence for a few minutes. She’d cleared so much up for me. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t need time to process it all. But I hated silence—almost as much as I hated Flip. “What’s the deal with you and the idiot?” Yup. I thought I could hold off, but the thought was slowly eating away at my sanity.

She snickered. “Be nice, Jordan. It’s hard coming to such a big campus and not knowing anyone. He was the first person I met at orientation. And we ended up living on the same floor.”

“You knew me. I’m right here.”

“The campus is huge. And I didn’t know how to find you.”

I cocked my head. “How hard could it be to ask around, especially since your new buddy’s on my team?”

She spun her cup slowly on the table, avoiding my gaze. “I’d only been on campus a day when Flip asked me to go to the party. I didn’t even know it was your house.”

“Stop making excuses and tell me the truth.”

She pulled in a deep breath. “I didn’t know how you’d react to seeing me.”

Seeing the vulnerability in her eyes tugged at something inside me. Something I’d pushed down deep. “Em, don’t be crazy. You were my best friend.”

Her eyes cast down, and I couldn’t help but hate that I’d been so tough on her at my party. It took guts for her to show up there, and then all I could do was accuse her of leaving me.

“You know Flip wants you,” I said.

She nodded regrettably. “I reckon he’d like to be more than just friends.”

“Damn straight he does. Watch him. I don’t trust him. Anyone who enters a room and points to everyone is a tool.”

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