Page 5 of For Emery

“I’ll be in high school in a few years.”

“But you’re not now,” I said.

“Yes. You remind me of that fact daily.”

I stared into her eyes. Hurt replaced the anger, which just made me feel like shit. I had no idea what else to say to make her feel better. I knew she had a crush on me. If she was my age, I may have been crushing on her too. But she wasn’t. End of story.

The silence in the room carried her parents’ fight inside. “You son of a bitch! Who is she?”

Emery’s eyes cut to the window.

Oh, damn. It was bad enough she had a drunk for a stepdad, she didn’t need to hear he was a cheat, too.

“Do you even know how to dance?” I asked, trying to redirect her attention.

Her eyes moved back to mine. “Of course I know how to dance.”

“I’ve never seen you.”

She shoved me playfully. “Whose fault is that?”

“She takes care of my needs!” Emery’s stepdad yelled, seemingly in the front yard now.

Emery’s body wilted.

I reached out and pulled her small body into my chest. She came willingly. I pressed my lips to the top of her head, not really knowing what to do or say. She was just a kid. And I was just a stupid teenager. My mind was normally on sports and sex for Christ’s sake.

“I’m never gonna drink alcohol,” she whispered into my chest.

“Good. It messes with your judgment.”

“How do you know?” she asked.

“Just do.”

She was quiet for a long time. Luckily, only the crickets chirping outside my house carried their way inside now. “And I never wanna fight like that when I get married,” she added.

“Then don’t.”

“I won’t,” she assured me. “I’m only gonna give my heart to a boy who’ll love me and never wanna fight with me.”

“Who you think you’ll marry? Billy Rae?”

She hauled off and punched me in the gut.

“Ow!” I said, feeling a sharp pain emanating from my ribs. “Why’d you do that?”

“Because you should already know who I’m gonna marry.”

“How would I know that?” I asked.

She tilted her head up so she could see my face. “Because I’m gonna marry you, silly boy.”

The confidence in her slow southern drawl erased the pain in my ribs. Every word out of her mouth had always been the truth. And when she said she planned to marry me, I knew she meant it. And even if it didn’t happen, she still believed it would.

Not wanting to crush her dreams, I bent my head and pressed my lips to the crown of her head. “Go to bed, sweet girl. I’m right here.”

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