Page 28 of Echoes of Us

As I come inside, Eli greets me at the door. His tail is wagging, and he rolls over belly up. I swear this is the most spoiled dog I have ever met, but I smile and give into the demand for belly rubs. After a few more minutes, I walk up behind Emmaline and go to place her drink next to her. I open my mouth to speak when I notice a word I’ve heard a lot recently in all caps on the screen. I pull the drink away and look to Emmaline to see if she realizes I am there. She is still hard at work on the equation, so I lean forward to read the text.

MILLS 8:02 PM

How is studying with the trash panda tonight? Does she still smell like rotten food?

EM 8:03 PM

Still studying. Can’t talk.

The walls I put up earlier were clearly warranted. Once again, she stands by as someone insults me. I set the drink down beside her and turn toward the stairs.

She looks up from the table and asks, “Where are you going?” I ignore her. “Teagan?”

I continue up the stairs and go into my room, locking the door behind me. I sit on my bed and let my head fall into my hands. I don’t know why this hurts my feelings so much. I shouldn’t be surprised. I have been here four days and three of them has involved an argument, attack or insults. Shit.She knows how to get in. I stand abruptly and look around the room. I need to be creative.

I move the desk from the other corner of the room and push it against the door. Then I pull my bed just a little bit forward to block the desk from moving. If I have to stay in here for seven months to avoid her, I will.

She doesn’t deserve any more of my energy.

Chapter 32

Emmaline

What just happened? One minute we are, surprisingly, getting along and the next she is running upstairs without a word. I genuinely appreciated her help when it finally clicked for me. Hell, I even complimented her on being a good tutor. Which, I didn’t mean to do, but whatever. It happened. What could have pissed her off from the table to the garage? She has got to be bipolar or something.

I reach for my drink and open it, noticing my phone is still open on my text thread with Mills. Oh shit. My heart sinks. She definitely saw this. Shit. Mills called her trash again and I said nothing. Shit. Shit. Shit. I should have told Mills to back off again. Especially after how much she helped me tonight. She really isn’t all that bad when she drops the ‘I hate everyone and everything’ attitude. When I put everything into perspective earlier, I realized it’s me who’s the asshole.

I feel Eli nudge my arm from under the table. “You’re right bud, I need to go apologize…again.” I rub his head and push back my chair. “C’mon Eli.” I go upstairs and knock on her door. She doesn’t answer, so I go into my room to try the bathroom door. I twist the lock and push, but something stops the door from opening. She blocked the door? I knock harder on the door. “Teagan, can you please let me in.” Silence. “Teagan, please. Can we just talk?” Silence. I pull out my phone to text her and… of course. I still don’t have her number. My parents texted it to me the day she arrived, but I deleted it out of spite. Again, it’s clear I’m the villain in this story. I try one more time to knock, but I hear the TV turn on with the sound way up. Okay, Teagan. I get the message.

The next morning, I lay there staring at the ceiling while listening to Teagan get ready in the bathroom. Eli got out of bed the moment he heard her in there and has been pawing at the door since. I sit up when I see my door crack open, Eli rushes in and the door softly shuts. Should I go try to talk to her now? I don’t want to push her this early, so I guess I will wait until we are in the car to apologize.

Once she is done, I go into the bathroom to get ready. Damn, I look awful. I clearly did not get any sleep last night. There is no way makeup can cover these huge bags under my eyes. I deserve a sleepless night after everything I have done.

Downstairs, I find Mom and EJ at the table eating. Eli is sitting next to EJ waiting for his slice of bacon. “Where is Teagan?” I ask.

“She left. She asked if she could ride with Grace this morning. She also said her friend Sean was going to be picking her up today, and before you get mad at us… she is coming straight home. I know you are both grounded, but your dad thought it would be nice for her to see her friend since she has had a lot of changes recently. We thought she needed something stable.”

“What about church tonight? Does she not have to go?” I ask.

“None of us are going tonight, unfortunately. Your father has a trial that will keep him at work late and I am not sure what time my closing will be done. We will do a bible study as a family this evening after dinner,” she replies.

I nod and sit down next to EJ, another person I need to apologize to. I really messed up if she is trying this hard to avoid me. I shouldn’t feel so bad about this, though. I pushed her to avoid me and avoiding each other was all I wanted. So, why do I feel so awful? Maybe I will feel better if I apologize about the text. I’’ll just find her at school and sincerely apologize…if she will talk to me.

“I am going to take Eli for a walk before school. EJ, do you want to come?” I ask.

Mom looks at her watch. “Honey, I don’t think you have time. I know you came down earlier than usual, but he needs at least half a mile in the mornings to hold him over until we are all home.”

“I have time, are you coming, EJ?” I raise my eyebrows in question.

“I guess,” EJ replies and stands to follow us.

EJ, Eli, and I are almost to the stop sign when I finally get the courage to speak. “EJ, I wanted to apologize to you for how I have been acting. It hasn’t been fair to you and it’s not your fault all of this is happening. I miss hanging out with you and I’m sad you’re still mad at me.”

He thinks for a moment before looking up at me. “I miss you, too, but you’ve been crabby lately. And you’re really mean to Teagan. This stuff isn’t her fault either,” he replies.

“I know… I have been mean and grumpy. I will try to do better, okay? Forgive me?” I smile down at him.

He doesn’t say anything so I lean down closer to him and say, “Ohhh, c’mon, EJ. You know you want to loveeeee me again.” I grab his stomach and start to tickle him.

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