Page 16 of Echoes of Us

“Sorry, Dad. I was coming down to look for Eli when I heard something in the kitchen. Teagan was wandering around looking for a water bottle. I was just showing her where they are.”

“Okay, so why are you at the back door?” he asks, narrowing his eyes.

“Well, we were about to go into the garage so I could show her the other drinks are. I totally spaced on the beeping garage door. I was just heading into the kitchen to let you know it was us since I heard your door open. We didn’t mean to wake you!”

“Oh… okay… no worries. Is there anything else you need help finding, Teagan?” He looks at me, raising an eyebrow.

“No, Mr. Briggs. I just needed some water before bed,” I say, glancing an annoyed look at Emmaline.

“You can just call us Ethan and Eve. There is no reason to be formal, Dear,” he says with a soft smile.

“Uhh, okay. Thanks, Ethan.” He smiles and motions for the stairs.

Great. My bag is outside of the dog door. I’ll have to get that before breakfast. I shove past Emmaline and follow Ethan to the stairs. As we go upstairs, Ethan says goodnight to us and turns to walk down the hall. We both go into our rooms. Who does she think she is? Actually, I’m not letting this go. I head straight for the adjoining bathroom to confront her. When I open the door, we run straight into each other.

She begins to speak when I hold up my hand. “You have no say in what I do. Pull that shit again and I will make this worse than it is. Trust me when I say, it makes me physically ill to be around you. I don’t like this just as much as you, princess.”

“I literally don’t care what you do, but you will not bring me into it. My parents are the ones who decided to bring an orphan into our house. Also, trust me when I say I definitely can make this worse for you. Not the other way around. Stop being an idiot and maybe appreciate what they are doing for you. It is the best you’ll eve...” Before she can finish, I slam the door in her face, tears welling in my eyes.

Seriously, what in the hell is her problem?

Chapter 16

Emmaline

That was way too harsh. Why does she bring out that side of me? I am not this person. She gets under my skin so easily and I just…snap. When she said being around me made her physically ill, it hurt more than it should have. I grab my phone to text Mills.

EM 11:12 PM

MILLS!!! She just tried to sneak out and I stopped her LOL Even made the door go off so my dad would wake up.

MILLS 11:13 PM

No way! Did she get in trouble????? Please tell me she is in more trouble

EM 11:15 PM

Nah. Thought I’d be in trouble 2 so I told my dad we were getting water, and I was showing her where stuff is.

MILLS 11:16 PM

LOL just wait for tomorrow…it’s going to be great!

I put my phone on the desk and open my laptop. I still feel a little bad about bringing up the fact she is an orphan again. I need to know what happened to her mom.

I check my contacts on my laptop to find my grandparent’s old address. I copy it and put it into google maps to find the neighbors’ address. Then, I google them with the name ‘Parker’. I find an article from around the time when my dad was a kid and see a photo that has been scanned onto a website. The newsletter reads ‘Trenton kids spend Fourth of July weekend lighting fireworks and eating hotdogs!’ Below the headline, there is a photo of two boys and two girls. The comment under the photo reads: Pictured here: Thomas Briggs (11), Ethan Briggs (9), Tracy Parker (9), & Elizabeth Parker (12).

Well, that was lucky. I google ‘Tracy Parker death Trenton’ and a ton of news articles populate. I immediately recognize the story. No way this is about her mom. Early this past summer, a fire killed three people in town. The fire was thought to be arson due to a drug related incident or revenge from an ex-boyfriend against one of three female victims. No one was charged, but according to the most recent news article there is still a pending investigation. The story was the talk of all surrounding towns. My stomach sinks further as I click through each article. The photo attached to every single one is of a fireman holding a girl with long, wavy brown hair. She is on her knees, crying into his chest with the house burning in the background.

Shit. Of course, that girl’s mom died in a super tragic accident. I have been giving her crap for being an orphan. I am such a bitch. I need to make sure Mills doesn’t actually do something tomorrow. I can learn to deal with this living situation. I just cannot let this girl ruin my senior year. Plus, there is no way I can handle babysitting a delinquent, keeping up with school, and being lacrosse captain. After the dust settles, I will just talk to her so we can agree to coexist until graduation.

I grab my phone and FaceTime Devan to tell him what went on tonight.

He answers almost immediately, “Hey babe! Ohh you look good tonight! Take off that hoodie, will ya?” He smiles and wiggles his eyebrows.

I huff, ignoring him. “Listen to what that girl did tonight. She tried to sneak out AFTER everything she did today, but I saw her crawling through the dog door and stopped her. It was so funny. I royally pissed her off.”

Devan looks at me through the screen and rolls his eyes dramatically, “Can you just give it a rest with this chick? I am tired of hearing you complain about it. Let her doom herself and focus on more important things…” he smirks, “…like me.”

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