Page 24 of Echoes of Us

“You saw her leave the church that night and didn’t tell anyone that night either?” my dad asked raising his head from resting on his hands.

I opened and closed my mouth, shook my head slowly and looked down at the table. “Who are you these days, Emmaline? You know better than this. She could have gotten into trouble that night and she could be in trouble now. This is just so disappointing.” Those words feel like a dagger in my chest.

I looked up as my dad grabbed his phone and left the room. The worst feeling ever is knowing your parents are disappointed, not angry. I’d rather they just be mad at me. I look at my mom, and her face says it all. Her eyes are full of disappointment, and she’s slowly shaking her head in disbelief.

Dad came back a few moments later and said he was going to meet Sheriff Franklin to get help finding Teagan and left. Mom and I have not moved since. Well, she did get up to heat up some dinner for EJ, but she came back to sit across from me without a word. I guess no dinner for me tonight.

The sound of the garage door opening causes my heart to stop. I take a deep breath, dreading the conversation that is about to occur. As my mom and I sat in silence for the last few hours, I couldn’t stop replaying what happened. The look on Teagan’s face when everyone started laughing lingers in my mind. My stomach churns every time I see that hurt expression. I don’t understand why this is affecting me so much, but the guilt is overwhelming.

Dad comes in first and walks over to sit next to Mom. We sit in silence for about five minutes until Teagan comes through the door. She looks between the three of us, but I won’t make eye contact. I can’t see her face right now. She sighs and moves to sit in the chair next to me but moves it further away before sitting.

“We don’t know what happened today and we really don’t care. Emmaline, we have told you to drop the attitude over Teagan being here and asked you nicely to be more open to the situation. Teagan, we don’t ask much of you except to follow our rules. Rules that are there for your safety. Taking away the fact you are grounded, leaving school with no text or call for hours is absolutely unacceptable. We were worried sick.”

He pauses to look at us both, but neither of us speaks or looks up from the table.

“Clearly, this animosity is going to continue to spark issues in this family. I have decided that you two need to spend more time together to get over whatever…”, he looks and motions between us, “this is. Em, your mom mentioned you’re struggling in Calculus. Teagan, we know from talking to Headmaster McNeely your transcripts show you excel in AP Calculus AB and are doing well in Calculus BC. You two will spend a few nights a week studying together. I want homework done at this table to ensure you are doing what I ask.”

I look up at my dad in horror. I glance sideways at Teagan to see her reaction. She is looking down at the table but is gritting her teeth and taking slow, deep breaths. I assume she is trying to keep herself from exploding on them. I guess I will have to do that for both of us. I start to speak before my mom cuts me off, “When your grade is better and you two are not at each other’s throats, you can stop. This conversation is done. Up to bed. Now.”

Teagan pushes her chair back hard and fast. She is up the stairs before I can even stand. I look to my parents and want to say something, but the look on both of their faces is challenging me to disobey, so I turn to leave. A few nights a week alone with Teagan doing homework is the worst punishment ever. I really should have stopped Mills today.

Karma really is a bitch, isn’t she?

Chapter 27

Teagan

I barely slept last night. My life is so much different now than it was a year ago. I had the guys to spend my days with, a mom who, while she had her demons, loved me more than anything, a school I knew how to navigate, and classmates who weren’t evil.

Now? I am alone. I live in a strange house with a family who has no idea who I am, and I attend a school filled with horrible people who look down on me. My room is now ten feet away from a girl who hates me to her core because she has a delusional idea of how her senior year should go. All night, I kept seeing her face as everyone laughed at my humiliation. What stuck with me was how emotionless she was. It would have been better if she had laughed or shown some sign of satisfaction. But to her, my humiliation didn’t matter. I am not worth any of her attention.

I sit up and look over at the clock on the nightstand. 6:18 a.m. Sighing heavily, I roll out of bed and walk to the bathroom door. I pause before going in, putting my ear to the door to see if I hear Emmaline on the other side. There is no sound, so I go in. Sitting on my side of the bathroom counter is a black backpack and a note: ‘I hope you like this better. - Eve and Ethan.’ I love it. It is exactly the style I would pick for myself. It is small and totally black except for the dark brown leather around the bottom. I open it up to find a matching laptop case and pencil pouch.

On the floor in front of the counter, there is a laundry basket full of uniforms of various colors and styles. I pick up one of the shirts; it is exactly my size. I check one of the skirts and find the same. There is another note: ‘I went ahead and bought you all the variations of uniforms yesterday. If they don’t fit, we can exchange after school. - Eve.’

Why is this lady so nice? I’ve never had someone truly put me in the forefront of their mind. I shake my head to push back the warm and fuzzies. I have got to stop letting those creep in. I undress and begin my morning routine.

I grab the empty backpack and head downstairs at 7:05 a.m. I am going to make sure princess has no reason to snap at me for making her late or something. As I enter the kitchen, EJ and Eve are sitting at the table eating breakfast. EJ looks up with a huge smile and runs over to hug me. I smile down at him and follow him to the table. Eve has already made me a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. I sit as Eve moves her eyes between me and the backpack, smiling. “Thank you…for the backpack,” I say, heat rising in my cheeks. She nods and goes back to her breakfast, but I can see the warmth fill her eyes before she looks down at her plate.

Five minutes later, Emmaline comes into the kitchen. She opens the fridge, not bothering to acknowledge any of us. “Em, I am going to take EJ this morning. I have to meet with the class moms and the theater teacher regarding the Christmas play. You and Teagan are on your own this morning.”

She looks at her mom and shrugs, pulling a pitcher of orange juice out of the refrigerator. After pouring herself a glass, she grabs her plate from the table and whistles for Eli, taking her breakfast out to the back patio. Eve looks at me apologetically and EJ says, “Don’t worry, Teagan. Em really is the best when she isn’t so crabby.” I smile faintly and continue to eat.

Eve and EJ leave a few minutes later for their meeting. I sit at the table listening to music through my headphones while scrolling on my phone. I am really not looking forward to being alone with princess so soon. I was hoping EJ could be a buffer between us, but that plan is clearly dead. How can I avoid riding with her since Eve has already left? I jump as the table shakes and pull out one earbud. She is looking across the table from me blankly. “I said come on. It’s time to go.” She turns and exits to the garage. I sigh, following her. Here we go.

The ride is silent for the first few minutes while she tries to find a song. Every few seconds the song title on the screen changes as she taps her phone screen. I wish she would pick one, so this silence wasn’t so loud. She finally settles on a song that catches me by surprise: “Another Story” by The Head and the Heart. I love this song. I glance over to study her face, finding the emotionless void that has been there since yesterday. Knots form in my stomach every time I look at her. I shouldn’t care what she thinks of me. I have never cared about what others think. Maybe that is the problem? Her complete lack of emotion toward me, good or bad, makes me feel inhuman.

We pull into the parking lot, and she parks her car. Without looking at me, she says, “2:45. Be at the car or I leave without you.” She turns to exit.

I have no idea what comes over me, but I snap at the infuriating lack of emotion toward me. I lean over, grabbing her arm as she opens the door. She turns to me, and our eyes meet for the first time since yesterday. “When is your next calc test?” I ask.

She pulls her head back and furrows her brows, “I don’t need your help, so don’t worry about it.” She tries to pull her arm free, but I hold tighter. She looks down at my hand on her arm, then meets my eyes again; fire blazing inside of hers.

“Listen princess….” I start.

She grabs my hand that is holding her arm and squeezes tightly around it. “I told you not to call me that,” she says slowly and viciously, then rips my hand from her arm.

I take in a deep breath. This is not the time to push buttons. “Okay…Emmaline. Let’s just get this over with for the next few weeks. All we need is for you pass two tests, and your grade will go up. The hardest thing about this situation will be pretending not to loathe each other. After, we can act like the other doesn’t exist until I am gone.”

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