Page 52 of No Sweet Goodbyes

“Stryke Out?” Vi snorts and then shakes her head. “I hope you beat his ass for the shit he said at Dom’s last week.”

“She did,” I tell everyone proudly. My hand rests on the back of her neck, careful to avoid her hairline, and I gently massage while everyone else talks.

“Why’d you call him Stryke Out?” Bee slurps her menudo and waits for an answer to her question. “It doesn’t sound very nice. Did he suck at sports?”

“No,” Emma says with an embarrassed flush.

“He struck out in other areas,” Vi explains, using her hands to talk and make a bunch of gestures. “You know how, like adults can try something and they’re bad at it? So you get three chances, and then it’s called a strikeout because you lose your chance. Well, Eddie’s last name is Stryker, and that sounds similar.”

Bee nods, taking in every word that Vi says like it’s gospel and she’s about to be tested on it.

“Well, he tried some adult stuff and he failed, and so now we call him Stryke Out.”

“That makes sense.” And just as quickly as she asked about it, she returns to her food and dismisses the rest of us.

I, on the other hand, read between the lines and turn to see Emma’s flushed cheeks.

“So Stryker tried something and struck out with you?”

Instead of telling me what I want to know, Emma blinks slowly, and I watch the flush drain from her cheeks. Then she turns to face me with an expressionless face. “If you don’t want to strike out, you’ll shut your mouth and mind your business.”

Silence descends among the adults at the table while they all watch our interaction.

The look on her face has my teeth on edge, and I’m starting to think I made a mistake by asking about her relationship with him when Emma starts talking again.

“I don’t ask about your exes. Nor do I ask if you’ve slept with any real badge bunnies. In fact, I keep my nose out of your past because that’s exactly where it belongs… in the past.” She sets her napkin down on the table and scoots back. “I would think that you’d offer me the same respect. I know you don’t like Eddie, and sometimes I don’t like him either. But he’s been my friend a long time, and I’m not going to sit here and let you poke your nose into something you know absolutely nothing about. Not if you’re going to use what you learn to make judgments about something that happened before he even knew better.”

With that, Emma gets up and walks away.

“You’re in trouble,” Bee says through pursed lips. “Emma used her ‘mom’ voice with you. She did that to me when I broke a window with a stick. You better go say you’re sorry or she’s gonna come up with a punishment.”

“I think I love that girl,” Mama says from her end of the table. “Emma, I mean. I love her.”

Both Dad and Vi are nodding along with her.

“She’s strong enough to keep Dom in his place.” Dad talks about me like I’m not there, and I’m so caught up in how I messed up that I can’t even say anything about it. Because the truth is that Bee is right. I was wrong, and Emma shouldn’t have had to say anything to me in the first place.

“Dom.” Vi taps the table, drawing my attention. “You gotta go talk to her. Before she decides to steal your truck again.”

“She stole his truck?” Mama asks just as I’m pushing my chair back to follow Emma like Vi suggests.

“Yeah.” Vi laughs at my back. “Parker told me after Remy told her. I guess Emma stole his truck and left it at the cemetery.”

I leave, knowing that everyone in my family is about to know way too much about my personal life for my own good. But Bee is right. I need to apologize.

Half expecting my truck to be gone when I walk outside, I’m surprised to see Emma sitting on the steps with her back to me.

“I’m sorry,” I tell her immediately. “I wasn’t trying to be a jackass when it came to him. I just thought it was funny that you call him Stryke Out.”

Emma sighs and turns to face me. Just like every time I see her, she takes my breath away. The way her hazel eyes see everything all at once and those wisps of hair that frame her face, making her look more like an angel than anyone who belongs on earth.

“You don’t understand how much Eddie was there for me,” she says suddenly. “When you were all overseas. And then after, when Danny died. Eddie was more than just my boyfriend. He was my friend more than anything. He was the shoulder I cried on when I couldn’t tell my parents I was sad. He was the person who helped me through the darkest moments. And yes, I broke his heart when we broke up. I know I did.” Emma sighs and wipes a tear from her eye that I hadn’t even noticed. “We’re friends, even if he says things without thinking about them. He’s earned the right to be a little bit of a jackass. Because he was there for me.”

“He’s your jackass,” I say quietly. “I get it. You can be mean to him, and he can be mean to you. But no one else can.”

She nods. “Yeah. And I’m sorry I snapped at you in front of your family. But he’s still my friend, and a true friend defends you even when you’re not in the room to defend yourself.”

“It’s okay, Em.” I put my arm around her shoulders, and she curls into my side like she’s done every night we’ve been together. “I told you, I get it.”

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