Page 55 of Falling With a Spin

We both burst into laughter right as my stomach made an animalistic noise. There is this weight that I didn’t realize I was carrying that has been lifted off my shoulder. I didn’t know that by coming back home, I would be reconciling my relationship with my dad. I was expecting it to be a shit show of him and I fighting. But I know now that the piece of my heart that I would try to fill with meaningless people is now filled by my dad. Who has always had it.

Chapter 21

Emma

Over the next few days, my dad and I spend more and more time together. Hunter tags along with us to a car show or into the garage, where my dad is currently working on fixing up a car for a customer. Eventually, Hunter gets dragged away by Caden and Lakeland to either binge-watch Disney movies or play the newest game Lakeland got.

It’s our last day, and as much as I love my family, I want one day to myself with Hunter. I’m not sure what has happened between us these past couple of days, but I can’t see myself being away from him. The morning after we got here, I found myself tangled up in him, and I kept apologizing because we had yet to talk about the kiss. But he laughed it off, and when it happened again, I tried pulling away, but in his sleep-dazed self, he pulled me right back to him.

Now, we are walking down the street of Old Town Scottsdale with our hands laced together. I’ve taken him all around the town, showing him where my mom lives, the schools I went to, and my old dance studio. He tried to ask questions about that but I went around it, not wanting to think about what happened.

“There is this really cool ice cream shop down the street. Do you want to try it?” I ask, looking over at him, his baby blues sparkling in the afternoon sun.

“Sure, sounds good to me.”

We walk into an ice cream parlor that's eighties-style themed. There are about a hundred different flavors of ice cream and milkshakes. This is actually the place that Caleb would take me to when I got done with PT. The thought brings a smile to my face, but it quickly fades when the girl in front of us turns around.

Izzy’s brown hair is up in a tight bun and her blue eyes are thick with mascara as she looks at me with wide eyes. I can’t seem to move, and neither can she. It’s been two years since we last saw each other. After the accident, we lost connection, and the last I heard was that she stayed in Arizona to go to a dance school here.

“Emma?” Her voice is weary.

“Y-yeah. Hey, Izzy.” My voice is uneven, but I quickly recover. Hunter squeezes my hand and reminds me that he is right next to me. Not alone.

“Oh, this is Hunter,” I look at him then to her.

“Hi, nice to meet you, Izzy.” He reaches out his hand to her to shake.

We stand there in the middle of the ice cream parlor until a group of teenagers cough, and we quickly grab a booth towards the back.

“What brings you back to Arizona?” Izzy asks and takes a bite of her chocolate ice cream with sprinkles.

“My Dad asked me to come out for the holiday. I haven’t seen him in a while.” I give her a nervous smile as she knows the type of relationship we have.

I miss that about her and me. We told each other everything, not keeping a single secret. She was my best friend, but once dance was removed from that, the whole thing fell apart. It was the glue that kept us together.

“Oh wow.” She looks just as surprised as I was when he called to ask me.

“Yeah, but it’s been good.” A smile comes to my face. “What has been going on since I left here?” I ask.

She dives deep into everything, telling me about the latest gossip from people we went to high school with. Describing how college has been since starting this semester. She decided to take a year off to travel and learn more about the art of dancing through different cultures. That was a plan we made together, and I’m happy she continued with it.

“Can I show you a few videos from the shows I’ve been in?” She nervously asks. It’s understandable; I would be the same way if the situations were reversed.

“Go for it.” A smile crosses my face as she quickly pulls out her phone and presses play on the first one.

We sit there for a while, all three of us watching the screen and seeing Izzy move through each choreography, either created by her or the teachers she has.

Hunter stays quiet the entire time, and I can see him watching me through my peripherals. As if he is trying to decipher who I'm and my heart starts to race.

“Alright, enough about me. What is new with you?” She asks, digging into her melted ice cream.

“Not much, really. I’m at Crestview University with Caleb, and I have a roommate.” I shrug, looking around this place.

“There’s gotta be more than just that.” She laughs, rolling her eyes.

I frown because there really isn’t. “No, not really. I go to class, then work, then home. Repeating that five days a week.”

“Have you thought about going to a-” I quickly shut her down, not wanting to open that can of worms around Hunter.

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