Page 47 of I Need You

Aubrey closes her eyes, and soon her breaths come softly, evenly, and I know she’s drifted to sleep.

“Good morning,” I say as Aubrey comes down the last few steps from the loft.

She’s adorably rubbing at her eyes, and her hair is a tangled mess that’s plopped half haphazardly on top of her head. A sleepy smile tugs at the corners of her lips.

“Good morning. What time is it?” she asks.

I look at the watch on my wrist.

“Almost eleven,” I say.

Aubrey’s eyes go wide.

“I’m going to be late for work. That is, if I even still have a job,” she says as she flops onto the couch next to me with a huff. Damn, she looks adorable in the mornings.

“You still have a job,” I say and that piques her interest. “I talked to Bea earlier this morning, and she said to take today off. But she’ll be happy to see you tomorrow. I told her the bare minimum, I promise.”

“Oh, Emmett, thank you,” she says.

I’m caught off guard as she quickly leans over and wraps her arms around me. As quick as she did, she pulls back with a shy chuckle before I can hug her back. I tuck a wayward strand of her hair behind her ear before continuing.

“I figured you’d tell her what you’re comfortable with when you’re ready.”

Aubrey nods, but then sits up straight abruptly before bursting into tears and hanging her head in her hands.

Shit.

What do I do in this situation?

Hesitantly, I rub my hand across her back and shoulder. Eventually, she looks up at me.

“Emmett, I can’t believe I ran away from home. I can’t believe I don’t have a home anymore—”

“Hey,” I say, cutting her off, “don’t worry about any of that yet, please. I promise I will make sure everything is okay.”

Aubrey nods and wipes the tears from her cheeks.

“Did your parents call yet?” I ask.

Aubrey shakes her head and pulls her small phone from her sweatpants pocket.

“I wouldn’t know. The battery died, and I didn’t grab the charger,” she says and tosses the phone on the coffee table.

“Well, I don’t have anything that will charge that brick, but we will get something figured out. Maybe for now, it’s good they can’t get in touch with you. I uh—I have an appointment today I can’t miss. I hope you don’t mind, but I invited Taylor and Madison over to keep you company. Again, I told them the bare minimum. You remember them from the football game, right?”

Aubrey nods and grants me a sweet smile that makes me want to kiss her so badly, but I don’t.

I hate lying to her, and while simply telling her I have an appointment isn’t technically lying, I still feel like I’m keeping something from her by not telling her about the cancer. She has enough on her plate right now, and the last thing I want to do is add to it. Besides, today’s my last treatment and I have a good feeling about it.

A familiar rumbling sound is coming from behind us, and we both turn to see Madison and Taylor pulling into the barn in Madison’s barely working car. The girls get out of the car and make their way over to us.

“Hi Aubrey, I don’t know if you remember, but I’m Madison. I think we’re about the same sizes and Emmett said you might appreciate a fresh change of clothes,” she says as she hands Aubrey a stack of clothes.

“Yes, thank you so much. I uh—I didn’t bring anything with me,” Aubrey says and hangs her head a little.

“Which is why today’s girls’ day will include shopping!” Taylor exclaims.

The girls all giggle and Aubrey excuses herself to change.

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