They both left, giving me a second to myself. I needed it, because I didn’t want Janie to walk in and see me falling apart.
Aunt Linda came into the room first, but Janie was close behind, clinging to her mother’s hand and peeking around behind her back, even though she was getting closer and closer to Linda’s height every day.
I smiled at her, and she dropped her mom’s hand and ran to the bed. She came to a stop at the railing, her eyes wide as Uncle Ken’s waistline.
“Hey, Janie,” I rasped.
Her little lips trembled, and water filled her eyes.
“Hey, hey, hey,” I said, fighting to make my voice sound closer to normal. “I’m okay.”
Being careful of the wires, she launched through the gap in the railing and squeezed me, sobbing into my chest.
I wrapped my arms around her, rubbing her back. Having her there was just what I needed to fall apart. We cried together for who knows how long, with Linda stroking her back and my shoulder.
Eventually our sobs subsided, and she pulled back to look at me. She used her thumb to wipe away some tears from my cheek. “I’m glad you’re alive.”
I snorted. “Me too. Here.” I scooted over as best I could with a giant cast around my leg. “Come sit with me. I need someone to hog the remote.”
A smile lit up her still-damp face. “I can watch anything?”
“Anything.”
“Even Disney Channel?”
I suppressed a groan. “Even that. Come on.” I patted the empty space, and she came around to my side.
Aunt Linda sat with us for a while, but eventually she left, and it was just Janie and me watching TV. The show wasn’t half bad, other than the kids were brats and the parents were idiots. But slowly, I drifted into sleep, snuggled next to the little girl who had my back, no matter what.
Someone knocking on the door woke Janie and me up, and I looked up to see Wolf and his bandmates walking into the room. Wolf’s face was paler than usual, and that was saying something.
“Hey, Janie?” I said.
She rubbed at her eyes. “Yeah?”
“You remember how to give a right hook?”
Everyone looked at me confused, but Janie nodded.
“If Wolf keeps looking at me like that, I want you to go practice on him.”
They let out some nervous laughter, but it was enough to break the ice.
Wolf lifted up my backpack, which he had slung around his shoulder. “Your mom asked if we could stop by the house and get your stuff. Thought you might get bored.”
I gave him a half smile. “What? In a ritzy place like this?” I nudged Janie. “With Disney Channel on?”
Linda stepped from behind Blue, giving his wild hair the side-eye. “Come on, Janie. We better get you home. You have school tomorrow.”
She pouted, but I told her I’d see her after school, and she eventually left with her mom.
The guys stayed to talk for a little while, but soon a doctor came in with Mom and Uncle Ken and there were too many people around, so the guys left.
The doctor repeated all the things Mom and Uncle Ken had said earlier, but he had pictures to prove his point. I barely recognized the bones in my leg, with little pieces around and a giant rod he said they had to put in to “facilitate healing.”
At this point, I was numb to it all. I’d had my cry, I’d heard the news. Now it was just a matter of figuring out how in the hell to get back to work.
The doctor lowered my file. “You’re lucky to be alive, Emerick. Just another foot, and you would have hit your femoral artery and bled out before the ambulance could even get there.”
That hit me. Hard. So hard, I was still thinking about it after Mom and Ken left to get some sleep, after the nurse came and poked and prodded me, after I massacred the bedpan.
I stared at the white ceiling tiles thinking about that. I could have been dead right now, and I would have spent my whole life doing shit other people wanted me to do. Working myself to death to make up for my dad’s mistakes. Never thinking about what I wanted or what was possible. I wasn’t going to be the guy who wakes up at forty or fifty hating my job and wondering where my life went.
I set my laptop on my lap and started looking up newspaper jobs. I typed up a resume and cover letter using examples from the Internet. And then I did the stupidest thing of all: I applied for an unpaid internship at The Oklahoman.
I wanted to email ThePerfectStranger about my injury, but that would be too close to real. I mean, how many kids in school could shatter their leg on the same weekend? Probably none. Still, after the kind of day I had, I wanted to talk to her.
I had to read the email she sent me twice to take it all in.
She officially broke it off with her ex!
The amount of joy that swept through me, even after all the bad news I’d had that day, seemed unreal, but my good feelings quickly evaporated.
Why was I grinning like a damn fool? Because some girl I would never be able to meet in person—at least not until the end of the year—broke up with her boyfriend. And not just any boyfriend. She’d referred to them as the “it couple.” That meant she wasn’t just some average girl at WAHS. She was an “it” girl, and “it” girls didn’t go out with shit guys like me. Nora was proof of that. Not that I wanted to date her. But she wouldn’t even look at me.
Thoroughly deflated, I replied to Stranger’s email, ignoring the fact that she’d wanted to ask me a question. Meeting her could never end well.
From: ADAM
To: ThePerfectStranger
Hey Stranger,
Congratulations. How does it feel now that the decision’s behind you?
Signed,
Adam
After that, I checked the time. It was only half past ten.
I closed my laptop and sent Nora a text.
Twelve
Nora
Usually, I was falling into bed by now, but my mind wouldn’t stop running. I should have been distracted by the craziness that had passed between Trey and me. But no, the thing that really kept me up was Adam and his emails, wondering if I’d seen him, if I knew him already.
Had this amazing guy been right under my nose and I’d been too blind to see it?
My phone went off, and within seconds, I had his email opened, scanning over it. He’d only written a few sentences, and I was smiling like an idiot. How could I be falling for some guy I didn’t even know when Trey, basketball captain, senior class vice president, and editor of the WAHS Ledger, was practically begging me to be his girlfriend?
I typed out a quick response and hit send before I could talk myself out of it.
My phone went off almost immediately, and disappointment swept through me. It was too soon for it to be a reply from Adam. Sighing, I opened the text.
Emerick: Hey, I’m sorry, but I had a little accident. I’m going to be at the hospital for the week, but I’ve been working on our project. Want to come by after school to work on it?
Great. Just what I needed. Another thing to take care of outside of school. But then I felt guilty for thinking that. It must have been a pretty bad accident if he was in the hospital.
Nora: I hope everything’s okay. I can’t do after school, but maybe I could come by early on Tuesday?
Three dots popped up on the screen, and I waited.
Emerick: That’s fine. I’m at St. Anthony’s. Room 622.
Nora: I’ll be by at 6:30. Is that too early?
Emerick: It’s fine. See you then.
I shut down my phone and closed my eyes, feeling a little less shameful. If it had been that bad, he wouldn’t be texting me about school at 10:30 p.m. Actually, from what I knew about him, this was probably his first time thinking about homework outside of school. Good for him.
In the morning, our house was crazy, as usual. I helped pack lunches while Amie cooked breakfast and Mom got the younger three ready.
Amie and I left first, then Mom would load the other three in her
van and take off to bring Opal to middle school. We’d gotten into a routine without having Dad around. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked.
The second Amie and I got to school, London and Grace assaulted me with questions, London at the forefront.
“Did you really break up with Trey?” she asked.
Grace looked hurt. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
London nodded. “And why did you dump him?”
I lifted my hands, trying to calm the storm. “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I looked around the front hallway to the school, at all the kids milling around who could overhear us. “Come on.” I led them to homeroom, and we stood in the corner of the classroom.
“Okay,” I whispered. “I broke up with Trey. I didn’t tell you because I just decided to do it yesterday. And actually, he broke up with me before Christmas break.”
London’s mouth fell slack. “He broke up with you?”
I closed my eyes and nodded, trying to forget how miserable I’d been over break. “He basically said that I was wasting my future by going to OU and he didn’t want a girlfriend back home to tie him down. But then he asked me to take him back pretty shortly after school started back up. And I said I’d think about it.”
Grace’s eyes were wide. “That must have been so hard. You know you could have talked to us about it, right?”
My cheeks burned. They were right. Instead, I’d been an idiot and emailed the school’s advice columnist. “I was embarrassed about it all.”
London nudged my shoulder. “You were there whenever I bled through my pants and Tony Billinger asked if I’d sat on chocolate!”
Grace laughed. “And when I beat up that guy with Fabio’s light-up Pokémon shoes.”
“That wasn’t so embarrassing,” I argued. “You were standing up for your friend.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s not the point.”
“Exactly.” London nodded. “The point is, it’s the three of us, together. Always has been and always will be.”
I smiled and hugged them.
“No more secrets?” London asked.
I nodded, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t bring myself to tell them about Adam. Not yet. Not until I knew how he’d reply to my question.
Classes throughout the day went as usual, except people kept giving me strange looks. Apparently, Trey had publicly changed his relationship status to “single” where I had just hidden mine.
On my way to American Government, I passed him in the hallway with a girl on either side of him. He didn’t seem too torn up.
In class, Mr. Roberts stood at the front, holding up two stacks of colored paper. “I have great news. First, we have an official date set for the debates. In addition to the student body, parents are welcome to come. Second,”—he held up the green stack of papers—“we have gotten approval for a trip to the state capitol! We have a fun event planned for the day, but you will need permission from your parents to go.”
He passed the papers down the row, and I read over the field trip information. We’d be doing a scavenger hunt with our partner in the capitol building. Maybe I’d actually get to see Dad during the day.
After he gave our class instructions for today’s assignment, he came and knelt by my desk. “So, I’m not sure if you heard, but Emerick was in a bad work accident. He won’t be in class for a week. Maybe longer if the doctors don’t clear him.”
I nodded. “He texted me last night.”
Mr. Roberts looked just as surprised as I had felt the night before. “So you’ve got something worked out between the two of you?”
I nodded, and curiosity got the best of me. “Do you know what happened?”
He shook his head, then searched around the classroom until his gaze fell in the general direction of Emerick’s friend. “Frederick, come here, will you?”
The guy looked exhausted and pissed. “It’s Wolf,” he muttered.
Our teacher sighed. “Just come here.” When Wolf got close enough, Mr. Roberts asked, “Do you know what happened to Emerick? Is he recovering well?”
Wolf winced. He looked...guilty. “A car fell on him at the shop where he works. Basically shattered his leg. He’s lucky to be alive, man.”
My hand covered my mouth. I felt just as disgusting as the gum stuck under my desk. How could I have been so callous before? “Is he okay?”
Wolf shrugged. “He was pretty bummed he couldn’t get back to work.”
Mr. Roberts’s eyes widened. “He wanted to go back to work?”
Wolf’s eyes met mine, then turned to the floor. “I don’t think he had a choice.”
Looking disturbed, Mr. Roberts straightened. “Thanks Fred—er—Wolf. Please give him my best.”
Wolf hung his head in a nod, then walked back to his partner. And I sat there by myself, wishing for the first time that Emerick was sitting in the empty desk next to mine.
After school and during my shift at city hall, the same person swirled in my thoughts: Emerick. I couldn’t imagine how painful that must have been to have an actual car fall on his leg. And how did they get it off? Was he going to keep his leg? Would he need surgery? Would he be able to keep working?
Wolf’s words hung in my mind. I don’t think he had a choice.
It never crossed my mind that Emerick was ditching school to work and make money for someone other than himself. Did he have family members depending on him? How would his injury affect them? Affect him?
The more I thought about it, the more upset I felt. So I stopped thinking about it. At least, I tried.
After the longest shift ever, I was finally able to pick up Amie and head home. On the way inside, Amie opened the mailbox and sorted through the letters.
“This one’s for you,” she said.
I took in the packet and the OU logo in the corner. I’d already gotten my acceptance letter, but I ripped it open and scanned the note.
My mouth fell open.
“What is it?” Amie asked, her hand on the door handle.
“I just got a Presidential Scholarship—a full ride!”
She dropped her hand from the door handle and screamed, jumping up and down. “Oh my gosh! That’s awesome!”
I jumped with her. “You’re next! Just wait, you’ll get the call from New York.”
She wrapped her arm around my shoulder. “Girl, we’ve got to celebrate you! You have to call Dad! He’ll be so excited.”
We went inside and told Mom the good news. She actually woke up all the girls so we could eat ice cream at the breakfast bar, and while she was cleaning up, I FaceTimed Dad.
It rang for a really long time before he came into view. I noted the hotel curtains behind him, his dress shirt unbuttoned with his tie loose around his neck.
“Hey, Nora Bug,” he said. “What are you doing up so late?”
I tried to ignore the disappointed look in his eyes and held up the letter. “I got a Presidential Scholarship from OU!”
Dad smiled. “Good job, kiddo.”
“Thanks, I mean, I was hoping I’d get it, but I just didn’t—”
“Nora?” He set the phone down so I had a great view of the popcorn ceiling. “I’m sorry, but I have to get going soon. I have a private meeting set up with some potential donors. I just came back to the room to freshen up.” His face came back into view, his tie back in place.
My chest squeezed, but I put on a smile and nodded. “That’s fine. I’ll talk to you later. Love—”
“See ya, love you,” he said and hung up.
Amie rubbed my shoulder. “I’m sor—”
I shook my head and stepped back. “It’s okay. I better get to bed. Goodnight.”
Instead of emailing Adam like I usually did before bed, I sent Emerick a text saying I’d see him in the morning and tried to fall asleep.
Thirteen
Emerick
At half past six, Nora came into my room. She walked closer to me, her big doll eyes obviously taking in my elevated leg.
“How
—What—” she frowned. “Are you okay?”
I pushed the button that lifted my bed to a good sitting position. “Been better.”
Her lips pulled even further down, putting lines in her usually smooth skin. “Are you in pain?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, but medication helps. I held out for this though—didn’t want you to see me all loopy.”
Her eyes widened. “Don’t skip your medicine for me. If you need it, take it.”
My lips spread into a smile as I took her in.
Her frown turned to something else. Confusion. “What?”
“Is Nora Wilson actually concerned about little ol’ me?”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Don’t let it go to your head.” She sat down in the seat next to my bed and pulled a binder labeled AMERICAN GOVERNMENT from her backpack. “Did you hear about the field trip?”
“Yeah, my ma brought a bunch of homework by yesterday.”
She nodded, her eyes flitting from my leg to my face. “Well, what did you think about it?”
“I—” A girl a few years younger than us walked in. She looked almost exactly like Nora, but her face was rounder.
Nora followed my eyes. “Opal, what are you doing here?”
The girl leaned against the wall like she was trying to fade into it. “I was wondering if you had a quarter? I’m a little short for the vending machine.”
Nora kept her gaze away from me as she dug in her purse and eventually pulled out a quarter. “Here you go.”
The girl held the quarter in her palm. “Sorry,” she said, then hurried out.
Nora immediately launched into this story about her mom coming down with something and having to drive both her sisters to school. “I’m sorry. I told them to hang out in the waiting room until we were done.”
Nora Wilson having to worry about someone other than herself? Doing something not just because it would look good on a college app? That didn’t exactly reconcile with the girl who gave me a snotty look the first day we were announced partners.
Dear Adam (The Pen Pal Romance Series) Page 7