The Way Back Home (Homecoming Novella)

by C. Lymari

  “Did ya miss me?” She threw her arms around my shoulders, kissing my cheek.

  I shook it off. “I did miss you. I missed you so much it felt like I couldn’t breathe.”

  She narrowed her eyes at me and started laughing. “Aren’t you sassy?”

  “I blame you.”

  Freya grinned at me. “Thanks for picking me up. And sorry again for flaking on Founder’s Day.”

  “It’s okay. I had help.”

  “Who helped?” She narrowed her eyes at me, and I felt her trying to read into my mind.

  “Jana, Rusty, Jake, his little brother…and Dex.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her mischievous smile. I pretended like I didn’t see it and kept driving.

  “I’m sure Dex loved to help.”

  Oh, yeah, he loves to help me with lots of things. Not just work-related things. I swerved a bit thinking about the blow job I gave him.

  “Do you want to walk home?” I glared at Freya.

  I didn’t want to tell her yet, because if things didn’t work out, I would hurt more if she knew. Freya gasped, and then I felt so bad that I apologized.

  “Don’t apologize. You need to be more aggressive; you’re too nice. But I have one question? Have there been more dates? More kissing? Anything?” I smiled with delight when she blushed.

  “I don’t know what we are.”

  That was the truth. We had sex, I went down on him, we had a sleepover with perks in it for me, but there was no exclusivity talk. Did people do that anymore?

  “I mean, he kisses me, and he likes to hold my hand, but he hasn’t asked me out.”

  What I didn’t add was that I was pretty sure I was falling in love with him. Instead, I said the first lie I could think of. When the Sunny Pines sign came into view, I was glad we were almost home. I loved Freya and was ecstatic she was back, but that also meant telling her that my place might close down. I was pretty sure that looking at the disappointed look in her eyes and my parents’ eyes was going to kill me a little.

  “Ask him if you guys are exclusive or dating other people. Then he’ll give you the answer,” Freya said as I parked to get gas.

  Thinking about it, that could be a good idea. It would be much better to know where we stood.

  “Freya…” I asked as we drove through Main Street and noticed Freya looking at Max’s office.

  “Yeah?”

  “If you had one more chance with Max, would you take it?”

  She didn’t answer me right away. She turned her head one more time to look at the office, but then looked at me.

  “Sometimes…I wish I never left,” she sighed.

  I reached out and held on to her hand. Which probably wasn’t wise since I wasn’t the most experienced driver.

  When I dropped Freya off, I waved at Eugene, who looked so happy to have her back. She couldn’t see the pure joy on his face as he hugged her. Driving back to my house, I was surprised to see my parents on the couch watching television.

  "Hey," I said with a wave.

  My mom scooted away from my dad and patted the seat in between them. Uh, okay. I was an only child, so it wasn’t like I wasn't used to my parents’ undivided attention. But as I got older, not so much. The only thing I could think was that this was about my sleepover with Dex. I mean, I was old enough; I had moved away for college. The only reason I still lived here was because I invested in my shop. The way things were going two years ago, I had boasted about moving out soon, which obviously didn't happen.

  "Oh, you guys are watching Pan's Labyrinth." I sat down immediately.

  My parents had a thing about watching foreign movies. There were some fantastic movies out there that sometimes, after watching them, you didn't feel like you read subtitles.

  “You didn’t come home the other day,” my mom said before taking a sip of her hot cocoa.

  I should have known this was a trap.

  “Uh…I…do we really need to have this conversation?”

  “Are you being safe?” my dad chimed in before he ate popcorn.

  “Dad!”

  To my total mortification, my parents went on like I wasn’t even there.

  “Oh, I hope it’s the cute cop. He’s dreamy. Those eyes? And don’t get me started on the way that guy wears those shirts when he goes joggi—”

  “Mom!” I shrieked. Then I turned to my father. “Aren’t you going to say something?”

  My dad put more popcorn in his mouth. “We’re old, but not blind. Your mom knows I get hit on all the time when we go grocery shopping.”

  I threw my head back and groaned. This was a lie. No one hit on him. The cashier made an error, and according to him, it was because she was flustered to be around him. That was so not the case.

  Grabbing some of my dad's popcorn, I settled. But when I turned around, I noticed my easel board on the counter next to the TV. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. My body tensed as I read the words. That was when I felt both my parents wrap their hands around me.

  “We’re you proud of you, honey,” my mom said.

  “You…you know,” I whispered.

  My dad kissed my temple. “Harold mentioned it to us yesterday.”

  I closed my eyes in mortification. He went to my parents. What kind of bull was that? Only in a small town did a debt collector go to Mommy and Daddy.

  “Sweetheart, you should really take his calls. He wants to help you.”

  My head turned to my mom. “What?”

  “He says he keeps trying to contact you.”

  “He doesn’t want to take away my shop?”

  My dad patted my cheek. “I always tell you, Emma, you’ve got to run headfirst into your problems. That way, they don’t get the jump on you.”

  “You also thought my shop was a bad investment. I thought you guys would be thrilled.”

  “We are so proud of you, baby,” my mom added, a little hurt.

  “You made a place for yourself in this town,” my dad said. “You have two kids working for you who think you walk on water. Do I think it was a bad investment? Yes, I do, but only because our town is not big enough for the type of success your place needs. But, honey, you made something from nothing, and we are so freaking proud of you.”

  Someone had walked in and put tears in my eyes. I’d been so stressed. I seriously forgot how much I loved my parents. I forgot about a lot of things while I was trying to keep my head above water.

  “We will not let anything happen to Emma’s.” My mom held my hand and rested her head on my shoulder.

  That was how I watched the rest of the movie. It was only when Dex called that I finally left to go to my room.

  Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for my mother, Dex’s name appeared on the caller ID. Nosy much?

  “Hey,” I answered, a little out of breath, as I ran to my place above the garage.

  “You’re not here.” He sounded upset.

  “Are you…pouting?”

  “Sunshine, I’m used to sleeping with you in my arms.”

  I started to giggle and shook my head in disbelief. He was too much, but it was never enough. He filled parts of me that I had no idea were empty. Dex was making me fall in love with him.

  “It’s been once. Simmer down.”

  “Not if you count the night you got drunk and took advantage of me.”

  The shirt I was packing fell to the floor. “Excuse me?”

  “You made me pleasure you.”

  "Oh, like that was hard."

  “You bet it was hard,” he said, and I could just imagine his cocky grin.

  “Just for that, I’m unpacking my bag.”

  “Don’t bother, sunshine. I’m outside. Now, hurry up before it starts to rain.”

  DEX

  Turning my headlights off, I parked in front of Emma's house. My shift had ended an hour ago, and it gave me enough time to go home and set up everything to provide Emma with the perfect date. Yesterday, when I woke up with her i
n my arms, I knew I was in love with her. The way I felt about her…I'd never felt like that about anyone else. No woman compared. I felt like I should have known I was in love with her long before now. She was the last thing on my mind when I thought I was dying.

  When the door opened, I stifled a laugh when I noticed the blinds from the living room move. The rain was getting heavier but not enough that they couldn’t make out who I was. Raising my hand, I waved to Emma’s mother.

  “Who are you waving at?” Were the first words Emma said to me when she got in my car.

  “Your mom.”

  She groaned. “Just go before they come out and Mom starts to tell you how hot she thinks you are when you jog.”

  It didn’t bother me to meet Emma’s parents. I wanted everything that came with dating her. Even her problems. I’d gladly take them on as long as I got to call her mine. Emma was fidgeting in her seat, and I wasn’t making much conversation because I was…fuck, I was nervous. As I drove, the rain got heavier, so it took longer than usual.

  My house looked dark when I parked. We both got out of my car, and I took Emma’s duffle from her. With one hand I held it over my shoulder and grabbed her hand with the other, and we ran inside before we both got soaked.

  “It’s so dark,” she noted.

  My blinds were closed, and the front porch light was also off. She’d see why in a second. Pulling her into my place, the twinkling lights I had set up in the living room looked inviting.

  Emma’s breath hitched. “You did all this…for me?”

  The twinkling lights were all around the living room. I’d borrowed them from Clark's mom, who was a Christmas junkie. The floor had my new comforter. Petals were thrown over it, not much, but enough that it smelled like flowers. There was a basket in the middle and a thermos with hot coffee.

  “That date in the water tower with you was the best non-date I’ve ever had, sunshine. I carried that night with me when I left. The way the light hit your curls, the way you tried not to smile at the stupid shit I said. The way you would look at me when you thought I wasn’t looking. It was an accumulation of things, but most of all it was you, Ems, that made you unforgettable.”

  Made her so easy to love. I wanted to say the words, but I also didn’t just want to blurt them. Stupid Mother Nature. Nothing would have been better than telling her I was in love with her while I was deep inside her.

  “Come on. I made you some pasta.” I led her to our makeshift picnic area. It was too cold now to replicate our date by the tower, but I liked her here in my place.

  Emma looked at me and smiled, her eyes bright. “No one has ever done anything like this for me.”

  “No one else will, Emma. I won’t let them.”

  She bit her lip as she took off her jacket. “Good. Um, why aren’t you at the rehearsal?”

  “You think I’d go after the shit Abbi pulled?”

  Emma didn’t answer me. Maybe she was finally starting to get how serious I was about her. How deep she was in me.

  While I fed her, she told me all about her day, and I listened to her word for word, and I knew I could never get tired of her talking to me. She told me about her parents finding out about her worries, and I was glad. She didn't have to carry the burden on her own anymore. If I could have done it for her, I would have. In a heartbeat.

  She was in the middle of telling me of her car ride with Freya when I couldn't take it anymore. Grabbing the back of her head, I pulled her to me and kissed her. It was the first time she tasted like forever. Putting my back to the couch, I leaned back and put Emma on top of me so she could straddle me. I kissed her again, my mouth demanding. She opened for me, and I took from her everything she was still too guarded to freely give me.

  Pulling back, I pushed some of the curls that had fallen on her face. The rain had made them stick to her forehead. Her breasts were rising up and down, water droplets were still on her chest. Leaning down, I licked a bead of water. Her mouth was swollen, and I loved her like this. Completely and irrevocably mine.

  “Emma.” My voice was gruff to my own ears.

  She swallowed. “Dexter.”

  “I—”

  Before I could get the words out, both of our cell phones started to ring at the same time. We looked at each other, because nothing good could come of that.

  19

  Dex

  “Mother, I swear someone better be dying,” I growled. She just ruined my perfect moment.

  “Dexter! You never say things like that.”

  “Shouldn’t you be with Annabeth right now?” Seriously, she should be at the party and leaving me alone. I loved my mom, but tonight was a special occasion.

  “That’s why I called you before you found out from someone else.”

  “What!” Emma shouted, making me ignore my mom. “Is she okay?”

  “Mom, I gotta let you go.” I hung up before she could say it was okay. In two steps, I was in front of Emma, who looked pale. “Sunshine, what’s wrong?”

  “Freya,” she said, like that was supposed to tell me everything. “We have to go.” She grabbed her jacket and started to walk to the door.

  “Emma, what the fuck is going on?”

  "Freya was in an accident." There were now tears in her eyelashes, and that spurred me into action.

  While I started driving, she filled me in that Jana had called her, since Jake found her and he called Clark to give him a heads-up.

  “You have to get Max,” Emma said, like that was logical.

  I got that she was in shock, but it wasn’t making sense.

  “Jana keeps calling him, but he won’t answer.”

  Emma kept texting furiously on her phone while I drove as fast as the weather lets me. The rain had stopped, but the roads were still slick. "Drop me off at the convenience store. Rusty and Jana are waiting for me.”

  Okay, that hurt a bit, knowing that she didn’t want me with her. No, fuck that. It fucking stung.

  When Rusty’s car came into view, Emma started to undo her belt. She turned to me and kissed me in front of Jana and Russell.

  “Please find Max and tell him what happened,” she begged. “I’ll see you at the hospital.”

  I watched her run to Rusty’s car, feeling better about everything. The first thing I did was call Max, and it went to voicemail. Driving to the salon where the rehearsal was happening, I saw that it was already empty. Okay, guess it was an early night because of the rain. When I made it to his practice, I knocked on the door to see if he was in his office, but nothing. Making my way to his apartment, I did the same.

  “Max, you in there?” I asked.

  When he opened the door to his apartment, I almost hit him.

  “Can I help you?” He didn’t look too happy to see me.

  “Emma said I should find you.”

  “Is everything okay with Emma?” He sounded a little less annoyed.

  “No. I mean, yeah, Emma’s fine. It’s Freya. She’s been in an accident,” I said, still trying to understand what was going on.

  Max looked like someone had given him a blow. He actually stopped breathing for a second. We drove to the hospital in silence, and now I got why Emma wanted me to find him. Max looked like I would if I found out something had happened to Emma.

  "Someone needs to tell Eugene." He broke the silence halfway to the hospital. Giving him a nod, I pulled out my phone.

  “Son,” my dad answered.

  “Yeah, Dad, can you do me a favor?” I asked.

  “Anything.” That was like my father, to drop everything to give me a helping hand.

  “Can you go over to get Eugene Pratt and bring him to the hospital? His granddaughter has been in an accident.”

  “Freya?” My dad’s voice was a little frantic. “What happened? Is she okay?”

  “I don’t know.”

  My dad told my mom that he would be right back. “I’m on my way.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Dad.” I hung up on him, thanking God that I had
a father like him.

  When we got to the hospital, Max was out of the car before I could even get the car in park. Once I got inside, Rusty, Jana, Jake, his little brother, and some of his friends were already there. I was making my way to Emma when Max grabbed Rusty by the collar and pushed him against the wall. I was about to step in, but Jake held his hand to me.

  “Leave it,” he said.

  I was going to ignore him because I couldn’t just leave something like that, it wasn’t who I was, but then Max spoke.

  “Why didn’t anyone call me?”

  "And why should I call you, Max?" Rusty didn't seem to be concerned by the way Max had cornered him.

  “Because she’s mine!” Max roared. “She’s been mine since she was fifteen, and she’s sure as fuck still mine.”

  Well, that explained so much. Leaving them to handle their own shit, I walked up to Emma. She ran into my arms and hugged my body to hers. Man, that felt fucking good for her to find comfort in me.

  “Any news, sunshine?” I asked.

  She shook her head against my chest, and I hugged her tighter. I knew how much Freya meant to her, and I hoped to God she was okay. She was a cool chick; I liked her. Both Emma and I pulled apart when Max confessed that he had canceled his wedding because he loved Freya.

  Shortly after that, my father and Eugene walked in as Max was beating himself up over not going to Freya right away. Dad came to where Emma and I were standing.

  “Any news?” My dad sounded worried.

  That should have told me something was off, but I wasn’t thinking straight. Just as I was going to say no, the doctor came out.

  “Family for Freya Pratt?”

  “She’s my granddaughter,” Eugene answered while the rest of us all huddled around him.

  Emma burrowed into my side as the doctor told us what happened to Freya. Dad went to the cafeteria to get coffee while we waited for Freya to get out of surgery. Emma was in my lap, something only Jake seemed to notice because he cast a small smirk my way.

  "I never had a best friend until her," Emma whispered.