Allegiant (2 page)

I snuggle my new little friend. She’s so
soft and has big copper-colored eyes. “Thanks you guys. She’s
awesome.”

Shel smiles at me. “You’re welcome.”

“
You can have pets here,
right?” Matt asks.

I nod as the kitten squirms against my arms.
I crouch down to set her on the floor and watch her as she starts
to explore the living area.

“
Let’s get this stuff set
up before she has an accident,” Shel nods toward the bag. We head
to the kitchen, and I pull out two small bowls that can be used for
food and water.

“
So, what’s the plan for
tonight?” Matt asks, plopping down on the loveseat. He nearly sinks
to the floor. “Whoa! What’s up with this couch?” he
laughs.

I look over my shoulder. “Oh, sorry. It’s
old. It’s been hanging out in my parent’s basement.” I fill one
bowl with water and place it on the floor next to the wall while
Shel fills the other with cat food. “For now, it does what I need
it to do.”

Matt readjusts himself to sit on the
edge.

“
Where do you want the
litter box?” Shel asks.

“
Probably the bathroom? So
it’s out of sight?”

Shel nods and heads down my tiny hallway.
She pauses at my bedroom and then finds the bathroom on the right.
I look into the bag and find the last of the kitten’s supplies, two
little red mouse-shaped toys. I walk into the living room and toss
them on to the floor. The kitten comes running. Kneeling down, I
grab one by the tail and dangle it in front of her as she bats at
it. Her playfulness makes me smile. The realization hits me, yet
again, that I have amazing people in my life. The kitten is just
what I needed. I look up at Matt. “Thank you. Like, sincerely. You
don’t know how much I’ve needed something to take my mind off
things.”

He smiles. “Shel thought you might be a
little stressed out.”

I nod as I hold the toy just out of the
kittens reach. She jumps to grab it and snares it in her claws,
making me laugh. “She would know.”

“
So,” Shel says,
reappearing behind me. “What’s for dinner?”

“
There’s a great Thai place
close to here,” I suggest. “We could go there.”

“
Do they have carryout?”
she asks.

I look at her confused. “Yeah, but I figured
you guys wouldn’t want to stay here all night.”

“
Where’s the menu?” She
turns toward the kitchen.

“
On the fridge.”

She walks over, grabs it, and then picks up
her phone. “You don’t mind going to grab dinner, do you hun?” she
asks Matt.

“
Nope,” he
answers.

I think Matt would do anything Shel asked of
him – walk over hot coals, jump off a bridge, eat glass. You name
it. Of course he doesn’t mind. Shel starts to peruse the menu.
“Good. Emma and I need some girl time.”

“
If we needed ‘girl time’
why did you drag him here with you? I feel bad.”

I glance at the door Matt just left through.
It’s been about twenty minutes since we placed our order.

“
I needed his help with the
cat,” Shel says as she sets her glass on the coffee table. “And,
believe it or not, he wanted to see you.”

“
Does he do everything you
ask of him?”

She considers my question and then nods.
“Just about.”

“
How do I get one of
those?” I muse wistfully.

Shel snorts. “You
had
one of those,
remember?”

I look at her with wide eyes. Did I say that
out loud? She turns her body to face me on the couch and crosses
her legs. She tosses her long brown hair over her shoulder,
revealing bright red highlights underneath, and trains her
chocolate brown eyes on my green ones. She cocks an eyebrow. “You
haven’t been honest with me.”

I scrunch up my nose. “About what?”

“
You know.”

“
Um, no. I don’t
know.”

“
Dane.”

I groan. After James was assigned as my
Guardian, the depression I felt after his accident threatened to
return. I didn’t want my friends and family to worry about me. I
tried to maintain a sense of normalcy and ended up alienating one
of the best people that has ever come into my life. Dane will never
forgive me after what happened between us, as well he shouldn’t. “I
told you everything. It’s my birthday. Do we have to discuss
this?”

“
Yes, because I’m here and
I can see your face. You can’t lie to me in person.”

This is true. It’s much easier for me to lie
over the phone. “What do you think I’m lying about?”

Shel crosses her arms to match her legs and
narrows her eyes at me. “Matt told me something about the fight you
had with Dane. A major detail that you neglected to mention to
me.”

I stare at her confused.

“
It’s a
major
detail,” she
presses.

I rack my brain. I thought I told her
everything about the fight. About how Dane wanted to know if I
could ever love him. How he said he would wait for me until I was
over James. About how I told him no, because it would be unfair to
make him wait indefinitely. About how he stormed off after Matt
interrupted our argument.

“
I’m going to ask you a
question,” Shel says. “And I want the truth.”

I look at her, perplexed.

“
Did you almost sleep with
Dane?”

Oh shit. I can feel the blood drain from my
face, yet it feels hot at the same time. I can tell from her
expression that she knows it’s true.

“
Why didn’t you tell me?”
she asks, her eyes wide.

“
Because it was a mistake,”
I whisper. Did Matt and Dane really have this conversation about
me? I know they’re good friends, but come on! I start to feel my
face flush deeper at the realization that Matt knows about this
too.

Shel throws her arms in the air. “Do you
realize how bad I fought with Matt over this? I told him Dane had
to be lying because you would have told me. What the hell Emma?”
She pouts.

I can’t look at her. “I…it shouldn’t….”

“
Did he pressure you?” she
asks, suddenly concerned.

My head snaps up. “No! It wasn’t like that.”
I push myself off the couch and head toward the kitchen. My mouth
feels dry all of a sudden.

“
Well, then.
When?”

“
After dinner at Louie’s;
when he left and I was mad.” I open the cabinet and grab a glass. I
fill it under the sink faucet and take a big gulp.

“
No wonder,” Shel
murmurs.

I turn around to face her and lean against
the sink to stare into the living room. “No wonder what?”

“
I couldn’t understand how
one fight could make you two so angry with each other.”

Unfolding her legs, she pats the cushion
next to her. I walk toward her slowly, side stepping my new buddy
who’s chasing her tail. I take a seat, and Shel wraps her arm
around my shoulders. “I wish you would have told me sooner. We
could have talked about it. You’ve got to stop keeping all this
stuff in.”

I nod as I stare at my glass.

“
And I’m sorry I lit into
you when I found out about the fight. That was wrong of
me.”

I give her a small smile. “No apology
needed. I deserved it.”

She grimaces. “I don’t know about that.”

I set my glass on the table next to Shel’s.
“Do you think Dane will ever speak to me again?”

She gives me a sympathetic look.

“
How bad is it?” I
ask.

“
I haven’t talked to
him.”

“
But Matt has?”

She sighs. “I asked him if he would talk to
Dane, to see if things could be worked out. I knew you were feeling
bad and thought maybe, after some time, you could at least be
friends again.”

“
And?” I cringe.

“
Matt’s unsure if that can
happen. He said Dane’s got a lot going on right now and any contact
from you would probably be a bad idea. He said he needs time to
sort things out.”

I frown, but nod in understanding. What did
I expect?

“
It’s only been two weeks,”
Shel reassures me. “Things will get better. There’s nothing that a
little time can’t heal.”

I’m not so sure about that. She wasn’t
there; she didn’t see the look on Dane’s face. It was as if I had
reached into his chest and pulled out his beating heart with my
bare hands.

We hear a knock on the door, and Shel jumps
up to open it. I turn to see Matt walk backward through the doorway
carrying two bags of take out, both balanced in his arms and tucked
under his chin. “Some guy let me in at the front door,” he says as
he turns to us. He walks over, puts the bags down on the counter,
and smiles. “Who’s hungry?”

I give him a weary glance and slowly rise to
get some plates. He looks suspiciously at me and then at Shel. “Oh,
I took the liberty of picking up one of these,” he adds, opening
the second plastic bag dramatically. It’s a small chocolate cake.
It doesn’t bring the reaction he was hoping for, and he looks at me
confused.

“
Thanks,” I say and stop to
give him a one-armed hug. I hang on a little longer than necessary
and he notices. His eyes dart to Shel accusingly.

“
Aw, hell. You told her we
knew, didn’t you?”

The next morning, I wake to find Shel still
asleep next to me. I stare at the ceiling recalling how odd, yet
great, this birthday was. I’m so thankful for my friends.

Shel and Matt decided to stay the night;
despite Matt’s annoyance with my crappy 24-inch tube TV and lack of
surround sound. I reminded him at least I had cable, and James had
been the one with all the hi-tech toys, not me. His teasing stopped
after that. There was no further mention of Dane, thankfully, and
the three of us spent the evening eating cake, watching the Tigers,
and reminiscing. We’ve been friends since we were ten, and that
includes James. Matt once told me he and Shel felt like James was
still a part of their lives by spending time with me. I love
that.

Around midnight, Matt fell asleep on my
less-than-ideal loveseat, so Shel and I crammed ourselves into my
full-size bed with the kitten. We spent another hour trying to come
up with a name for her. By the time I drifted off, we were leaning
toward Little Booger.

Speaking of, where is she? I raise my head
to look around my bedroom and can’t find her. I pull back the
blanket and swing my legs off the side of the bed, silently hoping
she hasn’t fallen in the toilet. I take a few steps across the hall
to the bathroom and turn on the light. Nope. No cat swimming here.
I turn and head into the living room and stop short. There, on the
couch, is perhaps the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.

Matt remains asleep on his back, his body
weight causing my loveseat’s sad springs to sag low. He’s a big
guy, and his long legs overflow one end. His head is wedged at an
odd angle between the corner of the armrest and the back of the
couch; I can barely make out his blonde hair. He looks incredibly
uncomfortable. But there, in the center of his chest, lies Little
Booger. She’s curled up asleep, in a contented little ball, soothed
by the rise and fall of Matt’s breathing. I can hear her loud purr
as his two huge hands surround her in a protective little nest. I
have to take a picture.

I sprint back into my bedroom and grab my
phone off the nightstand. I creep into the living room and get as
close as I dare so as not to wake them. I take the picture and then
look at it, smiling at my memento. Yep, this was a pretty awesome
birthday.

A day later, my parents paid me a visit to
celebrate. They were infatuated with Little Booger, almost as if
she were a grandchild. At first I thought it was strange, but then
I remembered they treat my brother’s dog, Jake, the same way. They
weren’t too impressed with my choice of name for her though, so I
think I’ll shorten it to LB. And, of course, they brought me
birthday gifts. The first bag held two new outfits, while the
second contained a box of Bisquick. My dad explained it was his
contribution, so I could learn to make pancakes. I laughed when I
opened it. No one can make pancakes like my dad.

I spent the majority of Labor Day weekend
with my parents, since they decided to make an extended trip of my
birthday and stay at a local hotel. They wouldn’t admit it, but I
think the main reason for their mini-vacation was to make sure I
was safe on my own so far away from home. I know they are worried
about me. James was by my side for two years at WMU, not to mention
I was attacked this past summer by a former classmate. I understand
their concern. This is new territory for me – and for them.

As I finish reminiscing, I get ready to
attend my first class of my senior year. I’m ecstatic. I finally
have something to do with my time, other than dwell on the past. I
hope my schedule of Analytical Foundations, Communication in
Business, Intro to Ethics, and Business Statistics will give me a
lot of homework. I stop and make a face at myself in the
mirror.

Really Emma? Get a life.

I comb my hair and pull it into a ponytail,
noticing it looks more auburn than brown these days. I quickly
apply a pale green eye shadow over the light skin of my eyelids,
throw on some clear lip gloss, and turn off the bathroom light. My
morning routine is not very intricate.

As I head out the door, I bend down and kiss
LB. “Be good,” I remind her as she watches me go. I have a feeling
she’ll be getting into my hair ties again. “I’ll be home in a few
hours.” I shut and lock the door behind me, then try the knob for
good measure.