She’d never messaged back. But he understood. Now, scrolling Emery’s wall, there were hundreds of condolences. As far as he could tell, she’d not responded to any of them.
He looked up when someone knocked on his door. “Yeah?”
Dad peeked in. “You okay? I saw the light on.”
“I’m sore.” He turned the laptop to his dad. “Just looking on Emery’s Facebook wall.”
Dad sat on the edge of the bed. “Losing her mom has to be hard. Especially when they were such a close family.”
“Do you still have her dad’s number? Could I call him?”
“Tell you what, why don’t we run out and get you a replacement phone? Then you can call him, get Emery’s number.”
“What happened to saving up for my own phone?”
“Cassidy told Mom she threw yours in the drink.”
“What? When?”
“She was asking if you had a new phone. Or a new number. I think she misses you. And you should’ve told me the truth.”
“You think she’ll come home soon?” Caleb said.
“I don’t know. In a way, we’re getting along with her better now that she’s out of the house.” Dad patted Caleb’s foot. “Great game tonight. You took some hard hits.”
“We beat the West End. That’s all that matters.”
“It’s always nice to defeat the rival.” Dad stood in the doorway, shadowed by the low, hallway lights. “Are you working at the Starlight tomorrow?”
“All day.”
“See if you can get someone to cover a shift. We’ll get you a phone, maybe grab a bite to eat.”
When Dad had gone, Caleb glanced at Emery’s Facebook wall one last time and decided on one simple message.
I missyou.
Sunday’s Royal
Gazette
April 27
Sea BlueBeach Welcomes House of Blue Royals
at Friday Night Reception
Site of Royal Brunch Trashed. State DepartmentInvestigating
EMERY
Now . . .
It was becoming her thing. She wanted to be the first to see the paper besides the paperboys. She woke early, showered, and rode her favorite motel bike to theGazetteoffice.
Riding down Avenue C toward Rachel Kirby Lane, the morning twilight fought the lingering ink of night and promised a clear spring day.
She was nervous. This paper had to be spectacular. Why? Because it was another chapter in Sea Blue Beach’s story.
