Eli
“Dad?”I blink a few times, doing my best to wake up. I need to focus on the person now standing in my kitchen. Well, I guess, technically, it’shiskitchen. “Wh-What are you doing here?”
“I told you I was going to visit.”
I look left, then right. “Where’s Mom?”
“She had a thing.” My dad flips his hand up like whatever my mom’s doing isn’t important.
“You should’ve called.” I mean, it’s eight in the morning. On a Sunday.
“Why would I?” He glares at me. “Unless you’ve got something to hide.”
“Eli?” I hear a sweet voice coming up from behind me. “Have you seen my sw––?”
It’s right then she sees my father. Only she doesn’t know it’s my dad. Emma turns and smiles at the stranger in my kitchen. “Hi.”
“Who isthat?” My father points a finger straight at Emma. It’s rude as hell.
“Nobody.” I shrug. I look down at her and pretend what I’m doing isn’t going to ruin everything we repaired last night. It can’t be helped. “Get your stuff, babe. Time to go.”
“Some puck bunny, then?”
“Sure.” I shrug, trying to act as nonchalant as I can.
“I’m not a––” Emma looks at me like she hopes I’ll defend her, but I can’t because if my father thinks Emma means something to me, thatshe’s a distraction, he’ll do everything he can to get her away from me. Or me away from her. “Your clothes are sitting on the chair in my room.” I point back toward my bedroom.
I see her eyes turn shiny. She’s going to cry. I’m making her cry.Jesus, I’m glad Mom isn’t here to see this.
“She’s wearing your fucking sweater.” My dad’s pissed. So pissed, in fact, his fists are clenched at his side and he’s gritting his teeth. Not a good sign.
What he means is Emma’s wearing my jersey. The real one for home games. Back in the old days, players wore actual sweaters to play on the ice. The name stuck. “So.” I shrug.
“You never let a fucking puck bunny put on your sweater. It’s bad luck.”
ButIput it onherafter I made her come. I wanted to see her in it. It was better than I’d ever imagined. I’ve never let a girl wear my hockey jersey before, because of what my dad just said. It’s always been seen as bad luck to let someone you don’t care about wear it. But that’s not the case here. I care about Emma. Enough to want to see her in it. The second she donned it I was hard again. She slept in my jersey, wrapped up in my arms. And it was perfect.
And now it’s over. My father’s seen her. I’d hoped to keep her a secret for a hell of a lot longer than this, but that dream is over.
Emma practically runs away, heading back toward my bedroom. I want to reach out to her, but I can’t.
“As soon as she’s gone, we’re going to sit down and have a little chat.”
“Sure thing, Dad.”
I move into the kitchen like none of this bothers me. I need coffee, so I take one of my single serve pods and start the machine going. Moments later, I hear footsteps coming from the hallway. It’s Emma in my jersey and her jeans. She’s carrying her sweater along with her coat. As she speed-walks through the living room past the kitchen, all the while looking down at the ground. Like she did that first time in the library before we went for coffee. I watch her head toward the laundry room, then she stops. She looks to her left and makes her way to the front door. I watch her flip the lock, then turn the knob.
The entire time she’s moving, I’m talking to myself in my head. Saying things like.You let her walk out of here, and it’s over.I know it. And.Choose: Your girl and your dignity or accept your father’s unwavering need to control you?
“It’s not that simple,” I say, only loud enough for me to hear.
“You gonna let that girl leave here in your fucking sweater, Eli?”
“I––” I don’t know what to do. All I know is she needs to go so my father can’t say anything else to her.
Just then, I see Cody stomp up the front steps. I’m about to greet him when he stops in front of Emma. She’s saying something to him. Cody looks inside the house, sees my dad and then wraps his arm around my sweet girl and walks her down the front steps. At least she’ll have a ride home.
God damn. I’m fucking pathetic. I don’t deserve Emma Perkins. I never did.
