His gaze softened, falling on me. “Promise?”
“Cross my heart,” I said, like I had the power to stopanything bad from ever happening to him, and he believed me.
Maybe if he hadn’t, things would be different.
I helped him find his dog—a large, puffy golden retriever who licked my face as I giggled—and took him back to his house.
The next day, I showed up at his house, but his mom told me he couldn’t play. He was studying.
He was only a year older than me and I couldn’t understand why a nine-year-old needed to be studying on a Friday. He should’ve been exploring his new backyard and soaking up the sun.
Instead of walking back to my house, I wandered through their yard, searching for the silly boy in Bermuda shorts. In typical Emma fashion I began to explore, peering into the windows while hiding from his mom in the process.
I spotted him in their large dining room, sitting at the table with a pencil in hand. I walked up to the patio doors that took up the entire wall in front of him and knocked on the glass, swinging my arms wildly to get his attention.
His eyes grew big, darting around the room before he tiptoed toward me. He cracked the patio door open.
“Hi,” I said with a smile much too big for my face.
“What are you doing here?” he whispered, eyebrow raised, making him seem way older than he was.
I grabbed his hand. “Saving you.”
He hesitated, pulling back. “I don’t need saving. I’m learning about moon cycles.”
I cringed, dramatically straining my frown. “That means youdefinitelyneed saving.” I pointed to the hills of green grass in his backyard and the bright blue sky with sunshine warming my back. “Look at this. I know what we should do.”
“What?”
“Trust me.” I tugged on his hand. “It’ll be fun.”
He looked over his shoulder like he was afraid he’d get in trouble for following me. And to be honest, I knew he would, but I also knew he’d never experience any fun while sitting in that room. He needed to know there was more to the world than just reading books and learning about moon cycles. He needed a friend, and I so badly wanted to be the one he chose.
“Look at me, remember? It’ll be okay. I promise.”
He brought his eyes back to me, and his little smile returned.
I liked it just as much as the day before. I didn’t want him to ever look away.
We ran off the patio as I led him to the spot where his yard dipped down, angled like a hill, and I stopped at the top.
“What are we going to do?” he asked.
My hands flew to my face, patting my cheeks with excitement. “We’re going to roll.”
He gasped. “On the grass?”
“Where else?” I lowered myself to the ground, stretching my arms up above my head to make myself as long and narrow as possible, and rolled down the hill.
The wind blew over me as the warm blades of grass tickled my arms and legs. My body slowed at the bottom of the hill.
“Are you okay?” Myles asked from the top of the hill, voice a little shaky.
I hopped up, cupping my hands around my mouth like a megaphone. “You have to try it! It’s fun!”
“I don’t know about this.”
“Just try it one time. If you don’t like it we can do something else.”
