I pulled the Tupperware out of the fridge. “I can’t in good conscience let you do this alone. It just doesn’t feel right, serving you something I wouldn’t eat myself.”
I popped the container in the microwave and let it heat up while I snagged the blender from a lower cabinet. A few minutes later, I poured the steaming mixture into two ceramic tankards and popped a couple of glass straws in them.
“Cheers,” Emma said, holding her smoothie up.
We clinked glasses, paused to steady ourselves, and then each took a tentative sip.
Emma frowned as she swallowed. “I don’t know if being in a coma messed with my taste buds, but this isn’t half bad.”
I swallowed my own mouthful. It tasted just like a good helping of beef stew. “You know, I’d even go so far as to say it’s decent.”
I set mine on the counter and pushed my sleeves to my elbows, getting ready to clean up the dishes. Emma’s eyes dropped to my forearms, and her cheeks pinked again. I glanced down, wondering what had caused the reaction, but it was just my forearms, maybe a little more vascular than normal because of ... oh. Was that it? Was Emma a forearm girl? I flexed a little, and she wrenched her gaze away.
I turned around, my head spinning.
Nope. Do not. Don’t go there, brain,I begged myself.
Silence fell while I rinsed the Tupperware and set it in the dishwasher. That done, I filled the blender with soapy water to soak and finished my smoothie.
Emma managed to drink half of hers before stopping herself. “I think that’s probably good for now. I don’t want to overdo it and get sick.”
“Smart,” I said, taking it from her.
I thought about dumping the rest, but I was still hungry, and not wanting it to go to waste, I took a deep pull from the straw. Her eyes dropped to my mouth, watching me, and I wondered if she was thinking the same thing I was: that our lips had now touched the same spot.
Pink crept back into her cheeks again, and she dropped her gaze to where her hands were clasped on the countertop. “I remember you. From high school. You were always really nice.”
“So were you,” I said.
She shook her head. “I could have been nicer. I was too fixated on my own friend group and all our drama. I didn’t do a good enough job standing up for other people. Like you did.”
I shrugged. “I was big, even back then. And people were already wary of me because of where I lived and what my parents did for work. It made it easy to put myself between other kids and their bullies.”
“Still, I admired you for it,” she said, sneaking a glance up at me. “I wish I would have said something back then, but I didn’t, so I’m saying it now.”
I nearly laughed. If she onlyknewall the things I’d wanted to say to her back then. “Thank you.”
I finished the rest of her drink and put our glasses in the dishwasher. The stove clock said it was eleven, well past my bedtime, but I was still wound up from tonight’s events, and I was guessing from Emma’s nervous energy that she might be, too.
“Are you okay sleeping alone, or do you want me in the room with you?”
She winced. “I’ll be okay.”
“Emma.”
“No, you’ve done too much already. I ... I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
“Okay, it’s settled. You’re sleeping in my room with me. You can take the bed. I’ll sleep on the floor by the door, so you’ll know that no one can get to you without going through me.”
She sent me a watery smile. “Thank you.”
I nodded. “There’s a TV up there if you want to watch something first. Or we can talk more.”
“TV sounds good,” she said, lifting back up. “I think I’m done talking for the night. I don’t think I can absorb any more horrible details right now.”
“Fair enough.”
She waited for me by the bottom of the stairs while I checked the doors and windows on the first floor to make sure they were locked. Together, we headed up, stopping in the bathroom to brush our teeth, me with my electric version, her with a brand-new regular one that I’d stored for guests. It was nice, comforting, our arms brushing together every now and then, our gazes catching in the mirror. It made me realize how long I’d been alone, and how nice it felt to not be for once.
