Emery glanced down at her hands in her lap. “My other brother, Grant, is missing. He’s almost eighteen, so they think he went up to Newport with some friends.” She looked up at me fearfully. “But I think he ran away.”
“Why would he do that?”
“My dad is strict.Verystrict. I heard them arguing this morning in Dad’s study. They were shouting about where Grant was going to go to college. Dad has plans for him… He has plans for all of us, but Grant didn’t like it.” Emery’s eyes filled. “When Grant came out, he had a funny look on his face. Then he gave Jack and me big hugs and walked out the door.”
He walked out the door. Just like my mother. On the same day.
Emery’s pain seemed to be seeping into me. I didn’t think I could hurt worse than Mom leaving, but seeing Emery hurt doubled theache in my heart.
“Maybe he did go to stay with friends,” I said awkwardly. “I’ll bet he did.”
“With no luggage? No nothing?” Then she stuck her smile back on and gave her head a shake. “No, I’m sure you’re right. I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Mom says to always be mindful of how I’m behaving in front of other people. To always be polite and not make a fuss.”
I frowned. “You’re not making a fuss. You’re worried. It’s okay to be worried.”
Emery smiled at me, her lower lip quavering, sending new cracks into my heart. The urge to pull her close and protect her somehow came over me. Instead, I awkwardly patted the exact middle of her back. As soon as my palm touched the soft fabric of her dress, she tipped against me as if she were very tired. I froze but let her rest against my shoulder if that was what she needed. I know I did. We sat that way for a few minutes until the dad at the grill called her again.
“Emery! Come get something to eat!”
“Coming!” She wiped her eyes and slipped off the rock. “Are you hungry? Did you have dinner?”
“I’m not hungry,” I said. At that moment, my stomach made a loud, embarrassing growl.
Emery’s grin came back. “Umm, it kinda sounds like you are.”
“I guess I could eat.”
“Wait right there!”
A few minutes later, Emery came back with two paper plates containing hot dogs in buns, potato salad, and big wedges of watermelon.
“I couldn’t carry drinks,” she said, handing me a plate. “Do you want a drink? I can go back…”
“No,” I said. Her charity was already too much. But mostly I didn’t want her to go away again. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
For a few moments, there was silence—just me and this girl sitting on a boulder as the sky grew darker, eating our hot dogs and waiting for fireworks.
I already have fireworks.
From a scientific standpoint, it didn’t make any sense—I’d just met Emery and we were just kids, but it was true all the same.
Emery finished her hot dog in record time and started on the potato salad. She caught me staring and laughed. “My mother would freak out if she saw me now. But I’ve been so worried, I haven’t eaten anything all day.”
“Why would she freak out?”
“She says I have to be careful about my weight.” Emery rolled her eyes. “She used to put me in those dumb pageants, and if I didn’t fit in a costume just right, she’d get really upset. Like, embarrassed.”
I scowled. “You look fine to me.”You’re perfect.
Emery grinned and took a big bite of potato salad. “She’s not here to nag me anyway, so I’m going to eat whatever I want.”
I put my gaze on my own plate and assessed the data I’d acquired so far:
