“What happened to you?”
“I tripped,” I reply, averting my eyes.
I retreat a few steps until my back hits another stack of boats.
“Why are you lying to me?” he asks.
The door to the shed squeaks open. Emmett shoves me by my shoulders, and I stumble back into a narrow hiding place, behind a rack of oars.
“Who’s there?” he calls, his voice pointedly friendly.
“Just me,” a soft female voice replies.
Faith Fairchild’s footsteps are near silent as she makes her way through the storage shed to him, delicate like everything else about her.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Emmett whispers.
“I had to see you,” Faith half sobs. “Why won’t you respond to my letters? I waited for you at our statue for ages—”
“Faith—” Emmett interrupts her.
“You can’t keep ignoring me! Not after everything. This isn’t anything like what you said it would be, last night—”
There’s an odd choking sound as Faith sputters. I peek out from around the oars to see her red-faced and hunched, like she suddenly can’t breathe.
“Faith?” Emmett thumps her on the back a few times, until she takes a large gasp.
“I’m trying to tell you that—” Again, she heaves, choking on something, before taking a breath.
“Are you quite well?” Emmett crouches and peers up at her face,worried. “Let me call one of the maids and have you taken home.”
“That goddamn witch,” Faith hisses under her breath.
We should have known that she meant weliterallywouldn’t be able to speak of her lessons.
“What’s changed? Is there someone else?” Faith asks. She doesn’t sound sad. She sounds absolutely furious.
Emmett squares his shoulders. “I’ve decided it shouldn’t be you. I’m sorry if that’s disappointing. I don’t think you’re right for him. All I want is for him to be happy.”
“Bullshit.” She punches him square in the shoulder. “You lied to me.”
“I didn’t lie. I changed my mind.”
“Why would you do this to me? I know we’ve had our disagreements, but at the very least, I thought you respected me.”
“I’m sorry.” Emmett’s voice is tense.
“I’ll tell him,” Faith snarls. “I’ll tell him everything about us, all the ways you were willing to manipulate him.”
“No you won’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because then he’d never pick you.”
Faith punches him in the shoulder once more. He takes it gallantly. And then she storms out.
I poke my head out from my hiding place. Emmett swipes a hand over his exhausted face and sighs. “I’m sorry you had to witness that.”
