“Fuck, Emmie.” I laughed, causing excruciating pain to radiate through my entire body. When I turned my head to look at her, the most blinding smile graced her face. That alone made the pain worth it.
While I got myself under control, she shut the door and rounded the front, slipping behind the wheel. She had quite the proud look on her face as she pulled out of her parking spot and headed for the gate.
With the game still going, it didn’t take us long to merge with the steady stream of cars and head in the direction of my apartment building. I relaxed as best as I could in her Bronco, my long legs taking up a lot of room. Emmie’s hands gripped the wheel tighter every time I shifted and grunted.
She turned onto my street but slowed almost immediately. Up ahead, paparazzi crowded the sidewalk, spilling around the side of the building. Great.
“We’re going to my place,” Emmie said, continuing right past. “Is Tucker home?”
“He’s at daycare. Perry told me about the one he uses so I thought I’d try it for today's game,” I explained. The poor boy was going to wonder where I was.
“Once I get you settled, I’ll go and pick him up.”
“No it’s okay, I—” I started to say, but she put a hand up.
“Mateo, I really need you to just shut up and let me help you, okay?” She glanced over at me briefly then back to the road. “Can you do that for me?”
I blinked, a little thrown by how serious she sounded. “Yes. I can behave.”
“Good.”
I was starting to wonder if maybe I had a newfound kink of being told what to do. Because Emmie being so assertive had me shifting in my seat.
The sudden ringing of a phone had me glancing down at the console between us. It was Emmie’s phone…with my mom’s name flashing on the screen.
“Shit.” I winced, shifting in the seat to reach for her phone. “It’s my mom.”
“Answer it.”
As soon as I did, I put it on speakerphone and was met with my mom’s frantic voice.“Emmie! Where is Mateo? Are you with him? Is he hurt? Is he at the hospital?”
I quickly cut in before she gave herself a heart attack. “It’s me.”
At the sound of my voice, a long wail sounded through the phone. Instant guilt hit me. Getting hurt didn’t just affect me, it also affected my mom and my family. She was probably going crazy while waiting to hear from me.
“How are you doing, Mateo?”Steven asked. In the background, I could still hear my mom crying. A sound that hit me like a bullet to the chest.
“I’m okay.” My voice came out hoarse. “Just some bruised ribs, but I’ll be fine.”
“Did you hear that, honey? He’s going to be just fine,”Steven soothed my mom.
“Should we book a flight?”I heard my mom say.
“Mom, I’m okay. You don’t need to fly out here. The doctor just told me to take it easy and ice my ribs. I’ll be fine in a few weeks,” I quickly said. The last thing I wanted was to make her fly all the way out here to check on me. I already felt guilty enough making her worry.
“Are you headed home?”
“Emmie’s driving me to her place.”
My mom’s voice came back on the phone.“Emmie, please take care of my baby boy, okay?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Emmie grip thewheel before answering. “I promise not to let him out of my sight.”
“Good, I want hourly updates, you hear me, Mateo Boone?Hourly.”Mom enunciated the word. I winced, not from the pain, but because I knew she meant it. She would call every hour if I didn’t.
“I will, I promise.” Spotting Emmie’s apartment up ahead, I interrupted my mom. “We’re about to pull up to Emmie’s place. I’ll call you once I’m settled, okay?”
It took until Emmie pulled into her parking spot for my mom to finally hang up. I stared at the phone, hoping my mom didn’t book a flight and come. She meant well, but I couldn’t handle being hurt, Emmie, and my mom all at the same time.
