Bottle it Up

Chapter Seven

            “Hazel!”

            I flinched at the voice, but not because it gave you a chill, because I registered the voice. I didn’t know whom the voice belonged to at first, but after a flash of blonde hair I knew who it was.

            “Emma,” I blurted, trying to match the enthusiasm the blonde had. By that point she was beside me, her eyes sparkling as they met mine. “Funny seeing you here-“

            “Not really, this is kind of the main drag of Hendrix,” she admitted, referring to the street we were on. I didn’t need her opinion to know that though. I wasn’t an expert on popular streets, but I could put two and two together (those two being cars and buildings). “If you walked down it for thirty minutes you’d run into everyone and their brother,” she happily stated, pausing for a second before continuing, “except for some people of course, not everyone likes the sunshine and socialization.”

            “I can’t I do,” I muttered, but I doubt Emma heard. The girl was to busy looking at passing cars and people, giving a wave and a smile to almost everyone. I just cast my eyes on the sidewalk and glanced up at her every once in a while. The conversation had run dry before it’d even started, but she didn’t seem to mind.

             Emma was a happy person, a smile here and there, with a twinkling gleam in her eye the rest of the time. These things didn’t always classify someone as happy, but Emma wasn’t hiding a broken self, she was simply complete.

            Which, I guess, made her happy.

            Those sorts of things made her able to accompany my walk down to the grocery store without a word; as if my presence spoke for itself. That would’ve been great if I wasn’t so uncomfortable without words to fill the void. I was all for minimal conversation until it was needed.

            “So, do you know Mason,” I blurted, lifting my eyes and facing Emma and the sun’s glare. “I’m not really sure what his last name is, but he’s Dr. Rhodes son.”

            “I know who Mason is,” she said vaguely, looking up at me.

            Oh Right, it’s a small town.

            “He’s one of the people that doesn’t like sunshine or socialization,” she said simply. I found myself confused as she said this. I knew the guy wasn’t happy like Emma, but he seemed pretty fond of talking to me, and to whoever was on that phone of his.

            “Are you sure?” I asked without thinking. Emma looked over at me and gave a solemn nod.

            “Very.” After a deep breathe through her nose, and looked over at me again. “How do you know Mason anyway?” she asked. She didn’t seem as nosy as the girl I’d met on my first day, the one with the amber eyes, but she seemed more than curious for my liking.

            “He works with me,” I replied, not adding anything about the gazebo. Emma was nice enough, but it was like telling someone your favorite book, and I wasn’t ready to share it with the universe. The gazebo was my hole in wall discovery and Mason had happened upon it, without that I would’ve never told him about it. “I was just curious,” I breathed, trying to read into Emma’s reaction, but failing. I was a good judge of character, but a terrible judge of other people’s opinions of people.

            “There’s not much to be curious about,” she replied, and I just breathed in through my nose, and then out. There was a lot to be curious about with the tone in her voice actually. “He’s just another guy who doesn’t like people.”