The Family We Choose

Chapter 36

"You see I would believe you if you didn't get all red on me every time I said her name." Carla said as soon as the door was closed. Clearly unaware of the young girl sitting in the kitchen.

She knew it was wrong but she stayed quiet in the kitchen, listening to their conversation. She could hear Carla laughing but misses the deep blush on her fathers face.

"I don't know what you're talking about. She's Chris' teacher." Eddie fights back but she can tell Carla is wearing him down. A little too easily.

"Like that's ever stopped anyone." Emelia can only imagine the look on her dad's face and she doesn't like the feeling that forms in the pit of her stomach.

He was moving on, even if he was fighting it he was in the beginning stages of moving on from her mom. It's been a long time and they weren't even together when she died but it still hurt. It hurt even more when she remembered Buck. And how they seemed so perfect for each other but too dumb to realize.

Suddenly she was overwhelmed and the thought of her dad having a new different girlfriend wasn't a kind thought to her. She needed it to stop and the only way she could do that was popping up from behind the kitchen door with a smile.

A fake smile that didn't meet most of her features but the two adults didn't seem to notice.

"How were Chris' teachers?" She asks, pretending like the rest of their conversation never happened.

"Someone has a crush." Carla says without hesitation and Eddie blushes. Again. And she's not sure how to handle it.

"Is she cute?" She asks and Eddie shakes his head at her like she is absolutely ridiculous.

"Isn't it past your bedtime?" He grabs her shoulders and pushes her in the direction of her bedroom.

"It's not even 8pm." She replies but it's not like she stops him from pushing her to her room.

"Good night." Was all she could hear before she closed her door. Willing her brain to stop moving so fast

–

Emelia can feel the tension filling the room as soon as she opens the door. Chris is sitting on the couch with his arms crossed over his chest and Eddie looking down at his son with a first aid kit in his hands.

"What'd I miss?" she asks, throwing her bag into the closet.

"Nothing." Chris says, a pout still on his face. She can hear Carla rummaging in the kitchen and looks down at her brother.

"Chris, I need to clean you up please." Eddie pleads but Chris just shakes his head.

"What about me? Can I take a shot?" She takes a seat next to him and Eddie places the kit in her lap before heading to the kitchen to help Carla. Grateful to hand over the task. "Lets see the damage."

The little boy shows her the cuts on his elbows and down his legs.

"How did all this happen? You get in a fight with gravel?" she teases, hoping for a smile but was only met with an exaggerated eye roll.

"I fell off a skateboard." he said while she took out some wipes to start cleaning up the blood.

"How far did you get before you fell?" This gets a smile from him and he turns with a grin.

"Almost to the swings." he brags as she places the bandages on his arms. She moves to put his legs in her lap to start cleaning up the scrapes on his shins.

"You plan on going pro?"

"Dad won't let me. He says it's too dangerous." Emelia shakes her head. "He's just nervous because you hurt yourself. When I was 7, I got a bike for Christmas and it had no safety wheels. First time I rode by myself I fell and hurt myself really badly. He wouldn't let me back on the bike without training wheels for months. But once we started practicing more, he took them off again and let me ride to school every morning all by myself."

She finished placing the bandages on his legs before Chris smiled.

"I say we find you some training wheels for skateboarding and you'll be a pro before you know it."

"You think so?" He looks up at her with big eyes and she smiles back at him.

"I do, but first lunch. I'm starving."

—

3 nights later and she's reminded why she disliked the idea of Ana so much. It's late but Buck still makes an effort to come over for a movie and Eddie's eyes soften when Buck uses his own key to enter their house.

And she gives them a quizzical look when they make their way out to the backyard after the first movie. 

"Are you still mad at dad?" She asks Chris once they are out of ear shot.

"No." He says but she's not totally sure she believes him. "I just want to be like the other kids. I want to ride a skateboard."

It breaks her heart to hear him say it. She was always firm in her belief that Chris could do anything. His disability never stopped him from simply being a child in her eyes. Even if she had to beg, she was going to get Chris on that skateboard. Training wheels or not.

"Just give him some time" She wraps her arms around him, pulling him into her chest. "I can't ride a skateboard either, so don't feel too left out."

"That's because you're clumsy." He says without hesitation and she will gladly take that blow to her ego if it means wiping that frown from his face.

"And that's the last time I try to be nice." She says, trapping him in her arms and tickling the crap out of him until he's screaming mercy and she decides she's heard enough of his laughter.

Not wanting to push his luck, he heads back to his bedroom to play legos just as Buck texts Emelia 'SOS backyard' and she genuinely has no idea what to expect when she walks into her backyard.

Let alone Buck and Eddie surrounded by a bunch of metal poles and bungee cords, along with some sort of harness and maybe a skateboard. The yard was too big of a mess for her to actually tell.

"Um, what exactly is the SOS for?" She questions, shutting the door behind her.

"We need your help, our hands are too big and we need someone to screw this in." Buck says in a rushed tone, how he managed to send her a text message with his hand entirety filled with random pieces of metal is way beyond her.

"Okay..." she says wearily. She's still not totally sure what they are doing and part of her doesn't even want to know. Buck points his head in the direction of the screwdriver and then to where the screw needs to be put before returning his attention to Eddie. Holding the two bars together.

"What exactly is this for?" She says once she's done with her task.

"Chris." Eddie says, as if it answers her questions. She raises her eyebrows in response and tilts her head.

"It's a skateboard." Buck says.

"Really?" Taking a step back, Emelia finally sees where all those poles are connecting to.

"Chris wants to ride a skateboard, he's going to ride a skateboard." Buck declares, he too takes a step back and puts his hands on his hips to look over his handy work.

If it wouldn't have made Eddie's heart explode she would have pointed out how much a dad he looked like.

"He's going to flip."

"That's the plan." Eddie smirks, mirroring Buck.

Emelia shook her head at the pair before walking back inside to make sure Chris stayed distracted. The fact that those two were still that oblivious almost scared her. And