The Emptiness She Holds

Fish?

Chapter 19: Fish?

"Daniel, don't you dare throw up in my baby!" I yelled, screeching the car to a halt in the parking space.

Daniel nodded weakly, then gagged again. I quickly reached over, unbuckled his seatbelt, and opened his door just in time for him to stumble out and hurl all over the pavement.

I let out a sigh of relief—and then awkwardly patted his back. I don't really know what that does, but hey, people in movies do it, right?

Once he was done emptying his stomach, he stood up and leaned his head against my car door.

"Remind me to never get in a car with you. You... you lunat—"

He didn't finish before he spun around and threw up again.

I seriously felt bad for whoever had to see that.

I got out, closed my car door, and pulled him gently away from the mess. I locked the car and guided him into the Chinese restaurant nearby. He stumbled in, drawing some unwanted stares and whispers.

I ignored the attention and sat Daniel down in a round booth, letting him rest his head on the table.

My phone buzzed. I pulled it out of my back pocket—it was Elias calling.

"Blair, where are you?" His voice was rushed.

"Umm, inside a place called Bok Bok," I said, reading the sign taped to the window.

"Okay, stay put. We're coming." He hung up before I could answer.

Weird, I thought.

I glanced at Daniel, who was taking deep breaths and leaning heavily on the table. Looks like I was stuck waiting until he felt better.

"Do you wanna go home, or just wait here?" I asked, rubbing his back. Not that I knew what I was doing.

"No... just give me five minutes," he sighed.

I nodded, feeling a little guilty for speeding earlier.

Just then, the door swung open and the rest of the Armani brothers filed in, scanning the room until they spotted us.

"Don't you guys think it's a little early for Chinese?" Anthony said, giving me a weird look.

I rolled my eyes and noticed Elias wasn't with them.

"Where's Elias?" I asked Zander.

"Oh, he said he needed to check something out and would meet us later," Zander replied, sounding half-listening.

Rolling my eyes at the boys, I stood up and turned to Anthony.

"Look, I gotta grab some supplies for my car and a backpack for school. Wanna come check out those skateboards you mentioned?"

Anthony nodded and glanced at Zander and Silas. "You guys good staying here with Daniel?"

They both nodded and took their seats.

Anthony and I stepped outside and started hunting for a store that had what I needed.

One hour later

So far, I'd grabbed a window breaker, an alert safety system, a dashboard camera, plus red seat covers and a matching wheel cover with carpets.

Anthony reminded me I could snag a cool backpack at the skate shop, so that's where we headed.

"Do you skate?" he asked, holding the door open for me.

"I used to... haven't in years," I said, scanning the walls covered with customized boards. Memories flooded back like a punch to the gut.

"I remember going to the skate park every weekend with friends," I said, running a finger along some wheels on display.

"Why don't you anymore?" Anthony asked, eyeing a red-and-white checkered longboard.

"...After the accident, I guess. I forgot how. My brain just didn't remember the steps or the confidence." I smiled sadly.

"Accident?" His brow furrowed.

"Yeah. When I was a kid. Left me with half my childhood memories missing—like skating... or even recognizing my own damn mother," I said, the last words dripping with coldness.

Anthony gave me a look full of pity.

"you gonna get that one?" I asked, changing the subject.

He nodded, grabbed it off the shelf, and walked to the cashier.

Just then, a backpack caught my eye—a deep red rose color, dotted with tiny white flowers. It looked roomy.

I picked it up, handed it to the cashier.

"That'll be $150."

I pulled out my card before Anthony could reach for his wallet.

"No, no—I'll pay for the skateboard!" he said, caught off guard.

I waved him off. "It's fine. Two separate transactions would take forever."

The cashier handed me my card back with the receipt.

Anthony smiled and thanked me before grabbing our bags.

Back at the restaurant, I spotted Elias sitting next to Daniel, laughing about something.

As we approached, I noticed a new face at the table.

"Hey guys... oh, hey Erica, I didn't know you were coming," Anthony said, putting down the bags and sitting beside Zander.

"Yeah, I called Elias to pick me up! It's been ages since I've seen all of you," the woman said.

She looked to be in her twenties, with long brown hair and dark hazel eyes. Pretty, but not the kind of pretty that made you do a double take.

She glanced at me, smiled, and waved.

"Hi! I'm Érica! Elias's girlfriend. You must be Blair."

Duh, bitch. Who else would I be?

I rolled my eyes on purpose and sat down, ignoring her.

"Oh, um..." she trailed off, but everyone heard.

"Don't waste your breath, Érica. She's a tough one," Elias said, trying to soften the moment.

"How'd you get here?" Anthony asked.

"Oh, your brother came to pick me up—my car broke down at work. He called a towing company, and hopefully it'll be fixed by next week," she said, laughing nervously.

Ugh, sounds annoying, I thought, sighing loudly and sipping the coffee Elias had ordered for me.

"Blair, do you have something to say?" Elias asked, eyes on me.

I looked around and saw everyone watching.

"Yes," I said. "It smells like fish. I hate fish."

"Oh, they must be making sushi," Érica replied.

"No... it's coming from this table, and I'm not the one wearing a skirt," I said, standing and flashing her a fake smile.

Her face immediately flushed red as I walked out the door.

I heard Zander and Anthony burst out laughing before following me.

She looks... familiar. But then again, so does everyone.

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