Whirlwind

Nine

Off to the next, straight out the gate
You think I'm down but just you wait
I'll dust off this heart, put on a show
This ain't my last rodeo
—————

The next morning, I woke up to sunshine streaming through the window and I sleepily looked around, confused about where I was until the night before came flooding back to me— my brother betrayed me and I had no idea how to move forward.

Rowdiness from the first floor turned my attention towards the door and I sighed, knowing that everyone likely heard what had happened that led to me showing up at midnight.

I pulled my jeans on from the night before and got into Tyler's closet, putting on an old tshirt before using my hairtie to tie the front of it. As I began walking towards the door, the handle began to jiggle before Tyler slowly and quietly came in.

"Sorry, I just needed to grab a hat," Tyler muttered before approaching me. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay, thank you."

"Are you ready to talk about it?" Tyler questioned. "Because we're leaving in about twenty minutes. Fridge is full, netflix is on the tv or you could come with us, which I would prefer."

"You'd let me come with you guys?"

"Of course I would, Ems," Tyler chuckled, grabbing an old baseball cap and putting it on backwards.

"C'mon, T! There are supposed to be some great storms down by OKC," Boone yelled for Tyler.

"Yeah, that's not being quiet like I asked you," Tyler loudly called back, glancing at me with a smile. "So what do you think, Ems?"

"What are we waiting for?"

Tyler and I laughed softly before I grabbed my shoes, slipping them on before following Tyler down the stairs where everyone had been going in and out of the house to prepare to leave.

"Morning, little miss Emily," Boone called to me as he walked over, hooking an arm around my neck as we walked and handing me freshly brewed coffee with the other. "You comin' with us today?"

"For old times sake, I guess so," I shrugged with a smile.

"You remember?"

"I'm trying to."

"You will," Boone encouraged me. "Let's get goin', Ems."

I couldn't help but smile as I watched Boone help Tyler get everything loaded into the truck, including reloading the rockets I had fired off two days earlier.

"Want me to grab you some ice?"

I turned to see the woman that Tyler told me was named Lily and shook my head.

"I'm good, thanks! It isn't hurting much," I replied with a small shrug.

"James bringing him out here seems a little crazy to me," she countered. "If Tyler were there, none of this would've happened."

"I wanted him to leave before anyone could point blame," I admitted.

Talking to Lily seemed natural, as if we had done this hundreds of times before, and I was grateful for that.

"Well, if I know anything about Tyler, it's that he's annoyingly loyal. He would've kicked that guys ass too."

"And maybe my brothers, if I was lucky enough," I teased with a small smile. "Anything I need to know about today?"

"Don't hold back. Use your instincts like you always have."

I nodded, offering a gracious smile, before turning to look at Tyler's truck.

"Oh, and Ems?" Lily questioned.

"Hmm?"

"Put that stupid harness on, okay?"

"Without a doubt. I've seen how he drives," I teased. "Thank you."

I walked to the truck, opening the back drivers side door and climbing up before Tyler spotted me.

"What do you think you're doing?" Tyler questioned and I tilted my head slightly in confusion.

"I thought you said you wanted me to come?"

"I do. That's not what I meant."

I turned my body so my legs were dangling out of the truck and Tyler stood right in front of me, in his open hand were his keys that he handed to me.

"You want me to drive?" I questioned, looking from the keys back up to Tyler.

"Wouldn't be a proper chase without you in the drivers seat, would it?" He chuckled with a smirk.

"You trust me enough to drive your truck?" I asked, still shocked that he was going to let me drive, especially after my own brother constantly refused to let me.

"I'd trust you with my life," Tyler replied before quickly pressing his lips to mine. "So get movin'."

I gleefully grabbed Tyler's keys and moved from the back seat to the front where Boone had already commandeered the passengers seat.

"Oh man, get ready for some record numbers, T! Emily episodes always got the best numbers," Boone hollered.

I smiled to myself as I started Tyler's truck up and glanced at him in the rear view mirror.

"You sure about this?" I asked as I put it into drive.

"Just go," he laughed. "Miller's Landing to gas up then we're out of here."

I made the short drive from my dream house to Miller's Landing where my brother and the crew were inside getting some snacks for their trip, likely the same one we were about to make.

Inside, Tyler, Boone, and I went straight for the snacks while Lily, Dexter, and Dani went straight to the drinks. Upon seeing me, my brother made his way to where I had been but Tyler seemed to cut him off, protecting me from my own brother.

"Emmy, let's talk please."

I ignored him.

"Emily, please," my brother pled.

I finally turned towards him and he saw the bruise on my face from where Brady had hit me the night before, which I could tell immediately broke his heart.

"I don't want to speak to you. You ruined everything and I don't want to talk to you for a while, James. I want my camera and my gear from your truck and then I'd like to be left alone, okay?"

I stepped past James and left the gas station to go to James' truck to grab my things from his truck, where Diana had approached me.

"Ems, I had no idea James was going to do that or else I would've told you. You know that, right?" She questioned and I grabbed my bag with all of my things before turning to her.

"My god, Ems. Your face."

"Yeah, a little going away present from Brady, courtesy of James Harding," I muttered. "I'm going with Tyler for the next couple of days so I can think."

"Not that I blame you but are you sure that's the best idea? Going with Tyler, I mean."

"He's the only one who's been honest with me since I came home. And honestly, I may not remember what happened before, but I've quickly come to realize that I wouldn't mind a future with him if that's what it came down to."

"That's fast, don't you think?"

"More of a continuation, at least for him. Maybe I needed a clean slate," I joked but Diana didn't think it was funny.

"Just be careful, Emily."

Diana frowned as I walked away from James' truck, and threw all of my gear into Tyler's before climbing back into the drivers seat.

"Ems," Diana whispered as she popped up next to Tyler's truck. "Most people only ever get one shot with the love of their life. Make sure your second chance counts."

I was quickly joined by the rest of Tyler's team before taking off towards Oklahoma City where the doppler was lighting up like the Fourth of July, sure to give us one hell of a day.