Don't Save My Life

Chapter 30

Willa

The shrill melody of the doorbell woke me from my party induced coma. I kept my eyes closed though the rising sun burned orange behind my eyelids. Willing myself to blot out the screeching seagulls, I let my mind fall back into the dream I'd been having.

     When I awoke again, my clock read eleven thirty. I peeled myself from bed, giving the clock a nod of approval. This was a much more reasonable time to wake up while suffering from jet lag. Five minutes had passed of me lying in bed and staring at the ceiling. The pastels of my bedroom were beautiful and with the sound of the distant waves crashing, it was a shock that I didn't fall right back to sleep. But eventually I made my way into the bathroom and took care of myself for the day. 

     When I came back into my bedroom I noticed something I hadn't seen before among the graphic pillows and wicker desk. A large basket sat on top of an enveloped card. It would be an understatement to say I strolled over to my desk because I quite literally stampeded. I'd tried so hard to give Emmett the cold shoulder the night before and for a moment I actually thought I'd really gotten him out of my system. I was wrong. The poison that had been cleansed from me while I was away still remained, and all it took was a single dance with him for it to fill my dreams with images of the two of us together.

That wasn't to say I needed him. I didn't. My whole mistake before was thinking I needed him to make life worth living. Still, that didn't mean I didn't want to be with him desperately. I couldn’t explain the feeling I got when I thought of him. I was way past crushing on Emmett Walters.

My fingers grasped around the woven handle of the basket. I used my free hand to stuff the card into the top of my floor length sundress, so it stuck out like someone had used my bra as a mailbox.

     I crept past the hallway bathroom where I could hear mom getting Theo cleaned up. I needed to be alone for a while and get my thoughts straight, as long as mom knew I was awake; there'd be non-stop bonding time. 

     I walked a few miles down on the beach until I'd gotten to the unused lifeguard tower that sat between the Crescent and our new house. Adjusting my dress, I crossed my legs out in front of me, placing the basket in my lap. I slowly took out piece by piece.

     There was a jar of peanut butter and a bag of chocolate chip cookies. Stapled to the bag was a Post-It note in Emmett's wiggly handwriting that read, "Try it."

     I stifled a laugh but opened the container anyway drawing back in a grimace when I sniffed the peanut butter. The zip block bag came open with a crisp snap and I grabbed one of the cookies in my fingertips. I pulled a plastic knife. After spreading a little bit, I sampled it with the tips of my teeth chewing the minuscule amount I'd taken.

It wasn't bad. 

     The next thing I pulled out was a gold trimmed picture frame. In it was a photo that Emmett had obviously taken while I was asleep in his car. My head was leaned against the window and Emmett had leaned in, using his free hand to snap the picture as he stuck his tongue out at me. Rolling my eyes, I placed the frame beside me and continued to go through the basket.

     I came out with a school yearbook. The first and last pages were smothered in signatures and small notes written to me for the end of the year. I didn't know how Emmett had ever gotten so many people to leave me these personal messages, half the time I thought I was invisible. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that the head populars, Felicia, Lyle, Payton, and even Pat had left long messages inside first.

     There was a newspaper article from December where the front cover was a picture of the winter ball that had happened at the crescent. Displayed on the front page was a picture of Daisy and Bennett up on stage speaking into the microphone in front of what looked like every family in town. Emmett had highlighted parts of the article.