This Place

Three East Lake: Emma

Emma walked into the two story house she shared with Liam and her parents, closing the door loudly to let her brother know she was home.

Dr. Stone, her father, was a prominent doctor at a hospital in the next town over, and often times he just didn't come home at all, choosing instead a spacious apartment a few blocks away from his work.

Emma's mother, on the other hand, was gone for at least two weeks out of every month, and sometimes extra. She was a highly sought after consultant, and when she wasnt on a first class seat flying to her ever-changing destination, the she was immersing herself in various charities and fundraising events.

Emma didn't even remember the last time she'd had a real conversation with either of her parents, and she knew they didn't as well. And although Liam had flaws, and forgot her sometimes, at least he was there.  A solid person, not just a fleeting face on a screen once a week.

It hadn't always been this way.

Footsteps pounding down the spiraled staircase jarred Emma out of her thoughts, and she looked up from the doorway just in time to see Liam leap from the fourth staircase up and land on the expensive travertine tile below.

She glared at him. "You left me!" Emma pointed an accusing finger at him. "I told you specifically to wait, and--"

Liam cut her off with a sheepish smile. "I know, Emma, I'm sorry. It completely slipped my mind, and I forget until about an hour ago. I drove to the school, looking for you, but you'd already gone. I tried calling you, like, twenty times," he explained.

Emma went to reach into her bag for her phone and paled as her hands met air. She looked down with panic, not believing her eyes. Her bag was gone!

Shit. I must have left my bag in James' car. Emma smiled weakly at Liam. "Well, thanks anyway Liam. I'm going to grab a shower real fast, order whatever you want."

"Not so fast. How did you get home?" Emma paused on the first wooden step. "I uh... walked." She replied, hoping she sounded convincing enough. Emma didn't want to tell Liam about James just yet.

He would be a secret for now, maybe until after football season if she was still in touch with him. Liam had enough to worry about already with the losing streak. Colleges would be recruiting, and Liam needed to be at the top of his game right now.

Liam looked at her suspiciously, but let it go. Emma quickly scurried up the stairs and hid in her room, pacing.

Her bag, her bag, her bag. How could she have been so stupid? How would she get it back now? It had all of her school stuff, basic necessities, and to top it all off, her phone. Great.

How was she going to explain this? Everyone knew that the blue and pink flowered small backpack with a brown trim was something she always had. Anywhere she went it was always there, slung casually around a shoulder.

It contained anything Emma may need-- a hairbrush, hair ties, ear buds, gum, granola bars, pads, her personal sketchbook, a notebook, spare change... You name it, it was in her bag as well as a few school books.

And now it was gone. Quit overreacting, Emma. It's just a bag. James knows where you live, he'll drop it off when he gets the chance.

Relieved at the thought, Emma decided to pull out some homework and get it done early, as opposed to her usual morning study times. She looked toward her bed, expecting to see the blue and pink bag thrown on the lavender sheets haphazardly and then remembered.

Damn. Groaning, Emma flopped on her bed in defeat.

***

After taking a quick shower and throwing up her damp blonde hair, Emma set out to find Liam and food.

As she reached the bottom of the steps, an amazing smell wafted through the air towards her. Emma would know that scent anywhere... Pepperoni pizza.

Emma skipped over to their kitchen table, made from a thick oak, and sat in the seat next to her brother after smacking the side of his head playfully. He sputtered, glaring at her between mouthfuls of pizza. She smiled at him sweetly.

Emma knew that he wouldn't get mad at her tonight. He felt bad about ditching her, hence her favorite kind of pizza and not his, and the fact that he hadn't smacked her back or protested. Since Emma was the baby, he hardly ever got mad at her anyway.

She traced the whorls in the table from the tree, admiring it as she often did. This was a solid, expensive set made from real wood with matching chairs. The table had fit five. Now, only two seats were ever filled at any given time.

The bite of pizza Emma had been chewing suddenly seemed stuck in her throat. She swallowed thickly.
Taking a big gulp of water to clear both her throat and her head, Emma got up from the table and started on the dishes.

She made the hot, soapy water; loved the way it seemed to calm her. Then she put all of the dishes in the sunk and started scrubbing.

"Liam!" Emma called. Dishes were a shared chore. She always cleared the table and made the hot water. When they were clean, Liam rinsed them and dried them. Hand washing saved water, money, and time; an added bonus was that they did it together, family time after a long day at school and extracurriculars.

When they finished their respective jobs, Emma hugged Liam. He tried to tase her as he usually did, and she sighed in exasperation. His generosity had obviously ended.

They climbed the stairs together and waved goodnight. As Emma opened her bedroom door Liam called out, "Hey, Em! Don't forget, I'm heading to school real early tomorrow so you'll have to catch the bus."

Ugh. The bus had loads of creeps. "Okay." She smiled at him and kept her thoughts to herself. Emma knew that Liam went early to train hard and improve his skills so that East Lake would quit its losing streak and become champions again like they were last year.

Even if it caused her discomfort Emma wouldn't make her brother stop what he was doing to help her. He did that enough already, and Emma knew how much a football scholarship meant to him. It would prove that he truly was somebody, not just a whiny rich kid who coasted through life with his parent's money.

Emma understood. And she would never try to keep him from that or drag him down.

As she laid her head on her pillow, she realized that as much as she was dreading the next day she was looking forward to it as well.

Hope you liked this chapter! Any feedback is welcome and encouraged :)

And a big shout out to the fifteen people who have read my story so far 😂 Please, don't be afraid to tell me what you think! And it would mean the world to me if you clicked that star button down there at the bottom of your screen.

Happy February 1st, y'all! Hope you have a great month!
2/1/17

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