Grabbing Hold (The Motorcycle Kid #1)

52. Family Council

Y'all I wrote this entire chapter in two and a half hours, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Go me!

TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of divorce and past depression. This is by no means an attempt to shame anyone who has been through depression, but simply the perspective of the family members of a depressed individual.

Emma watched Ryder with an increasingly fond smile as he made his way down the porch steps, pulling his jacket hood over his dark curls before setting off for home. She felt a pang of guilt as she followed his shape, feet picking up into a jog as the first drops of an unexpected summer shower made their way to the ground. It was at least a fifteen minute walk back to the Joseph farm, twenty in the rain.

"Ryder!" she yelled in spite of herself. Yes, Emma was very aware that at that moment, her family needed privacy for whatever reason Emmett had sounded so frantic over the phone about – but she couldn't exactly head inside, warm and dry, knowing Ryder had walked her all the way home and would have to dodge the rain on the way back to his own place.

She saw the retreating figure pause, looking back at her, before he raised a thumb up.

"I'm okay!" Ryder yelled with a grin, his voice somewhat muffled by the rain. "I'll text when I get home!"

"You sure?!" Emma replied with an equally loud shout. "Won't you get sick?!"

"You'll take real good care of me if that happens!"

Emma resisted the urge to throw something at him as he waved goodbye, pulling the hood back up and disappearing in the direction of the town centre.

Idiot, she thought, rolling her eyes and stepping inside of the house.

Poppy greeted her immediately, sniffing at the bag that held Emma's extra scones. The dog let out a loud bark as Emma bent to scratch behind her ears.

"Ah, I know, girlie, you want one, don't you?"

The dog nosed at the bag.

"Okay, Poppy, just one, and you can't be messy, you know how Mom hates it when we give you food outside of your bowl."

Giving the foyer a quick glance, Emma pulled one of the scones out of the bag, yelping in surprise as the dog snatched it out of her hand before trotting happily to her dog bed in the washroom.

"You're nothing but a user," muttered Emma, pulling off her shoes before making her way to the kitchen. She gave a heavy sigh as she pulled the apple juice from the fridge, trying to mentally prepare herself for whatever Emmett had said "all five of us need to have a serious conversation" about.

She put the glass down on the counter as Elliott noisily made his way into the kitchen.

"Do you know what this is all about?" he asked.

"No idea," replied Emma. "And hey to you too. I feel like I haven't seen you in days. Where have you been?"

"Out and about. Making the most of the time I have here. Why?"

"And the Asian guy who claims to be a shrink?" asked Emma, eyebrow raised. "Is everything okay?"

"Things are fine."

"Then why'd he-"

Elliott seemed obvious in his discomfort, shuffling uncomfortably as he poured himself some juice.

"Look, long story short, a lot of shit's going on in my head. He's my therapist, I see him twice a week. Any other questions?"

Any other questions Emma had were stifled by the final Daniel sibling's entrance. She groaned, twenty questions on her lips as her eldest brother expertly avoided her gaze.