Heartbeat

Twenty-Five

Sorry it's a day late, but here are chapters 25 and 26!

Love, Sarah. xx

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JORDAN

Rumors about Emma and Saturday night were making the rounds at Newport High and for the most part they were pretty inaccurate. Some whispers were more persistent than others, especially the ones Abigail Somers was spreading about me and Emma.

I tried to ignore the rumors, but the more I heard, the more I became frustrated with everything. Zoe was a Godsend, something I never thought I’d say, and she beat most of the rumors away with one of her simple cutting remarks. The best retort I’d heard from her today was the one where she told everyone at the court that Abigail was only spreading the rumors because she was jealous that I chose Emma and not Abigail. Naturally, Abigail didn’t like being shown up in front of everyone in our class and as she grabbed her belongings and fled I swear I saw her face almost explode with anger.

There were whispers about Alex, but no-one dared mention the accident again in front of Adam after he punched Caleb Montgomery for joking about Alex’s death. The warning there was clear and Adam didn’t much care for the fact that he had a one match ban from Coach Lane for fighting. I tried to defend Adam, explain why he’d thrown the punch, but Adam just shook his head and told me to drop it. He’d rather take the one match ban than drag the past up again.

Zoe and Holly sat with us at lunch, the latter still not speaking to me. She muttered a few words here and there but nothing that could be considered conversation, not that she really spoke to anyone but Sam. Holly and Zoe were still in the middle of their friendly cold war, a face-off beginning when they sat opposite each other to eat.

I felt awkward hanging out with Emma’s friends when she wasn’t around and it didn’t  get much better as Monday afternoon went on. As the final bell rang, I was glad that I got to escape them, although Emma promised me that things would be easier once she was back in school.

Monday night had been tension filled at the Lane’s house, with Coach and Emma barely speaking. I guessed as soon as I was through the door that something had happened, and I could only assume it was to do with Dr. Lane. I knew that morning that leaving Emma and her mother alone would end in disaster, but I hadn’t known quite what to anticipate.

“We talked,” Emma shrugged once we were alone in her room.

There was more to the story, but I knew better than to force Emma to speak to me. She’d tell me when she was ready.

“Ok,” I pulled her closer to me as was lie on her bed, her head resting against my shoulder. “School sucked today without you there.”

I heard her giggle as she began to dot kisses along my jaw bone, a tickling sensation making me shudder under her. Her lips moved along my cheeks, stopping to whisper ‘I love you’ before they traced their way to my lips.

My head lifted to meet hers, her lips warm and soft on mine as I felt the need radiating from her. She positioned herself so that she straddled me, her hands brushing the shirt up along my chest as she searched my body.