Abhor

Chapter 22

"Emma you don't have to come if you don't want to" I said as I grabbed my bag, off the kitchen counter. Emma rolled her eyes at me, zippering up her vest.

"I said I would go, so I am going" she argued, standing in front of me. I sighed in frustration. I didn't want her to feel like she had to come with me. I knew how hard everything has been and this would be a huge step, one I'm not sure she is ready to take.

"Em, you never used to like coming and its a school thing so there is going to be a lot of people there and a lot of socialization and Im just-" I tried to argue. I wanted her to come, I did. I just didn't want her to get back to a bad place. She has been doing so well. It has been about a week since the funeral. Christmas is right around the corner. Everything has been going pretty well. Emma's father emailed her. He said he said they should email about there differences until eventually they were able to live under the same roof again.

"Dylan" Emma interrupted me. She walked forward, taking my hands in hers. She stared into my eyes trying to read my thoughts. She smirked at me. "I want to come, so I will. I am okay" she emphasized the okay part. "I love you, but you are driving me crazy" she smiled. I sighed, knowing I had lost the argument. She looked around the kitchen for a moment.

"What?" I asked as I watched her search the room. "What are you looking for?" I questioned. She looked back at me.

"Your sweatshirt" she laughed. "You don't want me to be cold do you?" she smiled as she found it sitting on one of the chairs, snatching it. She through it over her head, running for the door.

"I bought you a new sweat shirt ya know!" I joked chasing after her, making sure to grab my lacrosse bag. I ran out the door, locking it behind me. She ran to the car, hoping in the passenger seat. I went to open the door, to find it locked. I leaned down looking through the window. It was about 30 degres and I was in shorts. I knocked on the window. Emma was just about beside herself in laughter. "You better open up Emma" I threatened.

"What?" she yelled. "I can't hear you" she said, pointing to her ears. I thought for a moment.

"If you don't open up the car, I will not snuggle tonight" I said, crossing my arms. A look a fake shock came across her face as she brought her hand to her heart, the other one unlocking the car. I laughed, jumping into the drivers seat.

"How dare you threaten that" she spoke, in fake offense. I laughed, pressing my cold hand to her face. She laughed shoving it away. "I hate you so much" she laughed, blasting the heat as I backed out of the drive way. "You know you would be the one suffering if you followed through on the threat" Emma spoke, a smirk on her face.

"I guess you got me there" I laughed, almost at the school. I felt a little nervous. I had been back to school since the funeral and even before the funeral so I was caught up. I had even had time to go to a couple lacrosse practices. It didn't mean I wasn't still nervous for tonights championship game. This would be Emma's first real public outing since the shooting which was now about a month ago. I looked over at Emma. Her face was still, her eyes brows slightly clenched together, her hand squeezing onto mine."Are you nervous?" I asked, the mood turning a little more serious. Emma turned towards me.

"Me nervous? Pfff, not at all" she smiled, rolling her eyes. I could tell she was lying. I looked at her, careful to keep my eyes on the road as well. She sighed, knowing I had caught her lie. "Yeah a little. But things are starting to get better. Things are sort of going back to normal. This will be the last huge step for me. It will be all down hill from here" she explained, more to herself then to me.

"If at any point in the game you want to leave, just come get me okay?" I said, the car coming to a stop in the school parking lot.

"This is your championship game Dylan. No way in hell am I ruining that" she smiled, before stepping out of the car. I turned off the car, following her as she walked towards the field. I felt nervous. The last time I had played a game, I was still dating the tyrant Natalie and Emma and I still "hated" each other. It felt like ages ago. As we walked onto the field, heads turned. I saw a few people offer smiles, others whispered something to the person sitting next to them. Members from my team turned around and all waved to Emma and I. Emma looked at the bleachers awkwardly, not sure what to do. Besides John and I, she didn't really have any other friends. Isabelle had been her best friend and without her, she didn't have any other female friends. Right as I was about to speak, a brown haired girl walked up to Emma.