Waves of Us

06 | shark in the water

[ EMMIE ]

I'll be there in a min

[ EMMIE ]

Bitch.

[ EMMIE ]

:)

The texts came through as I exited the bathroom with my hair wrapped in a towel. My dad sat at the kitchen table with a cup of black coffee in one hand and the Star-Bulletin newspaper in the other.

"I thought you were going out today?" he grunted as I grabbed a pitcher of juice from the fridge.

"Do you think I wash my hair, put on a bra, and shave my legs just for fun?"

"Hell if I know."

Someone knocked at the door and our attention simultaneously shifted.

My dad peeked at me from over the top of the newspaper, his wrinkles enhanced his exasperation. I pushed myself away from the counter and made my way to the front door with his eyes following me.

"You need to stop answering the door without your shirt on."

Ignoring him, I opened the door wearing nothing but a bra and my workout shorts. Emmie told me she'd be stopping by before we met up with Zachariah at our favorite dim sum place right across the street.

I was surprised to find not Emmie waiting for me on the other side of the door but, rather, him.

I stood there, deer in the headlights; Zachariah leaned casually against the door frame, and not once did his eyes wander away from my face.

"Is this always how you answer the door?"

Emmie's head popped out from behind him. She gawked at me wide-eyed once she realized what was happening.

"Shit, Alex, I'm sorry! I should've given you a heads up," she squeaked and pushed me back into the house. Zachariah waited patiently as we scurried to find more appropriate attire.

My room was a tornado; a perfect reflection of the inner workings of my mind. In both regards, Emmie was able to navigate her way through the wreckage—in this case, over to my bed where she found a clean spot to sit. She bounced down onto the mattress and watched as I combed through the clothes in my closet.

It had been two weeks since Jem's graduation party and we'd both been busy with school and work, so we hadn't seen each other since. We didn't often go this long without seeing each other, as she was one of the few people I could see even on those days when I avoided the rest of the world, but sometimes it was inescapable. Life happened. 

"So, there's been some new development."

I eyed her cautiously, raising a brow at her and what I assumed would follow. "With Zach?"

"He asked me to be his girlfriend," she proudly exclaimed.

I wanted to tell her I was happy for her—I truly was—but I also felt like she was moving fast. Emmie was the type that held labels in a certain regard. It wasn't just caring—it was sometimes compulsive. Like she was more in love with the idea of a label than the person who held it. That often meant jumping into something before she was ready to, and, as her best friend, I was tasked with pulling her out of the wreckage every time.