𝙏𝙀𝙈𝙋𝙏𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 • 𝙇𝙍𝙃

28. i slept with luke

"um, what are you doing here?" emma coughed and brushed luke's hand off of her face. luke stood up and rung out any remaining water from his damp clothes before offering emma a hand.

she ignored it, and got up from the ground on her own. emma already felt slightly awkward that her brother had just seen her and luke's interaction.

"mom called — said you weren't coming to the rehearsal dinner or the house, so i wanted to see you before all of the madness begins tomorrow" ethan took a few short strides and pulled his sister into a hug. unlike their mother, emma was eager to see ethan.

"you've grown up" emma mumbled into his chest.

ethan chucked. "yeah, that's what happens when you don't come home for years"

emma pulled away and narrowed her eyes. "don't start, i've already heard enough from mom"

"relax – i'm just kidding. you know i've always supported your decision to leave" ethan smiled at her before brushing passed her. he extended his hand out to luke who was stood there awkwardly.

"you must be emma's boyfriend — sorry if i interrupted a moment or something"

luke cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck.

emma's eyes went wide and she quickly walked in front of ethan, forcing him to withdraw his hand. "uh, he's not-"

"we aren't together" luke cut her off and shot her a glance. emma bit down on her lip and noticed ethan's puzzled expression.

"this is luke, maya's boyfriend"  emma explained.

ethan slowly nodded, though he was still confused. he had just seen this boy playing with emma's hair and he had his hand on her face — something didn't add up. they stared at each other a little too long to be just friends, but he decided to not question it.

"if you guys wanted to catch up i can leave and-"

"no it's cool, it would be great to get to know you — maya has always been like a sister to me" ethan patted luke on the back and the trio sat at a random table by the pool.

ethan figured he should get to know luke. he had a feeling the boy would be sticking around for a while, and it's not because of maya.

—

the wedding was nothing short of elegant. it was small, with only about one hundred people. the weather was beautiful — there wasn't a cloud in the sky. ethan's now wife, anna, looked stunning in a mermaid style dress.

the wedding lasted for forty five minutes, and everybody was headed into the venue for the reception. the four friends were all having an amazing time, aside from emma, who's fake smile had been painted onto her face since she woke up this morning. don't get her wrong, she was so happy for her brother. but being home was hard. from avoiding her mother like the plague to having forced conversations with family members she didn't want to talk to, emma was struggling.

emma also could have sworn that she saw a car that looked exactly like her father's driving by, which explains why she is currently sitting inside of a random closet with her knees hugged tightly against her chest. only a few tears managed to slip out, emma was trying to choke them back in fear of ruining her makeup.

all of the signs were there — pounding heart rate, shaking, chills, lightheadedness and a feeling of detachment. emma was having a panic attack, something she hasn't experienced since her last visit home.