Emily

Chapter 12

"You made it!" Kayson says after swinging the door open, "For a second there I didn't think you would actually show."

Kayson gives a friendly smile, which makes both Emily and I smile too, "We went on a bit of a shopping spree," I say with a shrug.

"Yeah. You have no idea how long it takes this girl to piece out a single outfit! I never thought we would get out of there," Emily adds, and I roll my eyes.

"I'm sure you enjoyed playing dress up Emily," Kayson takes a step back and holds the door open wider for us to come in, "Everyone else is here already. We were just about to eat before you knocked, so I am glad you guys made it in the time you did. You are going to love Ms. Little's chile! It's amazing, to say the least."

"I've heard a lot about it," I tell him, and Emily giggles a bit. The two of us step into the home, and I look around to see where everyone else was. The entryway led to the living room, which was filled with a cozy light green couch and a small tv that was propped on a table and still turned on.

"Everyone's in the kitchen," the tall guy says to me, noticing that I was looking around. Kayson tells us to follow him and leads us into the kitchen, where we find that Margo, Oakley, and Noah were already at the table. Noah gets out of his seat when he sees Emily and I walk in.

"Good to see you Maggie," Noah tells me.

"Ahem," Emily says, and Noah rolls his eyes.

"Emily, what a wonderful surprise to see you!" Noah says sarcastically, and I hear one of the girl's snort. Emily didn't seem amused, so she took a seat at the table, pulling out the one beside her for me to eat next to her.

"Let me help you," Noah says, coming to my aid and taking my crutches then helping me into my chair.

"Thanks Noah," I say once I get seated, and the cute ginger flashes me a proud grin.

"No problem. I'm always happy to help."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Oakley and Margo whispering across the table. Then Margo realizes that I had noticed them.

Clearing her throat, Margo sits up straighter, looking over at Oakley who nods approvingly, and then turns to me, "So...Noah...Maggie? We were wondering...what's...what's going here?" she asks, gesturing to Noah and me.

"Yeah. You two were all up-close-and-personal at church this morning. I was wondering the same thing," Kayson says, and I could feel a blush coming up.

"Oh...well uh..." Noah says, but couldn't think of what to say. I didn't really know what we were either.

"So, are you guys a thing?" Margo asks, and I flinch.

"N-no! We're just friends. We don't think of each other in that way," I blurt out, but instantly regret it when I see the look on Noah's face. Hurt was the only thing I could see, and it broke my heart to view him appearing like that. I really did not know what to say, but I know if he had said that I would be hurt just as much.

"Yeah. We're just friends, guys. Sorry if we confused you," Noah says, trying to act as if I hadn't just shattered his heart into pieces. He takes his seat at the head of the table, and Kayson takes his seat, across from him and next to me.

"But what about-"

"Let's just eat. I'm starving!" Noah interrupts Emily before she could say anymore, leaving a sad expression on her face.

Feeling guilty, I looked down at the bowl of chili that was placed in front of me while I wasn't looking. I wasn't really in the mood for chili anymore. I wasn't really in the mood to eat in general. But after the shit I had just said, I think it's best I don't say anything else. There was nothing else to do but stuff my mouth with food.