Her Guardian Angel

6. EMMA

I arrive to school this morning the same time I do every morning. After the incident last night, I was afraid to ask about staying after school. I did anyway and because Dad was sober, he gave me a reasonable answer. I am allowed to stay after school for one hour then I have to be home.

Beau beat me to class. I sit beside him and turn to look at him. “My dad said I can stay after for an hour after school,” I say. As I talk, I’m hoping the concealer I put on this morning covers the bruise up.

“That’s awesome. I want to thank you again for suggesting the babysitting thing. Mom said that I could watch my sister on the weekends. It will be like a sleepover with her,” Beau says. I can’t help but smile.

“Beau that is awesome,” I say giving him a one armed hug. Class begins a little while later. Latin flies by and so does English. I help Beau with Latin during lunch. I sit on the tailgate of his truck. His friends seem to have adopted me into their circle. Gym helps relieve stress as always and then math comes along. Sam, Travis, and Beau do their best to help me understand. After class is over I still struggle but I understand it better than I did. Music class flies by. Beau shows off his guitar skills most of class. Beau and I walk to the library together, I help him finish the Latin homework, and he helps me with math.

The rest of the week goes this same way. On Friday as we leave the library, I feel Beau’s hand on the small of my back. “Good luck with your sister,” I say to him.

“Thanks,” he replies. “I’m sure we will have some fun. Hey are you going to the church picnic tomorrow,” he asks.

“I would like to but I’ve got to clean tomorrow. If I can get most of the cleaning done then I probably will. Why,” I ask.

“Well I was thinking of making it a habit to come to church. I just don’t want to show up not knowing anyone. I mean I know Eddie’s mom now but I think I would like it to be someone closer to my age.”

“Here,” I say. I hand him my cell phone so he can put his number in. He smiles and hands me his phone in return. “I’ll text or call you my decision around one. That way you have an hour’s notice.”

“That sounds good,” he says. I smile and climb in the cab of my truck. Tomorrow may turn out to be the best Saturday of my life.

I turn the country music station on in my truck and sing along to the songs that play. Dad is home when I get there. “Hey Dad,” I say in a chirpy voice. I see the can of beer in his hand and the mood falters only slightly.

“You seem to be in a good mood,” he says. He sounds sober so I’m assuming he’s been here for only a short amount of time.

“It’s just been a good day,” I say. “What would you like for dinner,” I ask. Usually I fix what I want but since I’m in a good mood, I’ll be generous.

“Here,” he says. He hands me two tens. “Order some pizzas.” Today must be let’s give Emma a break day. Ordering pizza means I don’t have to fix dinner and then clean up after. That means I can start cleaning now and probably be done before tomorrow.

I call Domino’s and order two large pizzas. As I wait for the pizzas to arrive, I get to work cleaning the bathroom. It has needed my attention for two weeks but I’ve been extremely busy making sure Dad is happy.

Just as I finish, the deliveryman rings the doorbell. It is one of Ben’s friends. I used to hang out with him when I dated Ben. “Hello Emma,” he says. The look in his eye makes me uncomfortable. Jimmy gives me a toothy grin. I hand him the money for the pizzas and a three-dollar tip. Afterwards I shut the door in his face.