Summerville: Book 3 of the Saving Summers Series

Chapter 8

With the passing days, the students of Summerville High prepared for Extracurricular Week. Emma was not part of any club but she spent some of her after schools with Jay who was part of the theater prop crew. Emma was not sure if Jay wanted her around because he barely spoke to her half of the times. The last thing they did together was talk to Principal Jones to allow Connor back. A decision would be made after extracurricular week. Josslyn was still not pleased with the idea but she stopped being mad at Emma.

"I still cannot believe you are into acting." Emma said to Ethan. They were backstage and she was helping him with his lines.

He chuckled. "It has been my dream for a while."

"Did you also act at your old school?" Emma asked paging through the script. Silence from Ethan made her look up at him. He had a crease between his brows and a slight frown.
Emma's eyes slightly widened when she realized what she asked. She knew about Ethan's troubled past through Maxine, and it was not a pretty past.

"Uhm... not really. Though it was something I wanted to do, it did not really align with the group of friends that I had." Ethan explained.

"Oh." Emma simply said. She was not sure what to say next but she wanted to avoid a difficult conversation.

"Like Macbeth and many others written by Shakespeare, I am what you would consider a tragic hero. An admired relatable character with great traits that the audience usually loves but he has a tragic flaw. One that brings about his downfall." Ethan stated. He looked Emma deep in the eyes. "Mine was addiction."

Emma pressed her lips into a thin line. This was information she already knew but she was going to act like this was her first time hearing it.
"What do you mean?" She asked.

"This is something I only told Jay but.. before I transferred here, I was in rehab. I was hooked on drugs for the latter half of my senior year. Uhm... one of my friends died from an overdose." Ethan said as he rubbed his eyes.

"Oh My Gosh Ethan, I'm so sorry." Emma expressed. Seeing the pained expression on his face made her feel sorry for him.

"Thanks." He said with a small smile. "I honestly thought I wouldn't make it. I had no one. Everyone turned their backs on me."

"Even your parents?" Emma asked. She could not imagine parents turning their backs on their children during such a time.

Ethan nodded. "I don't blame them. I took the fall for my friend's death. I told everyone I was the one who got the drugs that killed him even though it wasn't true. I figured it would be best for everyone to be mad at the guy that was alive rather than the one who died."

Emma remained silent. The story she heard was that Ethan was definitely at fault but that was not true.
She nodded slowly as she understood Ethan. Lying to protect someone was a card she was familiar with.
"You seem to be doing fine now." She said with a small smile.

Ethan also smiled. "Yeah... my parents came around to forgiving me and then we moved here and it's not bad at all."

"Light at the end of the tunnel." Emma pointed out. "You became friends with one of the best people I know. I should be mad that you stole my best friend but I see he is in good hands."

Ethan chuckled. " I guess I was meant to save him. That was my redemption."

Emma's eyebrows came together.
"Save him? What do you mean?" She asked with concern. What did Ethan mean by that?

He scratched the back of his head.
"Nothing. I just meant all this was happening to him and he needed some support."

Emma mumbled a "mhm" as she was not sure if she was satisfied with Ethan's answer, but he had no reason to lie to her. They both cared about Jay and if something happened, she would know.