Finding Me

Chapter 13

"When I was a little younger than you, I was taken to stay with a woman named Ann. I was in the foster care system, and it was rare for anyone to agree to take me in for good. Ann was different, and I found my final home with her," Emma begins.

"But how does that explain the engagement ring?" I ask impatiently.

She laughs. "I had three guys that were all impatient to get me. They all competed with each other. One was a 'bad boy' from my past. The other two were both extremely kind and wonderful. If I had been smart, I would have gone with one of them."

"But you went with the bad boy like all cheesy books," I finish for her.

"You would be correct there. So, I dated him through the rest of high school and through college. Then, it went downhill. He turned out to be a bigger jerk than I thought, so I broke it off with him. Little did I know that one of the two other boys had been waiting on me. He somehow heard about the breakup, so he connected with me again. We got engaged," she explains.

"So where is he now?"

"He," she pauses, "died in a car accident last year."

"Oh," I say, shocked.

She gives me a cheerful smile and stands up. "That's why I took this job. I got away from the place that constantly reminded me of him, and I got to start a fresh chapter in my life. Though, it wasn't my exact idea of starting over. Still, it keeps me on my toes."

"What happened to the other guy?" I ask her curiously.

She walks to the door. "I'm not exactly sure. Last I heard, he was dating someone, but that was quite awhile ago."

"Oh."

"Yeah, but I hope he's turned his life around."

Shockingly, I smile at her and say to her before she walks out, "Thanks for telling me."

"Well, sometimes keeping in past or certain information will crush you or destroy you. Sometimes we have to let our guard down and allow people in so we can connect with them and know that they have our back. Anyway, I'm sorry for disturbing you. I was just worried, so I'll leave. I'll see you tomorrow morning," she tells me before opening the door and walking out, gently closing the door behind her.

I sigh and lie down on my bed and question whether I should go to sleep or not. Right when I resolve to get some sleep, I hear another knock on my door. I sigh and slowly walk over to my door. I reluctantly open the door and see my uncle standing in the doorway. He gives me one of his looks and comes through the door. He stands in the middle of the room and stares at me. I just stare back. We continue the very weird stare down for longer than I would like.

"What were you thinking?" he asks me, breaking the silent stare down competition.

"What are you talking about?"

He rolls his eyes at me and rubs his face with his hands as though he's stressed. "You didn't tell Nick where you were going and left us all in a panic. For someone who's so concerned about being treated like a seventeen year old, you sure aren't acting like it."

I raise my eyebrow. "Last time I checked, Nick wasn't my babysitter. And seriously? How many places could I go in this tiny town? There's absolutely no way something could happen to me."

"Maya, we have the ocean here. There was the possibility that you drowned!" he exclaims.

"You seriously don't think I can swim? What am I, three?" I demand, my temper rising.