After Hours

Chapter 11.

Grayson's POV.

   I wait until Ember's mom leaves the room before I come back out from the closet. Ember quietly sips her soup and I sit back down on her bed. She looks up at me and sees me looking at her and frowns.

  "What?" she asks.

   I shake my head. "Why did you freeze up like that when I called you Em?" I ask.

   She looks down at her soup and doesn't answer for a few minutes. When she does, her voice is quiet. "My dad used to call me that when I was little. My mom does sometimes, but not anymore really." she says.

  "What happened to your dad?" I ask.

  "He left when I was 6. I don't know why he left. I used to blame myself, and still do sometimes," she admits and takes a sip of her soup.

   I don't know how to respond to that so all I say is "Oh." But I guess I might know how she feels. I clear my throat. "My mom died when I was 5. So I know how you feel with loosing someone you love."

   Her brows furrow and she frowns. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

  "It's ok. At least your dad is still alive," I say.

   Ember nods but doesn't respond. We sit in in an awkward silence for a few minutes, before she smiles again.

  "Sorry for the down mood," she apologizes.

  "It's ok," I say. "Sometimes it's ok to be serious sometimes."

   All of the sudden, the door bursts open. Ember lets out a small scream and pushes me off the side of her bed. I hit the floor on my arm hard, but hold in a grunt of pain.

  "Katie!" I hear Ember say. "What are you doing here?"

  "Wanted to visit you and see how you're doing," Katie answers. "Can a best friend not do that?"

  "No, no, you're fine. Glad to see you," Ember responds.

   Katie sits herself on the bed and I peek through the crack at the bottom of the bed. Ember glances towards me and widens her eyes. I nod. I honestly don't know what she meant by that. Maybe she was telling me that I should just stay where I am.

  "Can you keep a secret," Ember says.

  "Sure."

  "I have someone here," Ember says.

   I gasp. I didn't know that that was what she was saying to me! I hear Katie shift her body on the bed.

  "You do?" she asks.

  "Yeah. Grayson, you can come out now. It's ok," Ember says.

   I stand up from the floor and smile sheepishly. "Hey." I say.

   Katie stares at me, her eyes looking me up and down. Her mouth is in the shape of an "O" and Ember leans forward to close it.

  "This is Grayson. Grayson, Katie," Ember says.

  "Does your mom know he's here?" Katie asks, not taking her eyes off me.

  "Nope. That's why I need you to not say anything, ok? Shh," Ember says, putting a finger to her lips.

   Katie nods, but looks doubtful. "Why is he here?" she whispers to Ember.

  "He just wanted to come over and hang out for a little bit," Ember says.

   Katie leans closer to Ember and puts a hand on the side of her mouth and whispers to Ember. "He's kinda hot." She's not very good at whispering.

  "Thanks," I say, holding back a laugh.

   Katie's face turns red, but she laughs with Ember. I sit on the edge of Ember's bed and Katie looks at Ember. "Are you even sick?" she asks.

  "No," Ember laughs. "I'm not."

  "So, I have to keep a secret about two things?" Katie asks. "I can't do that."

   Ember grabs Katie's hands and clasps them between her own. "Please, Katie. My mom would kill me. Please."

  "But why are you lying about being sick?" Katie asks.

  "Because. It's complicated. Please, K," Ember says.

   Katie tugs on her ponytail and furrows her eyebrows. She shifts her small form on the bed and bites her lip. "Ok. But, if your mom asks me anything, I have to tell her."

   Ember sighs with relief. "Thanks."

   I fold my hands. "I haven't heard your mom in a while. Is she even here?" I ask.

   Katie claps her hands. "That's what I needed to tell you. She's not here. She left for the store and said she wouldn't be back for a while," Katie says.

  "Thank God," Ember says, flinging herself from the bed. "I was dying from a heatstroke in there."

   She walks downstairs, and me and Katie follow. I stand in the kitchen while Ember makes a sandwich and sits on the couch. She turns on the TV and eats her lunch.

  "Guys, you have no idea how nasty that soup was," Ember says.

   I laugh. "Can I look around your house? I know that is weird, though," I say.

   Ember laughs. "It's fine."

   I nod. I go to the front of her house and look at the pictures on the small drawer. There are pictures of Ember and her mom. But no pictures of her dad. I go into the front room, which looks like her mom's office. On the wall, I see a picture of Ember and her dad. I pick up the frame and look closer. Ember is young in the picture and her dad doesn't look like the kind of dad would would leave.

   I go back to the family room and sit down on the couch. Katie is in the bathroom, and Ember is still chowing down on her sandwich. I don't say anything, and then my phone rings. I answer it and here my dad's frantic voice on the other end of the line.

  "Grayson!" he says. "You need to get to the hospital now."

  "Why?" I ask, getting a worried look from Ember.

  "It's Veronica."

Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

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It means a ton!

The picture is of Katie.