Lemonade (WLGYL #2)

Chapter 2-Present

The next day, Liam drove both Amara and me to the airport. Amara to go back to her family in Washington and me, Illinois.

Liam took out Amara's luggage from the trunk, giving her a hug as he placed it on the ground. Next, he brought out my purple suitcase, still the one my parents bought me when we went to France when I was twelve.

I hesitated but stepped onto my tippy toes to kiss him, his stubble brushing against my chin. "I'll see you soon," I promised, giving him a small smile.

"I'll miss you," Liam said, his hands light on my waist before falling back at his sides.

I nodded in return and turned around, heading through the airport doors with Amara. I liked Liam, a lot actually, but we hadn't said "I love you" yet. I wasn't sure if I felt that way quite so soon. I'd only said those words, felt those feelings, once before, and I wasn't sure if I was ready to go down that path again.

Liam knew I wanted to take things slow, magnified by the fact that we hadn't slept together yet, a practically foreign concept for college students. But Liam, bless him, understood, unlike other boys that I had tried to move on with at the beginning of freshman year; they brutally rebuffed me when I wouldn't give them what they wanted.

"You ready to see what awaits you at home?" Amara asked, her eyebrows raised.

I rolled my eyes. "I'll survive. If I can manage the holidays, I can manage a weekend."

"Well, good luck, I love you, and I demand that you update me with everything that happens." Amara reached her arms out for a hug and I stepped into them, laughing.

"I love you too," I said as Amara turned around to head towards her security checkpoint. It had always been easy to say those words to her. When I started college, I had a Jessie-shaped hole in my heart, missing my best friend from so far away. And while, of course, nobody could replace Jessie—that was why we had our visits and constant FaceTime dates—Amara still became a great friend. The best case scenario of a freshman year random roommate.

The security line, boarding process, and even the flight itself were entirely uneventful. I spent the whole time in a flood of emotions. Excitement over seeing my parents and Jessie and Caleb again; sadness over having to leave Liam for the weekend, and Amara for the rest of summer; anxiety over seeing Mason again. I hadn't seen him since Christmas, when we could barely speak to each other. When I could tell he was trying to make an effort and I rebuffed him anyway, not wanting to upset Liam somehow, who I had just started dating at that point. Now, though, it was over two years since our breakup. About time for us to act like adults, even though every part of me was screaming out that he broke my heart. But for Caleb, for Jessie, for my parents' friendship with Mr. and Mr. Masterson, I could be the bigger person.

As I stepped through the arrival gates at O'Hare, I immediately saw Jessie's face, her smile bright and infectious. She waved furiously as our eyes met.

I laughed as she barreled into my arms, my suitcase almost tipping over in the process.

"Emma Jeanine Branson, I missed you so much," she said, squeezing me, her once-long brown hair, now cut to just below her shoulders, tickling me in the process. The shorter style complimented her sharp cheekbones well.

"Five months is way too long," I agreed, pulling away.

She gestured to the exit. "Your parents are taking you to dinner, and I was told to be on a strict schedule. So let's go." As I stood still, she added, "Like now."

"Oh, right," I said, Jessie practically pulling me and my suitcase out the door. "I missed your bossiness."

"Well, you'll be seeing plenty more of it this weekend." At my confused expression, she clarified, "I'm in charge of Mason's graduation party."

Mason. My heart betrayed me with a large thump at the sound of his name.

For some reason, hearing Jessie talk about Mason made me react differently to when my boyfriend and roommate had said his name back in California. I didn't know if it was because of our shared childhood or because of everything that had happened in high school when we first got together, but hearing Jessie talk to me about her brother, in person, brought me back. And I didn't like the feeling.

I forced a smile onto my face. "Can't wait," I managed to say through the pain in my chest.

Jessie looked over at me curiously but didn't say anything as she placed my suitcase in her trunk. As if she knew I didn't want to talk about it, not yet. As if she knew I didn't know what to say.

***

I sat across my parents at my favorite Mexican restaurant, a basket of chips and salsa sitting in front of me. As I grabbed a chip casually, I could feel my parents staring, not fully believing that I was actually home.

I raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Mom smiled. "We just missed you, that's all."

"Are we not allowed to miss our daughter?" Dad added jokingly, also grabbing a chip and now fighting me for the salsa.

The corner of my lip twitched up. "I missed you both, too. I'm here now though."

Rolling her eyes, Mom said, "Right, before you go back to school for the entire summer." She propped her head upon her hands, her eyes curious. "Has Amara found a replacement roommate, yet?"

I sighed. Another reminder of one of my stressors. "No, not yet. I'm looking too but so far, it looks like she's going to have to pay rent, even while not living there. I just feel really bad about it all."

Mom nodded, but it was Dad who said, sternly, "Under no circumstances is your boyfriend living with you."

I winced. "Liam's going home for the summer, his parents live close by, remember?" My parents had met Liam over FaceTime before, but since the relationship was still fairly new in the grand scheme of things, I could tell they were hesitant. Although they still loved Mason, they knew he had hurt me, and I wasn't sure if they would fully forgive him for that, let alone let any of my future boyfriends off the hook so easily.

"I just hope you're being safe," Mom said, moving rice around her plate with her fork. "Living alone out there and all."

"In every aspect," Dad added sternly, and I knew he was talking about Liam. I almost spit out my lemonade.

"DAD." I was mortified. "Gross." I wasn't sure if my parents knew about my sex life with Mason, but parents and my sex life weren't things I liked to associate together. They definitely didn't need to know about how things were going with Liam on that front.

Dad shrugged.

In the car on the way home, Mom said, "Are you ready for tomorrow?" I knew she was talking about Mason, because why else would I be worried for tomorrow?

Sighing, I said, "Yeah, I guess. I don't have much of a choice in the matter."

As I was finishing my sentence, my dad pulling into our neighborhood, I noticed a familiar head of brown hair, followed by a familiar, tall body, standing on a very familiar driveway. Mason. Speaking of the devil.

He was taking groceries out of his trunk, still the same Honda he always had. He didn't even look over at our car, making our way closer to my house, but I still ducked lower in my seat, praying he wouldn't see me or sense me. I hadn't even talked to him since that Christmas. I didn't even send him a birthday text in January, something that I regretted not doing.

Dad looked at me through the rearview mirror, amusement and worry both etched on his face. "You're going to have to see him sometime."

As we finally pulled into our garage, and I was safe from any ex-boyfriends, I said, "I know. But not today."