The Dawn of Autumn

What Friends Are For

Chapter 9:

What Friends Are For

The day before her ultrasound Emily took a ride with Toby to clear her head. She felt guilty for keeping it from him, especially since he'd gone out on a limb to get her a job. She wasn't sure how her boss and coworkers were going to take it when they found out. How was she supposed to ask for time off when the baby was born when she'd just started working there?

They parked their bikes near an apple orchard. Emily had wanted to check it out so she could plan a date with Alison. She wanted to make sure the ride wasn't too rough. Alison wouldn't admit it, but Emily could tell that sometimes she still got scared when they were turning down winding roads or going up and down hills. The potholes didn't help. Emily knew how to avoid them, but Alison always complained when she saw them. She always held on to Emily's waist a little tighter when she was afraid, which didn't bother Emily.

"This was a really good idea. I needed this." Toby unzipped his jacket. Now that they weren't speeding down the road he felt like letting his clothes flow freely in the breeze.

"Yeah." Emily pushed a loose strand of hair behind her right ear. "Me, too."

Her mind had been a swirl of emotions since getting the text from Isaac quipping about offering her money. She'd re-read his message a dozen times, looking at the "I'd pay good money to have you back here" and trying to figure out how to reply to it.

It was ironic, because she would pay good money to keep from going back. Her life had finally gained some traction in Rosewood. She felt secure in herself. She was happy. Texas was a part of her life she was content to leave in the past.

Talking to Isaac again had opened up a can of worms. She was walking a very fine line. It felt like broken glass was on one side and a giant vortex was on the other. She was trying to find the right balance. She was doing her best to be nice, but to keep boundaries in place and keep her distance.

She'd decided to respond to his jokes with more jokes,

There isn't enough money in the world to get me to come back and take that spot away from Courtney. That girl would put a hit out on me. I'll be hiding out amongst the Amish and their work-moose.

After about two hours he'd responded,

I knew they had moose up there! Tell me everything. Is Bullwinkle as nice as he is on TV?

He's a bit of a diva. Will only drink sparkling water with his moose chow.

HA! Ur funny. U a-moose me.

That was terrible, even for you Isaac. I just cringed so hard.

They'd gone back and forth a few more times before Emily told him she had homework. It was a lie, but it was too hard to talk to him while she was keeping such a huge secret from him.

She'd woken up to a text that morning from him,

Have a good day, Em. Don't let the moose give you a hard time on the farm today.

She couldn't stop thinking about the fact that she was lying to him. She was worried he was going to get the wrong idea now that she was talking to him again. She'd told him she was dating someone, but it still felt weird to be texting him. He'd been partially right when he said it was hard to go back to being friends. She knew things would never be the same.

On top of that she was still getting anonymous texts. She assumed it was someone blowing hot air, because it had been happening for over 6 weeks and so far the threats had just been idle. But it was starting to eat away at her.