Song of the chapter: 22 by Taylor Swift
Emily's POV
"Thanks for meeting me," I said as I sat down at the table in the coffee shop.
"No problem," Cassidy smiled. "What's up?"
"I need a favor."
"Oh jeez," she joked. "This sounds scary."
"It's nothing major," I assured her. "I just need you to run to the store to grab me a few things."
She eyed me over her coffee mug. "What kind of things are we talking here? Something that's going to put me in jail?"
"God no!" I exclaimed. "Come on, Cassidy, you know me."
"I'm kidding," she laughed. "Sorta."
"I need a hammer, nails, hot pink paint, and wood. Like, the planks of it." I slapped a wad of money into her palm.
"Um, okay...can I ask what the hell you're planning on doing? Especially without Austin in town to supervise or do at least something to prevent you from killing yourself?"
"I'm not that hopeless!" I said. "Besides, he knows. I told him on the phone last night."
"Really?"
"No. He doesn't need to know."
She sighed. "Alright, Emily, I'll do it."
"Thanks, Cassidy, I owe you," I said with relief. "You can just drop them off at my house. I've got to go pick Lucy up from Quinn's."
We stood up and she grabbed her coat. "How are you holding up, by the way? With Austin being gone, and all."
"I'm coping," I admitted. "I've definitely been better though. I just miss him, that's all."
It had been two weeks since Austin had left for tour and even though I knew he was having the time of his life and we talked on the phone every day, I still missed him like crazy. But who was I to stand in the way of something he loved doing?
"Just think, you're halfway there," Cassidy smiled. "It'll be okay, just hang in there. I know how weird it must feel not being there."
"It feels extremely weird. But I have a kid now, so things need to change."
She nodded. "I understand what you mean. But hey, if you ever need anything, you know you can call me. I'm always here to help."
I hugged her. "Thanks, Cassidy. I missed seeing you around."
She grinned. "Diddo, girl. I'll see you in a bit at your place."
"Great," I said. We parted ways and I hopped into my car, heading to Quinn's. When I got there, Jace was playing with Lucy in the front yard.
"Hey," he greeted when I got out.
"Hey! I didn't expect to see you here," I said. I wrapped my scarf tighter around me. It was cooling off now, with it being the first week of December.
"Yeah, I've been home for a few hours. Tracey's off her break from school so I came back to Miami," he explained. Tracey was Jace's girlfriend, who lived in Orlando.
"Hi mommy!" Lucy chirped as she waddled over, grabbing my leg for balance.
"Hey, sweetie," I smiled, stroking her hair. "Did you have fun today with Sheridan?"
"Yeah!"
"That's good," I grinned before turning to Jace. "Where is everyone?"
"Leah's at work, mom and dad are at work as well, and Quinn is-"
"Right here," came a clipped voice from the side of the house. We both turned to see Quinn walking around the side of the house with Sheridan under one arm, covered in mud. Quinn was wearing old sweat pants with an oversized black sweater, her bleached hair thrown up in a long ponytail on top of her head.
"What happened?" I exclaimed.
"Sheridan found a mud puddle in the back of the yard," Quinn grumbled. "I left Jace to watch Lucy while I dug her out."
"So fun, Auntie Emily!" Sheridan exclaimed from under her mom's arm. Her blonde hair was caked in mud. "It was so much chocolate in one place!"
I stifled a laugh. "At least she had fun."
"I won't be having fun while I'm bathing her," Quinn said.
"Come on, sis, live a little," Jace told his younger sister.
"Do you want to give her a bath and wash her clothes when we get inside?" She challenged. "You can be my guest."
"Nah, I'm good."
"That's what I thought." Quinn sighed and ran a hand over her face. "Come on, Sheridan; let's go get you cleaned up."
"But then the chocolate will be all gone," Sheridan frowned.
"It's not chocolate, honey."
"Yes, it is!"
"Well, then, too bad for the chocolate," Quinn snapped. "I'll see you later, Emily," she added to me before heading inside.
"She's been having a rough day," Jace said. "At least that's what Leah told me when she was home on her lunch break."
"We all get those days, unfortunately," I said, scooping my kid up. "Thanks for watching Lucy."
"No problem. How's Austin's tour so far?"
"From the sounds of our phone calls, he's having a blast," I said. "Not that I'm surprised. He lives, eats, and breathes music."
Jace grinned. "I'm not surprised either. Let him know I say hey. We'll get to one of his shows."
"I will," I promised. "See you later."
When I got Lucy strapped into my car, I drove home. Pancakes was thrilled to see us since I hadn't been home for most of the day, and she immediately lay down beside Lucy's play pen, where I set Lucy in for her to play while I waited for Cassidy.
About an hour later, there was a knock at the door and I went to open it. Cassidy was standing on the step. "I've got your stuff," she said.
"Awesome," I told her. "I'll just go get Lucy and then I'll come help you haul it to the backyard."