“I don’t think there’s any worth in trying again,” my dad sighs over breakfast.
At six in the morning when he got up to do farm work, he realized that I hadn’t gone to bed and forced me to inside. I slept for a few hours, but not for long when my nightmares got the best of me. Now, it being close the noon, we sit at the kitchen table because I had slept in and immediately went outside to try and get Patch to eat again. We should be eating lunch, but it’s my fault my dad’s eating breakfast twice.
“Don’t say that,” I whisper, holding back exhausted tears.
“River,” he murmurs, placing his hand on my shoulder. “You have to think of what’s best for you and the baby. Besides, it’s not working so there’s no use straining you.”
I shake my head, scared that if I respond, I might burst into tears. Before my dad can apologize or say more, the back door is thrown open beside me.
“Emery?” My dad says shocked as Emery stumbles into the kitchen. He doesn’t look drunk, but instead, extremely hung-over. So hung-over in fact, that his aviator sunglasses can’t hide the fact that the light is killing him even through the lenses. “Are you just getting in now?”
“Uh, yeah.” He quickly kicks off his shoes and heads towards the stove. Plucking a piece of bacon from the frying pan, he plops it in his mouth and instantly regrets it. Before he can even spit out the food, he’s sprinting upstairs towards the bathroom to most likely throw up.
“Serves him right,” I mutter under my breath. My dad gives me a questioning look but I pretend that I didn’t see it and continue eating.
“So where were you last night, Emery?” My dad asks. I look up from my plate as Emery strolls into the kitchen, his sunglasses misses. Even this far away, I can see his tired eyes are red-rimmed and exhausted.
“I went to a friend’s,” he mumbles tiredly, opening the fridge. He pulls out a bottle of water and leans against the counter, watching me closely as I avoid his gaze.
Abruptly, I rise to my feet and leave my plate sitting half eaten on the table. I’m almost to the back door when my dad clears his throat.
“River, where are you going?”
Staring at the floor as I slip on my shoes, I mumble my response. “To try and get Patch to eat.”
My dad sighs and shakes his head. “Did you not hear what I was saying earlier?” He gives me a stern look however I wrap my hand around the doorknob regardless. “River, you need to rest for you and the baby.”
I open my mouth to respond but nothing comes out. Instead of replying, I flinch backwards, as if someone had hit me.
“Ouch!” I snap, grabbing my stomach.
“River?” In an instant, Emery is at my side, holding me around the waist in case I fall. Despite last night, he gently rubs my back, trying to comfort me. I flinch again and my dad runs over nervously. “What’s wrong?”
“The baby,” I say breathlessly, more from surprise rather than actual pain. “It’s kicking.” My dad looks like he’s ready to call an ambulance so I assure him I’m fine. Emery leads me over to a chair where I sit and gently take his hand in my own. “Want to feel?”
He nods and I place his hand right where a small, jabbing feeling is coming from inside my stomach. I hold my hand over his for a few moments and then he feels it. As soon as it happens, his mouth falls open and his face lights up with happiness.
“I’m going to go get your mother!” My dad calls, still uneasy about all this. He heads out the back door and lightly jogs to get my mom from the barn.
“Does it hurt?” Emery asks quietly, looking worried.
I shake my head no. “It just freaked me out because I didn’t know what was going on.”
The baby kicks again and Emery grins. “This is so cool.” Slowly, he leans down and places his lips softly on my stomach, as if he’s kissing the baby. “We’re going to be great parents.”
Even though he says the words with sincerity, I highly doubt them.
Four Hours Later:
After all the hype of Emery and I’s baby kicking, everyone went about doing their own things. My parents had to go into Springdale to get groceries and other things, while Emery went up to my room to sleep off his hangover.
My dad had given him strict orders to make sure I would stay in the house and rest while they were gone, so after Emery made me promise not to go out, he went to go sleep. However, he didn’t know I was crossing my fingers.
I’ve been waiting almost an hour, just to be safe until I venture outside. Silently, I open the front door and make sure to shut it without a sound behind me. I press my ear to the door to listen, and when I hear no sound of Emery coming down stairs, I start to head off the porch. I’ve barely made it to the bottom step when I stop in my tracks.
“What are you doing here?” I snap, folding my arms across my chest. Daniel stands leaning against his car with his hands shoved in his pockets. A playful, but threatening smile sits on his lips as he pushes himself off his car.
“Why so angry, River?” He laughs lightly, taking a step towards me. “Not happy to see me?”
“Don’t come any closer or I’ll call Emery.” I narrow my eyes at him, trying to figure out why he’s here and what he’s up to.
“Oh, I don’t think you’ll want his help after you see what he’s been up to.” He grins, showing his perfectly white teeth. He watches me, waiting to see some kind of reaction to satisfy him.
“What are you talking about?” As much as I know he’s probably tricking me into something, I can’t help but let my curiosity get the best of me.
“Well, I was at a club last night in Redwood Valley.” He laughs when he sees the alarm and recognition on my face. “Aura, I think it was called.” My eyes grow wide and Daniel takes a step closer to me and I don’t move away. “I guess you’ve been there before, considering the look on your face?”
I slowly nod and then blink a few times, trying to stop myself from putting ends together when I don’t have the facts. “Get to the point already, Daniel.”
“I told you to call me Danny, remember?” He winks as he crosses the space between us until we’re only a few feet away from each other.
“Get to the point already, Danny,” I snap through clenched teeth.
“Impatient, are we?” I shoot him a look and he shakes his head. “Well, you see, when I was there, I saw Emery.”
I can’t tell whether I should believe him or not. As far as I know, Emery hasn’t been to a club since the time he took Mary and I. However, when he’s been disappearing lately, it is possible he would go there. But he told my dad he went to a friend’s house, so who do I believe?
“He wasn’t the only one I saw,” Daniel continues, smirking. “I also saw Alana. With Emery.”
I feel my heart start to ache as a small dose of adrenaline creeps through my veins like every time I get upset or worked up. I already knew he was going to see Alana, and it made me extremely upset. However my instincts are telling me to believe Daniel and listen to what he’s saying, whether I hate him or not.
“Afterwards, Alana took a few people back to her house to hangout, including me.” He gives me a smile, as if he’s supposed to be special because he got invited. “Let’s just say that Emery’s behavior was not very boyfriend-like.”
I give Daniel my best poker face as he pulls out his cell phone and starts scrolling through it. A moment later, he holds his phone out to me and I don’t reach for it.
“Just look, River.”
Slowly, I take his phone from him look down at the screen, hardly being able to see what’s on it from the sun shining down on us. I cup my hand around the top, blocking the light when I see what the picture is of.
“When you’re done, click to the right. There’s a few more.”
Silently tears fall down my cheeks as I choke on the air in my lungs, trying not to let Daniel see me become a complete mess in front of him.
The first picture I stare at is Alana with her arm around Emery, laughing as she leans into him, acting like his girlfriend. The next is them standing in a corner, pressed tightly together. The third is of them kissing, still in the same position as the picture before. The last few are action shots of them going into Alana’s bedroom, and Emery shutting the door.