“Emily, get your ass up!” Don bellowed as he stormed into her room not bothering to knock. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Emily coughed. “I can’t go to school today, I’ve been throwing up all night.”
Don made a disgusted face. “Fine, just don’t touch anything, I don’t need you germing up the whole house.” He slammed the door shut and Emily remained in bed until she heard the front door slam a few minutes later. Okay, what now?
You don’t want to sleep in or anything?
I’m already awake, unless of course you do.
Nah, I’m a morning person. Do you remember how to get to my house?
I think so… We’re hanging out at your house?
Sort of. I’ll see you when you get here : )
Emily got up and got ready to leave. She had finally decided on a white T-shirt and a pair of jeans, both of which were several sizes too big, when her phone rang. Oh, and bring a bathing suit.
We’re swimming? She tossed her suit on under her outfit and headed out the door.
Twenty minutes later she pulled up to his house, having only made one wrong turn. Mick must have been waiting because he was outside as soon as she turned her car off. “You made it,” he said. His smile was contagious and Emily couldn’t help but smile back. However, she didn’t know what to say so she waited for him. “You’re probably wondering why you’re here…” He said, sounding as if he were addressing a group of strangers as opposed to one girl.
“You could say that.”
“Well, I don’t want to ruin the surprise but if you’re willing to go for a little walk I promise you won’t be disappointed.”
How could I say no to that? She smiled and nodded, telling him she didn’t mind walking. He accepted her silent answer and headed to the rear of the house. There was a clearing large enough to play, and the rest was surrounded by trees. Her house didn’t really have a yard, and this was so… normal and she loved it. There was a grill on the porch, along with an assortment of outdoor toys, a tire swing tied to a nearby tree, and a hammock set up a few feet away. Mick walked by everything and headed into the woods. “Is this where you bring people to kill them?” Emily joked, remembering the conversation they had had yesterday and hoping he did too.
He laughed. “You think I would bring them to my house? It would be too easy to trace it back to me.”
“Only if they searched your property,” Emily pointed out.
“Hm, good point… I might have to change my spot.” Emily laughed. Mick turned to look at her as he walked. “You should laugh more.” He said it so matter-of-factly but Emily blushed at the comment. Mick stared for a moment, completely serious, and then turned back.
Emily couldn’t get his words out of her head. He was right of course, she should laugh more, she just hadn’t had much reason to in the past. Sure Allison made her laugh, but they didn’t get to hang out nearly as much as they both wanted to so it wasn’t that often.
They hiked in silence for about ten minutes before she could barely make out a familiar sound. “Is that running water?”
“Uh, yeah, there’s a river up here.”
