The Player's Weakness | ongoing

TPW// chapter fifteen

EM LIVED QUITE CLOSE TO ME, but a little further away, so we passed the road parallel to mine on our journey. Within a few minutes, we were stopped outside of her house gates. Her mum buzzed them open and Blake's car easily drove to the front door. I pretty much sprinted to her door, knocking calmer than I was.

"Hey, hun," her mum opened the door and greeted me. Her gaze travelled to the guy leant against his car. She raised an eyebrow at me. I couldn't even be bothered to say anything in defence.

I felt her look towards the cut on my lip, but I told her it was nothing. I knew she'd want to go ham with disinfectant and all that, so I thought it best to play it down.

"You be ok out here?" He barely nodded before I closed the door behind me and hurried up to Em's room. It was exactly as it has been since we were 8, except recent pictures were also added to her collection on the wall. I peered at a younger Em with her arm slung over an equally younger me as we laughed at the camera.

"How you feeling?" I moved closer as I noticed her entire bed covered with scrunched up tissues. She was red in the face as I touched her forehead. "Em, you're burning up." She swatted my hand, claiming to be fine. I looked at her like a mother knowing her child is lying. She huffed.

"Jay came to visit me," she said as she rearranged her pillows so she was now in a sitting position. Every time she spoke of him, her face would light up even the slightest bit. "Brought me soup."

"That was sweet of him," I was holding it in.

"Come out with it," she could read me so well. She lay her head back onto the pillow, as if bracing herself.

"Seriously, Blake freaking Colton was my 'escort,'" I ranted. She looked highly amused as I spoke of the day and how I was stuck with him for History.

We chatted for about 10 minutes, her trying to squeeze every last detail of Blake out of me as I told her over and over that I despised him. It consisted of her disbelieving looks and my futile attempts at try to convey my hatred for the boy.

"Oh I forgot to say," I remembered as I picked up the new packet of tissues from my bag and tossed them to Em. She blew her nose, yet still looked intrigued. "I was in a fight today... kinda."

Em's eyes widened in surprise, before her whole face morphed into horror. "I swear to god, Ash. I leave you for one day and you get in a fight!" I smiled, bashfully.

"Well, it's not like I instigated it."

"Ooooh who was it between?" She'd sat fully upright on her bed with her legs crossed.

I readied myself for the extensive story, "right, so you remember I told you about what I overheard about Stacy and Ryan?" She nodded, so I continued, "well, Rebecca tried to have it out with Stacy in the hall where my first class was. Stacy tried to explain to her that it wasn't true etcetera but Rebecca was having none of it." So from there, I explained how they began fighting and my rather brave act of stepping in between them.

Of course, Em told me I was utterly stupid but was nevertheless proud.

I cautiously told her of how Blake then protected me. She would not shut up about how she was going to plan our wedding and be my maid of honour. Help.

She excused her obliviousness of not seeing the cut on my lip on her cold, but I wouldn't let her live it down. I found it funny, even if she denied finding it the least bit humorous.