The Stars Around Us

Chapter 9 ×EMMIE×

I saw him in front of me then he sat down. He was sweaty, his dark hair pushed back, out of his gray eyes. His long fingers held a cold water bottle out to me. I looked at him for a second longer then grabbed it from him. 

       I didn't understand why he was being nice to me now. Back home, in Pennsylvania, I didn't really have friends. I was an outcast. I got called lesbian by the girls just because I liked to do guy stuff. Which of course was sexist and stereotypical, but still. No one really wanted to hang out with me.

        I only hung out with Asher, Chloe, and Dad, which were all the friends I had needed. But now, I'm missing one. I wish Dad was still here. I wish Mom didn't divorce him. He was just trying to help her with her problems and the papers were her way of telling him to fuck off.

       I knew he saw what she did to me last night. He was the one to let Asher know. My whole body hurt now. She had bruised my ribs and stomach badly and my face and head was throbbing. I opened the water bottle and started gulping until I quenched my thirst. It was nice and cold. I held the rest out to him and he shook his head.

        "Go ahead," he said. "I'll get another one later." I brought it back towards me and closed the lid, deciding to save the rest for the jog home. He was staring at me, and I avoided looking at him by pretending to read the label. "Are you okay," he asked. 

       I looked at him for a second before nodding my head. "Um, thanks. For everything," I said. He shrugged, and smiled at me. He had a nice smile. "I think we got off on the wrong foot, Emmorie." I stiffened at my real name, like I usually did these days. Emmorie, I love you. Come with me. I pushed away the voice that I kept hearing. The way he had said my name had always made me shiver, and I hated it. I never told anyone about what happened at that party, and I don't plan on doing so.

       "I prefer Emmie, if you don't mind." He smiled. "But Emmorie is a beautiful name." I felt heat rush in my cheeks. Why was he doing this to me? "I just don't like it." He watched me a second longer. I knew I had introduced myself to his mom as Emmorie, but it's different when a woman says it.

       He nodded. "Okay. Can I call you Eminem." I smirked. "I'm not a white, trashy rapper." This made him laugh a little. "I was thinking more like the candy M&M's." I returned his full smile, though it stretched my lip a little too tight. "Then absolutely not." 

       "Eminem it is," he said. I tilted my head a little. "Why are you being nice now? Yesterday you were a complete dick. I don't care what you saw, I don't want your pity." I stood up, getting ready to leave. He stood up too, and I could see him searching for words. 

       "It's not like that. You just looked like you could use a friend." He bit his lip and for the first time, I noticed the lip ring on the bottom right side. I looked back at his eyes. "I don't appreciate liars," I said. He locked his jaw. "You can think whatever you want. I was trying to be nice.

       I thought back to yesterday. His mom tried to be nice and when Mom rejected her, I scolded my own mother. Was I really such a hypocrite? I sighed. "Okay," I began. "Let's start over." I held out my hand. "I'm Emmie." He took my hand in his, the smile plastered on his face once more. "Hello. Nice to meet you, Eminem. I'm Ethan." I smiled even wider. "I didn't say Eminem." He chuckled. "No. But I did."

       I heard a boom of thunder and I jumped. It wasn't even cloudy when I came here. "Do you want a ride home," Ethan asked me. I thought for a second. "Sure. As long as you don't kidnap me." He put on a straight face and waved me off. "Nah. I have enough girls in my basement." I froze and he laughed when he looked at my face. 

       "Calm down, Eminem. I'm kidding." I blew a breath out and nodded. "Okay let's go." He led me outside to his car. I literally gasped.

       "You have a 2013 black Raven Cadillac SUV?" His eyes widened and I looked back at my dream car. "Um… I think so." I smiled and ran to the passenger side. He unlocked the doors and I jumped in. As soon as he closed his door, the rain started pouring out of nowhere. He turned the ignition and I heard a soft clicking sound. "When's the last time you checked to see if your radiator was clean?" He looked at me in confusion. "Uh… never?"

        I cocked an eyebrow. "Why? That would solve your clicking problem. If you don't clean it soon, it can affect the battery, then you'll need a jump start when you wanna go somewhere." 

       He cocked an eyebrow. "How do you know so much about cars," he asked. I shrugged and answered "My dad was a mechanic, so I picked up on some stuff."

       He gave me a crooked smile. "That's hot. I bet your boyfriend loves that." I smiled, but didn't correct him. I didn't have a boyfriend. In all honesty, I never have, never kissed a guy either, though some of Ashers friends would try to hit on me every now and then.

       A few minutes later, he pulled into his garage. We got out and he asked "You wanna come inside for a few minutes. My mom's making breakfast. I admit that I was hungry, but I didn't want to invade their home, plus, I didn't want to explain my black eye. Unless… he told her already.

        I cleared my throat. "Um… does your mom know about…" I trailed off, gesturing towards my face. He shook his head. "No. I haven't told anybody. If you don't want to come in, just take that umbrella in the corner and I'll get it later." I nodded and left.