Finding Emily

{Chapter 3}

    It only seemed like five minutes, but Becca's alarm clock was blaring 6:47 when her Mom came crashing into Becca's room and demanding to know where Emily was. She'd gotten the same text that Becca had about staying at Rachel's, but she went over there to personally to chew her daughter out five minutes ago, and Rachel said that she hadn't seen Emily all day yesterday. She hadn't even come to school, Rachel said.

  "A fact you failed to mention to me," Pat said as her nostrils flared in anger. Emily said their mother resembled a very angry bull when she got angry, and she prayed to God she would never look that way when she was older.

  "I didn't want to get her in trouble," Becca admitted. "Or get in the middle of an argument with the two of you. This isn't my fight. She's your kid."

  "You are my daughter! And her sister! You are supposed to get involved. I want to know where she is and who she is with now. I'm not having another Columbus incident."

  A few months ago Emily lied about staying over at her friend Gail's house, and instead they had went with two college freshmen they just met at a party to a Coldplay concert in Columbus, Ohio. Their parents only found out because the guys were pulled over for swerving on the freeway on the way home, and they had both been dragged to juvenile hall while the boys were arrested for drunk driving and taking minors across state lines without parental consent. Their Mom had never been so angry when that had happened, and it was the reason why Emily had to get the job at the ice cream shop. She hated working more than anything in the world so it was the perfect punishment especially since it was an ice-cream shop, and Emily hated anything to do with little kids and food.

  "It is hell on earth," Emily said to Becca after her first day. "If Jared wasn't there I'd probably have blown my brains out. Do you know how many people ask for samples of the chocolate? It's chocolate! What do they expect it to taste like?! All people are assholes."

  "I don't know where she is," Becca grumbled to her Mom as she tried to go back to sleep – she still had some time before seven, and those minutes were precious. "She never lets me in on these master plans. I called her boyfriend, and he said he hadn't seen her, but knowing what a jerk he is he was probably lying. Kyle said he lives over on Bleaker in that big brick house with the red barn mailbox you're always saying you like."

  "I will be back," Pat said and slammed her daughter's bedroom door shut behind her, and Becca closed her eyes in relief. "And get up and get ready for school! Your sister is already trying my patience, and you do not want to add to it right now Rebecca Elizabeth Branson."

  "Shit," Becca breathed as she finally sat up and listened to her mother pulling out of the driveway. She almost felt sorry for Jared, but not really. He lied to her, and Emily let him. She tried not to feel too angry and remind herself that her sister was just a stupid kid who thought she was in love. Hadn't Becca done enough stupid things concerning love to understand? She thought about Kyle and the night before, and she grimaced. She wanted to blame it on the wine coolers she'd been drinking, but she knew she only had herself to blame.

  She was grateful that Kyle wasn't in the van that morning because he told them he was skipping his first two periods thanks to a hangover. She wondered secretly if it had something to do with what happened between them last night, but she knew she was fooling herself. Kyle didn't care. He didn't know how to feel guilty about terrible things he did. He probably wouldn't even remember they made out. Becca felt even more terrible as Star cleaned off the passenger seat and motioned for Becca to sit up front with her. They cruised around for a while as they were early, and they sang along with that Tiffany song that all the girls requested at every single school dance just to annoy Brian as he said it was the worst song of all time.