Page 35 of The Lucky One
As I submitted my final exam for my environmental science class, I didn’t feel any relief. I thought I’d be glad it was over, but studying for it hadn’t felt like a burden. Maybe I should submit a last-minute application for college after all and try to bring up my grades till the end of the year.
Exiting the exam room, I made my way to the bench where Kiki and I had agreed to meet. She sprang up when she spotted me. “How did it go?” she asked, handing me a to-go cup of coffee.
I sipped at the foam gratefully. She had added extra cocoa. “I would say decent.”
“Just decent?” She raised her brows.
I shrugged. “Fine, maybe I aced it.”
She smiled broadly. “Welcome to Team Nerd, Paul Shields.”
Her smile did something to me in that moment. The way she took time out of her own study routine to celebrate my success... I cocked my head to the side. “Does this team have cool shirts or something?”
She gasped at the side of my face. “Paul, what—”
“Please don’t.” I held out a palm. “I had to talk so much about this already. Can we just celebrate and pretend I don’t look like a bad-ass rebel? I want to be part of Team Nerd for once.”
She gave me a look. “No, we’re friends now, so I deserve to hear what happened. But if it helps, I’ll get you cake while we talk.”
I sighed. “Fair compromise. Just no apple pie, please.”
By the time I got home, darkness had settled in. I was relieved I hadn’t fucked up our friendship by bawling my eyes out in her room the other night. The opposite: we were even closer now.
I came in through the front door and toed off my shoes—Mom was glaring at me from the top of the stairs, arms crossed. “Where have you been?” she said, clearly pissed.
“Hanging out with a friend...?”
“You were supposed to come home after your exam!”
I raised my palms. “Geez, I didn’t know I suddenly had a curfew.”
She stormed down the stairs. “Paul, you were attacked on the street! Do you know how worried I was?” Her anger morphed into a grimace, and I noticed tears gathering in her eyes.
“Mom... I know. I’m sorry.”
“Paul Shields, you almost killed me.”
I went up to her and tugged her into my arms. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again, okay?” I hope.
“I know you’re eighteen already,” she sniffled, pulling me in tighter. “But until the police finds out who did this I won’t be able to sleep easy.”
“They’ll find out who it was. I’m sure they will,” I lied, patting her on the back. But I didn’t want her to worry. If I had to keep up another act—I would.
All or Nothing
Emily
Six years ago...
My tummy hurt a lot last year. I went to see doctors, and they said it was a stress and sensitive stomach thing. I heard them tell Mama it was because of the divorce. I didn’t understand what a divorce had to do with my stomach.
I had stopped most of my activities, and now I only played the piano. It was the least tiring, and I really liked my teacher.
While Mama looked for a new place, Lucas and I stayed with Papa. He ordered takeout a bunch, and instead of staying in his office all the time, he ate in the dining room with us. Our dinners were quiet, but it was nice, seeing him more. I missed Mama a lot though.
One night, out of the blue, Papa said, “I was thinking, you two could keep living with me.”
I looked at Lucas, who raised his eyebrows. “We’re going with Mama,” he said, and I agreed. Papa was spoiling us—a new phone for Lucas, clothes shopping for me. But it didn’t make up for Mom’s love.