Page 38 of The Lucky One
“Hi,” I said meekly. “No football practice today?”
Paul smirked as if he sensed my wandering eyes. “I don’t have practice every day, Emi.” He laughed, the muscles on his belly contracting slightly, and I forced my eyes away.
“Right. I forgot... Coffee.” I pointed to the coffee maker and shuffled over.
Paul hoisted himself up on the counter and munched his protein bar. I could feel his eyes boring into me. “How was school?” he asked.
“Ah, same as every day.” I accidentally hit the wrong button on the coffee maker. I was now having a cappuccino instead, dammit.
“Didn’t Jon go back to school today?”
“Um, yes.”
Footsteps entered the kitchen, and I was grateful for the distraction. “Emily, I was looking for you,” Henry said, and by the tone of his voice, I could tell something was wrong.
“Did something happen?”
“Kind of...” He rubbed the back of his head, an uncomfortable gesture that was eerily similar to Paul’s.
“What is it, Dad?” Paul said.
And it dawned on me. “You talked to your friend.”
Henry nodded. “I’m sorry, Emily. We’ve debated every other option, but the only way for you to get a permanent visa right away would be marriage.”
Paul jumped down from the counter. “You want to get a permanent visa?”
“Yeah...” I held myself against the counter. “Is that—okay with you?”
“Shit, yes!” he said, and I let out a breath of relief. “But... you don’t want to marry Jon, right?” He stared at me with shadowed eyes.
“I... I don’t know.”
I quickly turned back to the coffee maker and added another shot of espresso to my cup. I needed more strength to deal with this revelation. We were talking about commitment for life...
Was I ready for that?
Was Jon?
We were young. Neither of us was even eighteen yet.
I reached for my phone in my pocket. The countdown to June 16th that I’d set up beamed off the home screen.
2 months, 26 days, 2 hours, 12 minutes, 29 seconds...
Facing the Rumors
Emily
Three weeks later...
While Jon used spring break to get back on track to graduate this summer, the Shields invited me to a small cottage they’d rented in the remote countryside of Arkansas. The police couldn’t find any leads on Paul’s attacker, so the idea was to get him out of town for a few days.
Jon wasn’t thrilled about the prospect. He showed up in the middle of the night and tried to convince me to stay with him instead. But it was important for me to go—not only for Paul, but for Gena, Henry and Zack.
Jon’s worries turned out to be for naught. Paul and I learned how to rebuild our friendship from scratch. We took strolls through town, made dinner together, played card games with Gena and Henry late into the night. He was even super eager for me to stay in America. He kept asking if there wasn’t another way than marriage, and I kept telling him no.
All in all, it was the perfect family getaway. Only Zack was less animated; he was constantly on his phone texting someone. He said it was no one, but then on the last night he couldn’t stop talking about a girl named Helen. I couldn’t help but smile, thinking about it. Zack was experiencing his first real crush.