Page 94 of The Lucky One

She nodded. “And if it helps... it wasn’t with Paul.”

My heart jumped. It did help. I was astonished by her bravery in telling me this. We exchanged a look, and it was like our negative energy had dissipated. “Thank you,” I breathed.

The door swung open. “Ms. Klein.” My mother came in beaming, like she always did when she’d had her lunch. “Kiki, what are you still doing here?”

I handed her the clipboard. “Emily goes to the same school as me. I did the questionnaire with her.”

“That’s not your job. You were just supposed to tell her I was running late.” My mother glared at me, and my confidence vanished.

“She did a great job, Dr. Chanakit,” Emily put in.

“Katherine, we’ll talk about this later.” My mother gave me the disapproving look she usually reserved for rude patients.

I rolled my eyes but left the room. I had already crossed a thousand boundaries; I didn’t want to cross another one by seeing Emily naked.

One Last Sunset

Emily

Two years ago...

I walked behind my friends because there was no space left next to them on the path. It always ended up being me at the back. “Guys, wait,” I mumbled, and they turned around.

“What is it?” Lisa asked with an annoyed undertone.

“Michael asked me to go out with him,” I said, holding out my phone.

Their eyes widened. “Oh, Emily!” they squealed, grabbing my phone and scrolling up the chat without asking permission. But I let them. “We have to go shopping! Can we do your makeup too?”

I wasn’t used to getting this much attention from them, so I agreed.

When I came home, the house was quiet. Fear overcame me, as it did every time I entered an empty house. It felt like everyone had left me. Papa hadn’t called in over three months. Why had he abandoned me?

“Mama?”

She was supposed to be home by now. I looked in all the rooms before ending up in mine. I jumped when I saw her curled up under my blanket. Running up to her and squeezing her arm, I said, “Mama, what’s wrong?”

She looked up at me, her eyes red and puffy. “Richard left... He left me... us.” Tears welled in her eyes and I crawled into bed with her, hugging her tight.

“I thought this time I had found a man who would treat my kids right,” she said in a wobbly voice. “I thought moving in with him wouldn’t be a mistake. That he was a good one. I was wrong... I repeated the same mistake. I’m so sorry, Emily.” She sobbed so hard that my own chest ached.

“It’s okay, Mama. We just need each other. We’ll be fine. Just like last time.”

“Why can’t I pick the right one?” she asked the universe.

We lay there for hours, not moving.

Now...

I dressed faster than ever before in my life. The second Kiki’s mother finished—I still couldn’t believe Kiki started my examination—I practically lunged out the door.

Gena was waiting for me in the reception room. “How did it go?” she asked.

“Good.” I held up a prescription for contraceptive pills. “We can head to a pharmacy now.”

Gena sighed. “Exactly what a mother wants to hear.”

I threw my arm around her. “Better that your daughter’s safe than sorry.” Gena burst into laughter.