Out of Breath (Breathing, #3)(128)

‘Sara’s in charge of … everything,’ I stated. ‘Serena’s selecting the music. Meg’s getting the food ready. And James and Jared are setting up tables and a volleyball net outside.’ Which left me and the guys in charge of drinks.

‘What about Emma?’

‘Um …’ I chuckled. ‘She’s wishing it was tomorrow already.’

‘I wondered why she decided to have the party. I saw her face when I mentioned it.’

‘We caught her on a good day when we brought it up last week,’ I explained.

Nate’s looked to me curiously.

‘It was her birthday.’

‘Oh.’ He nodded. ‘I didn’t know. How come we didn’t –’ He stopped, suddenly remembering why no one knew it was her birthday, and why she didn’t celebrate it. Because it was also the day her father died in a car accident, thirteen years ago. ‘Forget it.’

‘How’s it going between you? I know it’s gotten more serious. Have you told her … everything yet?’

‘Yeah,’ I answered, not entirely ready to have this conversation.

‘And has she been completely honest with you?’ That question was precisely why I didn’t want to talk about us.

‘Not entirely,’ I said evasively.

‘Dude! Really?! What are you doing then?’

‘Giving her time,’ I told him.

‘She’s had two f*cking years,’ he declared heatedly.

We pulled into the parking lot, and I got out as soon as I shut off the truck, ending the conversation … for now. Nate wasn’t convinced that Emma wouldn’t still destroy me. And I’d never admit it to him, but … I wasn’t either.

‘What do you want me to do?’ I asked.

‘Cut up the watermelon?’ Meg requested as Sara stood out on the deck, instructing the guys where to put everything.

‘Emma, where’s your iPod?’ Serena asked from in front of the entertainment unit.

‘It’s in my room,’ I told her, ‘somewhere in the tote bag that’s in the closet.’

Serena disappeared into the bedroom while I prepared to slice watermelon. I’d never done it, but how hard could it be? I stuck the long knife into the rind and … couldn’t move it – leaving the blade sticking out of the green skin at an awkward angle. I pushed again and it slid down a fraction of an inch.

I looked behind me, and Meg was staring at me in disbelief.

‘Really, Emma?’ she said, both amazed and amused by my ineptitude. ‘I truly thought you could handle that.’

‘I can do it,’ I argued, making a futile attempt to move the blade.

‘Don’t stick it in so far, and use more of a sawing motion,’ Meg instructed.

‘Emma!’ Serena called to me from within my room. ‘Will you come here a second?’

‘I’ve got it,’ Meg assured me when I scrutinized my predicament, not certain I could just leave the watermelon with the knife protruding out of it. Meg took my spot, and before I’d even left the kitchen, the watermelon was falling into halves.

‘I loosened it for you,’ I insisted as I passed the opening in the wall.

‘Yeah, that’s it,’ she agreed, with a shake of her head.

When I entered the bedroom, Serena was standing with her arms crossed, waiting for me.

‘Hey,’ I greeted her warily. ‘What’s up?’

‘What’s this?’ she snapped, holding up The Letter. My mouth opened to speak, but nothing came out. ‘Are you planning on ending things with Evan? What’s going on, Em? I mean, I thought you two were finally together again.’ She sounded like I’d betrayed her.

I released a slow breath. ‘I wrote that two years ago, before I left. His mother sent it back to me a little over a year ago. She said there’d be a day he’d want to know what it said, and it was my decision whether to share it with him or not.’

‘You just left him with a letter?’ she asked in shock. ‘You didn’t say anything?’

‘Not exactly.’ I sighed, averting my eyes. ‘And yes. I was wrong to leave like that. But I thought I was doing what was best for him.’

‘You should have never left him, Em,’ Serena said sadly. I bowed my head in acceptance of the truth. ‘Are you going to show him this?’

‘I don’t know,’ I said softly. ‘Why would he want to see it now? I mean, we’re trying to move on.’

‘Because he should know. You promised to be honest, didn’t you? Besides, you didn’t say anything that you didn’t believe to be true.’

‘I know,’ I whispered.

After Nate and I had loaded the freezer in the garage with the bags of ice, I walked into the kitchen. ‘Where’s Emma?’

‘Sara sent her to take a shower and get ready,’ Meg explained. ‘You should probably do the same. People will be here in an hour or so.’

‘iPod, please,’ Serena requested, holding out her hand. I pulled it from my pocket and passed it over. ‘Thank you.’

I continued into the bedroom to find Emma sitting on the bed, wearing a blue-and-white dress and strapping on a pair of red sandals. Hearing me enter, she tilted her head up, and my mouth instinctively spread into a smile. When her response was hesitant, I peered deeper and recognized the distraught shift in her eyes.