Unbreakable(61)

He glances over at me and downs the rest of his beer. “Well, I guess you’ve done what you came for then. You’ve had your say.”

I stand and pull on my coat and hat. “You need to realize that this isn’t about you. Don’t make us choose between you and being happy. No one wins that way. Not you, not me, and not Emmy.”

When he doesn’t answer, I try one last time to make him see reason.

“I know what it’s like to lose everyone I love, Sully, and I don’t want to lose anyone else. There’s going to be no one left.”

He glances up at me, and I see a flash of regret on his face.

I nod goodnight and step out into the hallway, closing the door behind me.

As I ride down to the ground floor in the elevator, I feel fifty pounds lighter. I’ve laid everything on the line, and if he can’t accept it, there’s nothing else I can do.

But I won’t let anyone stand in the way of my happiness anymore. I’ve spent too long denying myself a fundamental human right—love. I can’t do it anymore.

Now, the only thing left to do is figure out a way to make things right with Emmy.





Chapter Twenty-Six





EMMY




My phone begins to ring while I’m in the middle of filming a comparison video on bronzers. Damn. I got so engrossed in what I was doing I forgot to mute it.

It’s been exactly one week since I saw Will at Glyka, and like a true Sullinger, I’ve buried myself in my work to try and forget my heartbreak. Minus the SpongeBob pajamas. This time, it’s Powerpuff Girls. Peyton has threatened to come over and burn this pair, too. I hit the pause button on my camera and grab my phone.

Sully’s name flashes across the screen. Ugh. He’s the last person I want to talk to right now.

I jab at the answer button. “What?” I snap.

“Well, hello there to you too, little sis.”

I sigh and flop onto my bed. “I’m right in the middle of filming a video. I don’t have time to fight with you, Sully.”

“What’s the video about?”

I pause. My brother’s never asked me anything about my channel or my videos before.

“I’m doing a comparison video on bronzers.”

I can almost hear the wheels turning in his head. He has no idea what the heck a bronzer is. I’d stake my life on it.

“Oh, okay. Well, how’s that going?”

“As much as I appreciate this new-found interest in my work, how about you just get to the point of this call?”

“Will got called up by the Toronto Wolverines.”

“What?” I shriek and jump up from the bed. “Oh my God! Are you serious? When? How?”

Sully’s growing impatient with my questions—I can tell by how he’s breathing into the phone—but I don’t care. This is huge. Huge.

The Wolverines are the big time. They’re national. You can’t get to a higher level of hockey. Both Will and Sully have two-way contracts, so they can be called up to the Wolverines at any time during the season. This is the first time Will’s ever been called up.

“Tomorrow. One of the team’s forwards went out with an upper body injury.”

As happy as I am for Will, I’m hit with sudden, crushing sadness when I realize his parents won’t be there to see the culmination of their son’s years of dedication and hard work. And after what went down between us at Glyka, I likely won’t make the list of people Will’s going to call and share his good news with, either.

“Listen, Em, I need to come over tonight and talk to you about something, okay? It can’t wait anymore. It’s really important.”

I haven’t had much contact with my brother since the night Will left the cottage, other than a few brief texts and two tense phone calls.

“I’m not looking to argue,” he adds. “No fighting, I promise. No lecturing, either. I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t important. C’mon, Sis. Please?”

This is completely out of character for Sully. He’s not the type to want to have serious talks, and he’s certainly not the type to say “please.”

Even though he’s wrong about Will and handled the whole situation like total crap, he’s still my brother, and I love his stupid, overbearing ass.

“Okay. I’m almost finished filming anyway. What’s so important that it can’t wait?” I ask, curiously.

“I have to talk to you about Will.”





Chapter Twenty-Seven





WILL




The music is pumping as I sit at my stall inside of the Toronto Wolverines locker room. My new teammates mill around, talking and getting ready for tonight’s game against Ottawa.

None of this even seems real to me right now, to be honest. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if my alarm starts ringing and I find out that I’ve dreamed the whole thing. I’ve felt like this since getting a call from our GM yesterday. It’s completely surreal.

“How are you doing? You ready for tonight, kid?”

I look up to see John Breaker, the Wolverines captain and one of the best forwards ever to play this game, standing in front of me.

It’s funny to have him call me “kid,” especially since he’s only three or four years older than me. But he’s been in this league since he was eighteen, so he’s certainly earned the right.