Page 114 of Blitzing Emily

She slid to the floor. The engagement ring twinkled up at her from the carpeting.

Chapter Twenty-Two

EMILY COULD NEVERtell another person how she got through the rest of that night. She finally slept, due to sheer exhaustion. Amy arrived before nineAM.the next morning with a huge bouquet of red roses and fast-food breakfast in a bag.

“You’ll need to take these. Brandon sent me a text message really late last night and told me he didn’t care what it cost, just keep them coming. There’s a card.”

Emily tried to push the card back into Amy’s hand. Amy wouldn’t take it.

“Read it,” her sister ordered.

Emily’s hands shook as she pulled the card from the envelope. She recognized Brandon’s handwriting:Sugar, I will never, ever give up on us.Her eyes flooded with tears again. At least she didn’t have a rehearsal today.

“You’re getting a bouquet every day this week,” her traitorous sister said. “Wait till you see what’s coming tomorrow.”

“I thought you were supposed to be on my side.”

Amy threw herself into one of Emily’s kitchen chairs, and dropped the fast-food bag on the table. “I am on your side,” she explained patiently. “I’m always on your side. The problem is, I don’t understand what you’re doing. Why are you so mad at Brandon?”

“He cheated on me.”

“Bullshit,” Amy said. “I’ll bet the results aren’t even back yet. He would have been notified the same as Anastasia was. She’s got to be lying. There’s no way in hell a ten pound baby is a preemie, either. I can’t understand why you’re taking her word over his.”

“You’re defending him. What aboutme?”

“So, it’s all about you.” Amy opened the bag and shoved an egg sandwich across the table to Emily. “You got hurt by James, the cheating ass. You’re projecting his issues onto Brandon. Plus, you’re being completely unreasonable.” Amy heaved a sigh. “If I thought Brandon cheated on you for real, Em, I’d rip his face off. He told me that he didn’t do this, and I believe him. I think, deep down, you believe him, too. You’re running away before he can hurt you.”

“You must have gotten your psych degree from watching TV.”

“You know I’m right. Plus, Anastasia’s a nut. Why would you believe anything she says is true?”

The sisters glared at each other for a few moments. Finally Amy reached one hand across the table.

“Em, you know that I love you, no matter what, don’t you?”

“Yes. I love you, too,” Emily responded in a shaky voice, “But please don’t yell at me anymore right now.”

“I want you to be happy. I want you to have something more than practices and hard work and sitting in a hotel room somewhere waiting to sing. I know you want something more, too. I—shit. I always wanted to be like you. But I don’t want to be alone, and I don’t think you want to, either. Listen to him. He’s telling you the truth.”

It was nine o’ clock in the morning, and Emily was so exhausted already she could barely keep her eyes open. “I want someone I can trust.”

“You already have that.”

“I don’t. I can’t trust him.”

Every man in Emily’s life she ever trusted had hurt her. It was what they did. She wondered how she could make anyone else understand the constant refrain inside her head.

The scent of the roses reminded her of the night she and Brandon spent together, how soft and velvety the rose petals scattered over the sheets were against her skin, and how they woke each other up again and again to make love.

Obviously, she’d had sex before. Even with an insane schedule, Emily met guys, she dated, and there were follow-up dates and resulting relationships. At the same time, those relationships felt like something expected, not like something she’d waited for.

Ever since she opened her eyes in the Sharks parking lot that icy afternoon, it felt as though Brandon had led her by the hand through somewhere she’d never been before. Her heart opened to him slowly, but surely. He let her set the pace, and he wooed her. She didn’t know men had that kind of patience. Just the thought that the feelings she believed matched her own might be a lie encased Emily in ice. People could see through it, but nobody could touch her, and nobody could hurt her.

“You realize, don’t you,” Amy said quietly, “that you’re never going to fall in love until you will risk letting someone in?”

“I know that. Iknowthat,” Emily said. “I want someone who ... Oh, forget it. I can’t explain it. I—Thank you for coming over.”

“You’re welcome.” There was a smile in Amy’s voice. “So, listen. When was the last time you skipped out for the day? Spend a little time with me.”

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