Page 17 of Shared By Her Brother's Best Friends

“Call her, it’s worth a shot before we jump to conclusions.”

Emma nods, her hands shaking as she retrieves her phone and calls her friend.

“The lines dead!” she says her breath becoming frantic again.

“Alright, take a deep breath for me, Emma, can you do that?”

She nods and sucks in huge gulps of air.

“That’s good, Emma. Where does Jessica live, is it close? Could you direct me there?” I ask calmly and forcefully, trying to keep her focused.

She nods again and I lead her back to the car. With a task to focus on, Emma’s breathing calms a little as she directs me to Jessica’s but I can see the terror still in her eyes. She’s clinging to this life raft with all she can. If Max isn’t there, I don’t know what she’ll do.

***

Jessica’s home resembles a normal family home, the front yard littered with toys carelessly strewn, forgotten by her two kids. I know from the small background check that we did on Jessica to make sure she is who Emma thinks she is that she’s a divorced mother of three. A homemaker who lives off child support from her ex and a small baking business on the side. Mercifully, the lights are on inside, I follow as Emma races out of the car and up the driveway, hammering on the door with a closed fist.

“What’s taking so long?” Emma says, banging the door again when it isn’t immediately answered.

Without thinking, I grab Emma’s hand, interlinking her delicate fingers with mine, the gesture feels natural, yet I can’t remember the last time I held a woman’s hand. Emma looks at it in surprise.

“Emma, just breathe, give her a chance to make it to the door.”

Emma nods, squeezing my hand. The door opens and a ruddy-cheeked woman wearing a flour-covered apron aroundher sizeable frame answers the door. The smell of baking wafts toward us and the sound of children’s laughter can be heard. The place feels warm and inviting, the kind of clean, yet messy household where children turn it into a home. Upon seeing her friend, Emma pulls her hand from mine as if scalded. The woman glances at us both, clearly having noticed, but doesn’t comment. Though she does seem slightly taken aback by my presence, I don’t exactly look like the kind of guy hanging around in suburbia. Her wary gaze shifts from me and instead, she focuses her attention on Emma.

“Emma honey, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she says her brow furrowing in concern.

“Is he here? Is Max here?” Before Jessica can answer Emma cries out into the hallway, “Max!”

“Yes, he’s here, Emma, what’s going on?” Jessica asks as the sound of Max excitedly yelling out, “Mommy!” rings out.

Emma visibly sags with relief as her little boy comes racing out of a back room and toward her.

“Mommy! We made cookies!” he declares.

Emma pulls him into a tight embrace, burying her nose into him and breathing him in before showering him in kisses.

“Mom!” he squirms and giggles, seemingly embarrassed at the display in front of his friend who had appeared behind him.

“Sorry sweetie, Mommy’s just so happy to see you,” Emma says, seeming to decide it is wise not to let Max know she thought he’d been taken. “Why don’t you go and get your things while the grown-ups talk?”

“Okay,” he agrees. “Auntie Jessica, can I take some cookies home for Mommy and our friends?”

“Yes of course dear, take as many as you like, Lucy will help you,” Jessica replies before calling out, “Lucy, come help the boys box up the cookies!”

A girl appears, the sound of pop music wafting out from the opened door. The girl’s still in the awkward phase of early adolescence where they’re too young to be considered a true teen but too old to be a child. She glances over at us, her face reddening as her eyes land on me and she scuttles off to the kitchen.

With the children now out of sight, Emma rounds on her friend. “Jessica, what the hell? Why didn’t you tell me you’d taken Max home? I was worried sick that something terrible had happened!”

Jessica tilts her head, “The school didn’t inform you? When I got there and saw poor Max waiting for you, I figured you must have gotten held up at work again, so I said I’d bring him home to wait for you, I asked them to let you know. Ben knocked my phone into the bath last night during bathtime, I haven’t had a chance yet to fix it or lese Id have texted you.”

Though she says this in a sickly sweet way, the subtle undertones of her judgment irk me. Not everyone can afford to care for their kids without working, Emma shouldn’t be seen as a worse mom for it. Perhaps I’m projecting, but I’m not buying Jessica’s holier than though, bit.

Emma shakes her head, Jessica’s words making her wince and I know she’s blaming herself already. “No, theydidn’t… when I got there, I was worried sick that he’d been taken.”

Jessica looks at Emma with an expression bordering on pity. “Well, surely you must have realized he’d be with us, he comes here often enough and it’s not like there’s any danger in our small town. When Adam and I were little, we used to get up to all sorts of mischief after school, playing in the creek and returning home after dark, muddied and tan,” she says wistfully.

I glance at Emma in surprise, wondering if the Adam Jessica mentioned could be her husband. Surely it must be, but why wouldn’t Emma have mentioned that? Though I suppose why would she? It’s clear she doesn’t like to talk about him much. But, if Jessica has a connection with Adam and he’s the reason these guys are after Max, then her house might be known to them and therefore no safer than his own. She hasn’t confided in Jessica about the risk against Max, another curious choice. I resolve to talk to Emma on the way home about it.

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