Page 51 of Reckless Chances
They burst into the crisp night air and Emma put her hands on her knees. “What the heck just happened.” She was breathing faster than she was breathing out. “I don’t feel very good.”
Jenni slipped her arm behind Emma and draped Emma’s arm over her shoulder. “Come on, you need to walk.”
With Jenni’s assistance, the two of them slowly made their way south from the Last Chance. “I’m so sorry,” Jenni repeated more than once. “I had no idea.”
“How could you?” Emma’s head was swimming, partly from the wine and partly from the soap opera she had just escaped. “How could this happen? I moved hundreds of miles to get away from him, to get away from all of that... drama.”
The salt and vinegar chips felt like they were going to make an appearance and Emma stumbled to the closest bench. “I need to sit down,” she muttered and slumped onto the wooden bench. Jenni slid down beside her.
“Jason must have told Charlie something bad about me. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“What do you think he told him?” Jenni asked.
“Who knows?” Emma rested her face in her hands. “After Adam and I split up I never heard from Jason or any of our mutual friends ever again.”
Jenni squeezed Emma. “It doesn’t look like you’re missing much. And your ex seems like a real piece of work. I can’t believe you were with him, to be honest.”
Emma sighed and sat up. “He had me fooled. For the first year, he was sweet and caring, and slowly, he just started making these changes. Looking back, I should’ve noticed, but it happened so slowly...”
“A death by a thousand cuts,” Jenni nodded. “It looks like you dodged a bullet though, I mean, can you imagine if that was the man you were going to marry? I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes home with one of those strippers.”
Emma nodded. “Would you tell her... Alison?” It felt odd for Emma to even say her name. There were so many good coincidences when she moved to Chance Rapids, but they were slowly being replaced by bad ones.
Jenni sighed. “I don’t know if that would be my place – and I don’t know her.”
“I do.” Emma stood up. “She was my best friend.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Jenni’s eyes were wide.
“Yeah,” Emma pursed her lips. “Listen, Jenni. I’m tired. I think I’m just going to go home.” She started walking down Main St.
“Let me walk with you.” Jenni jogged a couple of steps to catch up. “You’ve had a rough night.”
Emma knew that Jenni just didn’t want her to be alone, and she didn’t resist. She didn’t want to be alone either.
