Page 89 of Love is Strange
“Em, do you want to go see a movie next weekend with Mark and me? You can invite Ollie, and we’ll go as a group.” Casey asks, and her cheeks turn pink.
“Mark, huh?” I ask, and she blushes even more.
“Yeah, he asked me out a couple of days ago, and I said yes,” she says quickly.
I laugh. “Sure, we can go as a group. Don't ditch me though, okay?”
Casey grins at me. “Great! I'll tell him you're coming too, and you should text Ollie.”
I pull out my phone, and send a message to Ollie, telling him of our plans for next weekend. When he replies back saying that he's excited and can't wait, I don't get the massive thrill I was expecting to feel about going out with him. But I do feel a small spark ignite inside of me at the thought of being able to wear my new dress and hope he likes it.
Chapter Sixteen
ASH
It’s beena week since I received that text from Ember, but I haven’t sent any more messages or heard anything else from her. I’ve resisted calling her to see how she is because then she would know I sent her that message. My thumb hovers over the call button, but fighting the urge, I scroll down to Mom, and press dial.
“Hello, Ash. Is everything okay?” Mom’s voice comes through the speaker.
“Yeah, Mom, I’m fine. I was thinking of coming home next week as I didn’t get to see that much of you last time,” I tell her.
“Not next week, Ash. I have to work all week. Also, Ember is staying here for a few weeks while her dad is stuck on his business trip, and I’ve put her in your room,” she says, sounding sad to have to tell me no.
At this second, I almost don’t care she has said I can’t go home. The thought of Ember sleeping in my bed every night has temporarily distracted me, so I barely even hear her next words. I jolt upright on my bed when I realize she isn’t talking to me, and I catch on to what she's saying.
“When next week? Friday? Well, as it’s not a school night I don’t mind but make sure those boys behave themselves, and that you and Ember are not back too late. You don’t want me or your brother having to chase them down, do you?”
My blood boils at the thought of some idiot boys with their hands all over my sister and Ember.
“Mom, Ash isn't even here.” I hear Casey’s voice faintly through the speaker.
“He’s on the phone now. Do you want to talk to him?” Mum responds to Casey and then says to me, “Ash, honey, your sister would like a word.”
“Hi, big brotherrrr,” Casey drawls, being purposefully silly.
“Hey, little sis. Are you being good for Mooooom?” I tease back.
She laughs. “Always am. I miss your ugly face. When are you coming home next?”
“Soon, I hope. Mom says that Ember is staying with you both for a while. So after she’s gone home, I expect,” I tell her although it pisses me off that I can’t go home right now.
“I’m going to go. Ember is waiting for me to come and watch a movie with her, and Mom wants her phone back. Text me sometime, okay?” she says and hangs up on me.
I look at the blank screen and think about the phone call. Ember is staying at my mom’s, and in my room. But before I can let myself get wrapped up in that thought, Mom and Casey’s words filter back through my mind. Ember is going on a date with someone. I bet it’s that kid from her class who asked her out the morning of her birthday.
If he so much as touches her, I will break his fucking wrists because she isn't his to touch. I can’t sit here and wait for her to find someone else. There should never be anyone else but me, and I intend to make sure of that.
I’ve had enough of the waiting, and I don’t care anymore about all the things standing between us. I know the location and the day of their date, so it won’t be hard to figure out the time. I’ll slip into the movie theatre unseen and then watch and wait for the right time to pounce.
I need to plan my next moves carefully. If I don’t, it could all come crashing down around me before I even have the chance to show her how much I want her, how much I need her, and how much we are meant to be together. I already know Ember’s as drawn to me as I am to her. With a bit of persuasion she’ll learn not to fight the way she feels about me.
I have a week to get everything in place and make sure we aren’t interrupted by anyone sticking their noses in. I want us to have plenty of privacy so that when I make Ember scream my name, the only person who can hear it is me.
It takes me a while to work out where I could possibly take her, and then it hits me. Uncle Adam’s old hunting cabin. It’s quiet and remote, and he didn’t like people knowing about the place, so it’s off the grid and completely isolated. I’m probably the only living person who knows of its existence. I’ll have to get down there to make sure it’s still habitable, and to stock it up with supplies.
The next day I draw out a wad of cash and drive to a supermarket and hardware store, two towns over, and grab everything I can think of that we’ll need for an extended stay. Now I need to call my mom and Casey and tell them something to keep them from suspecting I’ve anything to do with Ember’s disappearance.
Thinking of the perfect excuse, I pull out my phone and muster up as much enthusiasm as I can, using my excitement about finally having Ember to feed the emotion I need to portray.
