Emerson's Fury : L.B. Pavlov (14 page)

“I’m not offended. I got my butt kicked. But I knew that was going to happen before I entered the ring,” Cross said, smiling at Finn.

“Why’d you do it then?” Finn asked confused.

“
Finn!
Stop asking him so many questions,” I reprimanded him just as my parents walked into the kitchen and asked what was going on.

“Finn is being very obnoxious,” I said as I sat down at the kitchen table.

“Stop fighting. No one wants to hear that this morning,” my dad said, looking at both of us.

“Sorry,” I said, shamefully. I knew my parents had a lot going on, and it was unfair to add to their stress.

“How are you feeling this morning, Cross?” my mother asked sympathetically.

“I’m actually doing pretty well. Thank you so much for allowing me to stay here last night, Mr. and Mrs. Hollingsworth,” he answered politely.

“Cross, really, you must stop calling us that,” my mother said, laughing.

“Oh, sorry about that. It’s a habit. Mr. Holl…um, Daniel, thank you for picking me up from the fight. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been there,” Cross said, humbled by my parents’ kindness.

“I’m glad I was there, Cross. According to all of the people who saw you fight, you really held your own. You’re the first person to last all three rounds with that guy,” my dad said, smiling at Cross and trying to make him feel better.

“Well, I don’t know that I held my own at all, but at least I lived to tell about it. I’m hopeful that this was the last time I will ever have to get in a ring and fight,” Cross said, winking at me, and I felt a sense of relief. He finally seemed to realize that it was too dangerous and that he could get hurt.

My mom served us all pancakes, bacon, orange juice, and fruit. Everyone appeared to be starving; we were all lacking sleep, and so we were loading up on fuel to get through the day.

“Emerson, we will meet you at your race after school. Did you get any sleep?” my mother asked with concern.

“Yeah, I’m OK. I’ll catch up tonight,” I said, feeling a little nervous because I was already exhausted and the day hadn’t even start yet.

“Cross, I’m assuming you won’t be going to school today. You are welcome to hang out here with us. You can nap in the guest bedroom and stay as long as you’d like,” my mother said graciously. My parents really were the best. They were such good people. I was always proud of my family.

“Oh, thank you, Mrs. Holling…Charlotte,” Cross said, catching himself. “I need to get to the hospital and take care of a few things for my grandfather,” he said anxiously, as if he felt he had already stayed too long.

“Cross, you can’t be out driving your motorcycle in this shape, son. Why don’t you give me your keys? I will have Carlos send someone out to the warehouse to pick up your bike. You can take one of our cars to the hospital,” my dad said firmly. My dad was such a take-charge guy. He could always solve any dilemma that we had, and I loved that about him.

“Plus, your grandmother is at the hospital with your grandfather. You shouldn’t be at home alone in the shape you’re in,” my mom said, supporting my dad’s plan.

Cross smiled. He wasn’t used to people taking care of him, you could tell. He liked it, and he appreciated it. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you for everything. I will spend a couple hours at the hospital with my grandfather and then come back and meet you to go over to Emerson’s race.”

God give me the strength to race today, I prayed. I was actually racing the girl who was ranked second in the state behind me. This could be a much closer race than anyone was anticipating, I thought. Although our times were not all that close, I wasn’t sure what I could actually pull off after the night I’d had.

“You don’t need to come to the race. Come back here and lie down. I don’t think you are going to be out moving around as much as you think you are,” I said, obviously worried about him overdoing it.

Cross went to attempt to take a shower, and Finn brought him in some clean clothes from Indy’s room. I went in to see him before I left for school.

“Wow, you look beautiful.”

I laughed because I was wearing my school uniform and not feeling remotely attractive that morning. He stroked my hair, and I felt every inch of my body tingle just from his touch. I stroked his face gently, tracing his bruises and his cuts tenderly with my fingers. He slowly leaned down and pressed his lips to mine.

I slipped my hands under his T-shirt to feel his muscular chest, and I felt him flinch. I pulled away quickly. “I’m so sorry, did I hurt you?” I said, distressed.

“No, no, I’m just sore. I love you,” he said, gazing into my eyes with his perfect deep-blue eyes that I could get lost in.

“I love you more,” I said, planting a soft kiss on his sore lips.

“Not possible,” he replied, holding me hostage with his gaze.

I was finding it difficult to leave, but of course Finn would not allow me to leave one minute late. He came barreling into the guest room. “Oh, for God’s
sake, Emerson. The guy’s all beat up. Don’t you think you should keep your make-out sessions to a minimum right now?” he hollered, cracking himself up.

I picked up Cross’s shoe off the floor, and I threw it at Finn as hard as I could. I really was not controlling my temper well due to my lack of sleep. Finn ducked, and the shoe hit the wall. Finn laughed even harder. “Like I always say, go big or go home!” he bellowed as I chased him out the door.

I looked back and Cross was laughing. “I love you. Have a good day. See you at the race,” he said.

“Love you,” I said as I walked out the door with my annoying brother.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

I took one of the Hollingsworths’ cars to the hospital. They had my motorcycle brought to their home. They were more than kind to me, and it really meant a lot. My pain was beyond anything that I had ever experienced before. I was desperately trying to make light of it because it was my choice to fight, and I needed to “man up” as Finn would say and take the pain. After all, I believed that pain was just weakness leaving the body.

I was able to pay my grandfather’s bill, and they admitted him. They didn’t think he was going to need surgery after all, but now they would keep him for a few days for treatment. My grandmother flipped out when she saw me, and she wanted to know what happened. I felt terrible lying to her, but the truth would have been more than she could handle. I told her that I had been jumped, but that I was OK. I gave her $1,000 to pay bills and get some groceries. The relief on her face was worth a million dollars to me. She asked where I got the money, and I told her that I had a part-time job. She kept pressing me about the job, so I told her that a friend of the Hollingsworth’s had hired me to do some work around his house. She seemed to believe me, and she didn’t ask any further questions about it.

I spent a few hours with my grandfather, but my injuries were causing me more and more pain as the day went on. I was glad that I was able to spend some time with him, though, because he needed me. He asked all about Emerson, and he loved to hear me describe her races. I told him that I had to be going because she had a race that afternoon. He told me to wish her luck.

I met all of the Hollingsworths’ back at their house, and we drove over to the race. I drove with Daniel, Charlotte, and Finn. Emerson’s grandparents and a few of her uncles, aunts, and cousins were going today, and so they followed us over to the school. We met up with Mila, Paisley, and C. J., who were all there to cheer on Emerson. Everyone seemed to know why I was in the condition that I was in because no one swamped me with questions, just small smiles of sympathy.

I saw Emerson right before her race, and she looked tired. I felt horrible because I knew that I was responsible. I heard her father tell her to dig deep and run through it. He was tough, and Emerson followed in her father’s footsteps when it came to toughness, both mentally and physically. I hoped that she could pull from her inner strength and get through this race.

Her coach only wanted her to run one event that day because she would be running four events at the race on Saturday. She would just run the mile, which was her best event. When the gun went off, Emerson did not take the lead as she usually did. She tucked behind a girl who had gone out quickly and taken the lead.

I looked back at Daniel, and he winked at me. “Don’t worry, she has a strategy.”

Charlotte smiled at me. “When she isn’t feeling one hundred percent, she adjusts her race plan. It’s easier for her to hang behind someone for a little while until she needs to go. Today isn’t about time for her, it’s about winning.”

I watched her make her way around the second lap, and she looked very focused and calm. The girl who was leading the race was definitely laboring more than Emerson was. She looked as if she was struggling and not comfortable being in the lead. They started the third lap, and as they came around the curve, Emerson blasted right past the leader. It was as if she had just had a burst of energy. She passed her fast, and the girl didn’t know what hit her. By the time she made it around and the gun went off, signaling the final lap of the race, the girl was already fifty yards behind. Emerson powered around her final lap with a fierceness that set her apart from everyone else. The crowd was standing in the stands and cheering her on. She didn’t run her best time, but she ran a smart race, and she did what she needed to win. I was acutely proud of her.

I went to meet her at the finish line, and she was still breathing heavily as she walked over. She was smiling, and I just stared at her for a moment, watching her walk toward me. She was absolutely stunning. Her long ponytail hung down her back, and her skin was glistening with sweat. Her green eyes seemed to catch the light from different angles, and specks of gold would dance around in them.

“I can’t believe you came. You must be sore and tired,” she said, grasping my hand.

“I got more sleep than you did. I don’t know how you just ran that race,” I countered, pulling her close to me.

“To be honest with you, I wasn’t sure I was going to pull that off at one point,” she admitted, laughing a little.

“You need to get a good night’s sleep tonight,” I said, and she looked up at me as I tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear so I would have an unobstructed view of those perfect, golden-green eyes.

“I wish I was going to wake up and see you again,” she said wistfully.

“That was nice. It sure made getting beat up more tolerable,” I said, and we both laughed in agreement.

We went back to her house, and we all had dinner. I needed to get home and get ready for school the next day, and I wanted to check on my grandfather on my way home. My grandmother was back at our house, so it would be nice to be home with her. Emerson was trying everything that she could to stall me, and she was difficult to leave. I thought about her every second that I was away from her, and I always looked forward to being with her. But I needed to get back home and get back into my routine.

I thanked everyone for all that they had done for me, and Emerson walked me to the door. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay one more night?” she pleaded.

“Of course I do. But it’s not right. I’ve stayed too long already,” I said, pulling her against me.

She intertwined her fingers with mine. “I love you so much. I’m so glad that you’re OK and the fight is over,” she said with a sigh of relief.

I had never loved anyone in my life the way that I loved her. I lifted her chin to meet my gaze. “You are everything that is good in my life,” I said, and her eyes welled up with tears.

“Don’t leave,” she said, hugging me gently, trying not to hurt me.

I pulled her closer. “I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.”

“Love you more,” she said, and I leaned down and kissed her perfect lips.

“Not possible,” I said, and I walked out the door.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

c h a p t e r    e l e v e n

My season and my senior year were flying by. I spent every free moment I had with Cross. He came over all the time for dinner, and he and I went out to dinner often as well.

Cross continued to go to every one of my races. I loved how supportive he was. He would call out my splits and cheer me on at every race. I looked forward to finishing each race because the first thing I would see was his perfect blue eyes. He was always waiting for me at the finish line, and I loved it.

Cross had finally completely healed from his horrible fight. The bruises had hung around for a couple of weeks, but the last one had recently diminished. Cross had not fought again, and he was hoping that he would never have to. His grandfather was out of the hospital and doing well. We had taken his grandparents to dinner the night before, and it was nice to see how well he was doing. There had been no sign of Cross’s mother, and I was perfectly fine with that. However, I had started to see a pattern with her. She would disappear for a few weeks and then reappear when she needed money. I knew that we had probably not seen the last of her.

My dad had hired an entire security team for my mother, Finn, and I. He had a security officer watching over Indy at Notre Dame too. My dad was
obsessively security conscious, and with the release of Blane DiAmico, he would not rest unless everyone was covered. Blane DiAmico had been out on good behavior for four days, and I could feel my dad’s uneasiness that week. My mom, of course, didn’t seem to have a care in the world. She did not believe he was going to come after her again, and she thought my dad was overreacting. Cross completely understood my father’s primal need to protect his family. He told me that he would do the exact same thing in my dad’s position. Cross and my father had become very close. My dad really liked him, and that meant a lot to me.

Finn was playing lacrosse, and Cross and I went to most of his games together. I loved watching Finn play. He had so much fun, and he made it look so easy. My parents were at every game as well, and Finn was playing varsity as a freshman. He was an absolute natural, and his teammates seemed to love him.

Indy had come home for Easter, and my mom had a huge Easter brunch planned that year. The entire family came, and many friends joined us as well. Cross’s grandparents came, which made Cross so happy. I had made him a huge Easter basket and he seemed to love it. He looked at everything that I put in it, and I felt a little sad when he confessed that was the first Easter basket he had ever received. I made a promise then and there that Cross would never have an Easter again without an Easter basket. I had to remind myself that Cross’s grandparents were much older, and they had sacrificed a lot to raise their grandson. Things like Easter baskets did not make the list of priorities.