Never Say Never by Rachael Sommers (books to get back into reading TXT) 📕

“You too.” Jessica hugged her, whispering, “I hope you feel better soon.”

Camila was still focused on her phone. Emily forced herself to say, “See you in a few days, Ms. Evans.”

She paused, considering whether to say thank you, because Camila had paid for her to go on this trip, and she was grateful, but at the same time she wished she had never gone, because then there wouldn’t be this awkwardness between them.

When Camila didn’t respond, Emily turned to leave.

“Emily.”

She froze in her tracks, then turned, but Camila still wouldn’t look at her, still stared down at her phone, even though it was obvious the screen was black. “Don’t come back until January second. You deserve a break.”

January sounded so far away. “What about Jaime?” she squeaked out, and she hated it, hated that Camila looked so completely unaffected while Emily’s heart was splintering, hated that Camila acted like she didn’t even care.

“He’ll come to the office with me or spend some time with his father,” she said evenly. “Spend some time with your family.” Only then did Camila look up. Her eyes were expressionless, her face impassive, and Emily wanted to cry. Why was she the only one who felt like her world was falling apart?

How was that fair?

But time was what Emily wanted, what she needed, really—time and distance from Camila—but she didn’t want to be away so long. “We’ll see you in the New Year.”

“I… Okay.” She didn’t have the energy to argue, didn’t have the energy to do anything, really. It was a miracle that she was even still standing. “Bye.”

She turned and walked away, dragging her suitcase, refusing to look back, and her eyes were so filled with tears that she didn’t notice Cassie until she nearly crashed into her.

“Emily?” Cassie’s gentle fingers tilted her head up. “What’s wrong?”

Without a word, Emily fell into her sister’s arms, let Cassie hold her, and prayed Camila wasn’t looking, couldn’t see how broken she was or how many tears she was shedding over her.

Emily never wanted Camila to know just how much she loved her.

“You want to talk about it?” Cassie asked, after Emily’s bags were stowed in the trunk and the car had pulled away from prying eyes. Maia looked back, waiting to see what she might do.

“Not yet.” She was exhausted, mentally and physically, and she didn’t want to think about the past few days. She rested her head against the window, using her jacket as a pillow, and quickly fell asleep.

She woke up at the outskirts of Rockport and stared out the window as they drove toward her childhood home. Night had fallen, but she recognized all the familiar places, and she let her memories wash over her.

They drove by the old library where she had spent many hours reading. They passed the park where she and Cassie used to play, where Emily had lain on the grass, looking at the stars and marveling at their beauty.

The house was the same as it ever was. Sarah rushed out to greet them, wrapping the three of them in a tight squeeze.

“Are you all right, Emily?” Sarah asked. Emily probably looked like she had been to hell and back.

“Yeah, I’m just tired.” It wasn’t really a lie—she had slept in the car but she still couldn’t wait to lie down in an actual bed. “From the traveling and all. And I didn’t sleep well while I was there.”

Sarah sent her up to bed, leaving the three of them to whisper about her.

Her old room was the same—the bed, the dresser, the posters lining the walls, and the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling.

She dragged herself to the bathroom for a shower and felt better once the hot water had eased her aching muscles and washed away the dust of travel.

She wished the shower had washed away the memory of last night too.

But it didn’t, and she didn’t really expect to sleep when she crawled under the covers. She waited for thoughts of Camila to play on her mind and keep her awake, but she was too exhausted, and she slipped into unconsciousness when her head hit the pillow.

* * *

Emily woke early the next morning, the sun barely over the horizon.

Her room looked out at the ocean, and she stood at the window watching the sun rise over the waves, bathing them in red.

She felt rested—and hungry. She got dressed and headed down stairs, her stomach rumbling. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten a full meal. She vaguely recalled stopping for burgers yesterday as they got on the road, and nibbling on some fries before falling asleep against the window again.

She made some coffee and was considering whether to make eggs, bacon, and toast—if she could without setting off the fire alarm—when she heard footsteps on the stairs.

“Hey, Emily.” Maia was still in her pajamas and not looking very awake. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.”

“You look better,” Maia said as Emily poured her a mug of coffee.

“I don’t think I could look much worse.” At least she could joke a little now—she felt refreshed after a good night’s sleep, a little less breakable, though it would take her a long, long time to heal. “Sorry if I freaked you guys out yesterday.”

“We were worried,” Maia admitted, “but you looked like you needed the rest.” Maia glanced at the kitchen counter where Emily had lined up food from the fridge. “Please tell me you weren’t about to cook breakfast.”

“Um, kinda. I’m hungry.”

“Out of the way.” Maia hip checked her and started bustling around the kitchen like it was her own. “You can’t be trusted.”

“I’m getting better!”

“At some things,” Maia conceded, and set the bacon to sizzling.

Emily hopped up on the kitchen counter. “How was your week?”

“Same old, same old.” Maia shrugged. “Glad to have a break.”

“Yeah, me too.” Though it would be longer than she had planned.

Maia watched her, curious.

Emily sighed. “We, um… We kissed again. Me and Camila. The night before we left.”

Maia turned down the heat