Dear Emily by Julie Ann Levin Read Free Book Online

against the wall in the narrow hallway, out of
sight from the others.
    “Are you okay?” he asked.
    “Yes, you startled me.”
    He shook his head. “No, I mean... I'm
sorry about all of this.”
    She fixed him with her gaze. “I'm only
sorry I didn't know it was your birthday you,
big dummy. You saw me this morning, and you didn't say
anything. You didn't say anything at all.”
    He dropped his hands.
“And what exactly was I supposed to say? 'Good
morning, Amy. I'm sorry I killed your sister four years ago. Time
heals all things! Oh, and by the way, it's my birthday.'
Is that it?”
    “Well, yes,” Amy said, in a menacing
whisper. “It's better than the alternative, which
is exactly what happened if
you haven't noticed.”
    Jack let his head fall
back, slowly shaking it from left to right. “I
don't know how you remain so cool. How can you even stand
the sight of me, Amy? I don't get it at
all.”
    “Don't start
with that garbage.” Deep lines had formed
between her brows. She eyes filled for a moment like she might
cry. Instead, she clamped her mouth shut and turned to
leave.
    “No you don't,” he said, gripping her
by the shoulders again to spin her around to face him. “Forget I
said that. Can you forget I
said that?”
    He was not a little frantic
for her to concede. He wasn't sure what he wanted from
her or if he even wanted anything at all. But he
did know he didn't want her turning away from
him.
    “It's impossible to forget
something once someone's said something,” she said, not at all
helpful.
    “Try,” he said, dryly.
    She waited for a beat.
“Alright, it's forgotten. Now let's go
out there and try to look happy?
You have friends that did something for
you.”
    “They're your friends too,
you know?”
    Amy nodded, accepting this fact. “I
guess I have that to thank you for as well. Along
with everything else.”
    “You owe me for that,” he
said, smiling for the first time. “You have no idea the
bribes I have to give out for them to
be nice to you.”
    “That's not true!” she said,
swatting playfully at his arm.
    “No, it's not true. They like
you without my help.”
    “Happy birthday, Jack.”
    “Thank you, Amy. I'm glad to
spend it with my friends.”
    As the night progressed and the
cheese began to
sweat, it was clear that Chris and
Tyler were sore at him for being dull. Apparently,
he wasn't grateful enough to their liking. A lot of
trouble they went through and
Jack could barely crack a smile. By the end of the
night, he was a little drunk. The conversation and
food had been filling, but now they wanted
games.
    Jack didn't feel like playing
games.
    “Alright, alright,” Chris said, talking
louder than everyone else. “A drinking game.”
    “Oh, I think I'm a little old for
drinking games,” Terri said, mildly.
    “You're never too old for drinking
games,” said Chris. “You don't even have to take a
shot, really. You say something you've done and if
anyone else has done the same thing,
they have to drink. If no one
else has done it, then you have to
drink. It should be something
obscure, get it? That's what
makes it fun.”
     
     
    Amy watched Jack as he leaned
back in his chair. If she weren't at the
party, he'd be having a better
time. But she was there and it was painful
for him.
    Of
that, she was sure.
    “I don't think I want to play this
game,” Jack said, rubbing at the back of his neck.
    “Sure you do,” Chris insisted. “I'll
start.”
    Chris was slurring his
words. If Jack was a little drunk,
Chris was a lot drunk.
    “Let's see,” began Chris. “One
time I jumped off a restricted bridge.” He threw back another shot,
even though those were not the rules of the game, and
slammed the glass on the table.
    Several others around the table took a
drink as well, including Jack.