Everything with you

Part 4

Emma

"Hey, wait up!" I hear a voice from behind me.

I turn to see Justin jog towards me. When he reaches beside me, he says, "I'll walk you to your dorm.".

I quickly shake my head, saying, "You don't have to do that... I can go on my own."

He simply grabs the umbrella from my hand and holds it for the both of us. "No, I am walking you, and look, now you are more comfortable carrying your bag," he says, trying to look into my bag.

I hold the bag close to me and say, "Supplies, just some daily supplies."

He nods and smiles, saying, "Okay, whatever you say."

I just look down at my shoes and smile. He looks at me and pulls my shoulder to be closer to him.

I look up to him; his green eyes meet mine, and he just casually shrugs and says, "You're getting wet again because you are walking so far away from me; I won't bite," and looks at the path ahead.

Wow, he seems nice now. Why was he being a total jerk earlier?

He looks down at me again and says, "Don't bite your lip, and what are you thinking?". Did he just tell me not to bite my lip? Was I biting my lip? , I look up, and he repeats his question, "What are you thinking?" looking at my lips again.

I quickly replied, "Nothing. Just thinking about classes tomorrow." Not thinking much further.

"Which year are you in?" he asks, facing away from me.

"I'm a freshman," I say. "Okay," he says, not asking anything else.

Justin makes me nervous, not in waiting for an exam result kind of way, but a butterflies in your stomach when he looks at you kind of way, and I was not used to it. The rest of the walk is quiet, with me sneaking glances at him a few times. I stopped doing that when he caught me looking at him. I'm sure my face was red with embarrassment at being caught, so I immediately looked down and made sure that I didn't look at his beautiful face anymore.

When we reached my dorm, he handed over my umbrella and looked at me.

"Well, this is me. Thanks for walking me, I say, smiling at him.

He nods and almost gives me a smile, looking at my lips for a brief moment. The quick look makes me nervous all over again.

Justin

I catch her looking at me from the corner of my eye when we walk. One time I turned to look at her quickly before she could look away, and our eyes locked, and I smiled at her. She blushed immediately and has stopped looking at me since. I feel quite bad that I did that, because now I know she won't try to look up at me. Once we reach her dorm, she thanks me for walking her, and I look at her face and then at her lips. "Yeah, I should get going," I say. I turn and walk away quickly, thinking to myself that I should stay away from that girl at all costs. She is confusing my mind and making me want things that I shouldn't think about now, especially with someone as innocent as her.

I walk back to the store and, on the way, find a payphone to call the pickup truck for my car. It arrives by the time I reach the store and takes my car away. The store is still open, so I go in and buy the chocolates that Joe had asked for.

Maria is grinning at me as she asks, "Are these for that girl who helped you out earlier?". I smile at her enthusiasm and say, "No, these are for another special girl waiting for me back home." Her smile fades, and she looks a little embarrassed now.

I laugh now and say, "No, Maria, these are for my little sister; trust me, the girl from before doesn't want me in her life." Her smile is back now, and she hands me over the chocolates as she says, "Well, then let's see." I wave her goodbye, leave the store, and decide to walk home. My back still hurts, but my mind goes to that girl; that's when I realize... I didn't even ask her name!

The walk home was quiet. I let myself in the door and headed over to Ma's room. I could see her and Joe sleeping together. I get emotional thinking about how many good days we have left with her. I close the door silently and head up to my room. I take off my clothes and lie down. My back still hurts like hell. I close my eyes, willing sleep to come, as it never comes easy.

I was woken up by my alarm at 6 a.m.I groan and lift myself off the bed to switch off the alarm. I have to be in soccer practice by 6.30 a.m., or Coach Grey will literally make me run an extra 5 miles as a warmup. I head to the shower once I'm up and wince as the hot water hits me. After the shower, I head to the mirror to look at myself. I don't look as bad as I imagined I would. I just have a few bruises on my chin and forehead. I put on my jersey and walk down the stairs, hopefully not to wake Ma and Joe.

Not to my surprise at all, Ma is standing near the door, looking at me with a concerned look on her face. "Justin, you came home late yesterday. What happened to your face?".

I quickly reply, "It's nothing, ma; we had an evening practice yesterday, and I fell down while trying to defend a goal."

She still looks concerned and says, "Why did you leave the hospital yesterday? I was worried."

"I just couldn't see you like that, ma," I say, looking down at my feet and swallowing the lump in my throat that was preventing me from speaking.

She quickly hugs me and says, "It doesn't have to be bad, sweety; there are treatments and medicines... Many people survive cancer, and you know me, I'm never a quitter.

I hug her back tightly and say, "You are a fighter.".

She gives me a full smile with tears flowing across her face. "So are you. We'll get through together, like we always have."

"Yes, we will," I say, looking up at the wall clock. "Shit, it's almost 6.30. I've got to go, ma. Coach is going to freak out, I say, and hurry across the door. She smiles and waves me goodbye.

As I jog towards the soccer field, I think about what my mom said. We will get through this. Hell! We have gotten through a lot worse. A good-for-nothing father who abandoned us when Joe was just 2 and I was 12 years old. My mom had to work and look after us all these years. Looking back at what we had then and what we have now. She was the only reason. She was indeed a fighter, and we can overcome this too.

I enter the field, and Coach Grey is already waiting for me with the team. He looks at my face and says, "Ah! Look at this. First day of the new season, and your captain is already late!"

"Sorry, Coach. It won't happen again! " I say, knowing he will not accept any excuse I give.

"Not acceptable, Shepard. Do 10 rounds and come back here!" he shouts. Nodding my head, I start my run. Coach Grey was the best soccer coach USLA had, and everyone knew it. Under his coaching, our team had won two consecutive championships for the past two years, and this year I was determined to make it a hat trick. I continue my jog, trying not to think of anything else other than practice.