Chapter 5

EMILY

I woke up with zero desire to get out of bed. It was nearly impossible to keep sleeping in this town long after sunrise—the birds and the heat woke everyone up. Still, I stayed in bed for another hour after waking.

My dad’s bedroom door was still closed, and I was going to give him the time he needed until he was ready to finally talk.

Then I faced the kitchen: *“You weren’t here!”* His words swirled in my head, hitting me like a slap in the face. *“Don’t pretend you care!”* Facing the truth head-on was harder than I’d thought, but before I could sink into dark, depressive thoughts, the doorbell rang.

Janice wouldn’t knock—she had a key and had promised not to tell anyone I was here. So who the hell could it be? I stood frozen at the door, waiting for another knock, and it came, louder this time.

“Emily Carvalho, I know you’re in there, and I’m not leaving without getting a good look at that face!” Bianca’s voice filled my ears.

I flung the door open and saw her. Her brown hair and those beautiful Almeida blue eyes—I wanted to break down right then and there, but she knew me too well. She pulled me into her arms before I could dissolve into tears in front of her.

“I need to get out of here!” I mumbled, still clinging to her neck. That was all it took for her to drag me out of the house and into her pickup truck.

Bianca drove without asking questions, and we didn’t speak during the ride. I was grateful for that—I needed the fresh air hitting my face and some silence, since my thoughts were screaming relentlessly.

It took longer than I remembered to reach one of the town’s diners. Rosa made some of the best cakes, and I was dying to eat something since last night. The idea of facing everyone still terrified me, but somehow, Bianca’s presence by my side gave me strength.

“Okay, let’s head to the back, sweetie,” she said, opening the door and nudging me toward one of the hidden tables. “You need to eat, and a lot.” My forced smile came before she even left the table to place the order. “So, missy, when did you get to town?”

“Yesterday,” I murmured, keeping my head down to avoid the stares from the people around us. “And I regretted it the moment I set foot in the house.”

“That fast, huh? I heard your dad’s been having issues, but I didn’t realize it was this bad.” I knew she was being sincere—she was one of the few people I could still trust not to disappoint me.

“I want to take him away. Staying in that house isn’t doing him any good.”

“Or you,” she said before she could stop herself. “Is that what you didn’t want to tell me last week when we talked on the phone? Because if it is, you should know by now that nothing stays secret in this town for long.”

“Things aren’t going as planned. I was supposed to be out of here by yesterday. Who told you I was back?” Even though I had my suspicions, I needed to know.

“Marcos,” she said, quickly stuffing her mouth with bread to dodge the subject. So that was it—he’d gone to Bi to tell her I was back. “He wanted to know what you’re doing in town. Honestly, everyone does.” Before I could respond, pancakes were placed in front of us.

“So it’s true—you’re back in town,” the waitress, who I recognized as Sara, a classmate of my brother’s, said. She had a black eye, and I wanted to ask what happened and if she was okay, but I held back. Old small-town habits always crept back in. “Staying long?”

“I hope not,” I murmured, loud enough for only the two of them to hear, but everyone’s eyes were on us. She just nodded and walked away. “What happened to her?”

Sara was one of the prettiest girls in town—long blonde hair, light green eyes, but what stood out most was how sweet and friendly she could be.

“Long story, but you know David? Her husband? He’s turned out to be a real creep over the years.” I was shocked—they were, without a doubt, the town’s perfect couple, but it seemed I wasn’t the only one with big problems around here. “Her kid’s a sweetheart and definitely going to be a pro soccer player. You’ve got to see him. Speaking of seeing, let’s go to the club tonight. You need to meet Joshua before he leaves.”

“I didn’t know he was on leave. So, missy, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with your boyfriend?”

“He may be in the army and live in another country, but I’ve definitely seen him more these past years than I’ve seen you,” she grumbled, her knack for making a scolding sound sweet shining through. “No use—you’re not escaping me that easily.”

We had breakfast amid laughter, the first I’d let out since deciding to come here. It was hard to be around Bianca and not be infected by her lightness.

Janice was right about the town being different, but it was the people who had changed. Five years is enough time for big changes.

“Thanks for breakfast, and I’ll see you around—maybe—while I’m still in town,” I said, hopping out of the truck to avoid her asking me to go out tonight.

“No ‘see you around’—I’ll be here at seven, and don’t bother saying no because you’re going!” she ordered, already pulling away in her truck, but she stopped and stuck her head out the window. “Hey, Emy, go easy on your dad. He just needs time.”

I’d wait, however long it took. I’d already lost my mom—I wasn’t going to lose him too.