Tethered

by L. D. Davis

  I didn’t want to be the jealous girlfriend, but I had a sore spot for Stella. If it was any other girl, I wouldn’t have really put much thought into it, but it wasn’t any other girl. It was Stella. Still, I tried to control the jealousy that was inside of me, especially considering how close I was with Felix and the feelings he had for me. I also couldn’t forget that moment while filming. Though it wasn’t at all on purpose, I still felt guilty for it. Felix’s penis had been right against my vagina. Stella simply had her hand on Emmet’s arm.

  And she also was the mother of his baby…

  I sighed, shook the baby thought from my head and discretely beckoned Emmet with a wave of my hand. I didn’t wait to see if he would follow before leaving the game room. I went back into the dining room where I had left Benny and Emmy, but they weren’t there. I asked an acquaintance that had been there all night if she had seen where they went. She didn’t know, she only saw them leave the room.

  I started to panic a little. What if Benny was still a bully, but just a different kind of bully? What if he took her into a bathroom or some closet and was violating her? I hadn’t been gone that long. I didn’t think they could have gone far, but as I looked through the kitchen and the living room and checked the closets and bathroom, I really began to panic. I didn’t have an internal mapping system for Emmy, which pissed me off. It was like some kind of cosmic joke that I could be connected with Emmet and not Emmy.

  I was going to go upstairs and look for them, but as I passed the open front door, I spotted them outside at the end of the sidewalk. I rushed outside, prepared to kick Benny’s ass, but as I got closer, I saw that Emmy was doubled over puking into the street while Benny held her hair back. I moved to the other side of her to help support her.

  “What are you doing out here?” I questioned him over Emmy’s retching. I looked away from the tequila vomit and looked at Benny for an answer.

  “She turned green and someone was in the bathroom,” he said. “I literally carried her outside before she could puke all over the floor in there. She first puked back there,” he said pointing towards the house. “I didn’t want anyone stepping in the shit, so I brought here down here.”

  “Thank you,” I said with sincerity. I felt bad for mentally accusing him of wrongdoing.

  “I must really like you if I’m willing to babysit Pukey here,” he teased.

  “I really appreciate it. Emmet should be out here any second,” I said, looking towards the house. I was surprised he hadn’t come out yet. Granted I didn’t give him any indication of where I would be, but I know he had that same mapping system inside of him for me. The only explanation was that he was still inside talking to Stella.

  “Maybe this isn’t a good time to ask,” Benny said as Emmy retched especially loud.

  “Ask what?” I said, frowning at Emmy. She was just dry heaving now, but she was doing it so hard, I was afraid she was going to hurl up a kidney or something.

  “For your phone number.”

  “My what?” I asked stupidly.

  “Your phone number? You know that thing that rings? Alexander Graham Bell invented it in 1876.”

  I smiled at his humor, but I didn’t know what to say. I had a boyfriend, but I couldn’t tell him that, because Emmy was right there. Even though she was royally fucked up, I didn’t know what she would remember later.

  “I’m going back to New York the day after tomorrow,” I said carefully. “And my schedule is…unpredictable.”

  There, at least I wasn’t lying. My schedule was entirely unpredictable.

  Benny was persistent though.

  “I just want to keep in touch,” he said. “I’m not asking you to go steady.”

  I laughed. “Who says that anymore? You sound like Emmy’s mom.”

  He laughed, too, but persisted. “I like talking to you, Donya. I swear I have no ulterior motives.”

  I bit my lip as I thought about it. “When I tell you that my schedule is unpredictable, I really mean it,” I warned. “You might not catch me on the phone.”

  “Then I’ll take your email, too,” he said, smiling encouragingly.

  I gave in. He seemed genuine and I had liked chatting with him, too. “Well, what are you going to write it with? Vomit?” I asked.

  “I have a pen and paper in my purse,” Emmy slurred, standing upright. I was glad for her sake that only Benny and I could see her. Her hair was messed up and even by the little bit of light where we were standing, I could see her face was all blotchy.

  “I hope you have gum and a brush in here,” I said, taking her purse from her and letting Benny support her.

  I was only a little surprised to find a drunk’s arsenal in the purse: gum, travel sizes of toothpaste, mouthwash, and a toothbrush, and sure enough there was a hair brush in there, too. I handed her the mouthwash and then dug around for a pen and paper. While Emmy leaned against a car rinsing her mouth, Benny and I exchanged phone numbers and emails. I had just pushed his info into my pocket when Emmet stepped up beside us. I knew he was coming, I had seen him come out of the house and of course I sensed him coming.

  “Hey, what’s up,” Benny said, acknowledging Emmet with a nod of his head.

  Emmet looked him over, frowning. “Hey.”

  “Thank you for your help,” I told Benny with a smile.

  “No problem. Take care of yourself up there. I’ll email you or call you soon,” he said, holding up the piece of paper.

  “Okay. It might take me a little bit of time to get back to you, but I will.”

  “Okay,” he nodded. He reached for me, for a hug no doubt, but Emmet rudely stepped between us to get Emmy.

  Benny looked at Emmet with amused confusion, but when Emmet seemed to be taking his time to get out of the way, I waved a hand of dismissal and forced a smile.

  “Next time,” I said. “We have to care for the drunk.”

  He nodded his understanding and started to back away. “See ya, Donya.”

  “Bye, Benny,” I smiled at him as I helped Emmet support Emmy.

  He threw me one last grin and walked back toward the house.

  “Seriously?” Emmet grumbled as we started walking down the sidewalk toward his car. “Benny?”

  “What about Benny?” I asked.

  “Benny got all cute,” Emmy said. “Holy hell did you see those abs, Donya? Do me a favor and totally lick those abs for me.”

  “I’m not licking his abs,” I sighed. I could feel Emmet’s anger without even meeting his angry gaze.

  “But you gave him your phone number and you guys talked all night,” she said. “I’ll bet he won’t mind licking you.” She snickered at her dumb joke. She had no idea that she was stirring up trouble for me and Emmet.

  “No one is licking anyone else,” Emmet growled.

  “Donya licked Felix’s lickable mouth,” Emmy said dreamily.

  Though Emmet had been fine with the scene I had with Felix, I knew he wasn’t in much of an accepting mood, which really wasn’t fair. I had done nothing wrong. If anyone was wrong, it was him, but I wasn’t about to start pointing fingers.

  We reached the car and helped Emmy into the backseat. I sat up front and pulled on my seatbelt. Emmet sped out of the parking spot and went way too fast down the road.

  “You need to slow down,” I said.

  I watched his hands grip the steering wheel, but he did not slow down. Despite the fact that Emmy was in the backseat, I reached out and put the palm of my hand against his cheek.

  “Emmet,” I said softly. “Slow down.”

  I felt his jaw clench and then suddenly he sighed and his jaw relaxed and his foot eased off of the accelerator. I dropped my hand to his leg and glanced back at Emmy. She was already asleep, her forehead pressed against the glass.

  Emmet dropped his right hand from the steering wheel and held my hand.

  “Neither of us should make any assumptions,” I said softly, hoping Emmy couldn’t hear me.

  “But I watched
you put his number in your pocket,” he argued softly. “You talked about it right in front of me.”

  “Right,” I agreed. “Which should more than prove that there was nothing nefarious happening between us.”

  Emmet sighed again and glanced over at me. “Funny how I overreact about this, but I was okay watching you make out with another guy.”

  “Very funny, and very silly,” I said, squeezing his hand.

  His thumb dragged across my skin and whatever tension that was in my body dispersed.

  “We were just talking,” he said after a few quiet minutes. He glanced over at me for a reaction. “We’re still friends, but if you want me to stop being her friend, I will.”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “You don’t have to do that, and I would never make you do anything like that. I wouldn’t want you to tell me I couldn’t be friends with Felix anymore, or that I couldn’t talk to Benny.”

  “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable or to worry,” Emmet said.

  “I’m not and I won’t,” I promised. “Much,” I added.

  I smiled at him. He looked over at me as if he was hesitant to believe that it could be this easy. I wanted to make it as easy as possible for both of us, but selfishly for myself, too. I needed the path of least resistance over the next few months or more. So, I squeezed his hand again to reassure him that it was that easy. I loved him and that was all that really mattered.

  Finally, Emmet smiled and it made me feel warm all over. I glanced back at Emmy. She was drooling, a sure sign that she was out cold.

  “I love you,” I spoke softly to Emmet.

  “I love you, too,” he answered. He brought our hands up to his lips and kissed my knuckles.

  It was nearly two in the morning when we pulled into the driveway. There was a light shining deep in the house and I had a feeling it was Sam in the kitchen.

  “How are we going to get her inside without getting busted?” I asked Emmet, staring at the house.

  “Maybe she needs to get busted,” he shrugged.

  “Ain’t that the truth?” I muttered, getting out of the car.

  I opened the back door and if it weren’t for the seatbelt holding Emmy in, she would have fallen out of the car. As it was, she hung grotesquely against the binds.

  “Em,” I said, shaking her.

  She groaned in response but didn’t move otherwise.

  “Emmy, wake up,” I said harshly and shook her harder.

  “Stop fucking shaking me, you bitch,” she snarled and slurred.

  “Oh, you want to call me a bitch?”

  I reached across her, unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped back. She fell out of the car, face first onto the driveway.

  “Was that really necessary?” Emmet asked, standing beside me. He looked at Emmy cursing and struggling to get up but made no effort to help her.

  “That and so much more,” I said.

  Emmy got to her feet, but she was very unsteady. Her face was scraped a little, but I didn’t really feel bad about it.

  “You are a bitch!” Emmy yelled at me.

  Emmet sighed heavily and then, eliciting a shriek from Emmy, he lifted her and threw her over his shoulder. She bitched and moaned, smacking his back with her hands. I picked up her purse and followed them into the house.

  Sam was up, and Sam had a cow, several in fact. If Emmet hadn’t been there to protect his sister, Sam would have beaten her ass with an enormous wooden spoon that I hadn’t seen in years.

  “Were you drinking, too, Donya Elisabeth Stewart?” she pointed the spoon at me with vehemence. “God help me, if you’ve been drinking I will turn your dreams of moving into that apartment in the city into smoke!”

  That was harsh, but…reasonable…

  “No, I haven’t been drinking,” I said. “You wanna smell my breath?” I asked her.

  “This ain’t funny!” she whined.

  “I’m not trying to be funny,” I argued. “I haven’t been drinking. Do I look like I’ve been drinking?”

  She pointed the spoon at Emmet next. “How much drinking did you do before you put yourself and your sisters in harm’s way and got behind the wheel? How much?”

  Emmet’s face reddened, and he actually looked guilty. “Two or three,” he answered sheepishly.

  Sam stepped towards him with the spoon, but I stepped between them with my hands up. I don’t know how I would have felt watching my guy get a spanking from his mommy.

  “Psycho child abuser,” Emmy muttered.

  “Oh, honey, you ain’t seen child abuse just yet,” Sam said, trying to go after her.

  “Can we just go to bed?” I asked with a long sigh. “Can we deal with this in the morning?”

  Sam sighed heavily and then pointed her spoon at Emmet.

  “I am very disappointed in you, Emmet Grayne,” she said. “It’s one thing for you to have a couple of beers, but you got in a car and drove.”

  “I’m sorry, mom,” Emmet said with sincerity. “You’re right and it won’t happen again.”

  “What the hell is going on down there?” Fred called from upstairs.

  We all looked at each other. Fred was usually pretty level headed, but if he knew about Emmet and had seen Emmy, it would be like an atomic bomb going off inside the house.

  “Everything is fine, honey,” Sam called. “I’ll be up there in just a minute.”

  “Why are you yelling?”

  “You know how Emmy and me get,” she forced a laugh. “Go back to bed, Frederick. I’ll be right there.”

  I heard a grumble and a moment later the bedroom door closed. Sam turned her eyes back on Emmet and Emmy.

  “Emmy, you’re punished until you’re twenty-one years old,” she hissed. “Emmet, you get your shit together or I will yank you out of that school so fast your head will spin.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said respectfully.

  She looked at me but said nothing before she finally put the spoon down on the counter and walked out of the room. There was a collective sigh of relief.

  “Come on, Emmy,” I said, taking her arm. “Let’s go to bed.”

  “I can walk by myself,” she snapped and snatched her arm away.

  She walked unsteadily down the hallway and began to stumble up the stairs.

  Emmet leaned against the counter with his arms crossed, looking angry. I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his waist, but he didn’t reciprocate.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked him.

  It took him a few moments to answer me.

  “My mom was right for a change,” he said tightly, just above a whisper. “I was drinking and I shouldn’t have driven you guys. What if we got into an accident? What if I hurt you or Emmy, or something worse? I’d never forgive myself. I was so stupid.”

  “If you were twenty-one, this wouldn’t even be an issue,” I said to him.

  “If you wouldn’t have come to get me, I would have kept drinking,” he said roughly. “And I would have still driven. It’s not about my age, it’s about my limitations. Clearly, Emmy doesn’t have any, and I’m not sure that I do either.”

  “You can’t change the past, Emmet,” I said, taking his face into my hands. “We didn’t get hurt, no one died. Let’s move past it. Learn from it, don’t do it again, know your limitations.”

  “I keep trying to take care of you and failing,” he said, looking at me sadly.

  “I’m standing here in one piece, touching you,” I smiled at him. “You took care of me, okay?”

  He rolled his eyes. “You took care of yourself, like you always do.”

  Finally, he opened his arms and pulled me into them.

  “I love you,” I whispered, my lips close to his. “I know when I really need you, you’ll be there to take care of me, and I’ll be there to take care of you when you really need me.”

  “Okay,” he said. “I can handle that.”

  “Now quit whining and kiss me.”

  Emmet grinned. “Oh, this is
certainly a way I can take care of you.”

  And take care of me he did.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  As the months slipped by, my career picked up to an insane pace. I was working sometimes six or seven days a week, from early morning until late at night. I took my first overseas trip to Milan, but couldn’t stay to play because I had to immediately fly back to New York for another job. I picked up more acting gigs, more commercials, and landed the cover of a widely viewed teen magazine. I became friendly with certain designers and other big names in the modeling world. I met various celebrities and was often invited to parties in mansions, on yachts, and in high end clubs. Despite all of that, I tended to fly under the radar, mostly graciously declining. I loved seeing my photographs on magazines or seeing my face on television or previews for the movie I did with Felix, but I didn’t really feel like I had to constantly be seen hanging with the cool kids.

  The work was very often arduous and frustrating. There were many nights when I returned to the apartment and crashed in whatever I had been wearing at the time. Some of the designers and photographers were not the nicest people. Working with them took an enormous amount of patience. I had learned to not take every terrible thing they said to heart, but sometimes it was hard to ignore the insults about my skin color or my ‘black’ hair, or some other feature of my body, especially when I was hungry, tired, and sore. The glamorous part of the industry only appeared in pictures. In reality, it wasn’t that glamorous, but I loved it anyway and I wouldn’t have been happy doing anything else.

  I got to see Emmet every other weekend. Between his internship and my unpredictable schedule, we struggled to find time to spend together, even when he was in New York. My career especially put a strain on us, but we were determined to prove my mom wrong. More than that, we were determined to prove to ourselves that we could withstand anything. We still hadn’t told Emmy, Fred and Sam about us, but then with the distance between us and the few times that either of us was able to be home in New Jersey, it was easy to hide.