by Noe Dearden
*****
Curled in the waiting room chair at the hospital, Emi prepared herself for her parent’s wrath. “You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady.” That’s what she was expecting their reaction to be. Or possibly: “What the hell were you doing driving Mr. Kerrigan’s car down the highway in the middle of the night?”
But when they finally appeared in the corridor, Emi stopped worrying. Her dad was running towards her – literally running – and stopped only when he had his hands on her shoulders, holding her at arm’s length. He kept looking her up and down frantically, as if to make certain she was really there.
“You aren’t hurt?” he asked.
Emi shook her head. “Not a scratch.”
“Oh, Emi,” he said under his breath. She disappeared into his hug, for once not embarrassed to act like a little kid around him. Her mom was at her side, too, stroking her hair.
“How’s Charlotte?” mom asked.
“The doctors think she hurt her collarbone,” Emi explained. “She’s getting an x-ray.”
“But you’re sure you feel okay. No whiplash or anything?”
“No, no, I’m fine,” Emi promised. “But Mr. Kerrigan’s car….”
Dad shook his head. “You’re safe. That’s all I care about right now.”
To her embarrassment, Emi could feel tears stinging her eyes. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I ruined the car. And your potluck and everything.”
Mom laughed. “That’s the least of anyone’s concerns. Everybody at the potluck was terribly worried about you.”
“Oh God.” Emi dropped her head in shame and humiliation. It would be all over school that Emi Kapono had stolen a car and almost killed herself and her cousin.
“Where were you and Charlotte driving?” mom asked, though she didn’t sound very mad. “Your clothes are all damp, Emi. And your hair.”
“It’s a long story.” Feeling a great weight off her shoulders, she told them all about Asher’s invitation at the mall and the party on the beach. She was careful not to mention the cliff jumping. Her parents would be upset enough without further provocation. But when she finished, she noticed that neither mom nor dad seemed especially angry, just concerned.
“You should have asked us,” mom said sternly. “We would’ve driven you to the beach party.”
“I didn’t want to interrupt your potluck. You were busy enough,” Emi improvised. It was only partially a lie, so she didn’t feel too guilty about it.
Dad was shaking his head. “This was Charlotte’s idea, wasn’t it? She pressured you into this whole party idea?”
For a moment, Emi wasn’t sure what he was suggesting. And then it struck her that he was angry – but not at Emi. At Charlotte. Both her parents were staring at her expectantly, waiting for her to affirm their suspicions.
“Well, no…” Emi admitted. “It was my idea. Well, it was both of ours, I guess.” She was beginning to get mixed up herself. After all, it was Charlotte who had been invited to Spitting Caves. And Charlotte who had driven the car. But Emi felt distinctly as though she were responsible.
“You don’t need to protect her, Emi,” mom said gently. “It was foolish of you to get involved in something like this, but if Charlotte talked you into it…”
Emi pulled back. “She didn’t talk me into anything. We were both equally responsible. I told her about Mr. Kerrigan’s car and…and…”
Both her parents were unconvinced. “Sweetie, we don’t know if Charlotte’s had a history of this sort of behavior, but you certainly don’t,” mom said. Then something seemed to occur to her. “Was Charlotte drinking?”
Emi shook her head. “I don’t think so, no…” But then a shadow of doubt flickered through her mind. Maybe Charlotte had been drinking at the party.
“The doctor will have tested her, so we’ll find out soon enough,” dad said.
“She was pretty worked up tonight,” Emi acknowledged. “But I don’t think she had anything to drink.”
Emi saw her dad exchange a knowing look with her mom. He sucked in a deep breath. “It was a mistake inviting that girl into our home,” he said in an undertone.
“That girl?” mom echoed, hurt. “She’s my sister’s only daughter. Our niece.”
“Oh, Sheena,” dad said. “She’s only been here two days and already …”
A doctor walked up to them and dad quickly swallowed his words.
“Are you Charlotte’s parents?” the doctor asked.
“We’re her guardians,” mom said. “Is Charlotte all right?”
“She’s a little banged up, but there was no sign of any internal bleeding or concussion,” said the doctor. “She fractured her collarbone and she’ll have to wear a sling for the next few weeks.”
“But she can go home tonight?” dad asked.
“Yes, she’ll be discharged. She can take some Tylenol for the pain. We told her to avoid strenuous exercise for the time being, while she’s healing.”
“And she wasn’t…” dad started uncomfortably, taking a breath before saying, “intoxicated?”
The doctor looked at her father impassively. “Nope. Blood test came out clean.”
When the doctor left, dad went to the front desk to validate the parking ticket.
“Dad’s probably right.” Mom pinched her fingers between her eyebrows, like she had a headache. “I thought we could help Charlotte, but maybe we’re in over our heads.”
Two hours ago, Emi would have agreed wholeheartedly. In fact, she would have been overjoyed to know she didn’t have to deal with Charlotte any longer; that her parents had decided to send her home. But even though it had been an exhausting and frightening evening, she felt a nagging doubt.
“Mom,” said Emi timidly. She rested her head against her mother’s shoulder, comforted by the familiar scent of face powder and perfume. “There was something the police noticed tonight. Something kind of strange.” Emi struggled to remember the officer’s exact words. “He said that, in accidents like this one, the driver usually swerves the vehicle so it won’t hit the driver’s side hardest. It’s a survival instinct.”
“That’s logical,” Emi’s mom said.
“But Charlotte swerved so that we did hit her side head-on,” Emi pointed out. “She swerved to the right.”
Emi’s mom looked searchingly into her daughter’s face. “What are you saying? That she did that on purpose? To protect you?”
“I don’t know,” Emi said. “But it’s weird.”
Mom tucked her arm around Emi’s shoulders and held her close, almost so much that it hurt. “Oh, Emi.” She fluffed her daughter’s damp hair. “You know, you’re grounded for about a billion years,” mom sighed. But she was laughing and relieved, and Emi almost felt glad.
Chapter 3
