A Game Worth Watching (29 page)

Someone
was watching her. In a hallway full of high school students, the realization
didn’t come from locking eyes with the perpetrator, but from an unsettled
feeling within. Someone was definitely watching her. It wasn’t the same feeling
as having Riley watch her from the corner of his eye thinking she wouldn’t
notice, but the full on I’m-so-obviously-staring-at-you feeling. Considering
Riley was on his way to fifth period, Emma knew it wasn’t him, but the feeling
of being watched was so strong. She glanced around to find the culprit.

Ashley.

Emma
tried to ignore it—the eyes boring into the back of her head, watching
her every move—but she couldn’t. “Stop it!” she shouted over her shoulder
at the freshman. “I mean it.”

Ashley
popped up beside her, still staring. “Are you okay?”

Emma
groaned. “For the millionth time, I’m fine.” Between the time she’d stepped
over the threshold into school until the current second, Ashley had made her
presence known—by staring. So far, Emma’s efforts to make the kid forget
about last night’s little occurrence were in vain. “I may have had a mini
breakdown yesterday, but I’m over it. So, will you please stop looking at me
like I’m going to shatter into a million pieces?”

“I’m
sorry,” Ashley said. “I’ve just never seen you cry before.”

Emma
rolled her eyes. “Yeah, it’s amazing to think a person like me actually has
feelings, isn’t it?” Unlike the rest of the female population, Emma didn’t
sprout waterworks every other second of the day to get attention, but that
didn’t mean she was a freak of nature.

“That’s
not what I meant,” the kid protested. “I just want to help.”

“Yeah,
you and everyone else on the planet.” Emma’s tone was tinged with more sarcasm
than she intended, but seriously, what was with everyone’s sudden interest in
her? Talk about annoying, suffocating, and downright rude.

Ashley
bowed her head. Even with her brown hair casting her face in shadows, Emma saw
the kid’s chin wobble. Wasn’t it illegal for a freshman to look so crushed?
Emma’s chest tightened. If any tears escaped from Ashley’s eyes, Emma would
hate herself for eternity.

She
never meant to hurt the kid. From the look on Ashley’s face, the
it’s-not-you-it’s-me speech wouldn’t work, so Emma tried a different approach.
“Look, my life isn’t exactly...” how could she put it in girl terms without
being offensive? “butterflies and roses.” She couldn’t prevent cringing at the
term. “I just needed some space.”

“Needed.
As in past tense,” Ashley stated for the record. “Does that mean we can resume
practices? Today?”

If
Emma said no, she knew she would regret it. Not to mention the combined guilt
trip from Riley and Ashley she wouldn’t survive. “Sure, why not?”

Ashley
threw herself at Emma, wrapping her bony arms around Emma’s waist. “Thanks,
Coach.”

“I
told you,” Emma said, wiggling free of Ashley’s grasp. “I’m not your coach.
Don’t ever call me that again.”

“Okay,
Coach,” Ashley said. “I’ll tell Shiloh and Peyton.”

“Get
out of here,” Emma said, lightly pushing Ashley down the hall. The school
should implement a freshmen-should-be-seen-not-heard policy. Seniors shouldn’t
have to tolerate them.

Emma
couldn’t help but shake her head and laugh as Ashley bounced off one body and
then another in her attempt to get to class. She probably wouldn’t have had
such a tough time if she didn’t insist on turning around every five seconds to
wave at Emma.

And
that was how Emma’s life tried to take another step at returning to normal.
Whatever normal was.

***

Monopoly.
When played between two people, there was one big winner and one huge loser.
Monopoly
was Riley’s favorite game and it wasn’t
because he was always the huge loser. No, that would be Emma. No matter what
she did, or didn’t do, she could never manage a victory in the stupid game. She
could have started with two thousand extra dollars and half the properties, yet
she’d somehow manage to lose it all to Riley’s greedy hands. It was just sad.
But on occasion, she would succumb to his pleading and give him permission to
break out the
Monopoly
board. Allowing her to continue invading the privacy of his home was considered
one of these occasions.

With
the game spread across the living room floor, and the two of them sprawled
beside it, she glared at him as he counted his money. He may have been her best
friend in the entire world, but one thing he was not was merciful in the game
of
Monopoly
.
He played for total annihilation.

“I’m
buying four hotels,” he said with a smirk.

With
a flick of his finger he demolished the houses on Park Place and Boardwalk,
clearing the space for his newly purchased hotels, which were sure to send her
into bankruptcy with her next turn. Unlike most people, Emma
always
landed
on Park Place and Boardwalk, especially after Riley started establishing
property on them.

“How
is it you always manage to buy hotels before I can buy my first house?” It was
the same question she asked every single time they played the stupid game, but
she couldn’t get over it.

“Strategy,
my friend.” He had no problem setting his hotels on the properties she would
most certainly land on with her next role of the dice.

“Strategy,
blah.”

Long
ago, he had stripped her of all rights to play banker or real estate manager,
accusing her of cheating at both. Sorry, but when you get massacred in every
single game of Monopoly, one has to implement extreme measures to make the game
at least partly competitive. Through time, she switched her focus from trying
to actually win a game—knowing it was an impossible goal—to seeing
how much she could cheat and get away with before he caught her. She also knew
a trick or two about strategy.

A
knock sounded on the front door.

Riley
pointed at her as he rose from the floor to answer it. “You better not cheat
while my back is turned.”

Yeah,
right. A knock on the front door drawing him away from the board? What better
cheating opportunity was there? “I wouldn’t dream of it,” she said, trying to
determine whether she should steal money from the bank to pay his hotel costs
or roll the die and flip the numbers to evade the danger zone…or both. She
waited for just the right moment to make her move, but he had one eye on her
and one eye on the door, which meant she’d have to act quickly.

Riley
opened the door, and she watched his smile slip into a frown as his entire
focus switched to the visitor.

“Hey,
Riley. My sister here?”

Her
heart skipped a beat at the sound of Logan’s voice.

Riley
didn’t respond. His hand gripped the doorknob, his body blocked the doorway,
and he gave no indication of moving to allow Logan to pass.

“Please,”
Logan said.

Emma,
her cheating strategy forgotten, stood. “Riley,” she said, a warning in her
voice. “It’s okay.”

Riley,
his body rigid, glanced toward her before moving aside to let Logan into the
house.

Logan
stepped in just far enough to close the door. He shoved his hands in his
pockets and rocked back on his heels before meeting her eye for a half a
second. “Hey, sis.”

“Hey.”
She didn’t know if he was here as her brother or as their dad’s messenger. If
anyone would be sent to tell her she was no longer welcome at home, it would be
Logan.

Riley
came to stand beside her, keeping a close eye on Logan. She knew Riley wouldn’t
hesitate to act if Logan said anything out of line to her.

“How
are you?” Logan asked.

“She’s
fine,” Riley spit out. “No thanks to you.”

Emma
slapped him on the stomach. Riley never usually got involved in her family affairs,
but after the last incident, Emma knew she wouldn’t be able to restrain him.
“I’m fine,” she reiterated, knowing the small talk didn’t matter.

“About
what happened between you and Lance,” Logan said. “Sorry. You know how he
gets.”

Of
all her brothers, Logan was the one who didn’t go out of his way to make her
life miserable or make her feel like a complete moron, but he did have an
annoying habit of trying to sugarcoat things or dissolve problems with a sorry.
She could only take so much sugar before she gagged.

“Yeah,”
she said, crossing her arms. “I know how he gets, but you didn’t see his face.
He wasn’t just blowing off steam this time. He meant every word he said.”

Usually
she could let the hatred of her family drip away from her without any permanent
damage, but this time was different. This time she didn’t want to be the one
who shoved everything into a closet and closed the door, hoping it would
dissolve with time.

“Emma,”
Logan said, “Dad wants you to come home.”

She
took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to remain calm. “Did he say
that?”

Logan
shoved his hands deeper in his pockets and shrugged. “You know how Dad is.”

What
little hope she’d had about her dad disappeared. “Yeah, I know how Dad is.” Their
dad was a man of few words. The likelihood he’d said anything about her was
doubtful. Besides, the duration of a week couldn’t erase the look she’d last
seen on his face. “He doesn’t want me at home any more than the rest of you
do.”

Logan
took his hands out of his pockets and took a step closer to her, which caused
Riley to do the same, his fingers grasping her forearm.

“You
can’t expect our family to be perfect—”

“Who
said anything about perfection?” she yelled. “I’d settle for functional. You
keep your nose in a book and a blind eye to everything going on, Lance lashes
out at me any chance he gets, Dad hates me for Mom leaving, and Lucas and Lenny
treat me more like a ghost than a sister. You come here telling me Dad wants me
to come home, but the last time I looked him in the eye, I was the last person
he wanted to see.”

Logan
looked at Riley, then back at her. She sensed his nervousness growing. He
didn’t like conflict, and she was in no mood to avoid it.

“The
decision’s yours.” Logan cast another glance at Riley, his eyes hardening. “But
you don’t belong here.”

She
flinched as if he’d slapped her. It was the first time she’d heard Logan speak
with Lance’s tone, the first time she’d seen him own his brother’s scowl. It
didn’t matter if her dad sent Logan to retrieve her or not, she knew the real
reason for his visit. Even though Riley had always been a permanent fixture in
her life, none of her brothers had befriended him. After Lance’s accusations,
Emma finally understood why. Riley stood for everything they hated: money,
perfect families, and unlimited opportunities. No matter how much they despised
her, they despised Riley and his family more. They may not want her at home,
but they sure didn’t want her living with Riley and his parents. Logan had come
to remind both Riley and Emma that she didn’t belong with the Ledgers—she
wasn’t good enough for them.

Logan’s
behavior convinced Emma that he, like Lance, resented her. Logan was just
better at hiding it. She watched her brother let himself out, leaving her and
Riley to stare after him.

“The
nerve of him coming over here and telling you to go home,” Riley practically
yelled, his fingers tightening around her arm. “He’s no better than the rest of
your family.”

“Riley,
relax. He’s just—”

“I
won’t relax!” he shouted. “Em, he sat there the entire time Lance ripped you
apart and did nothing. He’s never protected you, he’s never voiced his opinion
on anything, and yet he comes over here after your family rejected you, says
you don’t belong here, and tells you to come home?” He shook his head. “That’s
not okay with me.”

She
opened her mouth to speak, to stick up for her family in some way, but he cut
her off. “Don’t you dare defend them. They don’t deserve it.”

Maybe
he was right, but she couldn’t help it. She freed her arm from his grasp. “Then
stop putting me in a position where I feel obligated to defend them.”

“I’m
sorry,” he said without conviction, “but when someone messes with you, they
mess with me too.”

“How
heroic of you,” she said sarcastically. “You’re a real knight in shining
armor.”

Without
warning, he grabbed her around the waist and pinned her against the wall. She
didn’t know how to respond to being trapped, so she just looked up at him,
looking down at her. “You know I would do anything to protect you, especially
from your brothers. If that means I have to be your knight in shining armor,
then so be it.” He ended his declaration with an arrogant smile and she
laughed, knowing he refused to let her family drive a wedge between them.

“Don’t
you need a white horse for that?”

He
shrugged. “Technicalities.”

Their
faces were only inches apart, and if he wanted to, Riley could have kissed her
again—he looked like he wanted to—but he released her instead.

“And
you do belong here,” he said, stepping back. “The Ledgers are Emma Wrangton’s
number one fans.”

She
should have laughed at his corny comment. She should have rolled her eyes or
playfully pushed him, but she knew he was right. The Ledgers had always been
there for her. No matter how rough things got with her family, Emma knew she
could always come home to the Ledgers. Maybe it was because of this she found
the strength to return to her family to face whatever came next, rather than
hide out in fear of getting hurt again. Two days later, despite Riley’s
protests, she found herself packing her things.

“You
sure this is a good idea?” Riley asked as she picked up her stuff and shoved it
into her backpack. He sat on the couch holding her sweatshirt in his hands like
it was a teddy bear he didn’t want to give up.