Thirty minutes before we had to leave for school and I was the only one ready. That was unusual. I put a bagel down, reaching into the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of water. I seriously needed to buy my own carton of orange juice and milk. Parker was next to join me in the kitchen, pulling the orange juice out of the refrigerator and slugging some down. "Enjoying the show?" he asked, once he was finished. "Just observing how cavemen live," I answered, rescuing my bagel from the toaster. He rolled his eyes, putting a bagel down for himself. "Has Emmett come in yet?" "Come in from where?" Parker sighed. "His morning run Emily, has Emmett come back yet?" "He should've." "It's like talking to a brick wall," he muttered, rubbing his temples. "Yes Emily, I know that he should've. What I'm asking you is if he has." "I don't know Parker; I'm not Emmett's keeper." He jogged back towards Emmett's room, calling out for him. I slathered my bagel with peanut butter, taking a seat at the counter and glancing up at the clock. There's no way Emmett could still be on his morning run. "He's not in the apartment," Parker said, coming back into the kitchen. My heart began to pound a little harder. And then I heard the lock on the door. The door opened and Emmett came stumbling in, coughing and wheezing. I dropped my bagel to the ground, jumping to my feet. But Parker was already three steps ahead of me, tossing Emmett's inhaler towards him. Emmett caught it and stood up as straight as he could under the circumstances, taking a puff from his inhaler. He waited 60 seconds, and then took another one. "Why didn't you have your inhaler on you?" Parker demanded. Emmett, clearly in distress, waved him off. "You're a fucking idiot, that's why," Parker informed him. I bent down and picked up my bagel off the floor, tossing it in the trash before grabbing a yogurt out of the refrigerator. Over the next few minutes Emmett's breathing became less labored, and then he slipped over to the couch, lying down and letting out a groan. I went over and sat down on the ground next to him, rubbing his back. "You should've had your inhaler," I informed him. He didn't answer. "When's the last time you saw Dr. Hartman?" Still no answer. "He saw Dr. Hartman right before school started," Parker informed me from the kitchen. "What did he say?" "He sent him to Jacksonville for testing." "Wow," I said, looking back at Emmett. "So I guess our weekly phone calls weren't so informative after all." He still didn't answer. "What did the tests say?" Emmett turned his face to look at me. "They confirmed that I have asthma." I rolled my eyes. "Now's not the time for your sarcasm." "They didn't say anything we don't already know; that's why..." He paused for a moment to breathe. "That's why I didn't mention the tests to you." "I am absolutely furious with you." He sighed. I stood up, brushing off my jeans. "Emily," Emmett called out. I ignored him, grabbing my backpack and heading out the door for school. I guess I'm driving myself today. ~*~ "Do you know how many rumors are circling about your brother today?" Michelle asked me, as I took a seat at the lunch table. "Nope," I said, as I opened up my salad. "I'm just glad that people have stopped talking about me." "Have you talked to him at all today?" "Nope," I answered again, pouring my Italian dressing on my salad. "He's texted me, but he deserves the cold shoulder." "Emily, you're being dramatic." "Michelle, Jacksonville testing is a big deal." Jacksonville testing meant that they were worried about Emmett's lung function. "You know how Emmett is." He wasn't going to worry about anything while I was in London, wanting me to solely focus on myself. "It still pisses me off that he would keep that from me." "In the words of Elsa, let it go." I rolled my eyes, stabbing my salad with a little more force than necessary. "Okay," Hannah said, taking her seat at my lunch table. "Emily, is your brother away with Veronica?" "No." "Did he get invited to join the US Men's National Team?" "No." "Is he in the hospital?" "No." She let out a sigh. "Well damn high school and their stupid rumors." I laughed, taking another bite of my salad. "He's at home. He was just feeling under the weather." "That's not nearly as exciting as him flying out to LA to meet up with the US National Men's Team on a personal invite," Paula informed me, waving her fork in the air. I laughed along with the rest of the table. And then my phone buzzed with another text from Emmett. "Let it go," Michelle whispered. I sighed, looking at his texts from throughout the day. Emily I'm sorry. Emily. I love you. Emilyyyyyy. You can't ignore me forever. Emily, Emily, Emily, Emily. Come on, I'm said that I was sorry. Emily, I'm sorry. I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. And Michelle called me dramatic? You're so annoying. We'll talk when I get home. Love you. I sent him the text and tucked my phone back into my backpack, tuning back into the lunch table conversation. All too soon it was time to head back to class, my next class being American History. "I've got to run," Michelle said, as I headed to my locker. "I can't be late to Chemistry again." I blew her a kiss and she took off running across campus. I switched out my books in my locker, searching for my American History textbook. I felt a presence next to me as I went to shut my locker. I turned to see Daniel Hawthorne leaning against the lockers, observing me. My heart practically stopped in my chest. "You're back," Daniel said, raising his eyebrows at me. "Imagine that," I answered, tossing my backpack over my shoulder. "I'd heard the rumors around school, that Emily Winston was back," he continued, staring at me. "But I brushed them off because I thought, nah if she was back I would've heard about it. She would've texted me, a phone call even. Something." "That's mighty high of you to assume," I said, raising my eyebrows at him. "I figured you'd at least tell me you were back." "Well you figured wrong." His eyes scanned my body. "You're looking good." I rolled my eyes. "Much better than the last time I saw you." My jaw tightened at the memory. "But of course you couldn't be bothered to call me after that either," Daniel continued, "let me know you were okay." "I didn't need to." "We were dating." "Oh is that what that was?" He raised his eyebrows at me in surprise. "What do you mean?" "Dating meaning that you were taking me out on dates and treating me like I was something special, along with the three other girls?" This time his jaw tightened. "Call me what you will, but I wasn't stupid." "I never said you were." "Well you sure acted like you thought I was. I mean three other girls Daniel? Did you honestly think I wouldn't eventually find out?" "They didn't mean anything to me, not like you did." "Save it." And with that I walked away. ~*~ "You're going to work?" I asked Emmett, in disbelief. "Yeah," he answered, pulling a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. "We've been slammed this week; I can't back out today." "That's stupid." "That's called having a job." "Your health should come before your job." "Emily, I'm fine." I raised my eyebrows at him in disbelief. "Now," he amended. "I'm fine now." I rolled my eyes at that. "Dr. Hartman just said that my lung function was the same as the last test," he informed me, as he sipped on his water. "Everything's looking fine. The tests proved, once again, that I have asthma. No surprises." "It would've been nice if you had mentioned something to me rather than having to hear it from Parker." "Thanks for reminding me," he said, pointing his water bottle at me. "I'll have to get him for that later." I shook my head at him. Boys. "And I'm sorry for not mentioning anything to you. I just didn't want you to worry about me while you were in London." His eyes glanced over to the clock. "And I've got to get going before I'm late." "You shouldn't have tried to protect my feelings while I was in London," I said, as he threw away the now empty water bottle. "I'm a big girl." "I know." I think he was just saying that to appease me. "That's all that happened while I was gone?" I asked, as Emmett gathered his things. "You're not keeping anything else from me?" He offered me a nervous smile. "Emmett Charles Winston!" "I have to go," he apologized. "You're the worst." He smiled at me before leaving. Asshole. A few minutes later, as I started my homework in the kitchen, the door opened and Parker came in. "I thought you were going out tonight," I said, without looking up from my math. "Yeah well I'm not." "Did she stand you up?" He didn't answer, and his bedroom door slammed a few minutes later. "I'll take that as a yes," I muttered, unable to bite back my smile.