I Left the Triangle They Thought I Needed Chapter 05

I Left the Triangle They Thought I Needed Chapter 05

I had a long dream.

A hot summer day. James in his school uniform, riding a bike, smiling at me.

“Emily, come on. We’re going to miss the concert.”

His back was so thin but so strong.

I waved a glow stick and screamed along to the music.

He kept his arm around me so I wouldn’t get jostled.

“Be careful.”

I said, “James, you’ll always protect me, won’t you?”

“Yes. I will never let you get hurt.”

More flashes.

James moving me into my dorm. Handling everything.

Bringing me burgers and milkshakes every week.

Standing outside my building on Valentine’s Day with flowers.

Then Natalie worked her way into his heart.

He became someone I didn’t recognize, yelling at me, saying the cruelest things.

The person inside him wasn’t the eighteen-year-old I fell in love with.

And I had spent all that time chasing him, just trying to get back to that summer. Back to when he actually loved me.

“Emily. Emily, wake up.”

“Don’t scare Mom like this.”

I forced my eyes open. Every part of my body hurt. The tears just came.

“Mom…”

My mother’s face came into focus. Her eyes were swollen and red. She looked pale.

“Doctor! Doctor, she’s awake!”

Nurses and doctors rushed in. They checked me over, recorded my vitals.

“All her vitals are stable. Two weeks of hard work, and it paid off.”

Two weeks? I’d been out that long?

After they left, my mom told me what happened.

When the wave took me, James dove in after me. He swam until he couldn’t anymore.

He was fine after a week.

But I had swallowed too much water. My body was badly damaged.

The rescue came fast enough. The doctors did everything they could. I just wouldn’t wake up.

I thought about the long dream and shook my head, my voice rough.

“Mom. I’m sorry I scared you.”

She held my hand. “You’re alive. That’s all that matters.”

That’s what my parents always wanted for me.

Alive. Safe. Okay.

The next few days, I recovered.

Then I heard James outside the hospital room.

“Mrs. Watson, please just let me see her. Just for a minute.”

“I’m so worried about her.”

My mom answered, “Worried? You’re the reason she’s in here.”

“Now you want to play the good guy. It’s a little late for that.”

James begged.

“I know I messed up. I never meant to hurt Emily.”

“Things just got out of hand.”

A loud smack echoed through the hallway.

“That’s your excuse? If Emily hadn’t survived, that’s manslaughter.”

“You’re a lawyer. You know the law better than I do.”

I’d never heard my mom speak like that. Cold and sharp.

“I came to apologize.”

“Emily, I know you’re awake. Just let me see you. Please.”

My mom blocked him. “Natalie is pregnant. Shouldn’t you be planning a wedding?”

From down the hall, Natalie’s voice.

“Mrs. Watson, if you’re angry at anyone, be angry at me.”