To Walk in His Shoes

August 5th.

It’s Emma’s last day before she heads back to California.

We spend most of the morning in my room. I throw on some clothes and my makeup while Emma packs up her belongings and throws them in her girly suitcase. I sit on the bed when I’m done and wait for her to finish scavenging my room for any leftover junk.

“I wish I didn’t have to leave today,” Emma says, zipping up her bag and sitting on the bed next to me.

“I know,” I say at a loss for words.

“It’s ridiculous how fast time goes by,” she sighs, falling onto her back. I lie down next to her and glance over.

“Yeah. But hey, we’ll see each other again soon. And we still have some time to spare,” I reply. Emma smiles widely and jumps off the bed, pulling me up with her.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” She exclaims, pulling me out the door and down the stairs. Carter’s in the kitchen, grabbing a can of Coca-Cola from the fridge. He jumps back a couple of feet when he notices us and glowers at me.

“Carter, can you drive us to the mall?” I ask. Carter widens his eyes a bit, surprised that I actually have to leave the house. We only have one car at the moment, and it’s shared between my father and Carter. My parents decided that it would be easier for me to get my license later on, because that way maybe they’d be able to afford another car. But really, it just makes things so much more frustrating.

Carter takes a sip of his coke and leans against the counter. He looks at Emma and smiles, then glances at me and shakes his head.

“Dad’s at work today, so I don’t have the car. Sorry,” he says, not really in an apologetic tone.

“But it’s Emma’s last day, and I promised her we’d go shopping before she heads back,” I plead, widening my eyes and pushing out my bottom lip.

Carter sighs and flips his messy, unkempt hair out of his face. He looks at me very seriously and then subtly bites his lip, as if he’s thinking about something.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Kat. I don’t have the car right now. And besides, Keith is making me go to the beach with him. He thinks we’re going to pick up a couple of hot college girls,” he laughs, scoffing at Keith’s terrible plan.

Emma’s eyes suddenly light up, and I know she’s got an idea. She looks at me and smiles, and then turns back towards Carter.

“Carter, how many people does Keith’s truck hold?” She inquires cunningly, raising her eyebrows.

“At maximum, it can hold five. Why?” He asks. It takes a couple of seconds for him to understand what we’re requesting. And then he’s shaking his head over-enthusiastically. “No, no. Keith would never allow that.”

Emma just continues to grin, spinning her body from side to side. I groan loudly when I realize what Emma has just done. Keith’s truck is piled with trash and God knows what else. I’m not only scared for my own health, but for Emma’s as well. I promised her parents that I’d get her back in one piece. And if we get in his truck, I’m not so sure I can guarantee that will happen.

“Can you just ask him?” Emma asks. Carter continues to wobble his head side to side, and we both know this should be out of the question. But Emma proceeds anyway.

“Please? For me?” She probes sweetly, ambling closer and closer towards my seemingly confused brother.

Carter keeps this tough guy act up for a few more minutes before Emma’s finally able to get him to budge. He sighs dramatically and looks at me before stomping out of the house. As soon as he’s gone, I spin around and glare at Emma.

“What the hell was that for?” I exclaim loudly.

“What are you talking about?” She questions, furrowing her brows together.

“You were practically seducing my brother, Em,” I utter. She shrugs her shoulders and crosses her arms together.

“We need a ride, Kat,” she says, attempting to persuade me.

“We can just take the bus or something,” I retort.

“Come on. It won’t be that bad,” she says. I’m angry at her, and I want to continue to argue. But before I can make my point, Carter walks through the front door with a highly unwelcome guest.

“Hey Keith,” Emma greets, giggling to herself. Keith smirks, taking her hand in his and kissing it again.

“Hello Emma. It’s a shame you have to leave so soon. I was hoping I could get to know you a little more,” he says charmingly. After he receives a satisfactory blush from Emma, he turns to me and purses his lips together. “Well, you definitely look pleased to see me.”

I scoff and roll my eyes, taking a couple of steps away from him and towards the door. “Whatever, Keith. Look, can we get a ride or not?” I ask, cutting straight to the point.

“Depends. Will you be civil?” He asks curiously, a hint of a smirk beginning at the edge of his lips. I push my brows together blankly.

“Will you be civil?” I retort. Emma shoves me with her elbow and gives me a threatening look until I give in. “Yes. Now can we go? We don’t have all day.”

After some uncertain glances, we walk outside and hop into Keith’s truck. We drive downtown, enjoying the somewhat sunny day that greets us. Teenagers roam the sidewalks in shorts and tanks, smiling and laughing as we drive past. And other than being in such close vicinity to Keith, I'm relieved to get out of the house, being wrapped up in the light, summer air.

When we get to the mall, I instantly jump out of the car and wait for Emma.

“Thanks for the ride!” She squeaks, grabbing my arm and quickly pulling me away.

“Yeah, thanks,” I grumble, hastily walking away.

Yet in the background, I can still hear Keith as he calls my name mockingly and drives off with Carter.

Emma and I spend the next few hours wandering stores for back to school clothes. We joke around and laugh like the old days, and the nostalgia is clear in the air. But despite the fact she's leaving, Emma has told me that she'll try and visit next summer.

"Ready to get some food?" I ask after my stomach involuntarily grumbles. Emma nods her head, and we head towards the food court, carrying dozens of bags in our weighed down hands.

We stand in line for Wendy's and I listen to Emma as she rambles on and on about school and this guy she recently met. We order our food and take it to a table. By the time we sit down, Emma's looking at me with a smile.

"What?" I ask. She shakes her head and takes a bite of a fry.

"Oh, nothing," she laughs nervously.

"Emma," I say, waiting for her to respond. She widens her eyes and continues chewing her food before she surrenders.

"I'm just happy I got to see you. That's all," she says enthusiastically.

"Me too. I wish you could stay longer though. It's going to be boring when you leave," I pout. Emma laughs.

"You will be fine, I promise," she says.

And with that, we finish up the last bits of our food and walk out, ready to head to our final destination.