Shoot Down The Stars (The Stars Duet 1)

30

David

My phone buzzes. It’s Bianca.

Bianca: Want to hook up later?

Me: No, I can’t tonight. Think maybe we should put a hold on it for now. Emily had to move back in for a little while.

Bianca: Ohhhh I’m not even a little bit surprised. It’s okay! See you at work tomorrow. Room A13 needs the AC fixed first thing.

I hope she really understands. I didn’t expect this to happen—to have Emily under the same roof again. I just wish it were under better circumstances. I look over at her.

“What are you doing over there?” I lean over and try to see.

“Nothing. Just swipin’.”

“Swiping who and why?”

I grab her phone playfully and see profiles of women on the screen. She has swiped right on almost every one of them. I hand her phone back and try to calm the jealousy struggling to rear its ugly head. She shrugs.

“Thought maybe I’d try something a little different, since this worked out so well for me.” She points to the faded bruises on her neck.

“Hey, if you never wanted to be with a man again after that, I wouldn’t blame you. We suck.” I laugh. “But it would be a terrible waste.”

Emily tells me about Kevin’s outcome as we eat our breakfast. She allows a voicemail to play on speakerphone. A detective details Kevin’s arrest. He was caught fleeing the state.

She seems sad he was arrested. Why is her heart too damn big for her own good? I wanted to give him a much swifter form of justice, but I promised her I wouldn’t.

If asked why I love Emily, this is part of it. She will always be the better person. And I will always be a better me because of her.