Page 68 of Power
Chapter fifteen
Reece
“Yourfaceislooking so much better, Mom,” Emily says as she slides into the car.
“Well, thank you so much for your kind words, kid.” I lean over and give her a kiss on the cheek. “How was school?”
Emily shrugs. “It was school,” she replies with no passion. “I came first in an English exam, and I came first in a math exam too.”
“First?” I pull out onto the road heading toward home. “You came first?”
“Yeah, it was pretty good.” I hold my hand out to give her a high five. She quickly smacks my hand, then looks down at her phone. “What are we doing this weekend?”
“I was thinking, maybe we can pack the car and drive.”
“Where to?” Emily eagerly asks.
“Anywhere. What do you think?”
“Who’s coming? Is Tash coming with us?”
“No, she’s working.”
“What about Bennett, is he coming?”
I don’t want to tell her the truth about us, but I also don’t want to lie either. “No, it’ll be a girls’ weekend. Just you and me.” I need to get away from all the pressures of home. Thankfully, Grayson is no longer around, which makes things easier for me because I don’t need to explain it all to Emily, although she was chill about Bennett.
Emily turns in her seat to stare at me. “One.” She holds a finger up. “When can we go? And two.” She holds a second finger up. “Can I bring books to read? Oh, and three.” She holds a third finger up. “How far away are we going?”
“As soon as we pack. Yes. Let’s just drive and stop when we’re tired,” I answer her questions in succession.
Emily excitedly claps her hands together. “Yes, this can be a choose-your-own-adventure kind of weekend. This is going to be so much fun!”
“Yep, it is.” I look over to Emily and smile before returning my attention to the road.
The sun has fallen, and the night sky is now full of twinkling stars. Emily is struggling to keep her eyes open, and I know I’m an hour or so away from falling asleep behind the wheel myself.
“Mom,” Emily says in a small, groggy voice.
“Yeah?”
“No matter where it leads, I think we should take the next exit off the highway.”
“Next exit off the highway, you say?”
“Yep.” She opens her mouth and releases a massive yawn. “I have a good feeling about it.”
The next exit fast approaches and I look over at Emily who’s struggling to keep her eyelids open. “I’m taking the exit.” She lifts her hand and gives me a thumbs-up. We continue driving for a while and Emily is doing her best to stay awake. If she goes to sleep, it’ll only be a matter of time before my eyes close too. “We’re coming up to another sign,” I say.
Emily blinks several times, yawns, and sits up straighter in the seat. “Does that say Hope River?” She squints to see in the distance.
We quickly approach a weathered sign pointing to the next turn off. “That’s exactly what it says.”
“Must be a sign.” Emily starts laughing. “See, it’s a sign, so it must be a sign.” She points toward it. “Can we go that way?”
“Sure can. I think you’re delirious, though. You need to sleep.”
She’s still laughing. “I’m so funny. I should be a stand-up comedian.”
