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Your parents are leaving now and I have to say bye but if you read this can you call me? Or just text me and end it with ‘don’t text me back’ and I won’t. If I’m not okay I just want to know that at least you are.
Miss you like crazy.
Emmett
37
EMMETT
I woke up Monday morning to incessant calling from Julian. I knew it was him because I assigned specific ring tones for him, Mom and Gram, and his was the sound of Ben Stein going, “Bueller… Bueller... Bueller?” I thought it was hilariously appropriate then, because I liked to tell Julian that that was what his big brother talks sounded like to me.
But this morning it was gnawing at my soul so with a groan, I snatched my phone off the nightstand and answered with an irritated, “What?”
“You’re still asleep?”
“It’s 6AM.”
“It’s 9AM. You’re looking at the clock upside down.”
“Why did you call three times in a row?”
“I’m at the stadium. I just had a front office meeting with Drew Maddox about his future with the team.”
“What are you telling me this?”
“Because he spent the last ten minutes trying to convince me to let him into your apartment so he could ensure you weren’t dead. Apparently he’s been calling you for a week now,” Julian said while typing at lightning speed in the background. “And you haven’t picked up.”
“I’m alive. I just don’t want to go out with him after the last time he dragged me to a club.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. Everything?”
Maybe my tolerance had gone down since I’d last gone out with Drew, because my one outing with him last week felt like fucking torture. I was completely bored and over-stimulated at the same time. The whole night felt like a revolving door of shots, clubs and girls who “just heard” that I’d gone through “a really bad breakup” and “that’s so sad – do you want a massage?”
“Vague,” Julian remarked.
“I can’t explain it but you of all people know that Drew can turn a normal situation into a crazy one in about two seconds flat.”
“I believe you. But you might want to enjoy the time you have left with him, because he might be traded soon.”
“What?” I jolted upright, making Ozzy jump.
“Don’t tell him.”
“What the fuck?”
“Trust me, I’m against it. He’s a pain in the ass, but he’s going to go down as one of the best in the game, so know that I’m in his corner. I’m just letting you know that there have been discussions,” Julian said, holding the phone briefly away as he spoke to his assistant. “On the bright side, he said he’s been trying to get you to ‘look alive’ and you certainly sound it right now.”
“Dude,” I said. “Don’t trade him.”
“I’m trying not to. But do me a favor and pick up his next call. I can’t have him asking about my family during front office meetings.”
“Fair,” I conceded as Julian moved on.
“How are you doing this morning?”
I stared back at Ozzy for a second. I had no idea how to answer. I’d just had my first real emotion about something besides her, so maybe that was a good thing. But the fact that it was about my best friend’s probable trade wasn’t great.
