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Twenty minutes later I met back up with Emily in the garage and helped my sister uncover her bike and moved it around to the garage door. Emily clicked the remote mounted to the wall, and the garage door made its close ascent to reveal a beautiful sunny day. Not a cloud in the sky, with a soft breeze that felt nice on my face.
“Here,” Emily said, handing me a thick jacket.
I placed my own jacket over the closest guitar stand and took the bundle from Emily, holding it out in front of me. It was a thick riding jacket fitted with the protective padding and plates. It looked a little old, but almost exactly my size.
“It was Dad’s,” Emily said. “It’s a little old now. But it’s the only one we have that will fit you.”
“Thanks,” I nodded. “I’ll make sure to look after it.”Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.
I held back a tear as I thought about the man that had fathered me. The man that had looked for me and wanted to meet me. The man I had thought abandoned my mother and me. The man I had hated for my entire life. I would have given anything right now to meet him. But it wasn’t possible.
Suddenly, Emily’s arms were around my waist and I felt her body press into mine. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” I whispered, rubbing her back. “Thank you for letting me wear this.”
We hugged in silence for a few minutes before separating. Emily wiped at her cheeks, and I pretended I didn’t see her crying while I pulled the jacket on. It fit perfectly. Like it was tailored to me.
“I guess your dad and I were similar sizes,” I said.
“Our dad,” Emily corrected again. “And yes. It’s actually a little weird.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“Well… none of us look exactly like either of our parents,” Emily explained. “Yeah, we share features, and you can easily tell we’re family. But you… you’re almost exactly like him. It was like you are made completely of our father’s genes.”
“With my mother’s eyes,” I smiled.
“She must have had beautiful eyes,” Emily replied softly.
Our eyes met for a brief moment, and I felt a sudden pull towards her. Instead, I focused-something I would have thought impossible to do yesterday-and gave her a smile before gesturing to her bike.
“You wanna take the helm?” I asked.
“No,” she shook her head. “You can ride.”
“I don’t have a license though,” I replied.
“Do you always do what’s right?” Emily asked, giving me a very Erica like smirk.
“Alright,” I chuckled. “Better hold on tight though.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Ten minutes later we were hitting the highway out of the small suburb that was now my home. And I was able to really open it up. Emily clung tightly to me as we raced along the empty highway. It felt nice having her body pressed against my back and her arms tightly wrapped around my waist. The noise of the bike and the helmets we wore made it all but impossible to talk while we rode, but Emily was still able to direct me to an exit ramp after another twenty minutes of riding.
We left the four-lane highway on a bending exit ramp that turned into a smooth two-lane road with countryside expanding in each direction as far as the eye could see. It was all commercial farmlands, but it was still beautiful. I continued taking Emily’s directions until we were taking a series of hairpin turns that gradually increased in elevation. We took the turns together, leaning in unison as we slowly rose higher and higher until we reached the peak.
A parking lot opened up ahead of us, and I guessed this was the place Emily wanted to take me to. I brought us to a stop at the far end of the parking lot, near a park bench, and shut the engine off before throwing the kickstand down and removing my helmet.
“That was amazing,” Emily said, shaking her hair free.
“It did feel great to ride again,” I nodded.
Emily’s hair always looked on the messy side. Her brown waves were wild and untamed compared to her siblings. But it was perfect.
“Come on,” she grinned, and grabbed my hand as she all but dragged me off the bike. “The view is amazing.”
We carried our helmets up to the lookout point before placing them down on a nearby picnic table. Emily was right, the view from up here was gorgeous, especially with the setting sun.
“This place is amazing,” I said, stepping up to the safety railing.
“Dad would bring us up here when we were little,” Emily said, smiling fondly. “Erica hated it. She is afraid of heights. But she never said no.”
“I get the feeling Erica would do something that she was afraid of just to prove she wasn’t afraid,” I chuckled.
“That’s pretty much it,” Emily laughed. “You already know us so well.”
“It’s hard to describe,” I said, looking out over the countryside below. “It’s only been a few days. But it feels like I’ve always known you.”
“The feeling’s mutual,” Emily replied.
We stood there watching the sun sink lower and lower behind the horizon, bathing the sky in a brilliant, fiery orange glow. As we stood there-I had no idea when-our fingers intertwined together as we held hands. Emily leaned her head against my shoulder as we simply enjoyed the silence of the lookout point.
“Nick,” Emily said after the sun had reached the three-quarter mark of its descent.
“Yeah,” I replied, turning to look at her.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything at all,” I nodded.
“Can I see your. . .?” She dropped her gaze and bit her bottom lip as she trailed off.
“My wh-” I stopped mid-sentence as it clicked in my head what she wanted. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Mel saw it,” she replied quickly.
“She told you?!” I asked, a little shocked.
“Mel and I tell each other everything,” Emily shrugged. “I don’t mind. She is prettier than me after all.”
“Don’t say that,” I shook my head. “Neither of you is prettier than the other.”
“Then why is it okay for her and not me?” she asked. “We are both your sisters.”
“It’s hard to explain,” I ran my hands through my hair. “Mel kind of just went for it. I didn’t really get a chance to say no.”
“You didn’t want to show Mel?” Emily asked with a confused and worried look on her face.
“Not like that,” I said quickly. “But she took the charge, and it was all happening before I knew it. I don’t regret it at all.”