The-Lucky-List-Rachael-Lippincott

e thought pushes me out of the room and down the stairs, the bus doors hissing open to let me
on. e first person I see when I step inside is Kiera. Her eyes widen in alarm, knowing in an instant
something isn’t right. I look away, searching the bus for…
Blake.
She’s sitting two seats up from Kiera, the hood of her sweatshirt pulled up over a baseball hat, a pair
of earbuds in her ears.
I pause as I pass her, but she turns away to look out the window, ignoring me.
I stand there in the middle of the aisle, completely immobilized, until I feel Kiera’s hand wrapping
around my wrist, pulling me into the seat next to her.
“Emily. What’s wrong? What happened?” she whispers, her voice concerned. Her gaze flicks between
me and Blake, trying to make sense of what’s going on.
Home. Just make it home.
I shake my head, squeezing my eyes shut, forcing the tears down. “Nothing,” I say, but my voice
betrays me, breaking on the last syllable.
“You wanna sit with me?” a voice asks, and I open my eyes to see Matt right in front of me, Jake
peering around him to wiggle his eyebrows up and down.
There’s a long, awkward pause as I stare up at him.
“Nope, sorry, Matt!” Kiera jumps in, saving me, finding words when I can’t find any. “Playing the
best-friend card here. I haven’t seen her all summer.” She waves him along, and I barely have time to
register the confusion on his face, my head spinning.
“Em. What the hell is going on? Why are you being like this when we just fixed everything? I mean,
why are you trying to wreck everything again when you want to be with Matt?” Kiera whispers once
he’s out of view, but I shake my head.
“Do I?” I whisper back, angry. “Or do you want me to, just so you can have a perfect senior year? Bet
it’s a real shame you can’t just spend the whole year at Misty Oasis, with Todd and all your drama-free
friends.”
We stare at each other for a long moment, both of us stunned. Finally, she grabs her backpack,
nodding. “Yeah. It’s a real shame. At least I know they’d actually talk to me instead of just shutting me
out.”
My eyes fill with tears as she slides past me, moving to a free spot three spaces up.
I put my earbuds in as we pull out of the parking lot, alternating between staring out the window,
trying not to cry, and glancing in the driver’s rearview mirror at Blake.
I need to talk to her.
e rest of the ride I try to come up with something to say, but just like last night, none of it feels
like it’s enough. None of it feels like it can fix this.
I know, though, that I need to at least try. After all this, I can’t lose her from my life entirely.
When we arrive, she’s the first one o the bus. I grab my backpack and fly up the aisle, following
just behind her, a few people sliding out of their seats in between us. She notices me when I step o
and makes a sharp turn in the opposite direction, grabbing her duel quickly from the underneath
compartment and beelining for her truck.
“Blake,” I say, pushing through the throngs of students as I run across the parking lot after her.