Chapter 29. "Close to my heart"

Emily flipped through her romance book when there was a knock on her window. It was followed by another soon after. She took her book and opened her door. She could throw the book and run through her door. She opened the window and saw him waving at her. "Are you serious?" she asked lowering her book. "Were you going to hit me with it?" he asked. "What the hell are you doing at my window at one in the morning?" she asked.

"Let me in," he said climbing into her room. "This is the first time I am in your room," he said looking, it was filled with novels, no wonder his mother liked her. "What is wrong with you?" she asked. "I could ask you the same, what did you put on your face, it's green," he said. "It's a face mask and keeps your voice down," she said.

"Then you should probably close your door, Edward is right across,"  he said. "Shit" she turned toward her door. He was holding the masks, "It smells nice" he said. "Do you want to put it on?" she asked. "it will brighten your face up and then maybe she might notice you" she said. "Here, sit," she said pulling him to her bed before he could answer.

"Do I have an option?" he asked. "No," she said handing him a wipe, "clean your face," she said. "Now, relax," she said, "take deep breaths," she said standing between his legs. "It's really hard to relax with you hovering over me," he said. "Emily" her father's voice came. She shut his mouth, "yes?"  she said slightly opening her door. "Is everything fine? I just heard a voice" he said.

"Sorry, it was video, I will try to keep the volume down from the next time, sorry,"  she said closing the door. She heard her father's footsteps go down the stairs. "Sam?" she called, he was once again nowhere to be seen. "Is he gone?" she only heard his voice.

"Yes," she said still looking for him. She saw his head come out from under her bed, "really, you chose the most cliched hiding place you could find" she said. "Yet you couldn't find me in this cliched hiding place," he said. She took her previous place. "Lean your head back," she said as she dragged the masks through his skin. "There you go," she said, finally happy with her work.

"I look like an ogre," he said looking at himself in the mirror. "Afterwards you will look like a prince," she said bringing another small bottle, "what's this?" he asked. "Under eye cream, let me" she dabbed a small amount. "Lay back and relax. Let it work its magic" she said. Sam lay on her bed as she lay beside him.

"close your eyes, you will feel better," she said as he closed his eyes. "You have very long lashes" she whispered. "Why are you whispering?" he whispered back. "It's fun" she whispered back. His lips curled up, "don't smile, you will break it"

"I really enjoy spending time with you, you know," Emily said. "Me too, I wonder why we never talked before," Sam said. "We would have several memories," Emily said. "We still have several memories," Sam said. "We would have had more time before college," Emily said.

"Do you know where you want to go?" she asked. "I have no idea," Sam said. "Me too," Emily said. "Do you ever feel like you are never going be enough, no matter how much you try?" Sam asked. "Every day no matter how much you try something always lacks," Emily said. "How long do I have to keep it?" he asked with gritted teeth. She raised her elbows, "it's done" she said standing up.

She cursed, "what?" he asked. "Wait" she looked out of the door, "all clear, come on," she said. "Where?" he asked. "To wash your face, just follow me," she said holding his hand and slowly leading her to the washroom.

"We did it," she said closing the door. "Congratulations," he said walking towards the sink. "You don't understand, this is the first time I snuck someone in through the window," she said washing her face. "How old are you again?" he asked.

"Not everyone has parties every weekend, darling," she said. "That is a myth, angel," he said. "I see my brother sneaking out nearly every second night," she said. "So you never snuck out too?" he asked washing his face. "No," she said. "We can change that," he said. "We will soon," she said standing g beside him, "felt nice?" she asked.

"It was relaxing," he said. "Told you," she said, Sam looked into the mirror. "Sam?" she asked. "Yeah?" he asked. "What is it?" she asked. "I got accepted at Stanford" he finally confessed to someone. "That's great" Emily stood in front of him. "Then what's the problem?" she asked. "The problem is," he looked at her.

"My father's fiancee is pregnant. I am going to be brother, I don't know how to feel about him starting a family when he wasn't there for me" he said looking away again." I feel like I will never live up to him, I am always surrounded by his shadow" he said. "Sam" she moved his face to face her, "A place like Stanford wouldn't have offered you a position if they didn't see your potential. You are one of the best players I know and I think you are going to be amazing," she said. He nodded, she hugged him and soon felt his arm around her. "Everything will be fine, don't worry" she said. "I know" he pulled back.

"Hey Emily?" he said halfway down her window. "Yeah?" she said. "Could you not tell your brother about the face mask, he won't let me live it" he said. "I will keep it close to my heart," she said. "I look forward to more face masks with you," he said. "Me too," she said. She waved at him as he drove off. She went to bed with a smile, she really enjoyed his company.