The Davis Years (Indigo) by Nicole Green

Emily Rose had gotten close during their senior year at Derring High. Jemma hadn’t met her until that night. Meg had been out of town at the beach with her boyfriend until that day. She’d come back in time for the bachelorette party and the rehearsal dinner.
    Emily Rose wanted her three closest girlfriends to get along. Jemma wanted to try for Emily Rose, but everything felt forced. She felt further away from Emily Rose than ever around Carolina and Meg. The friendship the three of them shared seemed so easy and natural. Especially when it came to that Carolina.
    Jemma realized that although she’d had a decent time that night, something still felt off. She and Emily Rose hadn’t had a real conversation since she’d gotten to Derring. Even in the few times they’d been alone, they mostly talked about Michael and their new lives. They rarely discussed anything deeper. They definitely didn’t talk about the past six years.
    Jemma supposed it was best to move on. Still, something felt unfinished and not quite settled in every conversation they had. Standing right next to her best friend, she felt further away from her than she ever had in any of the six intervening years.
    “Did I ever tell you you’re my best friend? Ever? I love you, girl.” Emily Rose giggled as she collapsed on top of the bed.
    “I know,” Jemma said, removing Emily Rose’s sandals.
    “You’ve always been here when it matters.” Her head lolled back against her pillows. She closed her eyes and smiled.
    “Yeah.”
    “I don’t need these.” Emily Rose shoved away the pain killers Jemma handed her.
    “You will in a few hours,” Jemma said. Especially when Ms. F called her at six in the morning to get her going for a final day of wedding prep .
    “See? You take care of me and everything. You’re the best. My sister,” Emily Rose said. She lay precariously close to the edge of her bed. Jemma moved her closer to the wall so she wouldn’t be in such danger of falling off the bed.
    She patted Emily Rose’s arm. “Yeah.”
    Emily Rose wrapped her hand around Jemma’s arm and looked up at her. “I hope we’ll always be close.”
    Jemma pushed back the urge to say what she wanted to—that they needed to talk and their friendship felt almost dead to her. “Me, too.”
    “Thanks for coming home for me. I know how you feel about this place.”
    “I’ll always be here for you when it matters. Remember? You just said it yourself.”
    “I know.” She closed her eyes and Jemma walked out of the room, blinking back tears.
    ***
    Late Friday morning, Davis ran some errands before the start of his shift at the restaurant. He was supposed to be there by noon, and it looked like he was actually going to be on time. Maybe that would shut his supervisor up for once.
    On the way out of the post office with a fistful of mail, Davis was cornered by his lawyer. He froze in the doorway of the post office, staring up at Seth. Seth’s black hair was cut close and his naturally tan face was darker than usual. Davis knew he liked to drive out to the lake whenever he could spare a few hours. Seth wore a light colored suit with a green and white striped shirt underneath and no tie. Seth made it known that in his opinion ties were only good for two things—court and church.
    Seth put a hand on Davis’s shoulder and smiled broadly. “Well, look who I’ve run into. I’m glad I didn’t send my assistant to do the morning mail drop-off and pick-up. Figured I could use the exercise,” Seth said, patting his stomach briefly, which extended slightly over his belt buckle. “You’ll have this problem one day, too, skin and bones. Once that metabolism wears off. Man, I miss those days.”
    “Hi, Seth,” Davis said, not really in the mood for small talk. Especially with Seth. He glanced down at his watch. “I really gotta go. I’m gonna be late for work.”
    “Oh, not so fast. This will only take a minute, son. Here, let me walk you to your car.” Seth