Chapter 66 A Twist of Fate
Emily returned to her art classes as more and more students came back from the Christmas holidays. She was looking forward to seeing Katie despite the drama with her brother. She was worried Katie wouldn’t show up, but she did even though it was a few minutes late. The teen was shy and awkward when she first walked in.
“I’m really sorry about what happened,” Katie said, looking down.
“Katie, it’s not your fault.” Emily came towards her and gave her a strong, reassuring hug. “If there’s anyone who understands that my brother can drive someone crazy, it’s me.”
“I feel bad about breaking up with him when he seems to be so troubled.” Katie finally looked up, her perfectly groomed eyebrows drawn together in a frown.
“There’s never a good time to break up with someone,” Emily said. “You did what you had to do. I’m never going to hold it against you. I think we’ve got too much going for us as friends, don’t you?”
Emily had always liked Katie’s passion and drive. The teen might have had some silly ideas at times, but she was kind and caring. Emily felt protective of her and wanted to see her continued growth, as if Katie was her little sister.
“I think so too,” said Katie, allowing her lips a flicker of a smile.
“Besides, didn’t you always say you wanted to marry a rich man?” Emily asked, “I don’t think Nick has got it together yet.”
“Yeah, I like him, though,” Katie said, “I hope he can get out of his funk. I thought he was a bit cynical like me, but he’s more idealistic. He wants to make the world a better place, but he’s frustrated because he can’t do that much right now.”
That sounded just like Nick. He was sensitive to all the injustices in the world and easily upset by things he heard on the news. He wanted to make a difference with his music.
“Do you think that’s why he started doing drugs?” Emily asked.
“Probably.”
Emily didn’t want to probe too much, but it seemed more and more feasible that Katie was telling the truth about the drugs.
“Well, sometimes a twist of fate is all we need to change our life,” Emily said. “Maybe he’ll find a way.”
At least Nick went to school every day, and Emily was relieved that he had decided to take Byron’s advice.
It was only a few days later when she was working on some clothes for her boutique that she got a phonecall from her brother, though it came from a number she didn’t recognize.
“Em, this is going to sound pretty bad,” he began.
She suddenly got a terrible feeling. It didn’t seem like he was joking...
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“You’ve got to promise me you won’t tell mom and dad.”
“Are you in some kind of trouble?”
“Yeah... I got picked up by the cops. I’m calling from a police station. The whole classic ‘one phonecall’ thing.”
“What happened?” she asked, her breath coming in shallow and quick with shock.
He was silent for a moment. “I might as well tell you... I was caught dealing.”
Emily felt the bitter irony of her earlier words. Sometimes a twist of fate made things better than she could have hoped, but other times, it thrust her into the depths of despair.
She was supposed to meet Byron for dinner that day, but when she showed up at his suite, she hardly had food on her mind.
“What’s wrong?” Byron asked as soon as she walked in. His blue-green eyes had a steely tint whenever he thought someone had harmed Emily.
“Nick got arrested for dealing drugs.”
She went to the couch and collapsed into its soft cushions. Byron’s dog came over to her and put its head gently on her lap.
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah, even after our talk,” Emily said, petting the dog absently. “He lied to us. Even if he did go back to school, I guess he was dealing drugs there. I was supposed to be taking care of him. I feel like a failure.”
She had hoped Byron would somehow reassure her, but even he seemed worried.
“You said yourself Nick is very good at keeping things under wraps,” Byron said, “I had no idea he was still involved with the drug scene. I think you and I are both too sheltered, and we weren’t good at reading the signs. Don’t blame yourself.”
“I just don’t get it. Nick should have been sheltered too, growing up in our family, but he seems to seek out trouble.”
“That’s just the way some people are,” Byron said, hugging his arms close to his body. She wondered if he was thinking about his father in that moment. “But we’re here to help him, and we’re going to get through this.”
