Harper's Hill, Chapter 13: A Seat at the Table

Ever since she was a child, Christmas had been Nicole's favourite holiday. She loved the way the snow sparkled, the smell of hot cocoa in the air, and all of the amazing emotions she felt when she spent time with her family.

However, this Christmas was becoming different for her, purely because she had been spending so much time with Emily.

Emily was becoming one of Nicole's best friends, if not her ONLY friend right now because of how distant she had been feeling from everyone else. But when the whole entire family gathered for Christmas dinner at her house, including her Uncle Julian and Uncle Isaac, their daughter Camille, her Uncle Dan, and even her Uncle Alex — she couldn't help but feel incomplete knowing that there were people missing from the table.

Her parents knew that she had a new friend, but they didn't know who she was. They knew that their daughter had grown close to her, but they had no inclination that she was actually part of their lost family that lived in the East side. Nicole had done good enough keeping Emily and her parents separate, purely because she knew that Emily was so alike her late mother in appearance that the secret would be spilled immediately. Nicole didn't know if she was ready to start that cycle of chaos.

Christmas came and went, and then New Years did the same. Before Nicole knew it, it was January 3rd and she was receiving a text from Emily to come outside. Her parents were in the kitchen preparing dinner, so Nicole peeked her head in quick. "I'm just going out for 10 minutes," She explained. "I'll be back soon."

"Before dinner?" Her Mom, Eliza, asked. Nicole couldn't help but admire her Mom sometimes when she looked at her. When she had her dirty blonde hair pinned away from her face, you could see the slightly Nordic facial features that she had, which were evident in Nicole's strong jawline.

"Yes, I promise," Nicole said before running down the front hallway to put her coat and boots on, and then slipping out the front door. "Be right back!"

She shuffled down the front walkway that was covered in ice, trying desperately not to fall. She saw Emily's car sitting behind her Dad's car, and she slid into the passenger seat. "Helloooo," She said to Emily with a big smile, which soon faded when she saw Emily's face. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Emily gave Nicole a slight smile and then looked down at the wheel. "Um, really, it's no big deal," She said, trying to shrug it off. "I shouldn't have come. I wasn't even thinking about it. You guys are probably having dinner."

Nicole rolled her eyes. "You have 10 minutes until dinner starts," She said, a look on her face that represented no-nonsense. "Spit it out."

Emily sighed, feeling the pit in her stomach grow darker and bigger with every second. They sat in silence for a minute, and then she finally broke. "My Dad wants to see me."

Nicole's eyes widened. "Your Dad? What? How?"

Emily just kind of shrugged. "I don't really know how he found me. He got in contact with Uncle Alex, and he knew that we had met up, so he tried to get Uncle Alex to give him my number."

"Did he?" Nicole asked.

"No, he didn't," Emily said, breathing out a sigh of relief. "He was able to hold him off, for now. But I have to make some sort of plan here—"

"Hold on," Nicole said. "I thought your Dad was dead?"

"Yeah, I don't know about that," Emily said. "He was missing for many years, at least to me, but then a few months ago I found out that he's been working at the East Side Unity School. So I knew he was around, but..."

Nicole listened to Emily trail off and then kind of sighed. "Come in for dinner."

"What?" Emily asked incredulously. "That just seems... unwise at this point. Your parents don't know—"

"I really don't care," Nicole said with a chuckle. "You need people right now. You need family right now."

"Yeah, but I don't want them to get involved in all of this..." Emily waved her hands around. "Whatever this is."

"You don't need to tell them about your Dad."

"They're gonna know who I am as soon as they see me."

"Great, then we don't have to be the ones to tell them."

Emily glared at Nicole and Nicole smiled cheekily. "Come on, babe," She said with encouragement in her voice. "I've got you. Let's go inside."

Emily finally gave in and shut off the car. Once Nicole was out of the car, she got out too and started to follow her cousin up to the house. "Are you sure about this, Nic?"

"Yes!" Nicole said. "I feel like you could use some parental love right now."

Emily wanted to resist, but Nicole was right. The closest thing she had to a parent was her brother, and it wasn't fair to ask him to be her parent when he was just trying to figure out his own life. She shut her mouth and reluctantly followed Nicole into the house.

"Make an extra seat at the table!" Nicole called into the house as she shut the door behind her and Emily. "We have a guest!" She gestured for Emily to take off her coat and boots as she took off her own.

She heard her Dad's footsteps coming closer, and before she knew it, he was stopped halfway down the front hall, looking like he'd seen a ghost. He said nothing, just stared.

"Are you... Emily?" He asked slowly. "Sharon's Emily?"

Emily said nothing, but nodded her head.

Nicole just stood there and watched her Dad, Nathan, wondering how he would react, knowing that he valued family but also was a little close-minded.

"I don't have to stay—" Emily started.

"Sharon—" Nathan started. "I mean, your Mom... she would want you here. You belong at this table. You're home now."

CHAPTER INDEX