A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies - Christina Lee Page 0,2

behind the counter was decent-looking, with his wavy blond hair and nice smile. Rhys certainly must’ve thought so because he could not seem to keep his eyes off him.

When the guy asked if they were interested in playing, Rhys freaking blushed, and Emerson’s stomach bottomed out. Audrey asked Rhys a question about the Tilt-A-Whirl, but he was so distracted by the cute dude, he didn’t even hear her. And that made Emerson feel weirdly confused and a bit hurt.

Was he gonna lose his best friend to this guy? Look at him, already jumping to conclusions.

“Hey, guys? I’ll, um, try to win you those prizes,” Rhys said absently over his shoulder, like he couldn’t be bothered to give them more of his attention, and suddenly all the joy went out of Emerson’s evening.

It actually felt like a physical ache to stand by and watch as Rhys leaned over the counter and pointed at the stuffed toys as the guy winked in his direction.

Palms clammy and heart beating out of his chest, Emerson looked behind him and spotted the Ferris wheel. He remembered that feeling of being away from the world the higher it climbed—which was probably the extent of his daredevil antics as compared to Rhys.

“We’re just gonna head over here…” Emerson trailed off when he realized Rhys had barely responded, let alone looked in their direction.

Huh, guess that was what a freaking crush looked like.

Emerson had never taken an interest in any girls yet, so he didn’t get why the hell this bothered him so much. Given the option to take it or leave it, he’d leave it in a heartbeat. He wouldn’t want to act that ridiculous.

Stupid Rhys. Fuck, his stomach was throbbing.

He ushered his siblings toward the Ferris wheel, wanting to get the hell away from the raw emotions pelting his chest.

The line was short, and he handed the tickets to the guy running the ride and climbed onto the seat beside his siblings, even as Audrey protested not asking Rhys to join them. As soon as the ride swooped him into the air, away from…well, everything, he felt calmer. If a bit queasy.

When the Ferris wheel paused at the top to let more riders on down below, he shushed a chattering Sam and finally glanced over the side toward the ground. He could just make out Rhys near the games. They looked like specks of sand, and that put it all in perspective for him. He reminded himself that the world was bigger than him, and someday soon he’d be an adult and free to figure stuff out on his own. Maybe he’d even go out of state to college, if he was able to get a scholarship or some financial aid.

Rhys said he planned to take a year off between high school and college and go hiking in every national park he could think of or maybe travel to Europe. Bet he would’ve liked to be on the Ferris wheel with them. Now he felt guilty. He shook the thought from his mind. He was being stupid and selfish. It was inevitable that one of them would eventually crush on someone. Didn’t mean their friendship was over.

He felt way better by the time they got off the ride and saw Rhys waiting for them near the ticket taker, holding the pig for Audrey and the monkey for Sam. Damn him. He looked flustered, like maybe he’d been searching for them. Remorse wormed its way inside him again.

“Why’d you wander off?” Rhys asked, kneeling down to give the kids their prizes.

“Looked like you were busy.” Emerson glanced back to the basketball booth, where Rhys’s new friend was eyeing him with a shy smile.

“What? I wasn’t—” A blush crawled across his cheeks.

“It’s okay. I get it.” Or he would. Someday. Right?

Three Years Later

Rhys

“You smell like a monkey and look like one too!” They were celebrating Sam’s seventh birthday. Rhys purposely sang the loudest, in a goofy voice, trying to keep the family’s attention away from the empty seats around the table.

The year after the accident that took Emerson’s mom’s and stepdad’s lives was brutal. They’d just graduated high school, and Emerson was going off to college to get his nursing degree—and they would’ve been apart for the first time in their lives, which had made Rhys feel all sorts of melancholy. Still, he wouldn’t wish what happened next on his worst enemy.

Rhys had begun a summer course at the community college to earn a degree in exercise physiology