“Whooohooooo!”
An excited shout cut through the open air like a whip.
The loud yell came from a distant building just behind the shooting range. The door to the room suddenly burst open as a woman in a blue T-shirt and jeans came sprinting out, full speed, barefoot and beaming.
“Emma! Don’t run!” a boy yelled behind her Tom, her younger brother chasing after her with panic on his face.
He shot a terrified look toward Williams, who stood further ahead, arms crossed, already glaring death into his soul.
“TOMMMMM!” Williams barked so loud even the birds took flight. “I told you NOT to let her out! You can’t even do ONE thing right?!”
Tom looked like he wanted to melt into the floor.
Meanwhile, Garry had spotted her Emma. Running straight toward him.
His chest seized up.
“Emma…?” he mumbled, voice almost cracking.
She was real. She was here.
His eyes widened, and like something out of a corny film, he spread his arms wide, eyes shimmering with emotion.
Eight years. Eight long, misunderstood years.
Now maybe this was the moment he could finally
“NOPE!”
Williams stepped right between them like a bouncer blocking the club entrance. Arms stretched wide, blocking her path.
“You two aren’t hugging,” he growled.
“Aww c’mon, man. Don’t be a bone in the meat,” Jimmy said behind him, his expression calm but hands already working. He slid one arm casually around Williams’s thick neck, applying just enough pressure to drag him aside without actually starting a fight.
Williams grunted, flexing his muscles. “You think you can just”
But… he didn’t move Jimmy an inch.
“Strong,” he muttered, hands on Jimmy’s arm, trying to peel it off. No luck.
Jimmy chuckled. “After Garry marries your daughter, we’re practically family. So relax. Breathe. Look at the sky it’s a nice day.”
Williams sighed heavily but didn’t fight it anymore.
Meanwhile, Garry stood there like a frozen statue. His arms still open. His heart pounding.
She was running toward him. Her face was the same but her eyes… God, those eyes.
“I really was wrong,” Garry thought, throat tightening. “She wasn’t lying back then. She really”
“Emma! Stop! You’ll” Tom was still shouting from somewhere behind.
But Garry had already closed his eyes.
Then
PAAK!
A slap exploded across his face.
“OW—!”His eyes shot open, hand flying to his cheek.
Emma was standing in front of him, furious and red-eyed.
“You idiot!” she cried out.
And before Garry could even register what just happened she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight.
Garry blinked. His arms slowly, shakily wrapped around her.
“…Yeah,” he muttered, voice low.
“I deserved that.”
“Hey, hey, hey! Don’t touch my sister!” Tom came running, trying to break the emotional hug between Emma and Garry. But his eyes nervously darted toward Williams afraid he’d be blamed if he didn’t stop them.
“Tom,” Emma muttered without even looking up. “Say one more word and I’ll tell Dad about your girlfriend.”
Tom froze in place.
Emma’s arms tightened around Garry. Her cheek resting against his chest. She looked calm, but only she knew the mess she’d been inside since rejecting him. Two weeks of hell.
“Aww, there, there…” Garry was trying to hold back the flood of emotions, his hand gently patting her head.
Suddenly—
“Ouch!” he yelped, yanking his hand away.
A deep bite mark was visible on it.
“Why’d you bite me, love?” he asked, surprised. The word ‘love’ left his mouth so naturally, it caught even him off guard.
Emma didn’t respond. She just pressed her forehead to his chest.
“…Idiot,” she whispered.
Tom stepped back, raising both hands in defeat. If he interfered, his sister would make his life miserable. If he didn’t, his father would. He was stuck.
Then, as if an idea hit him, Tom turned and ran toward Williams who was still restrained by Jimmy.
“Father, let me help you!”
Even at just sixteen, Tom didn’t look weak. He rushed to help without thinking.
Jimmy, meanwhile, seeing the couple embrace, let go of Williams.
“Alright, I’ve done my job. Big brother duty complete,” Jimmy said, casually brushing his hands and smiling.
“Hey, Tom, everything good?” Jimmy stepped forward. “I’m Jimmy. That idiot’s big brother.” He nodded toward Garry, then extended a hand.
Tom, caught off guard, instinctively shook it. “Ah… nice to meet you.”
Williams, watching all this, facepalmed. “So dumb…”
Then, without warning, he ran at the couple. “Hey! What the hell are you two doing?! That’s against the agreement, Emma!”
He grabbed her arm, pulling her away from Garry.
“Hey, old man” Garry stepped forward, frustrated. He wanted to say more, maybe even throw a punch for ruining the moment he’d waited years for. But then he remembered this old man might be his future father-in-law. He gritted his teeth and stayed put.
“Father, seriously?” Emma snapped, her brows furrowed. “He passed your damn test. You promised.”
“He cheated the damn test!” Williams barked, already pulling out a crumpled piece of paper from the side of his shorts. “Look! It’s written right here: if he breaks three bottles, then he can date you. Not marry just date!”
“And he broke them,” Emma fired back, arms crossed.
“He cheated!” Williams yelled, voice rising. “There’s no way in hell he made those shots fair and square. I didn’t even load the damn gun! There was no real ammo in it!”
Emma blinked. “Wait… you rigged the gun?”
Williams paused. “…that’s not the point.”
“No, that is the point,” she said coldly. “You never intended for him to win. You rigged the test and still lost. So don’t turn this on us.”
“You think I’m an idiot?!” Williams snapped. “He pulls off some freak miracle, makes me look like a fool, and now you expect me to just smile and hand you over?”
Emma didn’t flinch. “You said three bottles. He shot three bottles. Whether it was luck or skill, it still happened. You set the rules. Now stick to them.”
Williams’s face twitched. His jaw tightened. For the first time, he didn’t have a comeback.
Garry, watching the father-daughter battle unfold, slowly raised a hand. “So… does this mean I’m officially the boyfriend now, or…?”
Both of them turned to glare at him.
“…Right. I’ll just… be quiet again.” Garry backed up.
—