If It Weren’t for You…
Jessica and Emily had been friends since they were little, going to the same nursery and sharing a desk in school. As they grew older, Jessica blossomed into a stunning beauty, always surrounded by admirers—everything came effortlessly to her. Emily, though, was the kind of girl who faded into the background, the sort no one gave a second glance in a crowd.
After school, Emily enrolled in nursing college, choosing a path of helping others. Jessica, convinced she didn’t need qualifications to succeed, took a beauty course and worked in a salon, shaping brows and applying lashes.
They fought and made up countless times, inseparable to the point where a day didn’t pass without them meeting or chatting on the phone. Mostly, Jessica did the talking—Emily listened, sympathising through breakups or celebrating new romances.
Then, as often happens between friends, they fell for the same man.
Emily met Daniel first. He wasn’t some dashing heartthrob, just an ordinary bloke—someone she could’ve built a quiet love and life with. But happiness never comes easy, does it?
She was coming home from the grocer’s. Rain had poured an hour before, leaving slick puddles across the pavement. As she skirted one, she saw a bloke speeding toward her on an e-scooter, gaze fixed ahead as if she weren’t there. At the last second, she yelped and jumped aside—right into the puddle.
“Racing about like lunatics, no care for anyone else,” muttered an elderly woman nearby, shaking a knobby finger at him. “Oi, you nearly flattened her! What’re you gawking at?”
The lad stopped and turned. Emily, now standing on a dry patch of pavement, grimaced at her soaked shoes.
“Sorry. Why’d you jump in?” He wheeled closer. “I saw you, was going to swerve.”
Emily didn’t want apologies. She was too busy figuring out her next step without slipping again.
“Get on, I’ll take you.”
“Just leave me alone,” she snapped.
“Already said sorry. Fancy a stroll through puddles instead? Where to?”
“Penn Street. Number ten.”
Shakily, she stepped onto the scooter and gripped the handles. It glided forward, water rippling away beneath them. The wind rushed past her face, the speed thrilling. She’d never been on one before—terrified of them, really—but with him, it didn’t feel scary at all.
At her building, he slowed. “Which entrance?”
His breath tickled her ear. She shivered.
“Third.”
He rolled right up to the steps, avoiding the puddle at her door.
“Thanks,” she mumbled.
Their eyes met. His face was tanned, his smile crooked, his gaze so warm her chest tightened.
“I’m Daniel.”
“Emily.”
“Sorry about earlier. Fancy catching a film sometime? All my mates are out of town, and going alone’s depressing.”
She shrugged. “Alright.”
“Tomorrow, seven sharp.” He grinned, sped off through the courtyard, and vanished.
“Why’re you glowing?” her mum asked inside.
“Nowhere. Stepped in a puddle.” She handed over the bread and locked herself in the bathroom, replaying his voice, his touch, tingling all over.
The next evening, she pulled on jeans and trainers, certain he’d arrive on that scooter.
“Off somewhere?”
“Films. With Jessica,” she lied.
“Don’t be late,” her mother called after her.
Outside, Daniel wasn’t there. Her stomach dropped. “Stupid girl,” she imagined her mother sighing. She nearly marched back inside when—
“Hey!”
She spun. Daniel, grinning. Relief and embarrassment flushed her cheeks.
“Hop on. Starts in twenty.”
And off they went, wind in her hair, his chest against her back, her heart pounding.
After the film, they walked home, chatting. The scooter stayed behind.
“Who was that last night?” Jessica demanded the next morning. “Spill.”
“Did Mum tell you?”
“Relax, she didn’t. So, who is he?”
Emily burned to boast—she’d never had a proper boyfriend, while Jessica cycled through lads like fashion.
“Just some bloke,” she said, though she didn’t believe it. He was different. He’d noticed her. They had plans again tonight.
Daniel waited without the scooter this time. They’d wander the city—until Jessica appeared at the gate, as if she’d been lying in wait.
“Hi,” she purred, eyes locked on Daniel.
He stared right back. Jessica smirked, flirting shamelessly. Soon, Emily lagged behind, unnoticed as the two walked on without her.
She trudged home, turning off her phone. Jessica came the next day, full of apologies—she’d fallen for him.
Emily couldn’t stay angry. They remained friends, even after Daniel married Jessica.
Emily graduated, worked at a private clinic. Jessica kept at the salon, more for fun than pay. Daniel earned well.
They celebrated birthdays, New Year’s, barbecues. Emily’s feelings for Daniel only grew, but she kept quiet.
Then, one night, her phone rang.
“It’s the middle of the night,” she snapped, seeing his name. “I’ve got work.”
“Jess is dead,” he choked out.
“What? Stop mumbling—what happened?”
“We were driving back from the countryside. She wanted to take the wheel… A tow truck swerved into us. She died on impact.”
“Where are you?”
She threw on clothes, grabbed her nurse’s coat, and rushed to the hospital.
Daniel lay tangled in wires, staring blankly. Dawn light made him ghostly.
“How bad?”
“Had surgery. Can’t feel my legs.” His voice hollowed. “Should’ve been me.”
“Don’t say that.”
“That truck came out of nowhere—”
She hunted down his doctor.
“Surgery went well. Nerves are intact. Now we wait.”
Emily helped with the funeral. Visited Daniel daily. He blamed himself, refused food, pushed her away.
“We can’t keep him here. He needs rehab, physio, hope,” the doctor said. “Don’t leave him alone. I know a good carer—pricey, but experienced.”
Daniel’s mum shook her head. “We can’t afford that.”
Emily juggled work, unable to stay full-time. His parents found a carer—young, pretty. Daniel perked up. Emily’s chest twisted with jealousy. She visited less.
Two weeks later, Daniel’s mum rang, voice trembling.
“She robbed us. Took money, jewellery—just vanished.”
The carer had drugged him, fled.
“No more carers,” Emily declared. “I’ll do it.”
She swapped to night shifts, tending to him with injections, massages, exercises. Slowly, sensation returned. She bought a bike, braces, pushed him through pain.
Then, one day, he stood. Not for long—but it was a start. Soon, he hobbled on crutches.
Encouraged, Daniel trained harder. Emily stepped back, sure he saw her only as a friend.
Her mother set up blind dates. Emily refused them all.
Then, one evening, she came home to voices in the kitchen.
“—just having tea,” her mother said hastily.
Daniel stood.
“What are you doing here?”
“Walking.” He smiled faintly. “Thanks to you. Emily… I was selfish. When you said you needed me, I pretended not to hear. Scared you pitied me, that you’d leave like the rest. But when you stopped coming, I realised—I can’t do this without you. Marry me?”
He held out a ring. She stared, silent.
“Too late? Is there someone else?”
“I waited so long…”
Two years later, Daniel walked without a cane, just a slight limp. Back at work. Emily, heavily pregnant, stayed home.
He took her on walks now, insisting on vitamins, fussing over fruit.
A person can do anything—if someone believes in them.
