Speak Easy to Me

Chapter 14

Walking out of that restaurant was the hardest thing I ever had to do. It was even harder than leaving my family behind. Emmett had laid everything out on the table for me and I left it there. I knew if I didn’t leave then, I never would. If I stayed there another second, all my resolve would have disappeared, and I would have done anything for him. I broke his heart and knowing that I was the one responsible for the look of desperation on his face will haunt me, always.

I wasn’t quite sure where I was, so it took me longer than normal to get back home. Waiting there for me was Nathaniel. He was staying at the house with me while Uncle Lon and Cameron were out of town. Russel and Marco had to accompany them on their business trip. I didn’t ask questions because I didn’t want to have the weight of the answers.

“Hey there, Lottie. How was your daily lesson today?” Nathaniel knew my daily routine just as well as Elsa. I wasn’t sure if I should divulge the Emmett situation to him yet. I had still been on edge around Nathaniel since I knew he was in on the lies Emmett had told me or didn’t tell me. Lies by omission were still lies. Nathaniel had tried to win my trust back by being at my beck and call for everything. I basically have had breakfast in bed for a week straight.

“Emmett showed up.” I figured I should tell him. He would most likely hear it from Emmett anyway, or maybe he already knew and didn’t tell me.

He got a devilish smile on his face, “Now there is something to spice up a boring day. Tell me everything.” He got ready for me to spill all the details of the afternoon, but I wasn’t going to do that. I wanted some things to remain private, only for me to know.

“There’s not much to tell. We danced and then he took to me lunch trying to apologize, but I walked out halfway through the meal. I’m sure whatever was in your mind is far more interesting than what actually happened today.” He looked like I took away his favorite dessert and placed vegetables in front of him.

“That was very anticlimactic. Boo to you!” He gave me a thumbs down and I slapped his hand away.

“I am so very sorry my life wasn’t dramatic enough for you today.” I laughed as we made our way towards the library. Our nightly routine was reading quietly together in the massive library I had just discovered on the first floor of the house. We would read for a few hours and then make our way to the dining room for dinner. This night was no different.

Charles was back dancing as my dance partner the next day and everything was as it had been. My routine was pretty routine. No surprise Emmett popping up, no deviation from day to day. That was, until three days later.

I was sound asleep when Nathaniel burst through my bedroom door. He rushed to the side of my bed in a panic. “Lottie. Lottie.” He nudged me until I finally opened my eyes. “Lottie, you have to get up and come with me right away.” There was an urgency in his voice that alerted me to the seriousness of the situation. I had no idea what this could be about, but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be good.

“We don’t have time for you to get ready. I’ll explain everything in the car.” He tossed a robe at me and my house slippers. I followed closely behind him as we descended the stairs and ran out the front door, barley having time to grab my coat.

I got into the car just as he slammed his door shut and started the engine. The night air was freezing. “What the hell is going on?” I demanded to know what the reason was for him dragging me out of bed in the middle of the night.

“There’s been a stabbing. Emmett called the house asking for you. He said you used to fix up the guys on the farm. That you’d know what to do.” My mind started racing. Was Emmett the one who was stabbed? Where was he? I could feel the panic and dread creeping into my veins.

“What? He was stabbed?” I needed answers now before I started spiraling and couldn’t get reeled back in.

“Him and two of his guys. He said it wasn’t horrible, they’ll probably just need some stitches.” Here I was thinking he was bleeding out and he just needed stitches. Is he serious?

“So let me get this straight. You got me out of bed because three grown men couldn’t handle a few cuts themselves? You have got to be kidding me right now!” I went from panic to seriously pissed.

Nathaniel slowly side eyed me, gauging my level of anger. “They’re pretty big cuts.”

“They better be or I’ll finish the job those other guys started.” Nathaniel was very quiet the rest of the car ride there.

We pulled up to the speakeasy. I was debating on not even getting out of the car. Nathaniel opened my door, “Come on, Lottie. You’re here already.” He encouraged me out of the car. We quickly made our way into the building.

I took in the three men as we entered the main room. Two of the men I had never seen before. All three men were wearing white button-down shirts in various saturations of blood and tatters. Emmett’s shirt had the most blood on it.

The easiest way to assess the damage was to have all three men remove their shirts so I could see their injuries. “Shirts off.” I didn’t have time for pleasantries. All three men started unbuttoning their shirts. I removed my coat and set it on a table. I took my engagement ring off and placed it in my coat pocket.

I went over to Emmett first. I was trying my hardest to treat him like the other two men; like I didn’t know him. That was too much to hope with Emmett though.

“If you wanted to see me with my clothes off…,” He had a smile on his face I wanted to wipe off.

“I can easily walk back out that door. Your choice.” I was tired, pissed, and not ready to deal with Emmett in any capacity.

“Sorry.” He said with caution. I proceeded to exam him. There weren’t any significant marks on him. He had one superficial cut on his upper arm, nothing that would warrant the blood on his shirt. He must have read the confusion on my face.

“Most of it wasn’t my blood.” He informed me. There was a relieved breath that escaped my throat. As mad as I was at Emmett for how dumb he was, I was thankful he wasn’t hurt all that much.

I went to the other two men and looked over their wounds as well. All three had superficial wounds, not even needing a single stitch between the three of them. The ride to the speakeasy took longer than it took me to tend to these three Neanderthals.

I was going over to put my coat back on as Emmett approached me. I shrugged my coat over my shoulders and began buttoning it slowly.

“If I would have known that getting stabbed would get you talking to me again, I would have done it sooner.” He was smiling at me. I was so relieved he wasn’t seriously hurt, I let it slide and returned the smile.

“I think you just like the dramatics of it.” I jabbed at him. He didn’t disagree.

“I’m surprised you showed up tonight, if I’m being honest.” The words were interwoven with his husky voice.

“Nathaniel wasn’t completely honest with me when he told me about this emergency. I use emergency very loosely in this case.” I gestured between him and his two minions. “He didn’t tell me you would be here until we were already in the car and driving here.” I told him, not sure where this conversation was going. “I wasn’t sure I was going to get out of the car when I knew you would be here.”

“Thank you for not letting me die.” He bumped my shoulder with his.

“Well, it would be hard to ignore you if you were dead, so I didn’t really have a choice.” He was smiling at me, reveling in our conversation. His eyes wandered down to my left hand.

“Where’s your ring?” He asked with hope in his eyes. I pulled the ring out of my pocket and placed it back on my left ring finger.

“I didn’t want to get blood on it.” He took my hand to take a closer look at my ring.

“This ring isn’t you.” He almost was saying it to himself.

“Really? What kind of ring do you think is me?” I was offended at his remark. How dare he presume what is me and what isn’t.

“A simple diamond on a silver band. Like you, simple elegance that makes a statement. Looks good with everything.” He was still holding my hand in his. I looked at our joined hands before looking up at him. I slowly removed my hand from his.

“Stay safe Emmett.” I left him standing there as I walked away. There was so much I wanted to say but walking away spoke volumes more than any words would have. This thing, whatever it was between us, needed to be over. I walked with Nathaniel to the car.

The whole last month or so had been a big whirl wind of emotions. I reflected on events as we drove home. If I were to look at it from an outsider’s perspective my falling for Emmett didn’t seem so bazaar. I was ripped away from life as I knew it, put in a position to marry a man that had no interest in me and made it very clear of his intentions. It was no surprise I clung to the first person who showed me interest. I was looking for a way out and Emmett seemed to be my savior, my last hope of not entering a marriage I wouldn’t be happy in.

I turned to Nathaniel while he was concentrating on the road. “I do not wish to see Emmett anymore, in any capacity.” My words were quiet but absolute. Nathaniel continued staring ahead as he nodded his understanding.

I spent the next three weeks keeping busy. Dance lessons, wedding planning, endless dinners and parties with Cameron filled my schedule from morning to night. I felt I had finally had enough time and distance away from Emmett that I could think more rationally.

Although we were going to have a small wedding, the planning and prepping for a society event was immense. Food, decorations, cake, flowers, it all seemed never-ending, but it gave me a sense of purpose. I had an appointment I had to get to for finalizing the flowers today at four pm. Cameron couldn’t make it but was going to meet me at Uncle Lon’s house after.

Nathaniel was with me, giving his thoughts on the flowers I had narrowed the selection down to. My two choices were roses and sunflowers or white dahlias and pink peonies. Nathaniel was looking mindlessly outside as I was trying to show him the different flower arrangements. I followed his eyesight. The big window at the front of the store was framing the falling snow outside like a portrait. I snapped my fingers in front of Nathaniel’s face, breaking his concentration. He turned to me, still a little hazy eyed, and smiled. “I got lost in thought for a moment. What were you saying?” He said as he shook his head slightly, trying to fully come back in focus.

“I asked what you thought about the colors of the flowers.” I held up the samples of flowers in my hands. His eyes still had an air of distance in them. I let out an exasperated sigh as I turned, dropping my hands down.

“I think we should go. The snow is really starting to come down. I don’t want to drive through snow tonight.” I looked back out the window and sure enough, the snow was now coming down in droves. It was starting to stick to the ground, quickly accumulating.

By the time we left the flower shop, the wind was whipping the snow around so hard I had to squint to see anything. I was glad we left when we did. Driving back home was not a fun experience. The car was veering all over the road almost side swiping a few other cars that were parked on the side of the street. The slick roads while driving through a wall of white had my eyes closed until we had pulled safely up to the house. Nathaniel didn’t pull in the driveway.

“I remembered I must be somewhere. I am just dropping you off.” I went to protest him driving any more in these conditions, but he preemptively countered with, “I have driven in much worse. I promise to drive slowly and carefully.”

I knew no matter what I said he wouldn’t listen, so I just said, “Alright. Be safe.” He nodded his head once and was off as soon as I shut my door. I walked through the thin layer of snow on the driveway. The snow was crunching under my shoes until I got to the porch where the awning had prevented most of the snow from entering.

I was trying to decide if I wanted to make myself a cup of tea first before getting in a hot bath to rid my body of the chill that had made its way in. I shivered as the warm air circulating in the house hit me as I opened the door. I shut and locked the door, about to take my coat off, when I heard a sound coming from the study.

I moved closer and heard more noises. The sound was muffled. I moved slowly towards the door and eased it open. What I found on the other side of that door will forever haunt me. There was Cameron, bare ass hanging out, with Maggie splayed out on the desk, ramming himself into her. The sounds I had heard were their moans. I stood in stunned silence for a moment, taking in the scene before me. The two of them so wrapped up in each other they hadn’t noticed the door was opened with me in the doorframe.

I was disgusted by what was happening in front of me. It would be hypocritical of me to judge him for this indiscretion when I had done various intimate activities with Emmett. My problem was the fact he was doing this in my current residence, with a woman who I thought was a friend, while I was out finalizing wedding flowers. It made me wonder how long this had been going on.

I am not sure how I was able to keep my composure as the thrusting increased and the sound of skin slapping together got louder. That’s when I struck. I shouted, “This is your business you had to attend to?” Cameron stopped mid thrust and pulled out of Maggie, exposing himself, and her, to me.

Maggie jumped down off the desk pulling her dress down to cover herself up. Cameron stood there, unmoving. I took my ring off and threw it in the fire going in the fireplace. “Both of you can go to hell.” I couldn’t leave without getting one last lick in at them both. “No wonder she had to fake all the moaning.” I let my eyes wander down to his fully exposed semi hard rod. I heard Cameron say “Shit,” under his breath as he bent down to pick up his pants.

I slammed the door as I left. Russel must’ve heard the ruckus from whatever room he had been in because he was standing there in the foyer now. The look of shock and pity was on his face as he took in the scene. Cameron was opening the door behind me as he buttoned his pants. Maggie was disheveled in the study following after Cameron.

I walked right up to Russel, “Take me to Le Mier.” His eyes were darting from me to Cameron, trying to figure out the best way to navigate the situation. I wasn’t going to give him a choice. “Listen here, you can either take me there or I will walk there. Either way, I am going. I refuse to be in the same house as either of those assholes.” I didn’t even wait for a response.

I turned and walked outside. I was really hoping my threat to walk would make Russel come after me. The big flakes were still falling rapidly as I made my way down the driveway. I couldn’t even see my previous tracks in the newly falling snow. I heard crunching footsteps behind me.

“Charlotte. Get in the car.” It was Russel. He gestured his head toward the car he wanted me to get into. He made quick work of wiping off the snow that had piled up on the windshield. As soon as we were on the road, Russel was about to say something.

He opened his mouth, “I,” was all I let him get out. I didn’t know if he was going to apologize to me, sympathize with me or try to convince me this wasn’t a big deal. I didn’t want to hear any of it.

“I swear to God Russel, if you say anything to me at all, I will grab that steering wheel and crash us into the nearest structure. Do not try me.” I saw his hands grip the wheel he was holding onto even tighter, his knuckles turning white. At least he was taking my threat seriously.

Familiar buildings were hardly discernable through the sheets of snow making their way down from the sky. It took nearly double the time it usually would, but we eventually made it to Le Mier. When I first told Russel to take me here, I had just wanted to go to a place I knew.

Emmett wasn’t as out of my system as I had thought. The first person I wanted to go to when I was in trouble was Emmett. I had made up my mind in the car. I couldn’t live a life where my heart will be broken a million little times. It would cost way too much to fix that amount of hurt and pain. There’s no way I have that much strength. My soul wouldn’t survive that torture. I wanted to be with Emmett, consequences be damned.