Stuck with Mr. Grump

11. Emilia

CHAPTER 11

Emilia

P eople respond to trauma in so many different ways. When you’ve experienced a certain degree of pain in your life, it sticks to you like a wound that just never heals. Or a scar you can’t ignore.

My scars materialize in the worst ways, though. The littlest things bring out my memories of pain. And the worst things, as well. Like right now. I blame my earlier conversation with Sterling Harrington for the memory that now skips to the forefront of my mind. An incident that’s buried deep in my mind.

“Where are you going, Emmy?” he asked from his position on the couch.

A couch he never really left. My hand had been on the doorknob when I tensed at the sound of his voice. And then I slowly turned around. I should have known by the sinister smirk on his face that he was planning something nefarious. I should have gotten out of there as fast as I could, but I didn’t.

“To a movie,” I reply quietly, scared to make the wrong move.

Saying or doing the wrong thing had gotten me in so much trouble in the past. Even my body language could get her fired up. And she was in the kitchen, whistling a tune. It seemed like she was in a good mood. But with my mother, you could never really tell.

She stepped into the living room then, wiping her hands with a washcloth.

“You’re not going anywhere, Emilia,” she stated firmly, her tone leaving no room for argument. “I made dinner and Lucas made some ice cream. It’s cooling in the fridge.”

She stood beside him on the couch, rubbing the back of his neck. Lucas stared at me with his trademark drooly eyes. He always looked half asleep, probably because he was always drunk. And yet, I had seen him move so fast in an instant, throwing a glass cup at me that had sliced my cheek. He was dangerous, volatile.

But sometimes my mother scared me even more.

“He did?” I asked timidly.

The last thing I wanted to do was to eat a meal prepared by Lucas. Why had he even cooked in the first place? He never did that. And fucking ice cream? That was weird.

“Yes,” my mother replied, looking down at him with moon eyes. She leaned down to place a kiss on his forehead. “Isn’t it sweet? It’s our anniversary today. Can you believe we’ve been together for ten years already?”

“Yeah, I can. Congratulations.”

He was a fucking drunk and a psychopath who enabled her and manipulated her into doing whatever he wanted her to. It wasn’t surprising he had managed to keep her under his thumb for ten years. Lucas had been a part of my life since I was six. I knew he wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

“Go sit at the table, Emilia. You’re always hanging out with that boyfriend of yours instead of your family. It’s unacceptable.”

I swallowed. “Sorry, Mom.”

She nodded and I’m sure she would have said something more if he hadn’t distracted her by pulling her into his lap. I took the chance to quickly exit the living room, dutifully taking my seat at the dining table until they arrived. Once they did, we ate our meal and then I was asked to bring the ice cream from the fridge.

As soon as I set it on the table and locked eyes with Lucas, I knew something was wrong. My mother served all three of us generous heaps of the ice cream. When she handed me mine, I forced a small smile.

“What flavor is it?” I asked quietly.

They both turned to look at me sharply then. My mother gaped at me like me asking a simple question was a sin.

“Eat your ice cream, Emilia. Don’t be rude. Lucas put a lot of effort into making it for us,” she cautioned.

“I know and I appreciate it,” I returned. “I just want to know what flavor it is.”

The ice cream looked like it was chocolate and vanilla, but I couldn’t be sure. My mother stared at me like she was about to hit me or worse. And then Lucas spoke up.

“Come on, Emilia. Eat your ice cream,” he prompted with a small smile that reminded me of raccoons.

“But—”

“Emilia Rose Sutter, if you don’t finish that ice cream right now!” my mother yelled icily.

I knew what would come out of me refusing. She would never let it go and would torment me with my disobedience for days. I thought about the camping trip that was coming up soon. It was my chance to escape the house for at least a night. She would never give me permission to go if I refused to do this now. I had to be on my best behaviour if I wanted a break.

So, with shaky hands, I reached for the spoon and took a small bite of the ice cream. As soon as it touched my tongue, I knew I was screwed. I gasped, clutching my throat as I felt the liquid slide downward.

“There’s bananas in it!” I screamed, my eyes growing wide.

My mom had stared at me in shock for a couple of moments. When my eyes met Lucas’s, he was hiding his smile, making it clear that he had done it intentionally. He wanted me dead.

“Mom…” I stammered, taking gasping breaths.

I could already feel my throat closing up. I slid out of the chair onto the floor and that finally prompted her into action. She rushed to my side, tapping my cheek.

“Emilia! Emmy, honey. Look at me. Lucas, call 911!” she shouted, her expression flashing with panic.

Lucas finally stood up, coming to stand beside us. “Are you sure she’s not being dramatic?”

I could feel the life slowly sliding out of me but I remember being shocked at his audacity. My mother was shocked, too. She gaped at him for a second before jumping to her feet to hunt down her phone. As soon as she left, Lucas was crouching down beside me, his face inches from mine.

“Why don’t you just die and save us all the misery, you little bitch?” he asked with a small sneer.

And then I passed out. When I woke up, I was in a hospital bed with my mom seated beside me.

“Hey, sweetie, how are you?” she questioned as I sat up.

“Where is he?” I burst out. My chest felt raw and my head was pounding.

“Who, honey? Lucas? He’s at home. He told me to apologize to you. He didn’t mean to add bananas to the ice cream.”

I stared at her in shock. “He… didn’t mean to almost kill me?” I screeched.

“Kill you?” Mom laughed. “Don’t be dramatic, Emilia. You had a small accident is all. It won’t happen again. Now come, you should rest some more.”

She fluffed my pillows before slowly guiding me back so I was lying down. My heart thundered in my chest out of fear. No one would believe me. My own mother didn’t believe me. But I wasn’t safe in that house. The only thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Lucas’s sinister smirk.

He’d wanted to kill me, but he had killed my mother first.

“Emilia!” a voice calls.

I feel a hand on my shoulder, shaking me out of my thoughts or out of the memory.

My eyes focus on Sterling Harrington’s stunningly green ones. They’re filled with worry right now, just like at the café. I swear I’ve taken years of the man’s life in only a couple of minutes. I pull myself together, trying to steady my breathing before offering him a small smile.

He exhales in relief. “Where did you go?” he questions softly.

I shake my head. “Nowhere. I was just… thinking about something.”

“Are you…” He pauses, glancing at me like he’s not sure what to say. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I assure him. “I just need to make sure Paige will be okay.”

I unbuckle the seatbelt, ready to leave the car.

“I’ll come with you,” Sterling announces.

“No, you don’t have to,” I immediately say.

He shrugs before opening his car door. “I want to. Come on.”

I sigh, knowing there’s nothing I can do to stop him as walks over to my side of the car and opens the door for me. Once I’m outside, I look up at the hospital in front of me, my heart pounding in my chest.

Please, please, please let her be okay.

I first met Paige when she was still in high school. She walked into my café when it first opened, all smiles, and asked if I was hiring. I wasn’t at the time, but I guess something about me drew her in. She kept coming every day and we got to talking, and from there we formed a close bond.

She’s a lot like me in some ways. Paige’s dad abandoned her and her mom a couple years ago, and since then they’d been finding it a little hard to survive. Money was tight, so tight that she couldn’t even afford to go to college at the moment. But Paige has never let her experiences bring her down. I admire her so much, and I’m terrified that something bad has happened to her.

When we arrive, we’re told to go up to the third floor where Paige’s mother is. Sterling’s a gentle, reassuring presence at my side. He’s the one who talks to the nurses who direct us to where to go. Paige is currently in emergency surgery, so we find Colleen pacing in the waiting room, tears streaming down her face.

She cries harder when she notices me. I immediately steps toward the older woman, pulling her into a hug.

“It’s okay, Colleen. Be strong,” I say softly. “What happened?”

She starts to speak, her tone a little hysterical. “I’m not sure either, but there was an accident. A truck collided into their car. Paige wasn’t the only one in the car, but she was in the back seat and she had her seatbelt on so she wasn’t as hurt as the other kids. The doctor said she has some internal bleeding and they’re performing surgery right now to fix it. But they’re more worried about her leg. They said it got pretty damaged when the car flipped over and she’ll need a major surgery to fix it otherwise she may never walk again. I-I don’t know what to do, Emilia. How am I going to afford a surgery like that? What am I going to do about my baby girl?”

I hug her closer, rubbing her back in an effort to console her. My heart is still racing as I consider all that she’s said. I’m so grateful Paige is still alive, and I know she’s a fighter and will pull through, but she doesn’t deserve to go through life without the ability to walk. It would crush her. It would crush me.

I’m not going to let that happen.

It takes a couple of minutes but I finally calm Colleen down enough that she sits down. In that time, Sterling’s brought her a cup of water. I offer him a grateful smile as I accept it, handing it to Colleen. Once she’s settled, I get up, walking over to where Sterling stands at the side.

He arches an eyebrow in question as I pull him farther away from Paige’s mother.

“Thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate your presence, but you can leave now,” I tell him.

He pauses, and for a minute I think he’s going to argue, but then he offers me a terse nod.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay, though?”

“Yeah. I’m just going to wait for Paige to get out of surgery. Colleen said she should wake up awhile after so I’ll wait for that to happen before I leave.”

“Okay. Just let me know if you need anything, okay?” he states.

I smile. “You’re being such a good person right now,” I can’t resist pointing out. “It feels weird.”

“Don’t get used to it, Cameron,” he says lightly.

“There’s one more thing,” I start, feeling a chill run through me. I struggle to get the words out for a minute, but then they’re leaving my lips quietly. “I’m ready to sell my café.”

Sterling’s eyebrows rise. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so surprised.

“You’re what?”

“You heard me. You were right earlier. I can’t keep holding on to a café that’s not bringing in much profit. I need to focus on the benefits selling my café will provide.”

He’s visibly confused. I can practically hear the wheels turning in his mind as he tries to figure out what’s changed between now and when we were talking earlier. Then I see understanding dawn in his features when he comes to a realization.

“You’re doing this because of Paige, aren’t you?”

I blow out a breath. “Yeah. Colleen’s not going to be able to afford the surgery and I need to help Paige.”

Sterling stares at me with something akin to wonder in his expression.

“Emilia, I’m sure there are other options. You can’t just sell your café. It means a lot to you,” he argues, his voice full of concern.

I look up at him with a soft smile. “Are you seriously trying to change my mind right now? Isn’t this what you want? Besides, the café might mean a lot, but Paige means so much more. She’s like my little sister. I have to help her.”

He grows quiet once again. “Honestly, I think you’re being a little impulsive. Shouldn’t you talk to someone? Like your family? I’m sure they’d be interested in helping you make such a big decision. Maybe call your dad or your sister?”

I hadn’t even thought to call anyone back home despite the storm brewing in my heart. Especially Anika. She and Paige are a little close.

“I’m just—I’m not used to having a family I can depend on like that,” I admit. “But you’re right. I need to call Anika and I’m sure Dad and Priya would want to know what’s going on. But I’m not changing my mind about the café. I’m selling it. You can draft the contract or whatever.”

A muscle ticks in his jaw. “I’ll give you a couple of days to think about it, yeah?”

“Yes, that’s fine. I’ll be spending a lot of time here at the hospital anyway. How about you tell me where to meet you in a week and I’ll sign the papers?” I suggest.

He doesn’t reply.

“I’m going to sell the café,” I reassure him. “You don’t know me very well, but when I make a decision it’s pretty hard to change my mind.”

“Yet,” he corrects quietly.

“What?”

“I don’t know you very well yet. But I think you’re a pretty amazing person, Emilia Cameron.”

Our eyes lock and the intensity in his gaze takes my breath away. Sterling’s eyes are really the sort of eyes you get lost in. I don’t just get lost, though; I sink so far down it takes me a couple moments to find myself. I force myself to look away.

Seriously, it’s one of the top ten hardest things I’ve ever had to do. And I’ve had to climb over a tall fence in a mini skirt without flashing everyone on the other side.

I cough to break the tension. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me, Sterling Harrington.”

“Just Sterling,” he counters. “You can call me Sterling now.”

“Nah, I actually prefer Tin Man. It fits you better. Plus, I like giving my friends nicknames.”

He chuckles. “So we’re friends now?”

“Maybe,” I say on a shrug. “I’ll see you soon, okay? Go home. I’m sure Sean’s waiting for you.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” he agrees. “Call your family, though.”

“I will,” I assure him with a small wave.

I stay put as he goes to stand in front of Colleen, bending slightly to say something to her. I’m not sure what it is, but she looks up at him with a grateful expression and he offers her a kind smile in return.

“See you later, Cameron,” he says as he passes by me.

“Bye, Sterling.”