Chapter 16 #2
I freeze, my whole body is coiled tight. My hands grip the edge of the counter until my knuckles go white. I strain to hear her response, praying she tells him to fuck off.
Emma doesn’t smile, but her voice is polite. “Hi, Jake.”
“You back in town for good?” he asks, clearly unaware, or uncaring, that the look on her face screams that she has no interest in entertaining him.
She nods once. “Something like that.”
His friends flank Liv and Sophia, who shoot each other amused glances.
I keep an eye on the exchange, willing myself not to move or intervene unless I have to.
Jake leans in, whispering something I can’t hear, inches away from Emma’s ear.
She doesn’t react in the way I’m sure he was hoping that she would, simply an unamused look on her face.
That’s when I notice when his hand lands on her upper thigh, fingers digging into her skin like he is claiming her all to himself.
She looks noticeably uncomfortable now as she tries to shove his hand off, saying something with fire in her eyes.
Jake doesn’t take the hint and continues to move the hand on her thigh higher, under the hem of her dress.
That’s my last fucking straw.
I round the corner of the bar in two strides and appear beside them.
“Get your fucking hands off of her.” My voice cuts through the air, low and lethal, and the whole place goes quiet.
My body is tense like a coiled spring. There is fury and destruction burning my eyes as I clench both fists by my sides.
Jake raises both hands up in the air, laughing. “Relax, man. We were just talking.”
I don’t move.
“Don’t you ever fucking touch her again.”
His face twists with irritation. “Who the fuck do you think you are, Alex? You can have the bitch.”
Just like that, I swing, my fist connecting with Jake’s jaw with a sickening crack.
He stumbles back, eyes wild before lunging toward me.
We fall into an empty table and crash on the ground, fists flying.
This is shockingly not my first bar fight, so I can say I know what I’m doing, while Jake’s swings are sloppy and uncoordinated.
I land another brutal hit as he stands back up, knocking him back against another table and chairs.
“Alex, stop!” I hear Emma call out.
But I can’t stop myself. I land another punch causing Jake to let out another grunt of pain. Everyone in the bar is huddled around us, shouting. Frankie runs over to try to pull me away but I push him off of me too.
“Alex, you idiot. STOP!” Emma calls out again.
I think about hitting him again but decide to stop. My chest is heaving and there is blood dripping along my knuckles.
“I’m going to sue your fucking ass,” Jake groans as he rolling onto his side.
“Do it, bitch.” I seethe, making my way over to Emma. The look on her face is beyond anger or rage.
“Why do you have to ruin everything?” she spits out, her cheeks flushed red and eyebrows furried together.
“I’m leaving.” She doesn’t wait for my response as she turns towards the door to leave.
Liv and Sophia trail behind. Sophia looks horrified by what happened and Liv looks like she wants to punch me.
“Em, wait—” She ignores me as they walk out the door. I run after them and call out to her again. She stops short, eyes narrowing slightly. “What, Alex?” Her voice barely below a yell.
“We need to talk.”
She exhales sharply, shaking her head. “I don’t think we do. Not after your little show in there.”
I ignore that. “Let me take you home.”
“Fuck, no.” She immediately snaps back.
“Please, Em. Just this one time and then I’ll leave you alone if that’s what you want.”
I’m two seconds away from getting on my knees and begging. She hesitates for a second, then she mutters something under her breath before giving a short nod. “Fine.”
Liv and Soph take turns hugging her goodbye and I hear Liv whisper, “Are you sure this is a good idea? He’s clearly unhinged.”
Emma nods and replies, “I’ll be fine. He’s not going to hurt me.”
She turns back towards me and simply says, “Let’s go,” turning through the side alley to the back lot where employees park, assuming that’s where I parked.
We don’t speak as we head to the truck. She still doesn’t say anything when I open the door for her, just slides in and crosses her arms tightly over her chest.
I glance over to her several times as we pull out of the lot and make our way to her house, trying to find the right words for what it is I want to say. Everything seems insignificant and small compared to the rage displayed on her beautiful face.
We barely make it a mile down the road before she snaps.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” she demands, voice sharp and cutting. “A brawl in the middle of your own goddamn bar? Really, Alex? How old are you?”
My jaw clenches as I wipe away some blood starting to dry at the corner of my mouth. “I saw the way he put his hands on you, Em. What was I supposed to do? Let him get away with it?”
“I could’ve—I was handling it just fine,” she shoots back, though I’m not convinced.
“Yeah? Because from where I stood, it looked like he wasn't taking no for an answer and you needed help.”
She groans, pressing her fingers to her temples. “You always do this! You insert yourself where you don’t belong!”
I huff out a breath. “Jake is a fucking creep, and you know it.” My eyes darken around the sound of his name.
“You love to scare off any guys that have ever laid their eyes on me. Do you find enjoyment in that?” She glares, eyes like daggers digging into me, waiting for a response.
I exhale sharply, raking a hand through my disheveled hair. “Nobody has ever been good enough for you.”
There is a beat of silence between us as the air crackles thick and suffocating in the cab.
“Who the hell are you to decide that?” She finally asks in return. “You don’t get to play God with my life, Alex.”
“I know you, Emiliana,” I shoot back, serious and unrelenting. “I know what you need. I know what you deserve. And it sure as hell isn’t Jake Pearson putting his hands on you like that.”
I can see the way she swallows something down, that she knows what I said is true.
“So what exactly do you think I deserve then?”
I look over at the passenger seat and bare my eyes into hers. “More.”
The word hangs between us, heavy and dangerous. She doesn’t respond and we are silent for a couple minutes. I focus on the road ahead, driving through the dark roads of town, guided only by the street lights glowing warm, yellow-orange tones.
“What the hell do you want, Alex?” Emma demands, breaking the silence once again.
“I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing anymore,” I admit, the words coming out louder and more honest than I planned. “I don’t know what I want.”
She lets out a bitter laugh. “That’s obvious.”
I glance at her, my pulse kicking up. “But I do know I can’t stand being away from you.” My voice is full of frustration now, and something dangerous that I am tired of fighting. “I feel like I can’t breathe when you're not around, and it’s driving me insane.”
She flinches like she wasn’t expecting that confession.
“Stop,” she mutters, shaking her head.
“No.” My grip on the wheel tightens. “I’ve spent years trying to pretend I didn’t care. Trying to convince myself that it didn’t matter if you hated me. That you were right when you said what we had wasn’t real,” I scoff, shaking my head. “But it was real, Em. And it still is.”
She’s silent, as if trying to process my words.. Then, suddenly, the storm inside of her explodes.
“You don’t get to do this, Alex,” she says, voice filled with something dark, something meant. “You don’t get to show up and say shit like that when you’re the one that made me feel miserable in the first place.”
I wince, but don’t look away. “I never meant to—”
“Oh, spare me,” she spits out. “You knew what you were doing. You always knew.”
I pull up to her house, throwing the truck in park, but neither of us move. The air between us is charged with the weight of everything we still haven’t said pressing down like a damn boulder, trying to force us to say it now.
She shakes her head, shoving the door open. “I can’t do this with you.”
I move on instinct, following her before she can disappear inside.
“Emiliana, wait.”
She whirls around, eyes blazing. “No! Don’t follow me home, Alex! You say all this shit and expect me to just—what? Fall into your arms?” She lets out a humorless laugh. “You don’t get to be the one who’s hurt when you’re the reason I—” She cuts off, her voice catching.
I step closer. “The reason you what?”
She presses her lips together, blinking rapidly. I know her well enough to know that she’s trying to keep herself from being vulnerable and breaking right in front of me. She shakes her head. “Just go.”
“No.”
She shoves at my chest, hard. “Go!”
I grab her wrists, holding them tight. “Why? Tell me what you’re so afraid of.”
“You terrify me, Alex,” she finally admits, voice shaking. “You make me feel things I don’t want to feel. And I hate you for it.”
She yanks away and storms inside, slamming the door in my face. It seems to be a tradition at this point.
I stand there, chest rising and falling, hands curled into fists at my sides. It feels like my whole damn world has cracked open.