Chapter 24 Emma
EMMA
“So, I have to tell you something,” Talia says, talking with a mouthful of salad.
“Can it wait until you finish chewing?” I ask, rolling my eyes.
We’re at a quickie make-your-own-salad place down the street from our apartment.
She grins, unfazed, and grabs her water. “Nope. It’s important.”
Laddie is happily munching on a chicken wrap and doodling on a napkin.
I nudge Talia’s foot under the table. “Okay, what’s so urgent?”
She swallows, sits up a little straighter. “I got a new job.”
I stare at her, surprised. “Really? That’s amazing! Where is it?”
But Talia just looks so serious, it throws me off. I sit back, searching her face. “What kind of job?”
“It’s a traveling nurse position,” she says quietly. “You know, where you go fill in at different hospitals for a few months, then move on—the money’s fantastic, Em. And I’ve always wanted to see more, do more. Remember when I moved to California right after high school graduation?”
I rub the bridge of my nose as I take in this news. “Wow. That’s… that’s big, Tal. Really big. I’m happy for you, though.”
My sister chews on the inside of her cheek.
“I hope you don’t feel like I’m abandoning you.
It’s just that I never really wanted to settle in one place, and we’ve been here five years, and I really want to explore other places, meet new people.
And now that Laddie’s in school, I’m not really needed for the day-to-day stuff anymore—”
“It’s fine,” I cut in, my voice sharper than I meant. I catch myself and try again, more gently. “Really. I am happy for you. You’ve done so much for Laddie and me. We wouldn’t have made it this far without you.”
Talia’s eyes welled with tears. She’s heard me say this many, many times, but for whatever reason, it’s resonating now. I reach across the table and try to grab her hand, but she swats me away.
“I was lonely in California, Em. Having you and baby Laddie...it made me feel less alone.”
“And you were my lifeline when I was at my lowest. You have no idea how much I needed you,” I say softly.
We both sit there, trying not to cry, for a few minutes, just staring at each other. Finally, Talia shakes her head and sniffs. “You fucker,” she says, and we both break down laughing.
She dabs at her eyes and perks up a bit. “Hey, if you want, I can give you the number of a girl from work who’s looking for a roommate. And since our lease is up in a couple of months, it’s probably a good time to start looking for something else anyway.”
“How much longer do we have you for?” I ask.
“I start my first assignment in a month,” she says. “I already gave my two-week notice at work.”
“Wow,” I whisper. “That’s… soon.”
Now, Talia really does reach for my hand and squeezes hard. “It’ll be okay, Em. You’re a badass mom. You work your ass off. You’ve got this.”
“Yeah,” I say, blinking fast as tears threaten to fall.
“Seriously,” she says, with another fiercer squeeze. “Everything will work out, one way or another. But that does not mean you should get back together with Liam Callaghan.”
I sigh and let out a shaky laugh as I wipe away the unshed tears before they roll down my face.
“He’s ghosting me anyway,” I admitted. “When I took Laddie to a game and texted him after, thinking maybe it was time to introduce them, but he pushed me away before I could tell him anything. I haven’t heard much from him since.”
“Probably for the best,” Talia mutters, but she softens it with a shrug when I shoot her a look. “I’ll give you a hundred bucks if you can tell me that he’s just living a super easy, no-drama life right now.”
I frown and stare at my half-finished salad, losing my appetite.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Talia says gently.
“Em, I’ve said this a million times, it’s not that I think he’s a bad guy.
He isn’t. He just… attracts chaos. It’s like he’s got some trouble magnet stuck to him.
And you always want to rush in and save him.
I just… I want you to save yourself for once.
If he figures out how to pull himself out, maybe I’ll change my mind.
But until then, I’ll always see him as a nice guy who drags you down with his mess. ”
Her words sting. It’s not fair for her to judge him this way; it never has been. But I swallow the retort, reminding myself I only have a few more weeks with her, and I don’t want another argument.
“I just really thought… maybe fate was giving us another shot,” I say, voice thick. “I missed him, Tal. I missed him so much, and when he landed in my ER, I thought it was a sign, you know? That we were supposed to get a second chance. I wanted it.”
“My sister, the eternal optimist,” she sighs.
Before the moment can get any heavier, Laddie looks up, cheeks stuffed with chicken wrap, eyebrows lifted in deep, five-year-old thought. “Mama, can we get sprinkles for pancakes tonight? Dinosaurs eat sprinkles. That’s why they don’t get cavities.”
Talia snorts, and I nearly choke on my laughter. “That’s science,” she says, straight-faced.
Laddie nods, all seriousness. “And if I get blue sprinkles, I’ll have super speed. Green ones make you invisible. But only if you eat them with syrup, not just plain.”
Talia leans in, whispering, “What about red sprinkles?”
He chews thoughtfully. “Red is for danger. If you eat too many, you fart fire. That’s what happened to the last T. rex.”
We both burst out laughing, tension melting away. “If you’re a dinosaur, Laddie, you’ll be the fastest and weirdest one in Chicago,” Talia says, ruffling his hair.
I wipe my eyes and shove away my salad, the knot in my chest loosening. “We’d better get home before you turn into a velociraptor, buddy.”
Laddie shrugs, mouth already full again. “Velociraptors are just big chickens without feathers.”
We gather up napkins and empty cups. As we step outside, Laddie skips between us, clutching a napkin covered in doodles, his little hand in each of ours.
“Can we have pancakes every night? And also, I think I invented a new dinosaur called Sprinkle-saurus.”
Talia chuckles, “I think he belongs in the Museum of Breakfast.”
And as we walk home, the world feels heavy and bright and silly, all at once.
It’s a strangely quiet night in the ER.
I sit at the nurses’ station, fiddling with my phone until I finally cave and send Liam a little waving emoji. I wait, but nothing comes back. With every silent minute, my heart grows heavier.
Every time I check my phone, there’s still nothing from him.
I keep thinking about that night at his place, how it felt like we’d finally found our way back to each other, how I almost told him everything.
I was ready to let him in, ready to introduce him to his son.
Now, all that hope feels foolish.
Maybe I waited too long. Perhaps I’ve damaged something that can’t be repaired.
I keep replaying the sight of those three mafia guys on his lawn, the way my stomach dropped. He seemed okay then, but what if something happened after? I can’t shake the worry, not for a second.
When my shift ends early, I hurry home.
When I step inside, I find Talia sitting cross-legged at the foot of Laddie’s little bed, reading The Day the Crayons Quit in her best silly voices. Laddie’s under his dinosaur sheets, eyes wide and heavy, but still fighting sleep with every ounce of his stubbornness.
“—and then Yellow Crayon said, ‘I am the true color of the sun!’ But Orange said, ‘No way, it’s definitely me,’” Talia reads, making her voice extra dramatic.
Laddie giggles, clutching his stuffed alligator. “Auntie Tal, maybe the sun is a rainbow. That way everyone’s happy.”
Talia looks up and catches my eye, smiling softly. “Hey, look who’s home just in time for the grand finale.”
I cross to the bed, heart lifting at the sight of them together. “Did I miss the best part?”
Laddie grins sleepily. “Nope. The best part is you’re home.” He squirms up, reaching his arms for a hug. “Mama, guess what? Auntie Tal does a voice for every crayon, but her purple sounds like a duck.”
Talia rolls her eyes, closing the book. “It’s called creative, kid.”
I lean down and kiss his forehead, brushing back his hair. “I love you, Laddie. Sleep tight, okay?”
He nods, already half gone, clutching my hand. “Love you, Mama.
He snuggles deeper, and I tuck the blankets around his shoulders. Talia stands and squeezes my arm as we tiptoe out, leaving his nightlight glowing.
After, Talia and I head out into the living room, and I curl up next to her on the couch and cry. She holds me and strokes my hair, letting me release all my emotions.
After a long stretch of silence, I whisper, voice cracking, “I’m still in love with him, Tal. I love him, and I don’t think I’ll ever stop.”
“I know,” she says softly. There’s no judgment in her tone, just understanding.
Talia’s never been in love. She’s too restless for roots, too alive for permanence. The fact that she’s stayed here for five years, helping me raise Laddie, holding my world together, is the longest she’s ever stayed anywhere.
Maybe it’s because we’re sisters.
Maybe she just knew I needed her.
“I’m glad you got this new job,” I tell her, swiping at my tears. “You deserve to see the world. It wasn’t fair of me to pull you into all this—to trap you here with me when I showed up pregnant and broken.”
She shakes her head, firm but gentle. “You didn’t trap me. I could’ve said no, Em. But I didn’t. I chose you. I chose Laddie. That’s family.”
Her hand squeezes mine. “But for the record,” she adds with a sad smile, “you broke your own heart. That boy would’ve done anything for you. Everything. He never would’ve left you, especially not because you were pregnant.”
“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said about him,” I say.
“I told you, I don’t think he’s a bad person.”
“He’s not,” I agree quietly. “He’s a good man. That’s why I didn’t want him to have to make a choice. He finally had a chance to get free, and I wanted that for him, even if it meant getting away without me.”
“I know that, too.”
My voice breaks. “What should I do?”
She squeezes my hand. “Go find him. Tell him you love him. Tell him you screwed up and you’re sorry.”
After crying out and exhausted, I drag myself into the shower, hoping the hot water will wash away the ache sitting heavy in my chest.
It doesn’t.
When I climb into bed, I scroll my phone mindlessly, trying not to spiral, but every thought circles back to him.
I could go to his place.
Knock on the door.
Make him listen.
But what if that mafia creep shows up again? Liam would lose it if I got mixed up in that mess.
Maybe I could wait for him after his next game to catch him in the parking garage, make him look me in the eye.
Except he said security’s tighter now. I probably wouldn’t even get close.
Think, Emma. Think.
Finally, I just decided to call. The phone rings once, twice, then cuts off before voicemail picks up.
I try again.
This time, the screen flashes a cold message that guts me.
You’ve been blocked.
Blocked?
For a second, I just stare at it.
Then the truth hits.
He doesn’t want to talk to me.
He doesn’t want me.