THIRTY
JACK
“Thanks again.” Kate plants a peck on my cheek. Even though I shouldn’t let her do it, I make an exception. She’s been so miserable this afternoon, and she needs a friend right now.
She was in tears when she called me earlier today, telling me her dad had been in an accident and his condition was critical. Her parents live in Detroit, and it was killing Kate that the earliest flight she could book was tonight. So, of course, I agreed when she asked if she could come over because she needed company.
“Are you sure you don’t need me to take you to the airport?” I ask her.
“Yes, I’m sure. Don’t cancel your plans with Emma because of me. I’ll be fine. I appreciate your help, Jack.”
She hugs me again, and a sense of discomfort rushes through me. Not because I can’t bear physical contact, but because I know Emma wouldn’t like this. She still doesn’t like Kate and doesn’t trust her around me, either, but I couldn’t leave Kate hanging today. I’ll tell Emma all about it later, though, despite knowing it might start an argument, but lying to her isn’t an option.
“Okay. Call me when you have news,” I tell Kate.
“I will. Bye, Jack.” With another peck on my cheek, she turns and walks down the street. I watch her disappear around the corner before walking back inside .
Once I’m in my apartment, I take a shower, and just as I’m dressed, my phone rings. “Hey, Liv.”
“Jack!” she yells.
I frown at the urgency in her voice. “What’s going on?”
“Is Emma with you?”
The frown on my forehead deepens, and my heart rate picks up. “No. Why? I thought she was with you.”
“She was, but something happened, and she wanted to go to your place.”
“What do you mean, something happened?” I grab the edge of the dresser when a wave of dizziness hits me.
“We were at the playground, and Lucy played with another girl. We joined them, and the little girl’s parents were there too. Emma was acting weird, and after they were gone, she said she knew the guy. But she wouldn’t tell me more. All she said was she had to see you. Jack, I’m worried about her.”
With every word my sister says, my unease grows. “When was that? Should she be here by now?”
“That was an hour ago, so yes, she should be at your place by now!”
“Okay, breathe, Liv,” I tell her, even though I don’t feel like breathing either. “I’ll call her.”
“Yes. And please let me know if she’s all right. I don’t want to get all worked up here, but she was pretty upset.”
“Of course. I’ll call you later. Now I’ll try to find her.”
We finish the call, and I dial Emma’s number, but after a couple of rings, it goes to voicemail. I try three more times, but no luck. And just because I don’t know what else to do, I try a fourth time. And finally, someone answers the call.
Yes, someone. And it’s not Emma. A voice I recognize immediately tells me, “Stop calling her. She’s at my place, safe from your hurtful actions, and doesn’t want to talk to you.”
My blood already boils because Rob answers Emma’s phone, but what he says makes me even angrier. “What the fuck? Why?” But I don’t get an answer because Rob ends the call without further explanation.
“Dammit, you fucking moron!” I yell at my phone. But at least I know where to find Emma.
So I make my way to Rob’s place. I prepare to bang on his door until he budges, but he answers right away. He doesn’t say anything, though; he only glares at me.
“I need to see her,” I state.
“No,” he says. “I told you if you made her cry—” And again, he doesn’t finish the sentence, just draws in a deep breath and narrows his eyes at me. “I won’t let you talk to her.”
I run my hand over my face and release a frustrated groan. “What did I do? Will you at least tell me that? Who was that guy she saw today? And is she okay?”
“She will be,” he says, and it takes all the willpower I can muster not to punch him in the face. “You better leave now,” he adds before closing the door, but I step forward and use my foot to keep it open.
“No, I won’t leave until I talk to Emma.”
“Not gonna happen, buddy.”
Did he just call me buddy? Gosh, this guy is pushing every button I have. “I. Am. Not. Leaving,” I tell him through clenched teeth .
“Rob,” a low, shaky voice says behind him. “It’s okay; let him in.”
Hearing Emma speak in this sad, heartbroken tone makes my insides churn.
Rob steps aside, and my gaze falls on Emma. Her red, puffy eyes and how she rests her hands on her belly worry me. Is something wrong with the baby?
“Emma,” I whisper as I step toward her. But she retreats and lifts her hand to keep me at a distance. “What’s going on? The baby—”
“He’s fine,” Emma says.
“Then what happened? Who was the guy at the playground today?”
Emma lowers her gaze and covers her eyes with her hand. She takes a couple of calming breaths before looking into my eyes. “That guy—it was Dylan.”
I furrow my brows. Dylan? That name sounds familiar. And then it dawns on me. “Shit,” I say. “Dylan, as in your one-night stand?”
She nods. “And the father of my baby. Turns out he’s a cheating scumbag. He has a wife and kids.”
“What?” I growl. “That bastard. I’m so sorry, Em.” I take another step toward her, but again, she steps back. I narrow my eyes. “What’s this about? Why won’t you talk to me? Why do you back away from me?”
“Because … Jack …”
An icy shiver runs down my spine when she utters my name like it’s tearing her apart. Tears run down her face and her chin trembles.
“Because,” she says, “when I came running to you—in my moment of utmost despair after I discovered what I had done—the moment I needed you most …” She takes another deep breath, tilting her head back.
And then it hits me. She wanted to see me. She came over. “You saw me with Kate,” I whisper.
“Yes,” she whispers, too, avoiding my gaze.
“Fuck,” I mutter, and Emma’s eyes snap to me. She glares at me as if she thinks I’m feeling caught, but I only regret not telling her right away what happened. I should have told her before Kate dropped by.
“No, Emma, please. It’s not what you think.” But I try to explain in vain when Emma groans and flicks her gaze to the ceiling.
“Ugh, Jack! You always say that. Next, you’ll reassure me she’s just a friend.”
I grimace. “She is. She called me because her dad had an accident, and she needed a friend to talk to.”
“A friend! A friend!” Emma waves her arms around as she paces back and forth. “Here we go again. I’m sick and tired of this.” She comes to a stop in front of me. “She’s not just a friend, Jack. She wants you, and she’s lurking in the shadows, waiting for you to notice her, dump me, and take her instead.”
I gasp. “How can you even think something like that could happen? I could never do that to you. Even if that were her plan, don’t you get how much you mean to me?”
She crosses her arms over her chest. “Not really when you keep meeting with Kate. And behind my back too.”
I shove my hand through my hair and let out a long, heavy sigh. My gaze falls on Rob, who has silently been watching our exchange, and for a split second, I wonder if he’s enjoying this. He’s the one who’s been questioning my motives, after all.
I look at Emma. “I’m sorry about that. You’re right, I should have told you.”
She groans. “It sucks it had to happen today, of all days. Can you imagine in the slightest how I feel? All I wanted was to be in your arms, and then I see you hugging her instead.”
“I’m so sorry, Emma.” With a deep frown, I step toward her because I want to hold her so badly, but again, she won’t let me near her. “Please, let me touch you,” I whisper.
Emma shakes her head. “No, Jack. I can’t. Not now. This time, I can’t bear to be touched.” She takes in a slow breath, and her sad expression crushes my heart. “Please, leave,” she says.
Now I shake my head. “No, I can’t do that. What I can’t bear is the thought of you staying with him.” I point to Rob. “That he is the one to comfort you.”
My eyes snap to Rob when he smirks, and I’m seconds away from wiping that stupid grin off his face. But Emma saw it, too, and glares at him.
“Rob! Really?” she says. “Are you happy about my misery? I can’t believe you right now.” She storms past Rob and returns a moment later with keys and her phone in her hand. “I’m leaving. Goodbye. And I dare either of you to come after me!” She points her finger at Rob, then at me.
“Em—” Rob grasps her arm, but she tears it away.
“No!” she yells. “I’ve had it with you. Both of you. ”
She rushes out of the apartment, and I let her because it’s no use running after her. Rob agrees because he stays put like me.
We stare at the door until Rob is the first to move. He rearranges his glasses with a sigh. “Good job, man,” he says, glaring at me.
I snort. “This isn’t entirely my fault. You could have kept that fucking smirk off your face. I get it makes you so happy that I screwed up, but you screwed up too.”
Rob shakes his head and groans. “Fine. I could have handled the situation better.” He slumps his shoulders. “I think we should try to get along,” he mumbles. “For her.”
I study him for a moment. “I agree,” I say with a deep sigh. I’m not sure how we’ll do that, but I’m willing. As he said—for Emma.
“You really love her, huh?”
My eyes widen. I wouldn’t have expected him to acknowledge that. “More than anything,” I answer him with a subtle smile.
“Give her a day or two. She’ll come around.”
I nod. “Hmm. Thanks.”
“Okay, um, do you want a drink or something?”
I huff out a laugh and shake my head. “No, thanks; I don’t think we’re there yet. But I promise I’ll try my best to stop being horrible to you. For Emma.”
“Okay, you’re right. Truce?” He stretches out his hand.
“Truce,” I say as I shake it.
Once I’m back home, I keep on worrying about Emma because I have no idea where she went. She sent me a text, at least, telling me I shouldn’t worry about her and that she needed some time, so that’s what I’m doing.
And while I do that, someone knocks on my door. I open it and gape at Paul standing there with pizza and drinks. “What are you doing here?” I ask.
He smirks. “I had to leave. Emma showed up at our house, and Tessa told me I was to go because she and Emma needed to talk.” He brushes past me into my living room and makes himself comfortable on my couch. “And as Emma was pissed at you,” he continues when I sit next to him, “I figured you could use some company.”
I smile at my friend, grateful for his visit.
“Now spill.” Paul hands me a drink. “What happened?”
So while we dig in, I tell him how I messed up but plan to make it up to Emma.
Knowing that not Rob but Tessa comforts Emma makes me feel much better. And yes, it’s a little hypocritical to expect Emma to accept Kate as my friend when I have a hard time with Rob as hers.
So once Emma has calmed down and is willing to see me again, we’ll sit down and talk about this yet again, hopefully for the last time.