Chapter 138

Dreamless, blissful sleep was disrupted by a gentle shaking. Emma was disoriented and groggy but rested. It was a sensation her body had forgotten, and she internally cursed whoever robbed her of it. She expected to see Will and was prepared to give him an earful. But was Jess who was at her bedside. She was perched in a wheelchair.
“Hey,” Emma greeted, her earlier anger forgotten. She rubbed the heave sleep from her eyes and pushed herself up.
“Hey. Did they give you something to help you sleep?”
“Yes. Will insisted. I’m kind of glad for it, though. I don’t think I would have slept otherwise.”
“Of course, you thought you’d be able to power through,” Jess rolled her eyes, but smiled. “You can’t be strong all the time. It’s okay to admit when you need help, you know.”
“I…” Emma didn’t know what to say. She thought of way back, when she first started going through all the mess in her life and kept everything to herself. So much could have been avoided if she had just spoken up. Most of her life, she’d been made to feel like a burden, like an obstacle. “I suppose I don’t know how,” she whispered.
“Time to learn,” Jess smiled. “I didn’t come here to lecture you though. Just wanted to check on you. Heard you get to go home today.”
“Yeah,” she said. “My injuries are healing, and the infection is clearing up. I get to go home and see my baby.” Emma let out a small joyful squeal. It felt like an eternity since she had seen her baby. Every part of her body longed to hold her child. There was hollow ache in her heart that only Lizzie could fill.
“I can’t wait to meet her,” Jess’s eyes lit up for her friend’s happiness.
“When do you get to go home?”
“Tomorrow. Listen, there is something I want to ask you about,” Jess looked down, a shy look crossed her face.
“What’s wrong?” Emma sat up, feeling concern for her friend.
“Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to know about your friend… Spencer.”
Emma tilted her head to the side for a moment before full realization dawned on her. A large grin slowly lit her up face.
“Oh my God!” Emma clapped. “You like him!”
“Yeah,” Jess admitted. “He slept in my room last night.”
“Jess!” Emma squealed. “How exciting!”
“Nothing happened, of course. But I’d like it too eventually.”
“I think that would be fantastic! He’s perfect for you!”
“Right?” Jess gushed. The two friends giggled about Jess’s budding relationship with Spencer. In truth, Emma felt a sense of joy and relief. There was always a twinge of sadness in her heart for him. Part of her had always wanted to reciprocate his feelings for her. Spencer was kind, sweet, generous. He doted on her all throughout her pregnancy. He was a source of comfort and stability in her life during a time of upheaval. Her career wouldn’t be what it was if it wasn’t for him. And even though he may have wanted more out of their relationship, he never asked for it. Never pushed for anything. All she could offer him was friendship, and he accepted that without any conditions.
His grounding personality along with Jess’s fire would mesh greatly. It was a perfect match in her eyes, and it was her fervent hope that Jess and Spencer would be able to find happiness in each other.
“You two sound like you’re having a great time,” Will teased as he walked back into the room.
“Just plotting against you,” Jess answered.
“Should I run now?”
“Not yet,” Jess looked him up and down, as though she was scanning him. “You don’t have anything to be afraid of.” She made her way out of the room. Before she left, she turned back and looked at them. “…for now.”
“I thought Sabrina was bad,” Will shuddered after Jess left. “She is terrifying.”
“You have no idea,” Emma smiled fondly. “So, where did you go?”
“I was taking care of a few things for work.” There was a sort of melancholy in his voice that gave Emma pause.
“You mentioned you wanted to talk to me about something last night?” she prodded.
“Yeah. I was wondering where you were going to go. You know, after leaving here. Are you going to stay in Lyncrest?”
“Oh,” Emma said. She hadn’t even thought of what was going to happen. They were together, but she hadn’t considered what that meant. She had a life in Lyncrest. Her career, and her father were there. She couldn’t leave either behind. “I… um…. Yes. I would go back home.”
Will couldn’t pretend that it didn’t sting. She had left the city to get away from him and created a life for herself. One she didn’t want to leave even though there wasn’t a reason to run anymore. Her home used to be with him.
“I see. I suppose I was hoping…”
“…That I would go back with you,” she finished. “Will, I can’t. I have a life in Lyncrest. I have a job and a home. My father is there. I can’t leave him.”
“But we’re together now. There’s isn’t a reason for you to stay there.” He was getting annoyed. Why didn’t she understand that?
“My life doesn’t revolve around whether or not we’re together!” she argued.
“I’m not saying it does!” he shot back. “But you only went there when you wanted to get away from me. You don’t have a reason to stay!”
“I want to get away from you right now! Did you hear a word I just said? I have a life there! I have no reason to come back to this city!”
“No reason?” Will asked with more venom than he’d intended. “None at all?
“Will, you know that’s not what I mean!”
“Then what do you mean, Emma? That our reconciliation is meaningless to you?”
“We are not going to pick up where we left off!” Emma asserted. “We are not!”
“You’re saying you don’t want to come back with me!”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you!” Emma yelled. “It means I have a life and a home I want to go back to. We need space and distant from time to time.”
“Why?”
“Because I am not your contract pet anymore!”
The words were like ice in Will’s heart.
She was right. Their previous arrangement didn’t give her any autonomy or freedom. She was with him due to contractual obligation, and not by choice. This time she was choosing to be with him.
“You’re right,” he whispered, all the fight leaving him. “I’ll take you back to Lyncrest.”
“Will,” Emma noticed the sudden change in his tone. “I…”
“No, you’re right,” he repeated. “You aren’t my pet anymore. You are the mother of my child, and my… girlfriend,” he smiled. “I forgot how to have one of those.”
Had he ever really had an actual girlfriend? When he and Grace were together, there was so much pressure from the expectation of what would happen when they grew up. He’d never thought of her as a girlfriend. After she devastated him by leaving, he plowed through women. They were expendable to him, salve for an exposed wound.
“We did it all the wrong way,” Emma said.
“I think you’re right. We couldn’t even go a full twenty-four hours without fighting,” he shook his head. “We went backwards.”
“There’s hope though,” Emma touched his face. It was prickly and rough with stubble. It was another sign of the insanity their lives had devolved to. “We managed to stop without exploding or storming off.
“Does that mean we get to have make up sex?” Will purred, leaning towards her.
“We can’t solve all of our problems that way!” she protested but didn’t push him away.
“Why not?” he kissed her neck. “It’s so much fun.”
“Hmm,” a small moan slipped from Emma’s lips. “We both have some learning to do.”