Chapter 26

Of course, he would defend her. Why was she even surprised at that point? It was the last thing Emma wanted to see. It was all so confusing. Why was this affecting her so much? Isn’t this what she wanted? She was the one who gave Vivian the blessing to chase after Will. It was idea. Vivian would never have known how to even find Will. Emma essentially handed him over. So why was she so mad about it?

​ Sabrina was fuming, and tossed back a drink. She poured another two for Vivian.

​ “Drink up, bitch. Cheers,” she drank another. Alex touched fer face, and gave her a gentle kiss.

​ “Slow down, babe. I don’t want you to overdo it and regret this in the morning.” He smiled at her, and Sabrina melted into his touch. This was very different from the flirty Alex she met. But she was happy for her friend.

​ “You’ll take care of me either way,” Sabrina slurred.

​ “You know I will,” Alex smiled, and leaned in to kiss her.

​ Will leaned into Vivian, and offered her a drink. Their exchange was not cute and loving like the one between Sabrina and Alex.

​ “Oh, Will. Do you promise to take care of me if I get drunk?” she asked, trying to get him to be sweet to her. It made Emma nauseous. She couldn’t stand to see them like this anymore. She shouldn’t even be there.

​ Emma decided to sneak out while everyone was wrapped up in each other. They wouldn’t even miss her. When she was finally outside, the alcohol seemed to finally hit her. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. She was definitely tipsy, but at least she wasn’t totally drunk. The cool night air brought her back to reality. It was still and quiet outside of the club. The thumping bass, and shouting, the clinking of glasses on top of finding Will and Vivian on a date was too much. Being outside and away from all that gave Emma some time to organize her thoughts. She still had to gather her things from her dorm and go back home. Even though she had told Anna that her father would be fine until morning, she didn’t actually know that. Anything could happen, and she had left her helpless father essentially alone. She just couldn’t seem to catch a break.

The bus stop was down the street. At this time, they would be running more frequently to accommodate the nightlife. It would only take a few minutes to walk to it, but Emma wanted to walk to the end of the Earth and disappear. Perhaps then she could finally rest. She was tired. So tired.

​ “I did it again,” she said to herself. “Why do I always act up in front of him?” she whined. Will seemed to bring out the worst in her. No matter what, she lost control around him. She was too bold in front of someone she owed $300,000 to.

​ “God, I hate him,” she muttered. Suddenly, someone grabbed her, and pulled her back. She collided into something hard.

​ “You have got to stop talking to yourself out loud like that. People will get the wrong idea.”

​ It was Will. He had followed her out.

​ “Let go of me,” Emma said pushing herself away, but Will held her tight.

​ “Come with me,” he said, starting to lead her away.

​ “No,” she resisted, trying to pull away from him. He held on to her tighter. Emma was confused, hurt and angry.

​ “Let go of me!” she repeated with frustrated tears. “What do you want from me?”

​ “I want you… to come with me,” he repeated. To any onlookers, they would look like a couple in a steamy embrace. Some people whistled at them; others yelled at them to get a room.

​ “Please just leave me alone,” Emma whimpered with embarrassment. Will wiped her tears away. It was a gentle gesture, but nothing about Will was gentle.

​ “You know you want to come with me,” he smirked. The double entendre was not lost on Emma. “My car is just over there. I’ll take you home.” It wasn’t a request.

​ “I hate you,” Emma narrowed her eyes at him.

​ “You say that a lot. But we both know that you’re going to get in my car.”

​ “And why would I do that?” Will leaned down and placed a long kiss on her neck. Emma shuddered, hating the way her body responded to his.

​ “Because you want to,” he breathed into her neck, and placed a kiss under her ear.

​ “No, I don’t,” she moaned. Will smiled knowing he had won this battle and led her to his car. It was not where she needed to be. Trapped in a small, enclosed space with William Stewart was not an ideal situation. The effects of the alcohol were wearing off, but now she felt as though she was getting drunk off of his scent.

​ They rode in silence. Emma still harbored resentment towards the events of the evening, but mostly because she didn’t trust herself to speak.

​ “I heard your father was discharged from the hospital,” Will remarked.

​ “He was,” Emma answered, afraid of what he would say next.

​ “I want you to know that you don’t need to worry about him. Nothing about that part of our arrangement has changed,” he answered looking straight ahead. Emma was surprised. His playboy attitude was gone, and she could tell that he was sincere.

​ “Thank you,” she said. “Really. You have no way of knowing what that means to me.”

​ “You’re welcome,” he answered. They didn’t speak again for the rest of the car ride. They pulled up a building Emma hadn’t been to before. It was old building that was renovated into luxury apartments a few years ago. It was close to campus and Emma had once dreamed of moving in, but it was something she’d never be able to afford.

​ “This isn’t where I live,” Emma said. Will looked at her and held up a set of keys.

​ "It is now,” he smirked.

​ “But I can’t. My father needs round the clock care. I’ve moved back home so that I can be with him.”

​ “Didn’t I tell you not to worry about that? I’ve taken care of it.”

​ Will parked the car in the building’s parking garage and escorted her into the building. It was lavish, decorated in an art deco style which was Emma’s favorite. It was everything she dreamed it would be.

​ “This is your new home now,” Will explained as they walked through the lobby. “Since you can’t be reached by phone anymore, I thought this might be a better idea. I’ll have a key as well, and be by periodically. If you’re not here… let’s just say you better be here.”

​ Emma was confused. She had broken up with him. Had he forgotten, or decided to ignore it? She wasn’t his pet anymore. Whatever it was that they were was over. Why was he doing this? He took her to the third floor, and the apartment was the furthest from the elevator. He opened the door, and Emma stepped into the most beautiful space she had ever seen. It was cozy one bedroom apartment with a large bathroom. The bedroom had a walk-in closet that was about the size of her current room. The walls were adorned with Art Nouveau style paintings, and were painted soft blue color. The furnishings were simple, but still somehow decadent. It was inviting and relaxing. It was direct contrast to her actual home.

​ “I love it,” Emma whispered. She longed to be the girl that could live here. Visions of her coming home after a long day of classes and a shift of work filled her mind. Sabrina and Jess could come over. They could have amazing girls’ nights there. Her father could come visit. She would cook him dinner using her mother’s old recipes in her bright, happy kitchen. House plants would thrive on the windowsill. There would be a kitten that curled up in her lap whenever she tried to do homework. Mornings smelled like hot coffee. Evenings smelled like tea and bubble bath.

​ But that was not her life. And it would never be.

​ She was so caught up in her imagination, that she forgot Will was there.

​ “Emma,” he called, snapping her out of her reverie. She turned around and was greeted with Will’s gloriously half-naked body. His shirt had been discarded and long forgotten. She was so caught up in how gorgeous the apartment was that she hadn’t noticed when he took his shirt off. “Go take a shower and dry off.”

​ Her brain shut off, and all she could do was stare. *He gets hotter every time. I don’t think I will ever get enough of him*, she drooled internally. But than anything, she remembered those words. The words he said to her the night they met.