Four Weeks Later
Grayson
"Mr. Mandrake, your two o’clock appointment has arrived."
I looked at my phone, then checked my calendar. I didn't have a two o'clock meeting. Glenda had lost her damn mind again. Before I could hit the button to tell her exactly that, my door opened, and in walked what was presumably my two o’clock appointment.
Isabella came charging in through the door like she owned the place, blonde hair flying behind her, one hand on her hip. I could easily see why Chace was secretly in love with her, and why she was the best friend of the girl I was in love with.
"Ms. Rhodes, and what do I owe this pleasure?"
She stood in front of me, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. "Cut the shit, Mandrake. What did you do to my best friend? Why has no one seen or heard from her since she's been released from the hospital? It’s been a month. I call. She doesn’t answer. I text, she answers me back hours or days later, and says she’s not up for visitors. So, what is it?”
I ran my hand through my hair and got up, heading over to the bar for a drink.
"Are you deliberately keeping her from everyone, Grayson, because so help me, I will have her out of there so fast."
"She's refusing to see anyone!" I abruptly interrupted her. She paused.
"What do you mean?"
I sighed, motioning for her to sit down. "She's different right now. The doctor said this was to be expected, considering the rape and miscarriage." I rubbed my eyes. Even though it's been weeks, sometimes it felt like brand new information all over again. Like a kick in the gut. We were still coping. Still grieving. I finally looked up at Isabella. Her mouth was open and she had tears in her eyes. She didn't know. Fuck.
"Grayson," she whispered. I held my hand up. She wiped a tear away. "Grayson, I'm so sorry. We were just told it was a robbery."
I sighed. “It’s deeper than that. Way deeper. That’s the story we’re letting everyone believe, my family included. It makes her feel safer that way. She’ll talk to you eventually but, right now, she’s having a hard time facing anyone. Even me.”
Isabella stared at the ground, looking somber.
"She's having a rough patch right now. She'll get better. I'll tell her you stopped by."
Isabella nodded and stood up, and I stood with her, walking her to the door. She stopped abruptly and turned and hugged me, taking me by surprise. "I'm sorry for your loss," she whispered.
There was a knock on the door and Chace walked in. This couldn't have been more perfect. His eyes immediately darkened seeing Isabella in my arms. Memories of me walking in with his hands on Emmalin on what he called "the panty test" came flooding back. I decided to goad the bastard and flashed him a sly smile while her back was still to him. "Did you need something, Chace?"
Isabella turned around, looking between us. More so at Chace. I seriously might as well not have been in the room. Emmalin was right. There was something there. I let out a low chuckle. Isabella cleared her throat and finally acknowledged I was still there. "When she's ready, have her call me." I nodded as she turned to leave and watched Chace watch her leave. I started to laugh and Chace sharply turned to me.
"What?"
I held up my hand. "Nothing. Was just wondering if you were done eye fucking her, or if you had something intelligent to say?" He scowled, rolling his eyes, and started to leave. "Why don't you do everyone a favor and stake a claim before the wrong person does. Otherwise, shut the fuck up." I laughed as he slammed the door.
I sat back in my chair and picked up the picture of Emmalin I kept on my desk. We were in Florida, visiting my parents for the first time. The damn dog that was the size of a horse, yet he somehow convinced himself he was the size of a min pin, managed to crawl himself onto her lap, and Emmalin busted out laughing, trying to hold him up. She looked so happy I couldn't resist taking a picture. I sighed. These past four weeks have been rough, but we were getting through it. The first two weeks, she would barely let me touch her. She jumped whenever I laid my hands on her. She had to warm up to the idea that it was actually me before she calmed down, and wrapped her mind around it. She even went as far as suggesting sleeping in separate bedrooms. I shot that idea down right away. I made it very clear that I wasn't going anywhere, that I wasn't the one that hurt her, and I wasn't going to hurt her.
I woke up at least three times to her sitting up in bed, wide awake, staring at the door. When I asked her what she was doing, she said she was 'waiting.' After the third time, the next morning, I found the knife in her hand after she had fallen asleep, sitting up in bed, while she was still 'waiting.' That's when I realized she was getting worse, not better like she was trying to convince everyone. Carson was dead, but he was still haunting her. Threatening her. I needed reinforcements. I refused to see that scared look in her eyes anymore.
That was three weeks ago. Therapy sessions. Medications. She's even beginning to gain back the weight she lost. She's not quite there yet, but there's hope. I text her every hour, no matter what I'm doing. She doesn't always text back, but when she does, I know we're a step closer to getting her completely back.
The alarm on my phone beeped. It was 3:59. Before I could dole out a text, my phone beeped to an incoming text.
Emmalin: See you soon
I smiled. She beat me to it. That was a first.
Me: Not soon enough. I love you
I watched as the bubbles appeared on the screen then disappeared. I sighed. Her reaching out first was a start, so I’d take it. I shut everything off, determined to get home to see my girl.
Twenty minutes later, I walked into the door, and was immediately greeted by the smell of what I could only imagine was something on fire, and the annoying sound of the smoke alarm. I ran to the kitchen where Emmalin was frantically waving a towel over the opened oven. Meanwhile, whatever was on top of the stove started to spill over. I ran over and turned the stove off, moved the pot to another burner, and grabbed potholders to take whatever it was out the oven. Emmalin stood, looking like she was on the verge of tears.
She took a deep breath. "I wanted to make dinner for you, and I got distracted because I wanted to get that wine you liked down the street. And I guess I didn't time any of this right because I had the temperature higher than I thought, and now it's all ruined."
She took another deep breath, her eyes starting to tear up. She began to walk away and I pulled her toward me. Just the fact that she wanted to do something for me made me love her that much more. "Hey. It's okay. Thank you for doing all of this. Really, it means a lot." I kissed the top of her head and hugged her to me tightly. This was the most I've gotten to hold her in weeks. My dick began to stir, and I pulled back slightly, trying to compose myself. My cock needed some self-control, yet all I thought about was how it'd been over six weeks since I sank balls deep inside of her.
"How about Chinese with the wine?"
"That sounds nice." Emmalin gave me a small smile.
"Great. I'll clean up in here, and you go get out of those smoky clothes."
Emmalin joined me in the living room thirty minutes later, just when the food arrived. She was wearing a thin tank sans bra, and those damn cutoff yoga shorts. Her hair was slightly damp. I couldn't help but notice how her nipples hardened beneath the tank, and my dick was starting to harden beneath my pants. I wanted to say fuck the food and throw everything on the floor, but I wasn't an asshole. Okay, at least not all the time.
"You arrived just in time; the food just got here." I motioned for her to sit next to me, and began pouring us each a glass of wine. A few moments of silence went by. I watched with an amused grin as Emmalin struggled with her chopsticks, before finally putting them down and picking up a fork.
"How was work?"
I wiped my mouth. "It was good. I had an impromptu meeting today."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Isabella stopped by. She's worried about you."
She nodded. "I know. I'll call her soon. I mean, I feel bad for not reaching out, but I'll call her soon."
I smiled. She always said that, but soon never came.
"I managed to convince her that I wasn't keeping you hostage. I think she understood. The best part was when she was leaving." I leaned back against the couch, taking Emmalin with me. "Isabella gave me a hug right when Chace walked in. He looked like he wanted to kill me. He had that same look in his eyes I had when I walked in on him touching you that one day." Emmalin let out a soft giggle. I tightened my grip around her. "I goaded him, of course. You were right. There is something there. They're both just two stubborn souls." She snuggled into me. This felt right. So right.