Chapter 34 - The News
Curled up in Trent’s waterbed with cell phone in hand, Emma debated which of her phone calls she wanted to make first: to her brother to request his help in finding a new place; or to Gabi and Devin to inform them of the latest developments. After a good deal of mental back and forth, the call was placed to the Malone household, where Emma wasn’t too surprised Gabi answered.
“Hey you, haven’t heard from you in a few days, is everything going okay?”
Emma couldn’t help the snort, telling her friend in a soft voice, “No, I was hoping you could invoke the non-renewal clause in my agreement with the team and the complex.” Taking a slow breath before continuing in an even softer voice, “Your brother and I are over.”
Silence met her words for several moments before Gabi asked in just as soft a voice, “He did something stupid, didn’t he? He warned me, his birthday dinner, that he and Luke had done something incredibly dumb, and that it would soon bite him in the ass.”
Choking back a hollow laugh, Emma answered, “You could say that. It seems there never was a real interest in a relationship with me. I was a bet between him and Luke. Who could get me between the sheets first.”
“That little shit. I’ll beat his ass!”
In the same soft voice, Emma told her, “I appreciate the sentiment, but it’s over, my friend. I can’t trust him any longer. Not when he couldn’t even tell me face to face, when he left a letter behind outlining his crimes.”
“I reiterate, I’ll beat his ass!”
“Don’t do anything on my behalf,” Emma murmured. “But as I said, I want to invoke my escape clause. I’ve got a place to stay for now, but once I get in touch with my brother, we’ll be looking for a new place for me to settle down. A townhouse maybe.”
“Devin probably has a few properties you could look at – incomplete and not yet sold, or ones where deals fell through – maybe there’ll be something that suits your needs.”
Managing a small smile, though her friend obviously couldn’t see it through the phone, Emma whispered to her, “Thank you for being so understanding. I know this can’t be easy for you, since it’s your brother, but I appreciate the support, the love.”
“He may be my little brother, and I may love him with all my heart, but there are times when he doesn’t use that smart brain of his, and this is one of those times. I’m angry at him, but more than that, I’m sad that it came to this. You two seemed to work well as a couple.”
“I still love him,” Emma whispered to her, “But I’m not sure I can ever trust him again.”
“I don’t blame you, hon. I don’t blame you at all.”
~*~
Waiting until there was silence from the bedroom for several minutes before daring to enter, Trent eased into the bedroom, no intention of letting Emma know he’d overheard at least her side of the conversation. He could see tears tracking down her cheeks and he moved to climb onto the bed with her, opening his arms and whispering to her, “C’mere, sweetie. It’s gonna be ok.”
She curled into his arms without hesitation and pressed her face against his shoulder, dampening the shirt with her tears in relatively short order. It took her some minutes before she even tried to speak, voice soft against the fabric, “It huuuuuuuuuurts, Trent. It hurts so much.”
“I know darlin’, and I wish I could take your hurt away for you.” Placing a soft kiss into her curls he asked in a soft voice, “Do you want to talk about it, or just lie here?” Her only response was to shake her head just a slight bit, and Trent nodded, even though she wasn’t likely to see it. “Then just get some rest, sweetie, see if it helps you feel any better. I’m not going anywhere in the meantime.”
The hand clenching his shirt tightened before Emma nuzzled closer, shifting her face into the crook of his neck, much as she had been the previous evening. “Thank you.” She whispered against his skin, and it took every ounce of his willpower not to shiver at the feel of her breath so close.
It took her some time but soon enough he could hear and feel her soft snores, could see and feel her body relax against his own. And throughout the time she slept, Trent just ran a hand down her back in a gentle, reassuring manner, trying to show her even in sleep that she was in a safe place, and taken care of.
He let her sleep until almost lunchtime before dragging his fingers along her cheek, voice a soft whisper against her ear, “Wake up Emma. It’s time for lunch. You don’t have to move if you don’t feel up to it, but I would like to at least feed you.” She made a soft whiny noise at him before gray eyes drew open to gaze up at him and Trent smiled down at her, asking, “Feel any better?”
“A bit. My stomach doesn’t feel like the Titanic now at least.” Resting her chin on his collarbone, she asked, “Now what was this I heard about lunch?”
Chuckling soft at her sudden appetite, Trent smiled, murmuring, “I’ve got a great recipe my Gram used to make for me whenever I wasn’t feeling well. I think it might help settle your stomach a bit more. Shouldn’t hurt, at least.”
Nodding, even managing a bit of a smile, Emma told him, “I think I’d like that. Even if it does mean I need to let you go.” And with her words she rolled off him, curling up alongside of him instead and just gazing at him without any further words.
“This won’t take too long, promise. Take another nap if you need to, I’ll wake you up again if I have to.”
Emma gave him a shy smile at his words and nodded once more, waiting until Trent stood to grab his pillow and snuggle up to it. “I’ll be here.” She told him in a soft voice.
“I know sweetie. And I’ll be back soon, I promise.”
And for the first time since she’d arrived, the smile on Emma’s face seemed sincere.
~*~
After having and enjoying Trent’s ‘secret recipe’ lunch, the soft-boiled eggs with just a touch of butter and milk, Emma spent another few hours curled up against Trent’s side before finally deciding to call her brother.
This should have been the easier of the two calls she’d made, and yet it still made her nervous. While she certainly could get another apartment within the complex – perhaps closer to Trent’s – she was comfortable with Trent and liked having him close. So much so that she stayed curled against him when she dialed her brother, hoping and praying he was out of class for the night.
“Hey sister, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call? Been awhile since we chatted.” And she could almost hear his grin through the phone before he continued, “You need something, don’t you?”
Managing a hollow laugh at that, Emma told him, “Guilty as charged. I’d like to buy a place around here – a friend and I – but we don’t have enough for a down payment. We can with ease cover a mortgage, but need some help on the front end. Think you could work your magic with Mom and Dad and convince them you’re buying an investment property or something?”
“Without trying to be rude, what’s in that for me, sis? Besides helping you out, which I’d certainly like to do.”
Shrugging a bit and glancing up at Trent, Emma retorted quietly, “You could charge us more for rent than the mortgage is, and make a bit each month. My friend can take care of maintenance.” And Emma paused a moment to make sure Trent nodded his agreement before continuing, “So you’d just be doing your sister a big favor and serving as a go-between ‘tween me and the ‘rents.”
“How ‘bout this? I fly out in the next few days, check out the properties in the area, and see if it makes financial sense on my side. And if it does, we talk more turkey at that point.” And he paused a moment, before his voice got soft, and he questioned, “You haven’t mentioned the boyfriend at all, just a roommate. What’s going on?”
“We broke up.” She replied in a simple voice, not wanting to elaborate. “I’m lucky enough to have a friend I can stay with nearby, but that relationship is now the past tense.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I know how much you liked him. Loved him, even. I was hoping you’d found someone who’d make you happy, outside of the lifestyle Mom and Dad expected for you.”
With the same hollow laugh, Emma told him soft, “Yeah, I thought I had to. But I can’t be with someone who deceives me and can’t even fess up to my face.”
“Ouch. Sounds like that boy and I need to have a chat about how my sister should be treated.”
And at that Emma finally did giggle for real, telling Keegan, “Hon, offer so appreciated, but he’s got several inches and pounds on you. You’d end up on the worse end of that. And he’s not worth it.”
Feeling Trent’s hand stroke her back, Emma snuggled him closer, looking up at him to smile before turning her attention back to her phone and her brother. “This place you’re staying, is there room for me to stay, or should I be booking myself a hotel room?”
“Let me ask.” And covering the mouthpiece of her phone, Emma gazed up at Trent, asking “He’s asking if he can stay here when he flies out to check out the real estate market. Is that sleeper sofa comfy?” Eyeing the phone and not wanting to risk his voice being overheard, lest it cause more problems for Emma, he nodded his head, and she uncovered the phone, “Yeah, there’s a sleeper sofa you can hijack.”
“Alright, then I’ll work on making travel plans. And in the meanwhile, sissy, hang in there. And know even if I sound like an entitled ass, I do love you and want the best for you.”
Wiping an unexpected tear away from her eyes at his words, Emma nodded a bit before whispering to him, “I know Keeg, I know. And I love you.”
“Love you too. See you soon. Behave in the meanwhile.”
And as Emma hung up the phone she giggled once more. Like she was in any sort of position to misbehave at this point?