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“There you go, lying again, Dad!” Jeremiah shouted at him. “You said you didn’t know Emma, but we moved into her old house! And I know she’s divorced. It makes sense that her husband found someone else. He was probably sick of being married to a cheater like her.”
As Luke pulled up to their house, he slammed on the brakes.
“Jeremiah, get out!”
“What?”
“Get out of the car. Obviously, trying to talk to you right now is useless. You can think whatever you want, but the truth is you’re out of line, and for no good reason. I was never seeing Emma while your mother was alive, and that’s that. Now, get out and go inside.”
Jeremiah hopped out of the car and slammed the door shut behind him. Luke waited until he went inside the house, then reversed out of the driveway. He had to go to Emma’s house and check on her. Luke wasn’t sure what he’d say to Emma, but was determined to repair the damage that his son had caused. He only hoped his words would be enough to make things right again.
Chapter 33
Emma
As Emma approached her quaint cottage, a wave of unfamiliarity washed over her. It was unlike her to return so early, and even her beloved companion Riley seemed taken aback by her sudden appearance. The dog lay asleep in his bed, only stirring awake when Emma shut the door behind her. With a wag of his tail, Riley bounded over to greet her, offering the type of comfort that only an animal could provide.
Emma set her keys and purse down on the living room table before making her way to her bedroom. The clothes she had worn that day, a pencil skirt and blouse, now seemed suffocating and restrictive. She needed to escape their constraints and the painful memories they held. Quickly changing into a comfortable, oversized t-shirt and sweatpants, she gathered her long hair into a messy bun, desperate to erase any traces of the hurtful words Jeremiah had spoken to her earlier.
Emma sunk to the floor, leaning against her bed, and closed her eyes. Riley sensed her distress and sat by her side, placing his paws on her lap, and licked her face. She reached up with both hands and rubbed behind his ears as she leaned her head on him.
“Thanks boy. I love you too.”
This wasn’t the first time Riley had been there for her. Many times, Chad had left her in tears, especially on their anniversary when he served her with divorce papers. Riley was a constant for Emma and had a charming way about him that always brought her reassurance.
Her mind raced as her thoughts tumbled over one another, unable to slow them down. Emma’s deepest fear had been confirmed: Jeremiah had discovered the truth about her and Luke and he was far from accepting it. The future she had envisioned with Luke crumbled, leaving her heart aching with the weight of reality. As if that wasn’t enough, she knew it would only be a matter of time before the entire town was aware of the events that transpired in her classroom today.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Riley barked and sprinted to the door. Emma stood up and followed behind him. Who could be knocking? Who even knew she was home? She didn’t want to talk to anyone.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Emma stepped over to one of the front windows and pulled back the curtain just a smidge. It was Luke. Of course, it was Luke. He’d probably already gone up to the school and heard about everything that had happened.
Knock. Knock. Knock. “Emma, I know you’re in there!” He shouted through the door. “Please let me in so we can talk about this.”
Emma went over to the couch and sat down, curling her feet up under her. Although it broke her heart to leave him standing there on the porch, she couldn’t face him right now.
She continued to ignore his knocks and Luke eventually got back in his car and drove away. She just needed time, she told herself. And she needed ice cream.
Emma went into the kitchen and grabbed the entire carton and a spoon. She took it back out to the living room, sat down, and turned on the TV. She’d been so busy with her dog treat business and going out with Luke, her Netflix queue of shows to watch had been sorely neglected. She turned on a housewives reality show and peeled off the top of the ice cream. It was time to take it easy.
She stayed on the couch all afternoon watching episode after episode of rich women in pretty dresses yelling at each other. As the evening rolled around, she had already binged two full seasons. Emma didn’t care much for the show, but at least it took her mind off things. The entire time, Riley stuck close to her side, knowing something wasn’t right with her.
The next morning, she woke up with a stomachache from eating too much ice cream and mentally wasn’t ready to go back to work. She couldn’t face everyone yet, especially if they all thought what Jeremiah had said was true. It might be better for her to stay put and let it blow over. And she didn’t want to break down in front of her students, which she knew would happen one hundred percent.
After she got out of bed and made Riley’s breakfast, she sat down at her kitchen table and watched him eat. Her phone was in front of her, and she was almost scared to open it. She had put it on silent when she got home yesterday and hadn’t checked it since. But if she wanted to take the day off, she would have to call Principal Kennedy.
Grabbing the phone, she ignored the texts and missed call notifications and went straight for the stored number for Hadley Cove High. She’d never called off from a job a single day in her life, and she was nervous to do so now.
“Hey, can I speak to Principal Kennedy please? It’s Emma Wright speaking.”
“Oh of course, Ms. Wright, you poor thing. I’ll patch you through,” the secretary said in a pitying tone.
Emma took a deep breath, trying to focus on how she was going to phrase her words. She was, after all, standing in for a teacher. They rarely had subs for subs.
“Emma, hello,” Principal Kennedy answered. “How are you doing?”
