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“No! That’s exactly what your granny didn’t want you to think.”
“Then she went about it the wrong way. Cash the cheque if you want, and you’ll still keep your job. She had no right to threaten to fire you, and I would never do that. Anyway, I hope we can be good coworkers in the future.”
“Asher—”
“I’d really like to get my clothes. If that’s okay.”
“No! It’s not okay!” Emily moves to stand in my path.
Suddenly, I realize she’s wearing a purple cat robe. There are ears and a face on the hood, which explains the long tail at the back. She looks so freaking adorable standing there blocking my way that I do feel myself caving. I wouldn’t mind talking it out, staying, and taking her back up to bed, which is entirely the wrong response for someone whose granny and girlfriend—one who was fake, then not so fake, then kind of conspiring, then off, then on again, then not so fake, or maybe fake after all—were conspiring against him since the start.
Even if it was supposed to end up well. Even if my granny had good intentions. My head feels like it’s going to explode like an angry shaken soda at the moment, and I’m sure Emily wasn’t explaining things well because she’s stressed. I think my granny just wanted me to be happy, and this really wasn’t Emily’s fault, and maybe…wow, what a mess.
“It’s not okay,” Emily repeats. “I don’t want you to leave like this. Not upset and not in the middle of the night. You’re tired. Don’t drive like that.”
Her concern is real, and it shames me. I’ve left more times in the middle of the night than I can count. Most of the time, it’s because I wasn’t expected to stay until morning, but Emily doesn’t even go there. She doesn’t even think it because she’s a good person.
“We should call your grandma and get her to come over and explain everything. We should sit down and talk, so please, stay until the morning. We can call her then. Even if we don’t end up…together,” she forces that word out, “at least we won’t be angry with each other. Or with your grandma. I know how much she means to you. She really was just trying to protect you—both times when she came here.”
“By poisoning the well and hiring a girlfriend behind my back?” I hold up a hand and stop myself. “Okay, sorry. You’re right. You’re right, and I appreciate your offer.” I realize how much bravery it took her to extend it, and I truly do appreciate it. That Emily can own up to what she did, doesn’t make excuses, and still wants to make things right, not just for her but for my granny and me.
“I have a guest room made up,” she goes on, her voice soft. I can tell she’s trying to keep the sadness out of it. “So you may sleep there until it’s a decent hour to call her. I don’t doubt she’s still here even if she said she was leaving.”
“I think you’re right. Maybe she has been keeping tabs on me the whole time because it sounds like something she’d do.”
“So you won’t leave?”
“I’ll take the guest room,” I say, giving in.
Emily lets out a massive sigh of relief, and her fuzzy shoulders heave and cave. Her face is a mix of relief, sadness, despair, loss, pain, hurt, remorse, and maybe even a little bit of hope. I can’t imagine what mine gives away, so I glance down at her purse and wallet.
I pick it up and put it neatly back on the shelf as a sort of apology. I wonder if she would have told me, given time. Most probably. Because I know Emily is a good person. I just know it. She cares, and she’s the kind of person who makes sure everyone is okay before she is. She can admit her faults, she says things no one else would say, and she’s this incredible package. I know all those things with certainty, and I don’t need more time to figure it out. So yes, she probably would have told me after she ripped up the cheque. She would have waited for the right moment when I wouldn’t get mad at my granny, and she would have explained everything, making me understand.
So maybe there’s some hope on my face too.
This is the first time I haven’t left because it’s easier to just leave. This is the first time I’ve wanted to stay, even if it’s messy and uncomfortable. And that says something.
I let Emily go on ahead so it won’t be extremely awkward upstairs. I figure the guest room is up there, too, since the hallway had other doors. I climb the steps, and with each one, I feel more and more exhausted. It’s obviously not just the physical lack of sleep weighing me down.
