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Knock. Knock. Knock.
She continued to ignore his knocks and Luke eventually got back in his car and drove away. She told herself she just needed time—and ice cream.
Emma made her way to the kitchen and grabbed an entire carton and a spoon. She took it back out to the living room, sat down, and turned on the TV. Between running her dog treat business and dates with Luke, her Netflix queue had been sorely neglected. After peeling off the top of the ice cream, she turned on a housewives’ reality show.
It was time to take it easy.
Emma stayed on the couch all afternoon, binging episodes of rich women in pretty dresses yelling at each other. As the evening rolled around, she had already made it through two full seasons. Although she didn’t care much for the show, it took her mind off things. The entire time, Riley stuck close to her side, as if he knew something wasn’t right with her.
The next morning, Emma woke up with a stomachache from eating too much ice cream. She wasn’t ready to return to work. Though she’d never called out from a job a single day in her life, she wasn’t ready to face everyone yet, especially if they all thought what Jeremiah had said was true. And she didn’t want to break down in front of her students again, which she knew would one hundred percent happen.
Grabbing her phone, she ignored the texts, missed call notifications, and went straight for the stored number for Hadley Cove High.
“Hey, can I speak to Principal Kennedy please? It’s Emma Wright.”
“Oh, of course, Ms. Wright, you poor thing. I’ll patch you through,” the secretary said.
Emma took a deep breath as she waited to be transferred.
“Ms. Wright,” Principal Kennedy answered. “How are you doing?”
“I’ve been better,” she said. “That’s why I’m calling. I don’t think I’m ready to come back yet.”
“I understand. Why don’t you take a couple more days to yourself? I’ll check in at the end of the week. How does that sound?”
“That would be wonderful.”
“Wonderful. And if you would just email me your lesson plans for this week, I’ll see that the sub gets them.”
“I’ll do that right now. Thanks so much.”
“You’re welcome. Get some rest and don’t worry. This all will blow over soon.”
Emma sighed. “I hope so.”
After hanging up, a weight lifted off her shoulders knowing she wouldn’t have to plaster on a brave face and go on as if everything were okay.
Days blurred into one another as Emma stayed cooped up with Riley, only leaving to take him out for walks. Her phone was bombarded by texts from Lisa, Kara, and Luke.
Lisa: Emma, are you okay? Want me to bring dinner later?
Kara: Let me know if you need anything. I can swing by your place anytime.
Luke: Emma, please talk to me. I’m worried about you.
She ignored them all.
Though Riley was the only company she wanted to keep for now, every unread message from Luke weighed heavily on her heart, reminding her of the looming conversation she wasn’t ready to have.
She couldn’t come between Luke and his son’s relationship, even if she was the happiest she’d ever been with anyone. Time and again, she’d stepped aside for the happiness of others, especially with Chad. For Emma, such sacrifices were second nature, and she saw this situation no differently.
Tears streamed down her face at the thought of letting Luke go. Although they’d only been together a short while, it felt like they’d shared a thousand moments.
Emma had fallen deeply in love with him, but now, she had to fall out of it.
How can one even do that—fall out of love?
To ask her heart to deny the very thing that had awakened her soul was like asking the sun not to rise, or the tides not to ebb and flow. Love is a force of nature that cannot be contained or controlled. It was the spark that had ignited a fire within her, and once lit, was not easily extinguished. Denying the pull of her heartstrings was to deny her very nature, and to do so was a feat she knew few had been able to accomplish.
