by Hale, Beth
Emma shrugged. He’d either talk to her as she was, or tell her to leave. She put the nightie in her shoulder bag on her way out the door.
Rain was falling, a slow cold drizzle that tinted everything gray. It suited her mood.
She knocked on Jack’s door and waited. She heard his quick footsteps and then the door opened.
“Emma,” he exclaimed, pleasure lighting his eyes. “I was just about to call you.” He really focused on her and concern replaced the pleasure. “What’s wrong, love? Are you sick?” He stood aside as she walked in.
Emma drew in a bracing breath and turned to face him. “Have you started seeing Sarah again?”
“No!” Shock colored his voice. “Why would you even think that?”
“She hasn’t been here, you haven’t been together?”
“No,” he said again. He wouldn’t hurt Emma
by revealing his knee-jerk reaction to Sarah’s touch.
Emma nodded slowly and lowered her eyes. The utter shock in his voice, on his face, almost-almost-made her believe him. She wanted to. But there was that flicker of guilt in his eyes and the proof in her bag.
She reached into it and slowly pulled out the nightie. Quietly, she said “I forgot this when I left yesterday. Sarah stopped by last night to bring it back to me with a word of thanks.”
Jack flushed. “Emma, I can explain.” He took a step towards him; she took a step back.
“I’m sure you can. I’m sure you can come up with a lie to explain away the lie you just told.”
“I swear, Emma, I swear I told you no because I didn’t want to hurt you.”
She simply looked at him. “You didn’t want to hurt me, so you lie?” Her eyes caught sight of a white thong poking out from under the couch. “I guess you didn’t fuck ‘er either.”
“No! I swear to God, I didn’t…” he trailed off as she stalked past him, bent, and picked something up.
“These ain’t mine, Jack.” She dangled the thong in front of his face. “You gonna explain this away, too?”
He knew. He knew he’d been framed, and he knew he’d made a huge mistake by not coming clean at the start. He prayed he could fix it. “I can explain,” he said again, panicked by the look in her eyes. “Sarah did come here yesterday. I was in the shower; she let herself in with a key I didn’t know she had.”
How convenient.” Her voice was hard, unyielding.
“It’s true. She—she must have pulled off her
panties before I came in here. I--I don’t know.
She…came on to me. I told her to leave. Nothing happened.”
“Right.” Emma rolled her eyes.
“It’s the truth, I swear.” He shoveled his fingers through his hair.
“I don’t believe you.” Emma wanted to cry, she wanted to shake, but she’d be damned if she would give him the satisfaction.
Jack saw the tears glimmer in her eyes and his heart dropped. “Please, don’t cry. Just listen.”
“I did, Jack. I stood here and listened while you lied to my face. You want me to stand around and listen some more? No, I’m done listening, I’m done believing. You’re good. God, you’re good. You put on a damn fine act. I really thought you cared about me.”
“I do care about you, Emma, I l—“
“I thought you did,” she interrupted. “I let you dazzle me, let myself believe this could actually go somewhere. Let myself believe in the fairy tale again. I’m an idiot. This is strike two.”
“For God’s sake!” Frustration and anger took over. “Why the hell won’t you just listen for a minute? I’m trying to tell you—“
“Trying to spin another lie? Fuck that, Jack. And fuck you. I’m not going to be sucked in again. I’m so mad at myself right now for letting myself be played again.” She laughed bitterly. “I’m totally stupid when it comes to men.”
“This is part of the problem!” Jack scrubbed his hands over his face and tried to rein in his temper. “You’re still so damn hurt and bitter over Ryan that it’s clouding your judgment here and now. I’m not him, Emma.”
“’Course not,” she replied, sarcasm dripping
from every word. “At least he told me straight up when he was done. He didn’t send Renee to tell me for him.”
“Damn it, I didn’t sleep with her and I didn’t send her over to you! I lied, yes, when I should’ve told you the truth. But I’m telling you the truth now. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He reached out to her and she slapped his hand away.
“Don’t touch me. If I had the energy I’d give you a round of applause for that performance.” She shoved past him and opened the door. She tossed the nightie at him and it hit his chest as it slid to the floor. “Keep it. Maybe she’ll wear it again for you sometime.”
“Emma.”
“Goodbye, Jack.” She walked out and got into the cab she’d kept waiting.
Jack watched her leave with a sinking feeling in his stomach and an ache in his chest. He couldn’t believe he’d been fool enough to fuck it up like that.
Chapter 24
Emma managed to hold herself together by her fingernails until she got home. She stumbled through the door just as Norah was coming downstairs.
She took one look at Emma and rushed forward. “What is it, what’s wrong? Has there been an accident?”
Emma shook her head and began to cry.
Norah took her cold hand and led her to the couch. “What’s wrong, honey?” she asked gently. “Did you and Jack have a fight?”
Emma gave a shaky nod and the story slowly came out, in between shuddering sobs. Norah listened quietly, first with disbelief and then with mounting anger. She gathered Emma close and rocked her.
“I’m so sorry, Emma. I’m so sorry you’re hurting.”
She sniffled. “I guess I should be used to it by now. How could I be stupid enough to fall for it again?” She knuckled a tear away.
Norah stood. “I’m going to make you some breakfast.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You have to eat, honey. At least a piece of toast and some tea?” Laced with half an Ambien, she silently added. She could see how close Emma was to breaking.
Emma nodded and leaned back. The scene with Jack kept running through her mind. She was a fool, she thought, to have fallen for him. She’d fallen for Ryan and learned the hard way what a player he was. And Jack. Jack was an actor, used to playing roles.
He’d played her.
She opened her red, swollen eyes when Norah came back in. She obediently ate and drank under Norah’s watchful gaze. When she was finished, she lay down. Norah tucked a blanket around her and smoothed her hair away from her face.
“Try to sleep. Try to forget for a while.” She picked up the tray and headed for the kitchen.
Emma watched her leave and sighed. A lone tear made its way down her cheek. She was exhausted, emotionally drained. She closed her eyes and finally, mercifully, slept.
***
Two hours later, as Norah was checking on a still-sleeping Emma, she saw Jack’s car pull up through the window. She hurried outside before he made it to the door.
“You can’t come in.”
“Please, Norah, I need to see her.”
“No. She’s sleeping. And you’ve hurt her enough for one day.” Norah was seething with anger. It showed in her snapping blue eyes and ridged posture. Her hands were clenched by her sides.
“Playing the role of the protective mother, are you?” When she snarled, he held up a hand. “I’m sorry, that was out of line. I’m on edge. Emma and I…we’ve had a misunderstanding.”
“This is not a misunderstanding, Jack. You broke her heart.”
He sighed. “Norah, I tried to explain; she wouldn’t listen.”
“I don’t blame her. I wouldn’t listen either, if
someone lied to my face.”
“I did lie,” he acknowledged. “But only to spare her, and not about sleeping with Sarah.”
Norah snorted.<
br />
“Fine. If you won’t let me in, will you at least talk to me? Listen to my side? Please.”
Norah made a sweeping motion towards the porch. “By all means. I’d love to hear how you’ll spin it.”
Jack just shook his head and sat. When Norah joined him, he began to tell her everything, leaving nothing out. When he’d finished she sat, looking at him for a long, long minute. Finally, she nodded slowly at him.
“I don’t know if I believe you.” When he opened his mouth, she pointed a finger at him and continued. “I’ll have to think about it. I believe you do care for Emma, at least a little. And I know enough about Sarah to agree she’s capable of something like this.”
“I love Emma.” He said it so bleakly that Norah felt a moment’s pity.
“Maybe you do.”
“If I could just talk—“
“No. There are a few things I’m sure of. I know Emma is in love with you.” When Jack’s eyes filled with desperate hope, she pitied him a bit more. “I also know you broke her heart this morning. She’s already had to deal with this kind of heartache once. She trusted you-and so did I-not to hurt her. You promised you wouldn’t. I should roast your balls for this.”
He felt them shrivel and winced. “I know. And
I’ll never forgive myself. But she’s still so hurt from
before that she won’t listen long enough to understand
me. It’s like she’s putting that pain with this pain and refusing to make a distinction between the two.”
Norah nodded, thinking there was some truth in what he said. “I’ll have to think about it,” she said again as she stood. “If I decide I believe you, I’ll talk to Emma, try to help her understand. That’s the best I can do for now.”
Jack nodded. “It’s more than I expected. Thank you.”
Norah gave in and cupped his cheek. “I can see you’re hurting, too. I’m sorry. I’m going back inside to warm up and check on Emma again. While you’re gone, it’ll give her a chance to settle, to think. You’d better go now, before she wakes up. Besides, you have a plane to catch.”
Jack cast a longing glance at the door and walked back to his car.
Chapter 25
Emma haunted her room for the next two days. She didn’t eat and barely slept. She spoke to Norah only when spoken to. Her hair hung dark and lank around her shoulders and her eyes were listless. The shadows under them grew worse. Finally, she dragged herself into Norah’s bedroom.
“Thank God, it’s alive,” she greeted Emma with a smile of relief. She’d been getting worried.
“You have a photo shoot later today.”
“Actually, that’s been rescheduled.” She gestured to the small suitcase open on the bed and began to pull clothes out of the closet. “David,” she said, “needs me to fly to LA to formally commit to Jilted. My plane leaves in four hours.”
Emma frowned. “I don’t remember getting an email from David.”
“No, I don’t suppose so. I got one yesterday and confirmed the details.”
“I’m sorry. I should’ve been on it.” Her voice was a little rusty.
Norah shrugged. “No problem.” She tossed another pair of slacks in the suitcase. “I have the meeting tomorrow and a dinner thing after that. I’ll be on the redeye back here.”
“Should I come with you?”
She shook her head. “Not necessary. Stay here, try to pull yourself together.”
Emma winced. “Yeah. Listen, I’m sorry about falling apart like that.”
“Honey,” Norah snapped the suitcase closed
and placed firm hands on Emma’s shoulders. “You’re
entitled to fall apart when you’ve been hurt. I just want
you to be OK.”
“I know,” Emma sighed. “I will be.”
“Good. Maybe when I get back you’ll be more like yourself. I’m tired of checking business emails all damn day and I’m tired of my own cooking.”
Emma managed a weak smile as she trailed after Norah down the stairs.
After Norah left, Emma wondered around the living room, folding a blanket, straightening a bookshelf. She was hobbling like an old woman, she thought. Walking slowly, painfully, like her joints were aching and stiff.
It did hurt, she admitted to herself. Her body felt broken and used. So did her heart. She rubbed her chest as she stopped in front of a mirror.
She did a double take. “Holy shit,” she muttered out loud. “I look so bad I scare myself.” Well, she could fix that. A long, hot soak in the tub, a good night’s rest would help.
Her phone sounded with an incoming text and she glanced down at it. It showed twelve missed calls-all from Jack-and thirty texts. It also showed eighteen business emails and she cringed. She had to pull herself together before Norah fired her.
She began scrolling through the texts as she went upstairs. Most of them were from Jack, asking her to answer her phone or text him back.
No, thank you.
She saw a couple from Chris and she decided she’d call while the tub was filling up.
“Emma!” He sounded pleased to hear from her, but she could hear muffled laughter in the background.
“Is this a bad time?” She checked the water temperature and adjusted it till steam began rising.
“Not at all. We were just about to eat dinner in and watch a movie. Lazy night. It’ll keep. What’s wrong?”
“Why do you think something’s wrong?” She poured a dollop of jasmine scented oil under the stream of water.
“I hear it in your voice; you sound so sad. Tell me what’s wrong.”
Tears pricked her already sore eyes. “I did it again,” she said in a small, tight voice. “I fell in love with the wrong man.”
Chris’s voice went soft. “What did he do?”
Emma told him, her voice hitching a bit, and managed to hold back all but two of the tears.
When she was through, Chris swore. “Are you OK?”
“I’m better than I was. I’m not running away this time. I thought about it,” she admitted. “I thought ‘bout goin’ right on back to Mama’s. But I have to see this through, face it this time. Face Jack when he gets back. And I can’t quit on Norah again.”
“I’m glad you’re thinking like that. I know lots of the same people he does. Want me to smear his name, his reputation for you?”
The genuine offer surprised a laugh out of Emma. “No,” she told him. “I don’t want to hurt his career. But thanks for the offer. Go on, now, and eat. Tell your Luke I want to meet him soon.”
“How do you know he’s my Luke?”
“’Cause I know you just like you know me.” They shared a quiet laugh. “I love you.”
“Love you, too. Call if you need me.”
Emma disconnected and looked down at the
clothes she’d worn for two days. Her nose wrinkled.
Off came the gray sweat pants and blue NYC
sweatshirt. She stuffed them in the hamper and turned off the faucet.
She sighed as she slid into the hot, fragrant water. She’d just lay here and let the heat soothe some of the pain away. And then she’d take the other half of that Ambien, go to bed, and forget for a while.
***
She awoke the next morning groggy but more rested than before. She moved to the closet and decided she would primp a little, see if that could help boost her mood. She chose a pair of black pants and a cowl neck sweater in forest green. After pulling on low heeled black boots she went into the bathroom to tackle her hair.
She grimaced and grabbed a comb. She finally got the worst of the tangles out and her hair fell in loose curls down her back. She was still pale, so she added a careful layer of makeup. Satisfied, she headed downstairs.
Emma sat her laptop and phone on the kitchen table, determined to catch up on work. She brewed a pot of coffee and thought about breakfast, but knew she wouldn’t eat it. She still didn’t have an appetite.
She sat with her
cup and opened her email. There was one from Norah, letting her know she’d touched down in LA and giving the arrival time of her return flight. Emma put the information into her phone and moved to the next.
She confirmed the reschedule of the photo
shoot and saved an offer for an interview with US
Weekly for Norah to look at later. Her phone signaled
an incoming call. With a glance at the screen, she declined. She would not talk to Jack, not when she was winning the battle of tears at the moment. A text followed, so she clicked the phone to silent.
Emma shot off an email to her mother, telling her how the movie was going and that she wanted a nice souvenir from Alaska. Ann was set to leave in ten days. Emma hoped she wouldn’t call; she wouldn’t be able to convince her mother nothing was wrong.
Thoughts of Jack would try to break through her resolve; she beat them back. She promised herself she was through crying, and remembering the good times would only prolong the hurt.
She knew that from experience.
She poured more coffee and got back to work.
Chapter 26
When Emma surfaced from catching up on emails and paying bills, she was surprised to see it was early evening. She’d worked straight through lunch.
It didn’t matter. She wasn’t hungry. But, she knew, she had to eat something.
She scavenged in the pantry and found a can of potato soup. Good enough. She dumped it into a bowl and heated it in the microwave. She carried the simple meal and a bottle of water to the couch and flipped on the TV.
She ate mechanically, not tasting the soup. She left the TV on CNN and sat the empty bowl on the table beside her. She drifted off listening to about the latest activity in Palestine.
***
It was midmorning before Emma awoke. She stretched and groaned. Her neck was so damn stiff. At least she was catching up on her sleep, she thought wryly.