by Laiza Millan
"Yeah, yeah." He said, distractedly. He lifted his hand up in a claw-like way, "The spider is coming!"
Again, tickling Aidan's stomach.
"Ah!" Aidan squealed, giggling just like a happy toddler.
Emma shook her head, smiling.
It was painfully obvious how much Aidan is bringing out this playful and decent side of Drake. This side of Drake is what she greatly appreciates, because Aidan is not being separated by either one of his parents.
But it was also clear to her that Aidan was not going back to sleep anytime soon, now that Drake is here.
"I'll be right back then." Emma sighed, opening the door wider. When she saw that both males were busy, she kept the door wide open and left, leaving them in peace.
.
.
She went downstairs and pulled out a chair from her kitchen table. Sitting down with a heavy sigh, she placed her head on her hands and groaned.
Aidan is upstairs, reunited with his father.
Maybe the fates are giving her a sign that it's her own turn to go back to her roots also.
Emma snorted, so bloody cheesy. But whatever, it's worth a shot.
She grabbed her cell phone and took her old phonebook, dialing the person's number. Once she got the number down, she clicked 'TALK' and brought the phone to her ear... part of her hoping that no one would answer.
But alas, after a few rings, that didn't happen.
"Hello?"
Emma closed her eyes.
Man, her voice was just as she remembered...just a little weaker and older.
"H- Hi." Emma croaked, before clearing her throat. What a damn embarrassment.
One minute of silence.
Two.
Why isn't anyone in the other line talking? Do they recognize her voice? Maybe this isn't the right number anymore...
"Hello?" Emma called out again, hoping to get an answer.
"Who's this?" The person in the other line finally asked, the voice laced with suspicion.
"It's Emma," She sighed heavily, "It's me, Emma."
Again, another awkward silence.
She was beginning to realize what a stupid idea this was. She shouldn't have called, it was so idiotic. No way would the person want to hear from her.
After a few more seconds of silence, Emma dropped the phone and was about to click 'END' but stopped, feeling a hand rest on her shoulder.
She whirled around, confused. "What are you...?"
Drake only shook his head, and gestured towards her phone. He continued to rub her shoulder blade in a comforting way, giving her a look to continue on with the call.
Emma swallowed hard, still confused with his intentions but listened. She brought the phone up to her ear and nearly gasped.
"Emma? Hello, are you still there?" Her mother, Gina, gasped; as if the realization of her own daughter calling finally hit her. "Is that really you?"
Emma couldn't help it.
She covered her mouth to stifle the sounds of her unwanted cries.
"Yes, mum." Emma muffled her voice, trying to contain her emotions. "It's really me."
Maybe the reason why she's feeling so emotional at the moment was because of the way Drake had immediately crouched down beside her without any hesitation.
Maybe it was because of the way Drake wrapped his entire arm around her, giving her a sense of comfort that he's there to help her out.
Maybe it's the way he was whispering in her ear, "Keep going, Nerdy. Keep going."
Or maybe it's because after all these years, she finally contacted her mother again.
Keep talking, is what Drake's trying to tell her. Don't be afraid, just keep talking to her.
"Mum?" Emma called out again, her voice rough."Yes, it's me."
This time, it wasn't silence that was greeting her. It was the familiar and homely sound of her mother's.
"Oh my goodness, Emma."
Emma squeezed the phone, a heaviness feeling in her chest suddenly lifting as her eyes started to water ... All these emotions, just by hearing the sound of her mother's voice again.
It's been years since she's heard from her own mother, and here they are, finally talking to each other.
"You're okay, you're fine." Drake continued to murmur quietly in her other ear, his lips grazing her skin as he noticed the shaking of her hands.
Without thinking, he placed a chaste kiss on the side of her head, as he continued to ease her panic.
"I know you're wondering why now," Emma said, roughly. She cleared her throat to get rid of the croak. "Why I decided to call now I don't know, mum. Everything I said all those damn years ago, I'm sorry."
She could hear the heavy sound of her mother's breathing.
"Oh, sweetheart." Her mother, Gina, cried out. "A mother only does what she thinks is best for her own child."
"I know, mum. I completely understand now," Emma nodded furiously, wiping her tears with her palm. "And I'm so sorry."
"It's alright, Emma. You had so much fun at your high school in the states," Gina sighed, remembering. "I remembered how excited you were, being a foreign exchanged student. But after having our argument over that boy -"
"Mum, I still remember everything." Emma sighed, feeling guilty.
All those years ago... Her mother had warned her about Drake Rogers.
.
.
.
Senior Year
--
"How's the American life, sweetheart?" Gina asked, "Tell me what it's like."
"It's not that different." Emma shrugged, throwing her backpack on the floor and throwing herself on the bed, making a creaking sound. "How's life back at home? You and dad still at it?''
She could hear her mother sighing, as if exhausted. "Sweetie... You're father and I am not doing well."
Like that's a shocker.
"Well you let me know if he lays a finger on you again." Emma snapped, "I mean it, mum. I'll fly back up there in a heartbeat."
One of the reasons why Emma had left her house and taken the opportunity to become an exchange student and study abroad, was so she can get away from her parents. Constantly, they would always fight and argue.
Sure, every family has their issues, but hers? Her mother and father entered a loveless marriage. The only reason why they married?
Her.
Apparently, she was a mistake, according to her father. Gina got knocked up, their parents threw a fit and forced them to marry since they were religious.
Talk about old fashion folks.
When she asked her mother why they haven't divorced yet, it was because of their religion. Now, Emma was never too religious, but her mother was a very strict catholic. Meaning no divorces.
Boy, look how their happy family turned out.
"Any boys?" Gina asked, trying to change the subject.
Emma blushed, even though her mother can't see her, she was still embarrassed. "Err... Maybe? Apparently he and his family are quite known here in this city."
"American?" Gina asked, "Typical American boys?"
"No,'' Emma laughed, shaking her head, rolling to her side in a more comfortable position. "The cool thing about him is that he and his family moved here from Europe years ago."
"So he's just like you then? Foreign, I mean. Where's he originally from? Who is he?" Gina kept on questioning, her voice excited. "Is he as fit as -"
"Mum!" Emma laughed, "Don't be absurd."
However, her mother merely laughed. "It's not every day I hear my daughter talking about boys, you know. It's very exciting for a mother, also very frightening too! What's his name?"
Emma hesitated for only a second before answering, "His name is Drake Rogers."
.End of flashback
.
.
"Are you still with that boy?" Gina asked suddenly, interrupting Emma's memory.
Emma quickly glanced at Drake, who still had his arm around her. He raised an eyebrow, his gaze moving slowly side to side, as if he'
s re-memorizing her face. A part of Emma was touched by this rare show of tenderness, and another part of her was feeling guilty because of who she's talking to now.
"Mum," She breathed, trying to ignore Drake's looks. "Drake and I... I know you never liked him -"
"Emma, it's none of my business anymore." Gina heavily sighed, surprising her. "And frankly, I don't care about him. The last time you and I spoke was when we were both fighting about him. I don't want to talk about him again; I want to hear about you now."
Emma's guilt was a heavy rock.
The last time they spoke was when Emma was starting to be rebellious. She was a teenage girl, she had a very attractive boyfriend, and she was tired of spending her days burying in books.
When her mother realized Emma's new attitude, she had told her not to see Drake again. Gina thought that Drake was the reason why Emma was ditching classes, and her grades dropping. Drake was too much of a distraction.
So, being such a strict mother, she had forbid Emma to see him. But of course, at the time, Emma was in love with him. Once a teenage girl is in love with a guy, it's hard to tell her what to do.
Her mother had no idea what Emma was going through and what she was feeling.
When her mother threatened that she would fly her back to the UK, Emma had cursed her own mother out and told her that she never wanted to speak to her again.
Of course, that was just the rebellion and the annoyance in her talking.
Once she had hung up, she had instantly regretted it. But after a few days of calling again, Gina never answered her calls. Neither her father.
Days of her calling them turned to months, months turned into years, until finally... finally she had given up.
"Why haven't you ever answered my calls, mum?" Emma suddenly asked, "I called and called you and father, but none answered. Here in the states, I was already considered an adult, yet I had no money to fly myself back home."
She heard Gina let out a laugh.
"I tried calling you back!" Gina sniffed, "You were the one who never called. Besides, you're working now, I assume? You could have flown back here any time."
"How was I supposed to fly back when after all these years, I wasn't sure if you lived in the same area? And what are you even talking about?" Emma asked; her long time bitterness resurfacing. "I called you nearly every day, mum! I called you but did you ever answer? No. Not even dad."
They were never there when she needed them.
Were they there when she was having troubles in school? No. Were they there when Emma had her first heartbroken by Drake? No. Were they there when she graduated? No. Not even when she landed her first American job.
How dare her mother say that Emma never tried to contact them, when in the past few years, she did try. They just never bothered answering her calls or even her emails and letters.
Drake, who was quiet the whole time, chose this time to whisper softly in her ear, "Shh, calm down, Emma." He continued on, until Emma let out a deep sigh.
"I love you, sweetie, I'm sorry you felt that way. But I did try to call you... Not once did I receive a call from you. But then again, I was never too good with technology." Gina said wistfully, "I'm sorry. As a mother, I'm sorry but I missed you so much, sweetie, I want to know how everything is going all these years."
Emma sighed again; the bitterness in her was still there, but slowly decreasing. Her mother was acting as if nothing between them happened.
But Emma has this sense that was telling her that her own mother was hiding something from her.
But what is it?
She's not going to push her mother into telling her what it is... she'll wait.
"How's father?" Emma sighed, changing the subject, "Does he know that I'm speaking to you?"
Silence.
"Hello?" Emma said, looking at her phone to make sure they weren't disconnected.
"We are no longer in contact." Gina told her, surprising Emma.
"Wha- I don't understand." Emma said, frowning. Her parents were strict Catholics, meaning they believed that once they get married, they had to overcome everything together. "What happened?"
"We divorced." Gina said bluntly, "After I haven't heard from you in months, I caught him cheating on me."
Emma gasped, ignoring Drake's questioning looks. "Mum, I'm so sorry."
"He was never a good man, anyway." Gina sighed, as if having a divorce, breaking her religious vows, didn't bother her.
Well that man did call her a mistake, after all. Emma never forgot about that.
She was always bitter whenever she's around her dad before, only because her father never showed any sign of fatherly affections.
But still a divorce?
"Where is he now?" Emma asked, concerned. Just because she never liked her father, doesn't mean she doesn't care about his whereabouts.
Gina let out an impatient sigh, "Married off to someone else."
Emma stayed quiet, unsure what to think. In a way, she's happy that her mother is no longer with a caring father. Her father never cared for her, so why should she care about her father?
"Are you dating anyone?" Gina asked, changing the subject again.
Emma let out a nervous laugh and glanced back at Drake.
The whole time, he was sitting beside her, his head leaning against the side of her face. He had a cheeky smirk on, as if he could hear what her mother was asking.
"Yes, and it's me." He said obnoxiously loud to the phone.
"Who is that?" Gina asked, clearly excited. "You're twenty four, sweetie, please tell me you've found a decent man to bring back home to wed."
Emma blushed.
"Oh, we've done other things than wed." Drake murmured against her ear, causing her to shove him away.
Drake fell on the ground with a loud thud, shooting her an annoyed glare.
Emma only grinned back and shook her head.
"That's," She eyed Drake and gave him a look. "Richard. He's a fabulous man, mother. So nice and -"
Drake had launched himself off the floor and grabbed the phone, ignoring Emma's outrageous cries.
"Hello, the mother of my son's mother," Drake said, obnoxiously, "Remember me? It's Drake Rogers."
He heard a beeping sound coming from the phone, and frowned. "What's the sound?"
Emma shoved him and took the phone away from him, "Mum?"
"Emmaline Denise Collins, what is going on?" Gina asked, her voice etched with confusion and annoyance. "What is he talking about? Was that really Drake Rogers?"
Emma groaned, feeling as if she was a teenage girl again, being reprimanded by her mother. "Mum, I can explain-"
"He must be treating you right if he's still there in your life after all these years." Gina interrupted her, "But you two have a lot to tell me."
Beep.
"Mum, we have two minutes left to talk." Emma said, thankful that Gina didn't hear the first part of Drake's introduction. She shot him a dirty look and sighed, "anyway, Drake and I are just... friends."
"Friends with benefits." Drake snickered, throwing himself on the couch as he watched her.
She ignored him.
"Then who's this Richard fellow?" Gina laughed with ease, "Remember what I told you back when you were still here, no sex before marriage -"
Too late for that. Way too late for that...
"Mum!" Emma snapped, "My time is running out, I'll call you tomorrow?"
"Oh please do!" Gina cried out, "I miss my own daughter, you know. Now that your father is out of the picture, I want to spend more time with you."
"I know," Emma sighed, "I missed you, too. And I'm sorry again for everything."
"That's all in the past." Gina said, the final beep interrupting her. "God taught us to forgive, and that is what I shall do."
Emma was about to say something back, but the voice of a machine cut her off, telling her that her card was up. Sighing, she dropped the phone and hung up. Her mother knows that she'll call back tomorrow.
> "Well that was fun." Drake snickered, getting up and walking towards her, "But it hurts me every time you mention Rich instead of me, Nerdy."
"Shut up, jerk." Emma laughed, shaking her head. "Is Aidan asleep?"
"Yes." He murmured, gently grabbing her arm and pulling her towards him. "So about that date we were -"
"Go home, Drake." Emma said, rolling her eyes and gently pushing him away from her.
"If this is about Richard, I'll go over there right now and kick his ass." Drake said, striding towards the door.
Emma only rolled her eyes, "Just leave already."
Drake made a face, but did as he was told. He opened the door and stepped outside but stopped when he felt a soft hand grab his wrist. He whirled around and smirked, "Inviting me in, again?"
Emma fought the urge to smack him and only sighed. "No, just wanted to thank you for tonight. I probably would have been a complete coward and hung up the phone, but thanks to you, I kept going."
Drake's face expression softened.
He knew what she had to go through all these years, ever since they were younger. He wasn't going to just simply leave her alone by herself, like he did before. Not when he's trying to do the right thing with her and Aidan.
"You're welcome." He replied back, genuinely.
Emma bit her bottom lip, as if contemplating what to do next.
But after a few seconds of hesitation, she stepped closer and lifted herself up, placing a quick yet innocent small kiss on his cheek.
Blushing, she backed away slowly and cleared her throat. "Thanks again."
With that, she stepped back inside the house and closed the door.
Drake, who was still frozen in shock, stared at the wooden door in front of him. His head replaying the last few seconds with what just happened.
He lifted a hand on his cheek and let out a surprised chuckle.
Oh he is so going to have a talk with Richard... Emma is going to be his once again, and he's never going to let her and Aidan go.
.
.
.
Richard sat on the loveseat couch, in front of his television where one of his favorite reality shows was showing.
Reality shows had always amused him because they were obviously scripted, yet people still think reality shows literally mean reality. People are so stupid sometimes, it makes him laugh. But here he is, his eyes glued on the television screen.