She was so sure she had seen him. And while she never thought she'd see him again after what he did to her, she couldn't help but slowly walk behind the guy. She kept her distance and followed him for a few more minutes until she almost lost her balance. Apparently one of the hangers from the rack beside her had fallen off. Suddenly the guy spun around and said, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Emma steadied herself back onto her feet and avoided all eye contact with him.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Emma steadied herself back onto her feet and avoided all eye contact with him.
"I feel like I remember you from somewhere... Isn't your name Emma?" The minute he said her name, she looked straight up at him.
"I'm surprised you remember me at all, Charlie. What are you doing here?" Her tone was serious but nonchalant. She didn't want to give him any indication that she still cared about him. He's the one who left her anyways.
"I'm here with my older sister. She's about to get married. What are you doing here?" Charlie was trying to figure out why Emma seemed guarded. He hasn't seen her since middle school and while he'd admit that he was stupid for leaving her, he still wanted to be friendly towards her.
"I'm here trying on prom dresses. My mom is with me," she said as she pointed to where her mom was sitting. "I should get going. I guess it was nice seeing you."
"You too," he said thoughtfully. Just when she was about to walk away, he grabbed Emma by the arm. "Hey, do you want to hang out later today? You know, just to grab lunch somewhere and catch up?"
"I'm not sure if that's a good idea..."
"Look, I'm sorry for leaving you back then, but I'm here now. This is just a one time thing. Please?" There was an earnest look in Charlie's eyes. Seeing how much he had grown up since eighth grade, Emma thought that maybe he really has changed since then. She took in a deep breath and responded, "Okay. I'll go with you to lunch. Just let me pay for this dress first."
Greg's stress was at a high point with the amount of homework and prep for finals he had to do. His eyes were bloodshot red and glued to his computer screen, with his fingers vigorously tapping on the keyboard as he tried to wrap up this one research paper. He just wanted things to be perfect and didn't want to slip up on his grades now. There was no light in his bedroom except for the lamp on his desk and the brightness from his computer screen. He had a Redbull can sitting within arm's reach on the left side of the monitor, and a big pile of books were stacked up on the right side of his desk. He took a long sip of his drink and then decided to move to his bed. There was a pile of papers laying on it which covered everything he needed to know for each of his exams. He thought about taking one of the packets, but he could feel his eyes drooping, so he just laid back in bed. He felt exhausted from working so hard, but he didn't want to stop now. There was still a lot left to be done. He tried fighting off the urge to go to sleep, but that didn't last long. Greg's eyes immediately shut and his body slumped over, and his head landed right into the stack of papers in front of him. He didn't wake up until his phone started to ring three hours later.
Emma was making her way over to Greg's house to check in on him since she knew he's been working hard on his schoolwork. She had called him a couple hours ago to let him know, but all he did was mumble something incoherently, like he was still half asleep. Emma parked her car on the side of the curb since both he and his brother left their cars in the driveway. Just as she was about to turn off the ignition, she felt her stomach tightening up. Should I tell him about lunch with Charlie?, she thought to herself. She tried reasoning with herself and thought that it meant nothing, but she still felt uneasy. Emma took in a deep breath to calm herself before turning off her car and making her way up to the front porch.
"Are you feeling alright?" Greg was now standing in the kitchen with his girlfriend, feeling a little more refreshed than before. He had taken a shower the minute Emma called him and pulled on a fresh set of clothes. Despite how he felt though, he was worried about her. Something about Emma seemed off, but he couldn't pinpoint why exactly.
"I'm fine," she said, looking down at the floor. "I just have a lot on my mind right now.'
"Well do you want to talk about it? You know I'm here for you, right?"
Emma suddenly jerked her head up in his direction and raised her voice at him. "I said I'm fine!"
"Well do you want to talk about it? You know I'm here for you, right?"
Emma suddenly jerked her head up in his direction and raised her voice at him. "I said I'm fine!"
"Well you don't look fine. Please, just talk to me. You can trust me." Greg was trying his best to reach out to his girlfriend, but she just wouldn't say anything. He knew that something was wrong, but she wouldn't tell him what the problem is. Suddenly Emma pushed him out of the way and went over to sit on the couch, which prompted Greg to do the same thing.
"Well, do you want to watch TV or something?" He took the remote from the side table and turned it on. He then tried putting his arm around her, but she jerked it back. He then got down from the couch and kneeled on the floor to face her directly. He took her hands into his and looked into her eyes lovingly. "Please tell me what's wrong, Emma. I love you. I want to help you."
"There's nothing wrong here, Greg. Just leave me alone. I'm not in the mood to talk." With that, he let out a long sigh and thought about just leaving her out there in the living room, but something inside him snapped. Why is Emma acting like this? He just wants to help her! He just wants to be there for her like any good boyfriend would. He hastily marched back up to her said, "Listen here, Emma. I'm not going to take no for an answer here. Tell me what's going on or we're over. Am I clear on that?"
This ultimatum suddenly made Emma feel irritated, so she looked at her boyfriend dead straight in the eyes and said, "Why would you threaten me like that, Greg? I shouldn't have to explain myself to you! I said I was fine, but now I'm not, and it's thanks to you. I'm out of here." She then got up off the couch and made her way towards the door. Before she had the chance to leave though, Greg took her by the wrist.
"You don't get to do that," he said firmly. His brows were now furrowed in frustration and he refused to let go of her. "Just tell me why you're acting like this. Explain to me why you don't trust me. I love you, Emma. Please just talk to me."
"I'm sorry, but I can't. I don't want to hurt you," she responded thoughtfully. Emma knew she was being stubborn, but she just didn't want to lose Greg. She didn't want him to think differently of her for going out to lunch with someone that she used to love four years ago.
"You're already hurting me by not saying anything," he finally said. "I love you, and I thought that you loved me as well." Emma stood there in silence, debating the situation of either telling him or leaving him. She really likes him, but part of her just isn't ready yet. Part of her is scared of being rejected again. More importantly, she felt afraid of what will happen if she does tell him. Would he end the relationship? Would he yell at her for cheating on him? So many questions were spinning through her head, and her boyfriend was just standing there, holding onto her wrist with an earnest expression in his eyes. "I love you, Emma. Please believe that," he said.
The two teenagers were now sitting back on the couch not saying a word to each other. Somehow Emma found it in her to stay, but she still felt uneasy. Greg on the other hand was feeling very anxious and worried. He was rubbing his temples with his fingers and looking down at the floor. Just tell me, he thought to himself. I'm dying here...
Emma held the throw pillow close to her chest for a long moment. All this silent tension was starting to get to her. Finally, she broke the silence and said, "If I tell you, will you promise not to judge me?"
Greg immediately looked up in her direction. He moved in close to her, took her hand and responded, "I promise."
With that, Emma let out a sigh and told him about lunch with Charlie. She kept insisting that it meant nothing and how he just wanted to catch up with her. She also told her boyfriend about how Charlie left her four years ago and everything that happened with her sister and parents. Greg listened intently and kept rubbing her hand tenderly with his thumb. When she was done speaking, he kissed her, which left her feeling shocked and mute for a long moment. "Thank you for telling me," he said lovingly. "I'm sorry about what happened to your parents, but I'm glad they're back together now. I'm also sorry about your sister and Charlie. You deserve better than that. I just want to be here for you. I want you to trust me and realize that I would never hurt you like they did. I can promise you that."
"I... I-I don't know what to say," Emma responded meekly. "You're amazing." She leaned in to kiss him, which made Greg feel relieved. He leaned in closer and they continued to kiss each other for what seemed like an eternity, which made Emma's uneasiness and doubt melt away. Being with Greg just made her feel happy; she felt safe. Suddenly Greg lifted up her shirt to take it off while she pulled down his pants. He then stepped back for a second to take off his own shirt then proceeded to kiss her some more. Once Emma realized what Greg was doing, she peeled her lips off of his and said, "We should continue this in your bedroom." This made him smile at her seductively and he responded, "I like your thinking."
"You're amazing," Greg said as he looked into his girlfriend's eyes. The two of them were now laying down in his bed, and he was breathing heavily. Emma let out a small laugh as she gazed into Greg's eyes. They were so brown, rich and warm. She could feel them baring into her own and she started to feel self-conscious, so she sat up and pulled the bed sheets up around her chest. Before she could say anything, Greg sat up as well and started kissing her. It started out with her lips, which she was content with. He then started to kiss her neck and made his way down, all while keeping his hands on her body. After he was finished, he looked into her eyes and smiled. Emma could tell that he was happy and that he loved her, and she really liked him as well. She just wished that trusting him wasn't so hard. She wished she could freely say that she loved him as well without feeling guilty. It's not like she's holding back on purpose; it just feels like she doesn't deserve him. Greg is so sweet to her and that makes her happy, but part of her heart is still aching from the past. What if she never gets over Charlie? Suddenly Emma found herself thinking about Rebecca and she started to cry. When her boyfriend noticed this, he wrapped his arms around her and wiped her tears away.
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