The Dawn of Autumn

All's Fair in Love and War (II)

Chapter 27 (cont):

All's Fair in Love and War

The trouble with the past was that it was never truly the past. It would always be a part of her. She remembered that the second Isaac had showed up at her door.

The sound of the whistling tea kettle drew her back into reality. She reached up to turn the stove off.

"Em?" Isaac's voice came floating through the air.

He sounded like the Isaac she knew back in Texas and not the angry ball of fire who had been standing in her living room five minutes ago.

"In here." Emily grabbed the kettle and poured steaming hot water over the tea bag.

Isaac appeared in the doorway, stopping to observe the kitchen. His eyes drifted towards Emily's stomach. He blinked several times, like if he concentrated hard enough her belly might deflate. Her baby bump was small. It was something that could be hidden by the right clothes. He had just happened to catch her in her tank top, where it was glaringly obvious.

He silently moved towards her. Emily poured more hot water into another cup. She put the cups down on saucers. She slid one of the saucers over to Isaac. He leaned against the counter and stared at the drink. He played with the string on the tea bag.

"Your mom's recipe?" he guessed.

"One of them." Emily nodded. "How are you feeling?"

"I think lettuce came out of my nose. And I haven't eaten any lettuce that I remember," he said it so quizzically and so matter-of-factly that Emily wasn't sure if she should laugh or not.

"So...you still get pukey when you're upset?"

"I was already nervous about seeing you. I wasn't expecting..." He trailed off. He looked down at her baby bump again in disbelief.

He started playing with the string on the tea bag again. He carefully picked the cup up and held it up to his face. He stared at the steaming hot liquid inside the cup. The rising tendrils of smoke created a semi-opaque shield in front of his face, fogging his features.

"It needs some time to cool," Emily suggested.

Isaac didn't respond. It made her nervous. But then he slowly lowered his cup and put it against the saucer. His gaze was still fixed on the hot beverage. He glanced at Emily's cup, which was against the edge of the counter near the top of her stomach.

He tapped his fingers against the edge of the counter. His face was a perfect mask of stoicism. He reached towards her cup.

The motion stirred something in Emily. She started having flashes to all the times she'd been tortured by the person hiding in the shadows. It was instinct more than anything.

Logically, she knew the stalker wasn't Isaac. But emotionally, she was a mess. Her fear of what he might do with the boiling hot water pushed her to overreact.

She saw him moving his hand towards her cup and she slammed his wrist down against the counter, jostling everything on it. Isaac jerked his hand back and stared at her in surprise.

"Jesus, Emily. What the hell?" He rubbed his wrist. "I was just going to move your cup back. It's too close to the edge. I didn't want it to spill on you..."

"I..." Emily uttered nervously. All the bullying was starting to get to her. She felt like everyone was out to get her. It hadn't bothered her at first. But now all she could think about was her baby. She wanted to make sure she made it into the world safely. "I'm sorry. Things have been a little tense around here. I don't know who to trust. I thought..."