A Revengeless Life

The Phone Call

*Emily's POV*

I felt my phone go off in my purse, and saw that it was Jack. I answered it, excusing myself from Charlotte and Lexi, going over into some shelves that hid myself from everyone else, so that I could take the call without the paparazzi being all over it. 

"Hello?" I said.

"Emily, there's some bad news," Jack said. A pit opened in my stomach. 

"What is it, Jack. Is Carl alright?" I said. 

"Carl's fine. But Emily, you should probably come home now," he said.

"Why?" 

"There's something I need to tell you, and I don't want to do it over the phone," he said. 

"Jack, I'd rather hear it from you than a paparazzi that talks to me on the way home," I said. 

"Your dad is dead, Emily. He was in a crash on his way home from the chemo treatment," Jack said. 

"I'm on my way home," I said, hanging up the phone and sinking down to the ground. I put my head in my knees and sobbed. I'm not sure how long I was like that.

"Emily? Is everything ok?" Daniel said. I looked up. 

"What are you doing here?" I asked, wiping my eyes. 

"I was...I was here getting a birthday present for your party," Daniel said. 

"Yeah...I'm fine," I lied. 

"You don't look fine. If you want to talk about it, I'm here," Daniel said. 

"Thanks, but I think I need Jack right now," I said. Daniel looked like I had punched him in the gut. 

"Right. You want your husband. Can I drive you home?" He asked me. 

"I think I'll have Charlotte drive me home. Since she lives there," I said. 

"Right. I'm virtually useless," he said. 

"You're not useless. I'm sorry, Daniel. It's just that...Jack just told me that...my dad died. He was in a crash on the way home from chemo today," I said, sobbing all over again when I had to speak the words. 

"I'm so sorry, Ems. Is there anything I can do for you?" Daniel said. I stood up. 

"Is my makeup ok?" I said.

"It's perfect," He told me. 

"Do I look like I've been crying at all? The tabloids can be ruthless," I said, attempting to smile. 

"You look perfect, Ems. I promise. Nobody will ever know," Daniel said. 

"Thanks, Daniel. I'll see you later," I said. 

"No problem. Bye Ems," He said, turning around and walking away. I walked back out to where Charlotte and Lexi were. 

"Hey, Char. We need to go. Now," I said, glancing at the cameras. 

"Why?" She asked. 

"I'll tell you in the car, trust me, we need to leave," I said. 

"Alright. Lexi, we'll see  you later. I had a great time," Charlotte said, grabbing her purse and following me out of the store. When we wer in the car, she turned and waited for me to speak. 

"Jack called me in the store," I started, not sure how to tell her. 

"What is it, Emily? Is Carl ok?" She said. 

"It's not Carl. It's our dad," I said. 

"What about him?" She asked, grasping the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. 

"He died, Charlotte. He was in a crash driving home from chemo," I said quietly. Tears started dripping out of the corners of her eyes. 

"No, he can't be,"she said. 

"Let's get home, where there aren't any reporters," I said, eyeing a reporter walking swiftly towards our car, hoping to get some extra information for his magazine. She noddedd and hit the gas. 

The car ride was extremely quiet.