I Think I've Had Enough

Chapter18:Fall in love at a glance, and that's alright

Emilee lay softly in the bedding that Patrick had helped her pick out. The guest room was still cluttered with boxes of old clothes and miscellaneous items. Jillian had been using it as storage space for as long as he could remember. The thought of Jillian stung his stomach. She had been calling him nonstop for the past couple of weeks too. He never answered. He wasn't sure what to say... or how to even begin to explain. As more time passed it was becoming clear to him that this was a permanent change. Emilee was his daughter. Jillian wouldn't react well to that.

He drifted back into consciousness to watch as Emilee pressed her round porcelain cheek against her purple pillow. "Patrick," she spoke sweetly. Patrick looked into Emilee's perfect green eyes as she shot him a smile identical to the one that spread across his own lips. "When did you know...?"

"Know what?" He asked hesitantly, preparing his self for another one of her profound questions.

Emilee giggled lightly, as if he should have known what she was talking about. "When did you know that you loved her?"

Patrick swallowed hard, "who?" he asked softly under his breath if only to satisfy his own denial.

"Ellen," Emilee said adorably. The way Ellen's name slipped comfortably off Emilee's lips made Patrick nervous.

Patrick cleared his throat. His gaze fell to the ground and instantly turned glassy. "I don't know," he said softly nearly unable to speak. Emilee touched his arm lightly. He felt his arm tingle and he looked up at her.

"Well, will you tell me how you met her?" Emilee asked in a tone of childish innocence.

Patrick got up uncomfortably. He wanted badly to kiss her on the forehead and turn out the light. He didn't want to talk about Ellen. Or reminisce about how much he loved her. But that wasn't fair to Emilee "Why the sudden curiosity about Ellen?" He readjusted and sat next to Emilee's feet.

"I don't know," Emilee shrugged playfully. She paused for a moment, the depth in her eyes never ceased to surprise Patrick. "My parents used to tell me the story of how they met before I'd go to sleep at night." Emilee cleared her throat and bit her bottom lip as it quivered.

"Ah," Patrick said as everything started to make sense. He rested his hand on her fragile arm. "Well," he sighed lightly. "I'm an actor..." Patrick looked to Emilee, "You know that right?" His question was dead serious. Emilee laughed and rolled her little green eyes. "Just checking, just checking." He paused again, "I know it's hard to believe but I wasn't always who I am today." Emilee rolled her eyes again as he tickled her. She laughed loudly. "I wasn't working much. I was a little but barely enough to get by... I had just lost a pretty big part on another TV show. So I was feeling a little down but I got a call and went in to try and get the part of a little fill in Pilot called Complications."

"What's a pilot?" Emilee asked interestedly.

"A pilot is the first episode of a television series. It's kind of like a test episode... nobody knows how well it will do or if the audience will like it."

"Ohhh," Emilee nodded, "Continue." She squirmed deeper in her sheets.

"Alright," he said softly. "Where was I..."

"Little tv pilot called complications." Emilee reminded him kindly.

"Yes, so I went in to audition for the part. I was very nervous. It seemed like the butterflies were fighting in my stomach. I could barely keep my hands from shaking. I remember being confused because this wasn't my first audition by any stretch. I think I was planning on quiting if I didn't get the part. So I walk into this audition room filled with a bunch of guys. Some guys that looked just like me and some who looked completely different. As I sat down I realized I'd left my script in the car. I rolled my eyes," he laughed, "just like you did a few minutes ago. And I got up and quickly went out to the car. When my car came into view in the parking lot I realized that there was a woman bent down next to it. She was pressing her finger along the paint of my car. I picked up the pace a little and said, 'Excuse me...' she turned quickly her cheeks turned pink with embarrassment and she looked into my eyes and said..."