Decisions

Part 4: The Fights We Start

A few hours later Andrew finds himself sitting on a couch on the main level of Emma's house. He had knocked, but no one answered the door, so he entered, deciding on waiting for her to return home. Upon entry, however, he realized that not only was she home, but she had company. He knew the minute he heard the second voice, who it was that was upstairs with her; Hannah, and by the sound of it, she was not in a good mood. He isn't about to go upstairs, not when Hannah is on a rampage, but how long can he just sit down here, unintentionally listening to the conversation above? His eyes wander the open floor plan of the main level. The house is relatively small, though Emma would never want anything grand. Upon entering the house, to the left is the living room and behind it is the kitchen and dining room. To the right of the entryway are a mid-sized closet, a half bathroom, and a small room that Emma has turned into an office for when she is researching her news stories or writing. The office is also where she keeps all of her books, with a wraparound shelving unit that came with the rental. Straight in front of the entryway is the stairway to the upstairs and it is a fairly odd and annoying place to put a stairway, but he has never heard Emma complain. Upstairs there is a master bedroom and a spare bedroom on opposite sides and connected at the top of the stairs by a fairly large full bathroom.

The upstairs voices drift down to his ears. His face falls to a scowl while his fingers began drumming against the arm of the couch in irritation. "Why is he so irritating?" Andrew recognizes that particular voice as Hannah, and he doesn't have to guess who the "he" she is referring to is. They are talking about him. What has he done this time? He has done a great many things to disappoint his bride-to-be, but at the moment he can't think of anything recently.

"You know Andrew." Emma's soft voice breaks through Hannah's irritation, reasoning with her like always. "He doesn't mean to do, or say, anything that offends you, Hannah." Bless her. She is defending him.

"No, Emma." Hannah snorts a laugh with a stern tone. "No, you know Andrew, not me. Never, not once, has Andrew and I connected. Not once, on any one thing. You grew up knowing him because Oliver is my best friend. Andrew is my best friend's brother, and I am afraid that is all he will ever truly be to me." Andrew has never been good at telling the difference between emotions, but sometimes he truly wishes he was good at it because he might be able to tell if what Hannah just said is good or bad.

"That isn't true." Emma breaks in after a few quiet seconds. She is still trying to defend him. Sometimes he wonders what it would have been like if he was Emma's intended instead of Hannah's, but he never got far in wondering because Emma has always been too much of a sister figure to him. There is no greater attraction to her than that of the love of a sister. Being six years her senior, it had been easy for him to slip into the role of big brother. Though there is no chemistry between Andrew and Emma, he knows that marrying her would have been easier to deal with than marrying Hannah. Emma is simple. Hannah is complicated. And yet, Hannah is the one he has chosen. Why? He may never truly understand why. "In three days, Andrew will be your husband, Hannah." He can almost see the glare Hannah could be giving Emma right now, as she always does whenever it is mentioned that Andrew is marrying her. "Andrew is just..." Emma trails off, and he debates on getting closer to the voices in case they are talking softer, but he decides against it. Emma isn't saying anything else, and it leaves Andrew wondering what it is she is going to say next. What? What is he?

"He isn't like you." Emma finally continues. "You two are so different. You show emotion and you tell people what you think, but not if it hurts someone, not on purpose. Andrew doesn't do that. His mind works differently. He keeps his true emotions buried deep down and doesn't show them, because he doesn't want to get hurt. You may have forgotten, Hannah, but I haven't. He was bullied so horribly as a child, all because he was different and you didn't help matters either." Andrew is taken by surprise momentarily by Emma's speech in defending him. "When people ask him a question, he tells the answer straight out, even if it hurts people because if they didn't want to know, they wouldn't have asked. That is how he sees it. Yes, he is awkward and yes he is irritating at times, but he truly does have feelings, and I wish you wouldn't rag on him so badly."