Things were still uncanny between Justin and Fiona after that day. Justin intended to catch Fiona and finally talk to her the next day, but she left for Emily's place much sooner than he wanted her to. She seems to be doing everything she can to avoid him at all costs.
But could he really blame her?
He hoped that he would be able to speak with her on Sunday. It is about time he lets go of all his fear and clears everything with his wife.
Fiona, on the other hand, had a lovely date with Max. He was such a sweetheart. She had a pleasant time after such a long time. She didn't want to go back to Azkaban. It felt no less than a prison. Sure, he didn't expressly voice out the limitations, but it felt that way to her. As a result, she decided to spend another day with Emily before returning to work on Monday.
Justin was bummed when he received a text from his wife informing him that she would be staying at Emily for another day, to which he simply answered, 'Okay.'
A revert text from Justin was no less than a shocker to her, as he never replied back. If it weren't for a blue tick on the messenger, she certainly would have never known that if he had even read her messages.
On Monday, when Justin saw his estranged wife, he felt something inside him that he could not recognize. But an instant smile appeared on his face.
Fiona looked content, more than she ever appeared when she was in the house with him. However, he could not ignore the fact that they barely ever saw each other in the house since both of them tried their best to steer clear of each other. He doesn't want that anymore. He couldn't continue this childish behavior forever, so he decided to take a leap of faith.
Unfortunately, this was not as simple as it seemed. None of them had been able to relax due to the backlog of work. They didn't even have seconds to spare, let alone full minutes, to have a decent exchange of words. He needed time, not to prepare himself, but to have a proper conversation with her.
It was Wednesday afternoon, lunch hour, when James walked into Justin's work by entering his office without knocking. "Dude, I am tired, and I need food. We are going to get something to eat."
"Let's order in. I have got a lot of work to finish." He told his best friend without looking up from his computer screen.
"No, we are leaving. We are taking at least an hour off. My eyes are on fire now, and my brain is jammed." James was adamant, so he dragged Justin to a nearby restaurant.
They were both waiting for their sandwiches at Sip & Dip café when Justin noticed Fiona walk in with Emily by her side. She was wearing black-framed glasses, which is a rare sight because she hardly wears them.
'Damn,' he thought.
She looked prepossessing in them. He could hardly keep his eyes off her, and this didn't go unnoticed by James, who had a mischievous smile on his face. After a long time, he was finally beginning to see some hope for them.
To Justin's utter surprise, he heard his best friend calling out Fiona's name louder than anything else. Emily frowned when she saw that it was James who called Fiona, and then she glared at Justin. If looks could kill, then Justin would have definitely died then and there.
Fiona, however, cursed 'shit' under her breath when she saw it was James who called her name.
He was waving at them frantically with both his hands. Moreover, it doesn't take a genius to know that it was Justin who was sitting in front of him. His back was facing her until he turned around and saw them. Fiona has been avoiding Justin since that call, but it looks like she won't be able to do that successfully now. Both Fiona and Emily walked towards them.
"Are you two here for lunch? Join us." James said while scooting inside to give one of them a seat.
"No, it is okay. We will sit somewhere else." Fiona politely tried to decline the invitation.
"Come on, Fiona. Don't be a downer. It doesn't make sense that you and Justin are not sitting at the same table. Plus, if you guys sat somewhere else, then people would talk. Moreover, Candice is sitting in the corner, and you know she loves to gossip." James tried to convince her tactfully.
Fiona subtly glanced at Candice, who was staring at her. James was correct about the office gossip channel.
"You girls should join us. It is a four-sitter spot." Justin said with an inviting smile and shifted, hoping Fiona would take place beside him.
Fiona mentally sighed as she knew that they had no choice but to join Justin and James.
"Fine! But I am not going to sit next to this clown." Emily commented and sat beside Justin, which made him utterly disappointed. Fiona had no option, so she sat alongside James and smiled at him.
"Excuses! Excuses! Excuses! You only want to cherish my beautiful face, which is why you sat in front of me." James smirked.
Annoying Emily has become his favorite hobby now. He just couldn't get enough of her.
"As if! Even chimps look better than you." She countered with a retort of her own.
James constantly manages to get on the wrong side of her. That is even without even doing anything.
Fiona and Justin both had an amused expression on their faces, and at the moment, they were looking at each other with a smile, but the waiter who had brought the sandwiches for the guys interrupted them.
Fiona and Emily were starving, Fiona more so than Emily because she had skipped breakfast, which had become a usual norm for her as she still stood by her rules of staying at the Azkaban. Hence, both ordered a huge club sandwich, fries, and a soda.
"Are you sure you two will be able to finish all that off?" James asked them after the waiter left, noting their order.
Emily questioned him, putting on the best fake smile she could conjure. "Do we look like someone who is going to be walking on the ramp or want to wear skimpy clothes? Or I don't know anyone who purposefully starves themselves to death?"
When she heard no response from James, she said, "That's what I thought."
As usual, Justin and Fiona didn't say a word to each other during the entire meal. But James was chatting with Fiona and occasionally provoking Emily. As far as Emily was concerned, she merely shot glares at Justin and gave James an irritated expression.
"Fiona, Emily,"
Both girls were taken aback by the owner of the voice. They peered at her as if they had seen a ghost.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Emily stood up and looked her in the eyes, followed by Fiona. Despite her rage, Emily managed to keep her voice low.
"I saw you two here and wanted to say hello." The lady spoke softly.
Justin and James were intrigued by the unknown woman standing before them.
"You said hello, and now you are free to leave and never show your face again." Emily made a fist with her hand.
"Emily..." Fiona was going to say something to calm Emily down, but Noah's presence only made matters worse.
"I got your latte, Anna," Noah spoke to his fiancée, but when he saw Emily and Justin, he became anxious.
"Ah, so I see you two are still together. I shouldn't be surprised now, should I?" Emily folded her hands, trying to look intimidating.
"Emily, I wasn't lying back then when I claimed my love for Anna. I just wished things had turned out differently." Noah attempted to justify himself. He had enough of Emily's abuse.
"Differently... Yeah, like..." But before Emily could say anything further, Noah cut her off.
"You wouldn't get it, Emily. You don't even know the meaning of a relationship, so love is a farfetched concept for you." Noah fixed his focus on her.
"You bloody..."
Noah wasn't done yet, so he went on. "For god's sake, stop being Fiona's voice. More than her, it's you who seem to have a problem with me. I have a history with her, not you. So, stop butting in."
"Noah, get out of here." Fiona finally spoke. He had no right to talk to her best friend in this manner.
"Are you serious, Fi? I don't understand why you always defend and support Emily's actions. She needs to be kept on a tight leash. Fiona, I am warning you as a friend; your bond with Emily, and her insufferable personality, is going to ruin your marriage just like it sabotaged our relationship." Noah's remark made her frown.
"Stop blaming her for your problems, Noah. And my marriage is none of your business. Either the two of you leave now, or I will." Fiona warned him.
When she noticed neither Anna nor Noah moved, she tried to leave, but Justin stood up and grabbed her wrist diagonally, stopping her.
"Noah, my wife just asked you to leave. So, if you don't, then I will be forced to call the cops. And if you think I don't know how you manhandled her, you are mistaken. So, you'd better leave voluntarily, or I will have to find another way." Justin took a firm stance. It took everything he had in him not to punch that guy right in the face.
"I am leaving. For what it is worth, I am sorry about the other day. I don't know what came over me." Noah apologized, but when no one responded, he departed.
Anna, on the other hand, remained upright. "I am sorry, Fiona and Emily, for everything. I hope both of you can forgive us. I know we don't deserve to. Mason also cleared that very well when he met us the other day, but I just want you two to know that I do feel guilty."
Anna walked away after receiving a nod from Fiona. She had known for a long time that she had lost both Emily and Fiona.
On the other hand, Emily was dumbfounded when she heard Mason's name. "Don't tell me that Mason is still in contact with them. I thought..."
"Emily, sit down, and he isn't in contact with them. He met those two, few days after my hand incident." Fiona explained while sitting down, followed by Justin and Emily.
"Why the hell would he meet Noah and Anna in the first place?"
"Em, I will tell you everything later. You are pissed right now." Fiona tried to console her, but Emily was a lady full of questions who demanded answers right away.
"Fiona..."
"Fine. Mason confronted Noah on the call after he mistreated me. Noah asked him to meet him just for old times' sake. When they did, things kind of escalated. They had a heated argument, and Noah blurted out that he was aware that Mason's ex was cheating on him all along at the university. But to save his spot on the team, he kept mum. Mason got furious, but more than that, he felt betrayed. He never thought that Noah was a crappy friend from the beginning itself." Fiona explained to her.
"Where the hell was I when you found this?" Emily asked her, confused.
"Crashing at Jake's place after a family dinner. The same day, Mason and I had a movie marathon all night long." Fiona stated.
"Shit. I need to have to talk to that twerp. That idiot didn't even tell me about it." Emily frowned.
"Because you would have gone on a killing spree." Fiona sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Damn right, I would have, but Mason is a twerpy fool," Emily commented.
"You have names for all the guys, don't you?" James asked Emily.
He could tell the atmosphere had become tense, and he was very curious about what had just occurred. But he also wanted to lighten the ambiance. He could tell Emily was upset by Noah's harsh words, and Ana was a thorny subject for her.
"Yes, just the special ones." Emily glared at him.
However, James was glad that Emily was back to her usual self, and Emily was relieved by a change of subject. She had no interest in opening old wounds in front of her bosses. So, she appreciated that James didn't try to pry.
"Aw, I am special. I didn't know that." James kept his right hand on his heart.
As Emily and James continued their banter, Fiona took advantage of the situation and texted Justin. She knew she should have said the words out loud, but she couldn't. It wasn't easy, especially given their circumstances.
'Thanks for backing me up.'
Justin smiled at Fiona's text. He typed back.
'Always'
Fiona and Justin locked their eyes and nodded their heads in acknowledgment, a small smile playing on their faces.
Despite how bizarre it may sound, Justin had a good time. Even after Noah and the mysterious Anna incident, it felt like he had taken one step closer to Fiona. Even though the only person he talked to was James, but Fiona was there, and for that moment, it was enough. For the time being, their brief text was a small ray of hope and a sign to break their silence finally. He was growing accustomed to the presence. It was a start. Just a few more days, and there would be a breakthrough. Once Justin has made up his mind, then there is no stopping him.
He is going to talk to Fiona no matter what; not even a thunderstorm will be able to keep him from doing so.