"It's so good to see you again." Dani smiles as she leads Emmie into the kitchen.
Towards the end of the week, Dani had reached out, asking if Emmie wanted to meet up. They hadn't seen each other since the weekend before and Dani had taken quite a liking to her. Since having the kids, Dani had missed out on spending time with her friends, so Kevin had offered to take Alena and Valentina out for a few hours, whilst Emmie and Dani got to know each other better.
"It was nice of Kevin to take the kids for you." Emmie tells her.
Dani chuckles lightly.
"They'll be glad to spend time with their Dad." She laughs. "But as much as I love them, it's nice to have some free time."
The two of them sit at the kitchen island, in front of the huge window which overlooks the garden. Emmie couldn't believe how beautiful their home was. It was a similar style to Joe's apartment, except for the fact that it had a childs touch. There were many drawings in frames, hung upon the walls, a heigh chart stood against the side of the refrigerator. A pot of crayons, paint and glitter sat upon the table. Emmie guessed this must've been Alena's belongings. It was vibrant, but it fit in perfectly.
Dani wandered over the the refrigerator, grasping a jug filled with fresh fruit juice. She places it on the island, reaching for two glasses.
"Don't tell my girls your drinking this." She grins, pressing a finger to her lips. "It's their favourite."
She pours a glass each, sliding one across to Emmie who happily thanks her. Dani sits beside her once more, holding her glass between her perfectly manicured fingers.
"Your nails are so pretty." Emmie gasps, once she had noticed. Dani held her hand out in front of her to show off the pink and white french tips.
"Thank you!" She smiles. "You should come with me, next time. Yours would look so good, a cute baby blue colour."
Emmie smiles weakly, glancing down at her own nails. They weren't exactly the best looking. She had a habit of biting them down when she got nervous - which had been pretty often recently. Dani places a hand on hers, giving her a soft smile, breaking Emmie away from her thoughts.
"How's work going?" Dani asks.
"Kevin told you?" Emmie questioned. She knew he probably had, considering he had mentioned Joe would talk about her a lot.
Dani nods.
"Joe's quite fond of you, y'know." She grins. "We hear a lot about you, me and Kev."
Emmie gives her a shy smile. She had never been the topic of conversation before, especially to one specific person, so she had no idea how to react.
"All good things, I hope." Emmie mumbles.
"Of course."
"Works going good." She changes the subject. "It's weird to be back after such a long time."
Dani glances at her, curiously. Joe had only said so much to her and Kevin, but had never mentioned the passing of Emmie's best friend. He knew it was never his place to say.
Emmie looks down for a moment, a hint of sadness flashing across her face.
"It's been a tough couple of weeks." She mutters, picking at her nails. "I- I lost someone really close to me.."
Dani's eyes widen slightly, her expression softening.
"Oh my, Em. I'm sorry, I didn't realise." Dani rushes, hopping down from her stool and hugging her from behind. Emmie grasps onto her hand, and they stay like that for a while.
"If you ever need anything." Dani begins, "I'm always here." She reassures her. Emmie smiles weakly to herself.
"Thank you." She whispers, turning around to face her friend.
•.•.•.•.•
"It's so nice to have another girl around." Dani quickly changes the subject, wanting to brighten the mood. "At least I wont have to be surrounded by boys all the time."
"You spend a lot of time with them?" Emmie asks.
Dani hums in response, nodding quickly.
"It's quite strange." She begins. "Some days, it will be Kev and Joe, and then other days it's Kev and Nick. But never all three."
Emmie chewed at her lip in silence. She knew part of the reason why the boys never spent time together. But she also knew it wasn't her place to tell Joe's secrets. Especially when he had been so vulnerable and explained the situation.
"Who knows." She says eventually. "They've all got busy lives. Maybe they just can't find the time to spend together?"
"That's true." Dani agrees, combing her fingers through her brunette curls.
That moment, the sound of the front door unlocking and footsteps in the hall could be heard. It wasn't long before Kevin appeared in the doorway, followed by two small girls, running towards their mom. Dani turns to face them, a wide smile on her face as she crouches down, opening her arms wide for her daughters to hug her.
"Hi, my loves." She mumbles softly as she grasps her girls. "Did you have a good time?"
"Yes!" The youngest girl squealed excitedly. "Daddy took us for ice-cream."
Emmie watched as her little face bubbled with joy. Her smile never left her face as she glanced back and forth between her parents.
"Oh, I can tell." Dani laughs, pointing to the ice cream smeared round her youngest daughters face. She glances over at Kevin who shrugs with a smirk.
"Girls." She begins, "This is my friend Emmie."
Dani smiles at her girls, urging them to say hi. The older girl smiles, whilst the youngest gives her a shy wave.
"Hi." Emmie speaks softly, crouching down to their level. Dani stands up, letting her daughters interact with her friend. They were hesitant at first, but quickly warm up and are eager to speak.
"You're pretty." The older girl stares in awe, taking in Emmie's presence. She lets out a light laugh.
"Thank you." She smiles, "You must be Alena?"
The girl nods, her eyes wide.
"You know my name."
"I do." Emmie confirms with a grin. "Your mommy has told me all about you."
Alena smiles as her face lit up, glancing over to her parents, who now stood behind her.
"They're my pride and joy." Dani smiles, leaning into Kevin, as he presses a soft kiss on the top of her head.
"You look like a princess." Another little voice speaks.
Emmie brings her attention back to the other girl stood before her.
"And you must be, Valentina?"
She nods, grinning widely, showing off the ice cream still stuck to her face.
"I'm no princess." Emmie shakes her head.
"I have lots of princesses in my room." Valentina tells her.
"Oh really?" Emmie asks.
"Yes! Do you want to see?"She says eagerly, grasping Emmie's hand. "I have a fairy princess that looks just like you!"
"I'd love to." Emmie nods with a smile.
Seconds later, she felt another small hand holding onto hers. She looks down to see Alena the other side of her.
"Do you want to see my room too?"
"Of course." Emmie laughs.
She glances over to Dani, who is watching the three of them in awe. Emmie raises her eyebrow, in which Dani replies with a smile and a shrug. Emmie laughs as she lets the girls lead her out of the kitchen and towards the stairway. It was clear to Dani that both of her girls had taken a liking to her friend. And she was glad.
•.•.•.•.•
After an eventful afternoon with Alena and Valentina, Emmie shortly said her goodbyes and decided to head home. She thanked Dani for inviting her over and promised to meet up with her again soon. And she meant it. Emmie had found she had a lot in common with her new friend, and she was happy to be spending time with her.
She spent her evening flicking through her journal, deciding to write down a few memorable moments from the past few weeks. That way she could always have something to look back on, anytime she wanted to reminisce.
That night, on the way towards her bedroom, Emmie stopped outside the room opposite hers. The door had been left slightly ajar since Thea had last been there. Normally, she wouldn't even look in that direction as she made her way to her own room. She had never found the courage to face the reality stood before her. But today she felt different.
Emmie stepped forward, leaning against the doorframe as her eyes glanced through the mere gap in the door. She felt a tightness in her chest as she looked at the belongings that stayed scattered around the room. All of those memories came rushing back. She wanted to look away but she couldn't. She stayed fixated on the room that once held life, but would now be forever dull.
She knew Thea would spend all her time in this room, yet Emmie still refused to enter. It was Thea's safe space, not hers. A place where she felt close to him, even if his presence was no longer there.
She had started to pull away from her feelings. Since meeting her new friends, she was scared to disappoint. Scared she would drive them away if she knew how badly she had been coping. Of course, they vaguely knew about the situation. But she would never let them see how bad it truly was. How many sleepless nights would occur. How many times she had wondered, what if it had been her instead?
Joe had been her outlet. Her way of coping. He let her know it was okay to grieve. That's just the way life goes. But she was done with moping around, feeling like burden to her friends. It wasn't fair on them. She knew she would have to keep her true emotions hidden away, and put her friends first.
Joe needed her. He needed that friend to rely on, through his difficult time. And she would be there for him. But Emmie couldn't be there if she was fighting her own battles. So she would put her troubles aside, as if they were never there.
Because if there was one thing that Caleb had taught her, it was that friends come first. No matter what.