"Sometimes we miss things. It happens."
III.
"You what?" I frantically shout at Frank as he sits across from my dining table. It was lunch time so he came over to eat, I hadn't seen him in two days and now I know why.
"It's not a big deal."
"Really? Because torturing David to get answers doesn't exactly scream 'not a big deal'."
"I didn't torture him." He says as he brings the bottle of beer up to his lips. I had made burgers for lunch considering I missed cooking, I've been so out of it lately between working at the diner and working out with Colin, I just order food by the time I get home because I'm too tired to make anything.
"I think tying him to a chair naked and splashing cold water on him repeatedly every time he falls asleep is considered torture."
"He's fine. I got what I wanted and he got what he wanted."
"So what is it that he wanted?"
"You don't know what happened to him do you?"
"After Colin died I pretty much ignored David and all of Colin's other friends. Didn't want the reminder." I bite my lip and play with the label on my bottle.
"He leaked that video I told you about to an agent at homeland. He knew it wasn't right and he wanted someone to see it, the same people who killed my family tried to kill him for it. They shot him thinking they killed him, but they didn't. Ever since then he's been hiding." As Frank explained to me David's story I couldn't help but start to feel guilty.
"This whole time...the rest of the world thought he was dead. Meanwhile I managed to push everyone out of my life because of Colin so much so that I didn't even know this was going on. How fucked up is that? Jesus, I didn't even go to his funeral." All of Colin's friends treated me like I was a friend too, I spent time with them and shared laughs with them and then they offered me anything I needed after he died and how do I repay them? By shutting them out and erasing them from my life like they never existed in the first place.
"Em, he's not dead. You can't blame yourself for making these kind of choices when you were hurting."
"What else do I not know? About him? About any of them?" I run my hands down my face.
"He has two kids and a wife." I look at Frank with wide eyes.
"I knew about his wife, well at the time they were just dating. Jesus Christ. But kids?" I shake my head, I really knew nothing.
"His kids are around twelve years old, I think he had them when Colin was still alive."
"Oh, even better. I knew none of this stuff even when I did talk to him." Is this what I do? Am I not aware of my surroundings? Am I the kind of person who doesn't actually listen?
"Sometimes we miss things. It happens."
I shake out of my thoughts and sigh. My shit isn't important right now.
"Okay, so what did he want?"
"Ill take you to him."
"A little heads up you're coming next time. I didn't recognize the car." David says as me and Frank get out of my car. We were in some sort of abandoned building that was so run down I could barely tell what he was before. There were computers in a circle in the middle and off to the side there were a few chairs and a bed. Jesus, this is where he lived.
"Emma..." He says once he sees me.
"Hey, David. Nice to see you when I'm not shoving you against a wall. Sorry by the way." He comes closer to me. He's wearing a robe with pajama pants and slippers, his hair was an unruly mess. He did not look good.
"I'm guessing Frank gave you the rundown." He says as he turns away and types a few things on his computer. I go over to check it out and I see some of the monitors have cameras showing what seems to be the inside of a house. There's two kids sitting on the sofa and there's a woman in the kitchen doing dishes. Is this his family?
"He did."
"Did he also tell you he went to my house to hold leverage over me?" I turn to look at Frank who's leaning against the panel that use to hold glass.
"Really Frank?"
He rolls his eyes.
"Not you too. I already got shit from him." I shake my head and turn back to see the monitors.
"Did he show you the video?" As I'm about to answer Frank does for me.
"No, I told her about it."
"So you know about-" Frank cuts David off.
"Yes, she knows about what I did."
"But-"
Franks phone buzzes in his pocket and me and David share a confused look.
"Who's calling you?" David asks as Frank look at it and puts it back in his pocket.
"Your wife."
"Wy do you have her number?"
"Cause she has mine." I'm even more confused about this information but David just seems to be angry.
"Give me it." David holds out his hand and Frank sighs before giving him his phone. David opens it and presses a few buttons until a woman's voice sounds through the phone from a voicemail.
"Hello, Frank, it's me Sarah Lieberman. I was calling because I have some papers here from my insurance that they want you to sign in order for them to fix my headlight. So if you could call back and find a time to swing by that would be great. Thank you."
"What happened?" I ask Frank.
"I made her think she hit me with her car." He shrugs and I shake my head.
"Go sign her papers and maybe try not to be an asshole while you're at it." David tells him. He still seems upset and I can't imagine why. He knows Frank wouldn't hurt them, right? Frank sighs then looks to me.
"Take my car, I'll stay." I toss him my keys and he nods and walks to the car.
"So this whole time you've been watching them?" I ask David as we sit down in front of the monitors, Frank had just gotten to the house.
"Yeah, it's a little less lonely." He stares at the monitors and I bite my lip.
"I'm sorry for-"
"Don't apologize. We all have our own way of coping with pain." He looks at me for a second and smiles a bit. I smile back, happy that he understood.
He turns something on the monitor and suddenly we can hear the interaction as Frank steps into the house.
"Thanks for doing this." Sarah says as she grabs a pen and a few papers and passes them along to Frank. She tells her son to go upstairs and after threatening him he finally does. Frank begins to sign but there's a shout and Frank and Sarah leave the view. David presses something and it's the kitchen view. His daughter is trying to fix something under the sink. Frank of course offers to help. A few minutes later I hear commotion.
"I love them but sometimes I wish they weren't here." I close my eyes and shake my head. She doesn't know about his family so I can't blame her.
"Oh shit, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it like that." She shakes her head and covers her mouth. I sit up straighter. He told her? He met her once and she knows already?
"No, it's alright. You have a lot on your plate, I get it. Tell you what, why don't I fix up that light for you, that way you don't have to deal with all that insurance stuff." He offers.
"First I hit you with my car, then you fix my garage. I can't let you do that. I don't need your charity." She shakes her head.
"I insist. It'll keep me busy." I swallow hard. He needs to keep busy?
"Okay, sure. That would be great." She smiles at him. I know that smile, Frank has a way with charming women even when he doesn't realize he's doing it. I look to David and he just shakes his head at the monitor.
"Why don't you show me some tricks?" I ask as I turn my swivel chair to face him, he looks at me confused.
"Tricks?"
"You know, like computer tricks. Show me how to hack websites or something, I don't know." I shrug and he laughs.
"You want to hack a website?"
"No, but you can still show me."
"Fine."
"Remind me again why you're here?" David asks me the next day as I get out of my car.
"Because my boss hired someone new and she gave me a few days off. So I'm bored." I shrug as I sit in the same chair I was in before. We had exchanged numbers last night which was a good thing so I could warn him I was coming.
"So you came here?"
"You saying you don't want company?" I put my feet up on the desk and lean back, crossing my arms. He rolls his eyes.
"That's what I thought."
"Well, looks like you're just in time. Frank is fixing up Sarah's headlight." He nods towards the screen as Frank seems to be already finished. I didn't even know he was there. Then again I rarely know where he is because most often he's out doing things I do not need to know the details of.
"How long have you and Frank been a thing?" He asks and I laugh.
"Well, I met him six months ago. Feels like longer. Had just moved to Hell's Kitchen and there he was, he was my neighbor." I smile thinking back to when I moved in and had helped me.
"Jesus. You know what he has done right?" I look over to him.
"I do, but when he's with me, he's just Frank Castle. He's a good guy, David. He really is." He sighs and looks back to the monitor and flips a switch.
"Too good of a guy." He mutters as Sarah offers him to go over for dinner on Sunday, it was now Friday. Sunday's were deemed our official days, he didn't do much on Sunday's and I had the day off so he would spend the night on Saturday's and we'd sleep in on Sunday's and just watch movies all day. Although me and Frank see each other a lot there are times when I don't see him for days, hell, not even a month ago he was gone for almost two weeks.
"I can't. I have plans." He shakes his head and I smile at that.
"Really? I can cook and everything. It's the least I can do." She pushes.
"Wow, you're going to cook for once." David's kid comes to view and says and then he walks away.
"Don't mind him." Sarah sighs.
"You know what? It would be an honor." I take my feet off the table and sit up.
"Really?" The little girl asks getting excited.
"Yeah, I'd love to." He smiles at her and then at Sarah. Disappointment floods through me, Sunday's are the only days I get with Frank completely. Not in passing for lunch or dinner, but the full day. He had his own apartment ever since he got arrested a few months ago so it was even harder to see him. Saturday's were the only nights he stayed. He also never came to me to patch him up anymore, we lived in different places, it wasn't ideal.
Am I being selfish? What's one day without doing our usual thing? I look to David and that's when I realize I need to not make this about me.
"Your wife is really nice at least from what I can tell. Tell me about her." He looks to me and roll his eyes.
"I know what you're doing."
"Oh? and what am I doing?"
"Trying to distract me from the fact that my wife is flirting with another man. But that man happens to be your boyfriend and he doesn't seem opposed to it." I bite my tongue and stand up.
"You're an asshole." I start to grab my jacket.
"No, wait. I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. When Frank is here and you're not...the way he talks about you... look, I'm sorry, I just...it's not a great feeling." I sigh and set my jacket back down and sit down again.
"It's fine, I get it." We sit in silence for a few minutes.
"Me and Frank have to do a few things tonight so we have to leave when he gets back but until then how about I continue to show you how all this computer stuff works?"
"I'd like that."
The next morning I decided to sleep in considering I had nothing to do today either. I woke up to feed Max and eat some breakfast a little later on in the morning. I didn't realize how tired I still was until I decided to watch some tv and ended up falling asleep. It wasn't until my phone started going off that I woke up. I answered seeing that it was David.
"Hello?" I rub my eyes and sit up.
"Emma, it's Frank. He got hurt, bad. We're at my place."
"I'm on my way." I snap out of my sleepy daze and scramble to get my shoes on and my jacket. I look at the time, 6 o'clock. Jesus, I didn't mean to sleep away the day. I quickly feed Max again and then leave my apartment.
A/N:
Oooo we're getting new friendships between David and Frank and David and Emma. Oh, and I guess Frank and Sarah... sorry...
Anyways, I had fun writing this chapter and starting to play with the idea of Emma feeling a bit guilty about pushing everyone away.
BUT, can we talk about season 2?!?! I started it as soon as it came out and I finished it yesterday night and all I have to say is HOLY SHIT. It was insane and there's so much to talk about but I don't want to give away any spoilers because I know people like to watch it little by little and I totally get that but I just couldn't wait so I binged the hell out of it. But omg it was freaking amazing, I loved every second, well except for majority of the first episode because honestly it felt like a waste of time and I just didn't want it to happen...I'm sure you all who have seen it can relate maybe? Anyways, all I have to say that it was totally badass. What did you guys think?!
Much love, xoxo