CHAPTER 50:
Emma's POV:
It was a totally different person. My hair reached almost above my shoulder. It had a little blonde in the ends that blended with the brown towards my roots. She had added loose curls which made me look even more pretty.
I sit there in front of the mirror, awestruck and speechless. Kate's voice brings me back from my dreaming.
"I am so glad you like it. I was kinda afraid you won't like it but you're reaction just made my whole week" she gushes. I nod my head and pull a strand of hair. I pinch myself, had I really just cut my hair?
I remember when I was about four and I had cut my hair short. For some reason I had hated it so much that I vowed never to cut my hair that short. Since then I had long hair almost reaching my waist.
But right now, I haven't loved my hair this much for a really long time. I pay for the hair and I give a little extra to Kate for giving me this look. I walk out if the salon feeling much better then I did last night or this morning for that matter.
After that I walk through a few stores do a little bit of window shopping and a little bit of shopping. I was angry at my parents but I didn't want to get them on the road by using their card. Not that this would make a difference. I was about to go in the food court to eat when I spotted the Victoria's Secret shop. I made a note to visit that shop after eating.
I put the shopping bags down after finding a good table and ordered some pizza and some coffee. I pulled out my phone while I waited for the food. I have quite a few missed calls from both my parents.
My finger hovered over my mom's contact but I decided against it. I'll call them when I am in the right mood. I also have a missed call from Jeremy so I call him back.
He picks up after a few rings.
'hey'
I breathe out.
'Hey! What are you upto?'
He asks me.
'i am at the mall. Trying to get
my mind off things, you know?'
'I understand. So, what did you
buy for me?'
'why would you think I bought
anything for you?'
'Because I am your boyfriend
and you love me?'
I laugh at his logic but don't say anything else. We disconnect the call after a few minutes when my food arrives. I devour all the food within minutes. I was famished after all, because I neither had breakfast nor I had lunch.
I look at the time and it is five now. I have been in the mall for almost four hours now. I visit the Victoria's Secret store and buy myself some cute lingerie. This I buy with my own money, not wanting my parents to know that I buy lingerie, I would be embarrassed.
Another half an hour later I am done and about to leave the mall when I spot a store. I know Jeremy's birthday is coming up and the gift in my mind would make a great gift. So, I make a quick stop at the store and buy what I have in my mind. After that I drive back to the apartment.
I play songs and sing to each and every song on the way to keep my mind distracted. I pull up in the parking lot and carry the bags all the way up to my apartment. It's about six when I reach the apartment. I am all alone with my thoughts so I think about everything that happened since I went to the grocery store.
My brother, my niece, my parents and all of that reminds me that I have to give my therapist a call. I dial up her number and just hope it isn't too early there.
She knows just the right things to say sometimes. I dial up her number.
'Hey Emma. How are you doing?'
Her chirpy voice already calms me down a bit.
'Hi Scar. I wanted to talk,
are you free right now?
'Emma, I am always here. Whenever
you want to talk. So tell me, what happened?'
'its Ethan. He is alive'
'okay, and how does that make you feel?'
If she was even a least bit surprised, she didn't show it. So I told her everything. From my niece, the anger directed towards him, my parents , how I saw him and everything. I didn't even leave a small detail.
She gave me only one advice, talking to my brother. I argued that I just can't do that but she had a stronger argument. She said and I quote 'if you don't talk to him then you will never find your answers' and she was so fucking right. I hated her for being so honest all the time.
Now all I had to do was find him and talk to him like a normal sane person. But there is no way I could find him in such a huge place. I remember Scarlett telling me about her school. What was the name? Why am I so bad at names? Ughh! Then I decided to search schools around me. I finally found the school, it wasn't too far away from here. It opens at 9 in the morning so I could go there and wait for him. I could just hope he will be dropping Scarlett and not his wife.
I am in no mood to anything and seeing as it is still eight and I don't know what to do. So I decide to go to sleep early. I am determined to wake up early and wait for Ethan outside the school. I get ready for bed and text Jeremy that I am going to sleep early. I don't wait for his reply and fall asleep.
Next morning, I wake up at around seven in the morning. it's Monday morning and I don't feel like getting up but I have to. I decide to eat breakfast at some place near the school. I text Jeremy that I don't feel well and won't be attending the lectures today. I don't know if Jeremy would like my plans for the day so I decide to keep him out of it.
I get dressed in a pair of denims and plain white v-neck with it. I wear a pair of white Converse, grab my car keys and apartment keys and go to the parking lot.
When I drive out, it is 9 in the morning. I put the school's address in the GPS and follow the route. I pull up outside the school within ten minutes. I park on the curb close to the main gate so I can look at the people.
The first thought when I park outside is that holy shit! This school looks too prestigious. A school for the very rich kids or something. I don't have alot of time to ogle at the school as I see Ethan coming out of a car. He runs to the other side to open the door and Scarlett jumps out.
I get out of the car and walk towards them. Ethan doesn't notice me as he is crouching infront of Scarlett facing the other side. But, Scarlett notices me.
"Emmmmaaa" she screams and runs towards me. A huge smile automatically replaces the frown on my face. I get ready to catch her. I hoist her up in my arms as Ethan walks towards us.
"Hi emma" Scar says and giggles.
"Hi scar! Have you eaten the candy?" I ask her in a baby voice.
"No! Daddy says not to eat all candy at same time" I laugh at her broken English and Ethan comes stand infront of us.
"Daddy also says not to run around" Ethan says and scar frowns a bit, thinking.
"Sorry daddy" she says and I just go 'aww' in my head. Just then the bell rings.
"Alright you go to school now and be a good girl okay?" I put her down and she nods her head at me. Then she spots someone and runs towards them. She throws a 'Bye daddy, I love You' over her shoulder. After she leaves we stand there awkwardly for a few seconds. I muster up all the courage I have and face him.
"Look I know I don't have the best first impression. But I wanted to talk to you" I say all in one go. He doesn't say anything for a solid minute but then nods his head.
"There is a cafe a little far, we could go there?" I ask him meekly. I don't know but he doesn't look likes he wants to talk to me. He nods his head so I turn around to go back to my car when he holds my arms and I look at him, alarmed.
"Where are you going?" He asks.
"To my car?" I say, but it sounds more like a question, and point towards my car.
"We can take my car" he says, turns around and starts walking. I follow him because I don't think I can say anything. We both settle in the car and he drives to the cafe I suggested. The silence in the car is very uncomfortable and awkward. I wish I had thought this through. There is this weird authoritative aura around him that makes me shut up. He is so stoic and a man of very little words. I feel so stupid, for some reason unknown to me.
He parks outside the cafe and we go inside the cafe. It's pretty warm inside. We order and he pays for my order too. I whisper a thank you and we take a seat in the corner booth. We sit there for a few more awkward seconds when he clears his throat. I look up at him and he raises his eyebrows. Telling me to talk so I just start talking.
I tell him the same thing I told Jeremy yesterday. I ramble the whole time, without a single pause. He just looks at me intently listening to every word I am saying. When I am almost done I add one more thing.
"Look, I know you don't what to talk to me but I just had to know what happened. But since you don't seem in the mood to talk, I'll get out of your hair rightaway" I say that as quickly as possible and write down my number on the tissue all thew hole he just looks at me like I just said some gibberish.
"Here's my number when you want to talk" I say and get out of the cafe at the speed of light. He just seemed so intimidating that I couldn't sit there. I feel like a coward at the moment.
When I am walking back to my car, I realise that I just followed a stranger ALL THE WAY TO THE CAFE in his CAR like a stupid. For all I know he could be a serial killer. I walk quickly to the car after that thought. When I am inside the locked car, I feel so much more safe.
I drive back to my apartment but when I see the time, it's only 10.47. I decide to go sit at the uni for the remaining lectures because I had nothing better to do. My second lecture starts at 11.30 so I have plenty of time to get there with my books and everything.
I make a quick stop at my apartment, grab everything and drive back to Uni. I wait for a few minutes outside the room and then the class is left. I wait for my friends and Jeremy.
The first one to walk out is Jules followed by Bella and Isaac, Sean, Ver and Carter. And finally, Jeremy comes out and they start walking past me like I am not even standing there.
"umm guyss?" I say and they all turn around to look at the little voice that came from me. For a second, all of them look at me with wide.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."
-Rob Siltanen.
Let me know what you think about this chapter in the comment section.
Don't forget to vote!