by A J Manney
Chapter 30
Finally, Emma woke up with a little more clarity and not as much pain. She looked around the room. It was a good-sized room, a little plain; but kind of what you’d expect in a bachelor’s spare room. She managed to sit up. Her body ached, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been. Emma glanced down quickly and saw she was dressed in her long-sleeved pajama set.
A moment later, somebody knocked softly at her door. “Come in,” she said.
“Hey, you‘re awake,” Garrett said in a much gentler voice than she was used to hearing from him. He leaned against the doorframe. “How are you feeling?”
“Better than I was,” she said.
“You want to get out of bed for a little bit and see the rest of the house?” Garrett asked.
“I need to take a shower. I’m sure I stink,” she said with a grimace.
“You always smell amazing, Emma,” Garrett said in a deep voice. Emma knew she didn’t right now, but she let it go. “If you’re up to it, let me give you a tour of the house and get you something to eat. Then you can take a shower if you’re still feeling okay.” Emma agreed, and Garrett swept her into his arms a moment later, carrying her out of the room.
“I can walk,” Emma protested; he didn’t respond. They walked down a hallway and out into a huge open area.
Emma looked around at what she could see while Garrett was holding her. She was smitten. It was the most beautiful home she had ever seen. The walls were made of huge logs, and the ceiling was the same. It was all open concept. There was a large living room that centered around a huge stone fireplace. A large wrap-around couch and two recliners were situated around the fireplace. A roaring fire lent heat to the room, taking away the chill. A huge TV was mounted above the fireplace. The living room faded into the huge kitchen with stainless steel appliances and a long island that ran the length of the kitchen. A large dining room table sat off to the side near the open windows that overlooked the wraparound porch. There were stairs leading to a large loft area that overlooked the living room.
“This is beautiful,” Emma said softly.
Garrett looked down at her. “You like it?”
Emma laughed; then grimaced at the pain it caused. “Like it? It’s like one of those giveaway dream homes. It’s incredible!”
Garrett gave her one of his rare smiles. “Good,” was all he said. He carried her over to the couch and set her down carefully.
Let’s get you something to eat,” he said.
“Okay,” Emma said.
He walked over to the kitchen. “How about grilled cheese?” he asked.
“You cook?” she asked in surprise.
He smirked at her. “It’s just grilled cheese. I think I’ll manage,” he said dryly.
“Where is everybody?” she asked.
Garrett looked up at her from where he was working at the island. “This is my home. I live here by myself,” he said by way of explanation.
“Oh,” Emma said, surprised. This huge, beautiful home was all his. “Um, am I just staying here for lunch and then going back home?” She let the question drag out.
“Right now, you need to eat; we’ll deal with the rest later,” Garrett said. Emma was quiet while she waited for the grilled cheese. She put her head back against the couch cushions and looked around the incredibly beautiful home. If she had to design a dream house, this would be it. It just needed a few touches to make it a little warmer and welcoming, like some warm rugs on the floor, wall art, a vase or two of fresh flowers, a few candles... Garrett interrupted her revelry. He handed her a plate with a grilled cheese and a bottle of water.
Emma took the plate and water from him. “Thank you,” she said. She pulled a piece off and slowly chewed it. “Are you going to eat anything?”
“I’ll find something,” he said.
“You can have some of this,” she said, offering him half.
“You eat it,” he said, pushing it gently back towards her. “I’ll find something more substantial,” he said with a smirk. He walked back over to the kitchen area. Emma ate the rest of her sandwich.
“Thank you. That was really good,” she said. “Do you think it would be okay if I took a shower now?”
“Are you strong enough for one?” he asked.
Emma thought for a moment. “Maybe a bath?” she asked. He nodded and came over and picked her up. He carried her down the hallway back to the room she had slept in. He walked right into the bathroom and set her on the side of the bathtub. He started the water and poured in some soap. He stood up and came back with two bottles that he put on the side of the tub and a pink loofah. He also put down two fluffy white towels.
“I won’t be far. If you call, I’ll hear you.” He stood up. “Will you be okay?” he asked.
Emma looked up at him and smiled. “I’ll be fine. Thank you.”
After Garrett left the bathroom, she began the slow process of taking off her clothes. Finally, she slipped into the tub and sighed as the warm water surrounded her. She was tempted to stay in there forever, but she didn't want to risk falling asleep or getting too weak to get out. She grabbed the shampoo, noticing it was the brand she had at the other house. After washing her hair, she opened the body wash. She took a whiff of it. Vanilla, her favorite.
A few minutes later, she was done and ready to get out of the bathtub. She tried to get out, but no matter how she tried, she couldn’t get any leverage to be able to get up without hurting her ribs. She was in pain now and stuck in the bathtub. She felt like crying when a knock sounded at the door. “Emma, it’s me.” Emma had never been so grateful to hear Madison’s voice. “Can I come in?” Emma glanced down and saw she was fully covered in bubbles.
“Yes,” she said weakly.
The door opened and Madison walked in. “Hey, Garrett called me. He thought you might need some help when you got done.”
“Yeah. I can’t get up,” she said miserably.
“Let me help,” she said. She put her hands behind Emma’s back and helped her into a standing position. She quickly looked away and held out a towel for Emma to wrap around herself. Emma did so quickly and walked out of the bathroom into the bedroom. Madison grabbed Emma’s clothes. She handed Emma a pair of underwear that Emma quickly put on. Then she gave her a clean cuddly sleeping shirt and pajama pants. Once Emma was dressed, she sat down on the side of the bed, exhausted.
“Can I brush your hair for you?” Madison asked.
“Sure,” Emma said. She sat quietly as memories flooded her mind. Her dad used to brush her hair. After Madison finished brushing her hair and putting it into a braid for her, Emma walked into the bathroom so she could brush her teeth. They sat and talked for a little while before Emma started getting tired again. Her ribs and stomach were aching; Madison said she would go find some painkillers for her.
A few minutes later, the door opened and Garrett came in. He helped prop her up so she could take the pills. Then he laid her back down gently and pulled the blankets over her. “Thank you,” Emma said softly before sleep claimed her.
“I’ll be in the room next to yours for the night. If you call out, I’ll hear you. Get some sleep,” he said. Emma didn’t respond. She closed her eyes and willed the memories of her attack to stay away. She wasn’t that lucky. Her nightmares found her during the night.
Emma ran. She could feel them closing in on her. Alec and his friends couldn’t catch her. If they did, horrible things would happen. Emma glanced behind her and panicked. They were closing in. She willed herself to run faster, but she couldn’t. She saw the coffee shop in front of her and ran in that direction. She opened the door and ran inside. She realized in horror that this wasn’t the coffee shop; it was her old house. She was in her old room. She tried to lock the door, but the lock wouldn’t work. Panicking, she pushed her dresser in front of the door.
She backed up against the wall as they tried to break into her room. They started shoving at the door, and the dresser started moving. She realized
it wasn’t going to keep them out. She looked around frantically and found a window that she didn’t remember existing. She climbed out the window and began running, desperate to get away. She heard howls behind her. She wasn’t going to get away. She screamed when one of them launched itself at her. She fell to the ground and tried to wrestle it away, but she was too weak. The wolf locked its powerful teeth on her shoulder and bit down hard. Emma screamed as pain radiated through her body. “This is what you deserve, Emma,” Alec’s cruel voice said over her screams. He laughed at her. “Emma, Emma.”
Emma screamed again trying to get away from her attacker. “Emma, it’s me. Stop, you’re hurting yourself.” Garrett’s voice finally penetrated her fear, and she gasped loudly.
“Garrett?” she asked, her voice shaky.
“It’s me, baby. You’re safe. You’re in my house. Nothing and no one can hurt you here,” he said as he pushed her hair away from her sweaty face. He moved and Emma grabbed at his shirt.
“Please don’t leave me,” she whimpered, hating her weakness but terrified of being alone in the dark.
“Never,” he said softly. “I’m just going around to the other side of the bed.” He climbed into bed on the other side and very carefully put his arms around her and held her. “Go back to sleep, Emma. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”
It was the safest Emma had ever felt in her entire life. She relaxed against him and drifted off to sleep once again.
Emma woke up the next morning alone. She looked over to where Garrett had been or at least she thought he had been. She wasn’t really sure. Maybe it had been a dream. She sat up slowly and took stock of herself. She felt much better than she had. She looked for her phone but couldn’t find it anywhere. She figured she had left it downstairs.
She slid out of bed and made her way towards the closet. She found a sweatshirt and threw that on over her pajama shirt. She assumed she was going home today. She couldn’t decide how she felt about that. When she stepped out of the room, she heard voices in the kitchen area. She walked down the hall and towards the open area. Liam was sitting at the table with Paul. Max was leaning against the wall, looking out the window, and Garrett was walking towards her.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you woke up,” he said softly when he stood in front of her. “I had to deal with some stuff.”
“It’s okay,” Emma said softly.
“No, it’s not. I said I would be there when you woke up, and I wasn’t. I’m sorry,” he said again.
Emma put her hand on his arm. “It’s okay, Garrett. I’m fine. What’s going on?” she asked nodding towards the guys.
“Nothing that can’t wait. Let’s get you some breakfast,” Garrett said.
Emma walked over towards the table. “Good morning,” she said to Liam, Max, and Paul. Liam stood up and gave her a gentle hug.
“How are you doing?” he asked.
“Much better,” Emma responded and sat down carefully.
Was it Emma’s imagination or was everybody on edge? Liam, especially. He wasn’t rocking the easy-going vibe he usually had. A nervous feeling settled in Emma’s stomach. She wondered what was coming.
Chapter 31
Garrett put a plate in front of her with an egg and toast and handed her a glass of orange juice. He didn’t sit down but moved back to the kitchen. She turned her head to look at him. “Did I leave my phone down here yesterday? I can’t find it. And I can’t believe I didn’t ask this before now but did you let Helen know everything that was going on—why I haven’t been at work?” she asked.
“I called her,” Garrett said. When he didn’t say anything more, Emma turned back around to her food. She would just look for her phone after breakfast.
"How are you feeling, Emma?” Paul asked.
“Much better. Still sore and stiff but nothing like before,” she said.
“Good,” Paul said. “I want to check your ribs before I leave.” Emma nodded and focused on eating. A few minutes later, she was done.
Paul stood up and came towards her. “May I?” he asked.
“In the living room,” Garrett said as he stepped behind her and put a hand on her back, leading her to the living room. She held up her shirt while Paul unbound her ribs and checked them. Garrett stayed right where he was, so her back was against his chest. She wasn’t immune to what he was doing; he was blocking her from the view of the other guys at the table.
“Everything looks good; it’s going to take a few more days for your ribs and the bruising on your stomach to heal. Take it easy for a few more days,” he said as he rewrapped her ribs. Emma agreed. “All right, well I’m out of here,” he said to Emma and Garrett.
Garrett guided her back to the table. “Emma, can you do something for us? I want to see what happens when you touch one of the guy’s hands,” Garrett said.
“She can do me,” Liam said, standing.
“Not you. Max,” Garrett said, obviously irritated.
Max turned his head towards them and didn’t move for a moment. Finally, he took a few steps towards Emma and put his hand out. Emma glanced at Garrett. He nodded towards Max. Reluctantly, Emma put her hand out towards Max, hoping he wouldn’t break hers or something in the process. The moment Max’s rough hand touched hers, a bright light shone. She didn’t yank her hand away but let it play out. She saw flashes of a table, a backpack, books. Then she saw a girl. The girl turned towards Emma, and Emma gasped and let go of Max’s hand, losing the connection.
“What did you see?” Max growled at her. Emma was still trying to compose herself. That had felt so real, like the girl was looking right at her. “What was it?” Max said again, taking a step closer.
“Back off,” Garrett warned.
Emma looked at the guys. All three of them were watching her intently. “First, I saw a table, a backpack, and books. Maybe an office? Or a library? Then I saw a girl. She turned and looked right at me.”
“What did she look like? Where was she?” Max growled at her.
“I-I don’t know,” Emma said. “It startled me so much; I dropped the... whatever it was.”
Max turned around and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him. “I don’t understand. What...?” she let the question hang in the air.
Garrett glanced down at her; then moved away from her to go stand next to the island in the kitchen. Emma looked at Liam, but he was no help either. He just sat looking down at the table. Emma felt like something was going on, and she was missing it. She decided to leave the guys to their stewing; it was giving her a headache. She stood and went to look for her phone. “What are you doing?” Garrett asked her.
“Looking for my phone,” she responded as she walked over to the living room. When she didn’t see it anywhere, she turned to Garrett. “Have you seen my phone?” she asked again.
He crossed his arms. “I have it,” he said.
Emma frowned. “Well, can I have it?” she asked as she walked back towards him.
“No,” he said.
When he didn’t say anything else, Emma stared at him. “No?” Surely, he was joking. But he didn’t smile. She glanced at Liam, but he wouldn’t look at her. “Why can’t I have my phone?” she asked in confusion
Garrett narrowed his eyes at her. “Actually, it’s my phone. I’m the one who bought it.”
Emma stared at him, willing herself not to do something weak and stupid, like cry. “You’re right. I’ll buy one myself with my own money.” She turned and started walking down the hallway towards her room.
Slowly, she got dressed for the day. She slipped shoes on and searched the room for her purse. When she didn’t see it anywhere, she sighed in frustration. She would have to go ask Garrett where that was too. With any luck, it would go better than the cell phone. She walked back to the kitchen.
“Garrett, do you know where my purse went?” Emma asked, proud of herself for sounding steady and calm.
“It’s in that closet,” he said, nodding his h
ead towards a closet near the front door.
Emma walked over and opened the closet. She saw the purse on the top shelf, but there was no way she could reach it. Before she could say anything, she felt rather than heard Garrett behind her. He reached over the top of her and grabbed it for her, handing it to her. “Thank you,” she said. He just looked down at her intensely before turning and walking back to the kitchen. Emma put the purse on her shoulder and walked towards Garrett and Liam. “Do you think one of you could give me a ride to the coffee shop?”
They both just stared at her, making her feel self-conscious. “I’m obviously late; it’s like halfway through my shift. But I figured I could at least get a half a day in.” Emma stood there awkwardly.
Garrett met her eyes. “Emma, Helen hired somebody to replace you.”
His words couldn't have shocked Emma more. She felt them as if he had physically punched her in the stomach. “What? Why?” she asked. She glanced at Liam, but he wouldn’t look at her.
“I told her to,” Garrett said without any emotion. “I sent one of the girls that used to work at our office to her.”
Emma stared at him. “You sent someone to replace me,” she said slowly, trying to understand what in the world was going on. Crossing her arms to make herself feel stronger, she asked, “Why would you do that?”
“I had to,” he said.
Emma blinked. That cleared nothing up. She closed her eyes, feeling exhausted again. Opening her eyes, she looked at Garrett. “I don’t understand what’s going on. I have no idea why you’re acting like such a jerk all of a sudden.” She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. “Would you please just give me a ride to the shop? That way I can talk to Helen and explain what happened and maybe get my job back?”
