Prequel to As Lovers Go 10
*Believe it or not, this is the second to last update before we are back at the beginning of the first story! That's so crazy to me. It wont be the end though, no worries. I'm going to fill in some gaps from the first story.
*This is a work of fiction. Current events never cease to make that more and more clear*
Zooey sighed as she brought a steaming mug of tea into her living room. Standing over her sister, Zooey frowned at the older woman’s tear stained face.
“It’s calming tea.” Zooey explained, as she handed the mug to her. Emily had arrived at the door of the bottom half of the duplex four hours before. Dressed in her Temperance Brennan wardrobe, hair, and make-up, she had come right from the set, and Zooey had known at once that something was wrong.
Emily had spent the time crying and telling her sister everything that had gone down with David. Once it seemed she had no tears left to cry, she sat numbly on the sofa and closed off completely.
Zooey wasn’t sure what else to do. She had listened, and offered advice, and attempted all the comforting things she knew of, but, nothing had helped.
“I ruined everything.” Emily had cried, over and over and there was absolutely nothing Zooey could say to change her sister’s mind. A part of her was angry at David. If David had just kept things professional and never turned his charm on his co-star, nothing would have ever happened. But, the rational side of Zooey knew that wasn’t really the case. She was finally starting to understand Emily and David’s relationship. Well, as much as an outsider could understand. No matter what the circumstances, she felt that the two would have been drawn together either way.
From across her pale blue living room, Zooey watched her sister stoically sip at her tea. Loud banging from upstairs echoed through the room and a pleading voice calling out for Emily could be heard faintly every once and awhile. Neither girl flinched or even acted surprised. The commotion had been going on for awhile.
Seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned into an hour. The miniature, antique grandfather clock struck 12. The loud chimes drowned out all other noise. The chiming signaled the last straw for Zooey.
“Seriously Em, how long are you going to let him stay out there?” She was exasperated. Just when she thought her sister was going to ignore her all together, Emily opened her mouth and a painful sound came out.
“Until he goes home. It’s over. I ruined it. I don’t need him in here telling me that all over again.”
The clock stopped chiming, and once again, the room was filled with loud bangs and desperate pleading. Rolling her eyes, Zooey stood up in a flash and threw her hands into the air.
Her and her sister were partners in crime. She would side with her forever, even if she were wrong. But, she couldn’t help but feel slightly bad for the man upstairs. Looking up at the ceiling, Zooey let out a puff of air. “Do you even hear that pitiful grovelling? I highly doubt he’s here to tell you it’s over. That doesn’t make sense anyway. You can’t be over. You star on a show, together.” Zooey didn’t mean to snap at her sister, but, the sheer ridiculousness of the situation was getting on her last nerve.
David and Emily needed help. They needed therapy...or counseling...or...someone to lock them in a room together for several hours. She would never endorse a relationship between them. Zooey had always felt, and still felt that the two together romantically would be a recipe for disaster. But, it was obvious that they couldn’t function without being in each others lives in some way or another.
“If you feel so bad about what happened, the least you could do is hear him out.”
“All of West Hollywood can hear him!” Snapped Emily. “After the things he said to me...he thinks he can just come here and fix it all?” Emily’s tone was getting angry and it surprised Zooey. Arching her brow, she moved cautiously away from the sofa, but still focused on her sister.
“So...you’re also mad at him?” This was news to her. Since the time she arrived, Emily had done nothing but cry and hate on herself.
“Of course I’m mad, wouldn’t you be?” Defended Emily, and Zooey raised her hands in surrender.
Narrowing her bright blue eyes she replied, “Yes! I just find it interesting that you don’t get angry until he shows up. It’s like you two just aren’t happy unless you are fighting.” Something dawned on Zooey then and she made a disgusted noise. “It’s like you guys are using this as an excuse to have make-up sex!”
It took Emily less than a fraction of a second to yell, “Zooey!”
“That’s it, I’m letting him in and you two are going to figure this out.” Emily stood up in protest, but Zooey had already left the room and was at the door. “It’s for your own good!” Emily protested even as Zooey shut the door and stepped out into the hallway.
The stair way that led up to Emily’s apartment was long and winding, but Zooey climbed up the familiar steps with ease. The sight she met when she reached the top was not one she was prepared for.
David was slumped against Emily’s door. His arms and legs were spread out in front of him like a child. His hair was standing up in every direction and his clothes, also the ones he had been wearing on set, were a rumpled mess.
“Oh my god.” She mumbled, unaccustomed to seeing the man as anything but put together. Though she had heard Emily’s stories, and knew he was prone to falling apart at the seams, she had never seen it for herself.
His unfocused eyes found hers and for a second, they brightened. Standing up in a flash of limbs, he allowed his eyes to focus in the dimly lit hallway. David’s face noticeably fell when he realized it was Zooey and not Emily.
“What the hell are you doing?” Zooey questioned in outrage. “It’s midnight. You’ve been at it for hours. Haven’t you gotten the memo that my sister isn’t home?”
“I...I thought she was ignoring me...her cars outside.” He stuttered as if he was answering to his mother. Zooey was tiny in stature, but her fiery personality was anything but.
“Well, she is ignoring you, but she’s not here.” David eyed up Zooey in contemplation of her words. Crossing her arms over her chest, she felt suddenly self conscious in her cream colored pajamas.
“Where is she?” He pleaded, sounding all sorts of broken. Looking into his emotional eyes, Zooey understood why it was so hard for her sister to resist him. He looked like a lost puppy dog. There was nothing Emily’s bleeding heart cared for more than a lost puppy dog. If Zooey didn’t resent him so much, she would have bridged the gap between them and given him a hug.
“That depends what you want her for.”
David was taking aback by her words. “What?”
“Why. Are. You. Here.” She said in a slow and deliberate tone. Zooey already knew. It was obvious the man was a few seconds away from crawling back to Emily with his tail between his legs.
“I need to fix this. I need to apologize. I can’t handle not having her in my life.” He would have gone on and on, but Zooey held up a hand to stop him.
“Woah, woah, save the crying for her.” She complained when she saw his eyes starting to tear up. He was hopeless. Emily was hopeless. Zooey... just wanted to go to sleep.
“Where is she?” He pleaded once again.
Letting out a groan of annoyance, Zooey shook her head. “You two need to get your act together!” She told him in a stern tone. “This is insane. You’re both...insane. She’s been in my apartment crying for the past four hours and there is absolutely nothing I can do to help her. I’m her sister!”
Zooey had been holding in her frustration all night and it felt good to finally release it. “You need to get your ass down there and fix it because, you’re the only one that can! Then hopefully I can get some sleep. I need to be at the studio in five hours.”
David didn’t dare say anything. Instead, he stared dumbly as Zooey disciplined him. When she finally stopped, he was too confused to even reply. “Well? Are you coming or not?”
David blinked. “You uh...you’re letting me see her?”
Throwing her hands up in the air, Zooey gave up and started walking down the steps. “Were you listening to anything I just said! Yes, go see her. Fix whatever mess you two created. She doesn’t want to see you, but, too bad. I’m tired!”
Hesitantly, David followed her down the steps. His legs felt weak and wobbly from lack of use. Just before they reached the bottom, Zooey turned back towards him suddenly. He had to grab on to the railing to stop himself from falling into her.
Her eyes were flashing with anger and she pointed a finger at his chest. “Don’t you ever make my sister cry again!” She snapped, but kept her voice low. The tone of her voice scared him more than the words.
“I wont.” His reply didn’t come out as confident as he wanted it to and she narrowed her eyes. He thought for a second she was going to continue scolding him, but instead, she turned and went down the rest of the steps.
David didn’t know what to expect when he followed Zooey through her front door. Him and Emily had never been so far apart. He had no idea if it could be fixed, but he had to try. He owed it to them to try.
His chest tightened as he walked into the foyer and absentmindedly closed the door behind him. Emily and Zooey were complete opposite in terms of decorating and furniture, but he paid no attention to those details. His mind was too busy trying to figure out what he was going to do.
The living room wasn’t directly visible and his legs seemed to be glued to the tile floor. Glancing at Zooey with wide eyes, he was sort of glad when she gave him a friendly shove in the right direction.
“Go!” Her voice was just above a whisper. She knew that her sister was listening to every word. When he didn’t move, Zooey groaned and walked into the living room. The rational part of his mind told him to move, so, he did.
In less than 30 seconds, he was standing in the living room. His stomach threatened to over turn when his eyes landed on Emily. As soon as she saw him, she stood up and they stared at each other in silence.
Minutes ticked by where neither knew what to say. They both felt many of the same emotions Once again, Zooey was forced to step in. Walking in the footsteps of younger siblings everywhere, she blurted, “for god sakes! You guys are hopeless! You’ll never get anywhere if you don’t say anything.”
Normally Emily would scold her for butting in, but she seemed to not even notice that her younger sister had spoken at all.
“Emily...”
“David...” They spoke in unison and somehow, it made things even more tense. They were back to square one. One of them needed to break the stalemate, but they were so disconnected that neither knew what to do.
Finally, after taking a few shallow breaths, David stepped closer to her. His movement seemed to break Emily out of the trance she had been in. Her pale blue eyes widened as he came within a few feet of her. She was afraid of him. Though she could see how upset he was, she was afraid of what he was going to say.
“I’m sorry.” Was the first thing he said. On some occasions, it was the only thing that needed to be said, but this wasn’t one of them. “Those things I said...” David’s voice trailed off and his eyes shut as if he were reliving them in his mind. “I never meant them. They were...awful.” His voice was raw and full of emotion. No matter how angry he was at her, no matter how badly she had hurt him, he couldn’t feel okay with the things he had said to her. She didn’t deserve that. Their partnership was based on friendship, respect, and trust. He couldn’t get over the fact that he had breached those things with a few harsh words.
Emily’s cheeks blushed red and she shook her head. She hadn’t expected him to apologize to her. She felt she was the one that needed to do the apologizing. “No...I’m sorry.” He opened his mouth ready to interject, but she wouldn’t let him. “I hurt you. I ruined things. I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted to do the right thing.”
Her voice sounded innocent and heart broken, like she were a child who was confessing to her parents. “You didn’t ruin it.” He finally told her once she had stopped speaking. “We’re not ruined.”
Sniffling, she blinked backed tears and shook her head again. “I wish I could believe that.”
Instead of replying, David smiled sadly and bridged the gap between them. Before she could move away, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. He needed to physically touch her. He needed to feel that connection again.
Emily was tense at first. He was concerned she would pull away, but, she eventually loosened up and wrapped her arms around him. They stood like that for awhile and Zooey decided to use that as her excuse to exit.
“Well then...I’ll just be in my room.” David who could see Zooey from his vantage point, sent her a soft smile in appreciation.
30 minutes later, Emily and David were sitting on the sofa. There was still a gap between them, but it was nothing like it had been earlier that day.
“I didn’t do this to hurt you.” She blurted out. Emily was nervous and just wanted to get out what was on her mind before she forgot it all. They were both facing forwards and had to turn their necks at awkward angles to see each other. “I’m doing this for us. Keeping things platonic is for the best.”
“It may be for the best, but is it what you want?” David turned his body so that he was facing her. His brown eyes bore into hers unaccusingly, but she refused to look at him.
“I want was is best for us...and the show.”
“You know the show will be fine no matter what. We could make it work.” He replied hotly, but then remembered he had not come to argue with her. He had come to fix things.
“Please don’t fight me on this.” Pleaded Emily and she finally turned to face him. When their eyes met, and each could see how broken down the other was, they knew that there would no more fighting.
“I don’t want to fight with you.” He told her honestly. “I didn’t come to fight. I just wanted...” David trailed off to give himself time to get his thoughts in order. “I just came here to tell you that no matter what you decide, I’m okay with it.”
Emily’s brows furrowed in surprise, but she didn’t interrupt him. “I can’t loose you. I need you in my life. If that’s just as a friend and partner...then I’ll take it.”
“David...” She argued, her tone barely a whisper. Her eyes were still filled with emotions, but she had gotten control of them, and tears were no longer threatening to spill down her cheeks.
David didn’t give her the chance to speak, and Emily was a little grateful, because she had no idea what she should say. “I’m hurt. I’m not going to pretend like I’m not, but, what we have is something special. I know it.” Though there were also a lot of emotions pooling in his brown eyes, his tone was confident. It never quivered. “I wont let this destroy that.”
“I’m sorry. I really am.” She wasn’t begging for his forgiveness, but, her tone did have a hint of desperation. It was important to her that they could still work together, create a friendly work environment together, and most important, continue their partnership, together.
Instead of telling Emily that he would be mad at her for awhile, but would eventually be okay, he smiled softly and wrapped his arms around her. She let out a surprised squeak, but accepted the hug.
“I don’t know how we got ourselves into this mess.” She mumbled against his chest.
“I don’t know either.”
An hour later, Zooey should have been sleeping. But, instead, she found herself creeping out of her bedroom door and into the living room. A part of her had expected David to have stormed out or Emily to have kicked him out....or even, them to be on opposite sides of the room. What she actually saw, surprised her.
On the sofa, David and Emily sat beside each other. Her head rested against his shoulder and they were both sound asleep. Putting her hands on her hips, Zooey sighed. “If I had to live your life I’d loose my mind.” She mumbled to herself.
Assuming they were out for the remainder of the early morning, she went about turning out the lights. She wouldn’t worry about where they had to be in the morning or who would wonder where they were. She had done her good deed for the day.
*This is a work of fiction. Current events never cease to make that more and more clear*
Zooey sighed as she brought a steaming mug of tea into her living room. Standing over her sister, Zooey frowned at the older woman’s tear stained face.
“It’s calming tea.” Zooey explained, as she handed the mug to her. Emily had arrived at the door of the bottom half of the duplex four hours before. Dressed in her Temperance Brennan wardrobe, hair, and make-up, she had come right from the set, and Zooey had known at once that something was wrong.
Emily had spent the time crying and telling her sister everything that had gone down with David. Once it seemed she had no tears left to cry, she sat numbly on the sofa and closed off completely.
Zooey wasn’t sure what else to do. She had listened, and offered advice, and attempted all the comforting things she knew of, but, nothing had helped.
“I ruined everything.” Emily had cried, over and over and there was absolutely nothing Zooey could say to change her sister’s mind. A part of her was angry at David. If David had just kept things professional and never turned his charm on his co-star, nothing would have ever happened. But, the rational side of Zooey knew that wasn’t really the case. She was finally starting to understand Emily and David’s relationship. Well, as much as an outsider could understand. No matter what the circumstances, she felt that the two would have been drawn together either way.
From across her pale blue living room, Zooey watched her sister stoically sip at her tea. Loud banging from upstairs echoed through the room and a pleading voice calling out for Emily could be heard faintly every once and awhile. Neither girl flinched or even acted surprised. The commotion had been going on for awhile.
Seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned into an hour. The miniature, antique grandfather clock struck 12. The loud chimes drowned out all other noise. The chiming signaled the last straw for Zooey.
“Seriously Em, how long are you going to let him stay out there?” She was exasperated. Just when she thought her sister was going to ignore her all together, Emily opened her mouth and a painful sound came out.
“Until he goes home. It’s over. I ruined it. I don’t need him in here telling me that all over again.”
The clock stopped chiming, and once again, the room was filled with loud bangs and desperate pleading. Rolling her eyes, Zooey stood up in a flash and threw her hands into the air.
Her and her sister were partners in crime. She would side with her forever, even if she were wrong. But, she couldn’t help but feel slightly bad for the man upstairs. Looking up at the ceiling, Zooey let out a puff of air. “Do you even hear that pitiful grovelling? I highly doubt he’s here to tell you it’s over. That doesn’t make sense anyway. You can’t be over. You star on a show, together.” Zooey didn’t mean to snap at her sister, but, the sheer ridiculousness of the situation was getting on her last nerve.
David and Emily needed help. They needed therapy...or counseling...or...someone to lock them in a room together for several hours. She would never endorse a relationship between them. Zooey had always felt, and still felt that the two together romantically would be a recipe for disaster. But, it was obvious that they couldn’t function without being in each others lives in some way or another.
“If you feel so bad about what happened, the least you could do is hear him out.”
“All of West Hollywood can hear him!” Snapped Emily. “After the things he said to me...he thinks he can just come here and fix it all?” Emily’s tone was getting angry and it surprised Zooey. Arching her brow, she moved cautiously away from the sofa, but still focused on her sister.
“So...you’re also mad at him?” This was news to her. Since the time she arrived, Emily had done nothing but cry and hate on herself.
“Of course I’m mad, wouldn’t you be?” Defended Emily, and Zooey raised her hands in surrender.
Narrowing her bright blue eyes she replied, “Yes! I just find it interesting that you don’t get angry until he shows up. It’s like you two just aren’t happy unless you are fighting.” Something dawned on Zooey then and she made a disgusted noise. “It’s like you guys are using this as an excuse to have make-up sex!”
It took Emily less than a fraction of a second to yell, “Zooey!”
“That’s it, I’m letting him in and you two are going to figure this out.” Emily stood up in protest, but Zooey had already left the room and was at the door. “It’s for your own good!” Emily protested even as Zooey shut the door and stepped out into the hallway.
The stair way that led up to Emily’s apartment was long and winding, but Zooey climbed up the familiar steps with ease. The sight she met when she reached the top was not one she was prepared for.
David was slumped against Emily’s door. His arms and legs were spread out in front of him like a child. His hair was standing up in every direction and his clothes, also the ones he had been wearing on set, were a rumpled mess.
“Oh my god.” She mumbled, unaccustomed to seeing the man as anything but put together. Though she had heard Emily’s stories, and knew he was prone to falling apart at the seams, she had never seen it for herself.
His unfocused eyes found hers and for a second, they brightened. Standing up in a flash of limbs, he allowed his eyes to focus in the dimly lit hallway. David’s face noticeably fell when he realized it was Zooey and not Emily.
“What the hell are you doing?” Zooey questioned in outrage. “It’s midnight. You’ve been at it for hours. Haven’t you gotten the memo that my sister isn’t home?”
“I...I thought she was ignoring me...her cars outside.” He stuttered as if he was answering to his mother. Zooey was tiny in stature, but her fiery personality was anything but.
“Well, she is ignoring you, but she’s not here.” David eyed up Zooey in contemplation of her words. Crossing her arms over her chest, she felt suddenly self conscious in her cream colored pajamas.
“Where is she?” He pleaded, sounding all sorts of broken. Looking into his emotional eyes, Zooey understood why it was so hard for her sister to resist him. He looked like a lost puppy dog. There was nothing Emily’s bleeding heart cared for more than a lost puppy dog. If Zooey didn’t resent him so much, she would have bridged the gap between them and given him a hug.
“That depends what you want her for.”
David was taking aback by her words. “What?”
“Why. Are. You. Here.” She said in a slow and deliberate tone. Zooey already knew. It was obvious the man was a few seconds away from crawling back to Emily with his tail between his legs.
“I need to fix this. I need to apologize. I can’t handle not having her in my life.” He would have gone on and on, but Zooey held up a hand to stop him.
“Woah, woah, save the crying for her.” She complained when she saw his eyes starting to tear up. He was hopeless. Emily was hopeless. Zooey... just wanted to go to sleep.
“Where is she?” He pleaded once again.
Letting out a groan of annoyance, Zooey shook her head. “You two need to get your act together!” She told him in a stern tone. “This is insane. You’re both...insane. She’s been in my apartment crying for the past four hours and there is absolutely nothing I can do to help her. I’m her sister!”
Zooey had been holding in her frustration all night and it felt good to finally release it. “You need to get your ass down there and fix it because, you’re the only one that can! Then hopefully I can get some sleep. I need to be at the studio in five hours.”
David didn’t dare say anything. Instead, he stared dumbly as Zooey disciplined him. When she finally stopped, he was too confused to even reply. “Well? Are you coming or not?”
David blinked. “You uh...you’re letting me see her?”
Throwing her hands up in the air, Zooey gave up and started walking down the steps. “Were you listening to anything I just said! Yes, go see her. Fix whatever mess you two created. She doesn’t want to see you, but, too bad. I’m tired!”
Hesitantly, David followed her down the steps. His legs felt weak and wobbly from lack of use. Just before they reached the bottom, Zooey turned back towards him suddenly. He had to grab on to the railing to stop himself from falling into her.
Her eyes were flashing with anger and she pointed a finger at his chest. “Don’t you ever make my sister cry again!” She snapped, but kept her voice low. The tone of her voice scared him more than the words.
“I wont.” His reply didn’t come out as confident as he wanted it to and she narrowed her eyes. He thought for a second she was going to continue scolding him, but instead, she turned and went down the rest of the steps.
David didn’t know what to expect when he followed Zooey through her front door. Him and Emily had never been so far apart. He had no idea if it could be fixed, but he had to try. He owed it to them to try.
His chest tightened as he walked into the foyer and absentmindedly closed the door behind him. Emily and Zooey were complete opposite in terms of decorating and furniture, but he paid no attention to those details. His mind was too busy trying to figure out what he was going to do.
The living room wasn’t directly visible and his legs seemed to be glued to the tile floor. Glancing at Zooey with wide eyes, he was sort of glad when she gave him a friendly shove in the right direction.
“Go!” Her voice was just above a whisper. She knew that her sister was listening to every word. When he didn’t move, Zooey groaned and walked into the living room. The rational part of his mind told him to move, so, he did.
In less than 30 seconds, he was standing in the living room. His stomach threatened to over turn when his eyes landed on Emily. As soon as she saw him, she stood up and they stared at each other in silence.
Minutes ticked by where neither knew what to say. They both felt many of the same emotions Once again, Zooey was forced to step in. Walking in the footsteps of younger siblings everywhere, she blurted, “for god sakes! You guys are hopeless! You’ll never get anywhere if you don’t say anything.”
Normally Emily would scold her for butting in, but she seemed to not even notice that her younger sister had spoken at all.
“Emily...”
“David...” They spoke in unison and somehow, it made things even more tense. They were back to square one. One of them needed to break the stalemate, but they were so disconnected that neither knew what to do.
Finally, after taking a few shallow breaths, David stepped closer to her. His movement seemed to break Emily out of the trance she had been in. Her pale blue eyes widened as he came within a few feet of her. She was afraid of him. Though she could see how upset he was, she was afraid of what he was going to say.
“I’m sorry.” Was the first thing he said. On some occasions, it was the only thing that needed to be said, but this wasn’t one of them. “Those things I said...” David’s voice trailed off and his eyes shut as if he were reliving them in his mind. “I never meant them. They were...awful.” His voice was raw and full of emotion. No matter how angry he was at her, no matter how badly she had hurt him, he couldn’t feel okay with the things he had said to her. She didn’t deserve that. Their partnership was based on friendship, respect, and trust. He couldn’t get over the fact that he had breached those things with a few harsh words.
Emily’s cheeks blushed red and she shook her head. She hadn’t expected him to apologize to her. She felt she was the one that needed to do the apologizing. “No...I’m sorry.” He opened his mouth ready to interject, but she wouldn’t let him. “I hurt you. I ruined things. I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted to do the right thing.”
Her voice sounded innocent and heart broken, like she were a child who was confessing to her parents. “You didn’t ruin it.” He finally told her once she had stopped speaking. “We’re not ruined.”
Sniffling, she blinked backed tears and shook her head again. “I wish I could believe that.”
Instead of replying, David smiled sadly and bridged the gap between them. Before she could move away, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. He needed to physically touch her. He needed to feel that connection again.
Emily was tense at first. He was concerned she would pull away, but, she eventually loosened up and wrapped her arms around him. They stood like that for awhile and Zooey decided to use that as her excuse to exit.
“Well then...I’ll just be in my room.” David who could see Zooey from his vantage point, sent her a soft smile in appreciation.
30 minutes later, Emily and David were sitting on the sofa. There was still a gap between them, but it was nothing like it had been earlier that day.
“I didn’t do this to hurt you.” She blurted out. Emily was nervous and just wanted to get out what was on her mind before she forgot it all. They were both facing forwards and had to turn their necks at awkward angles to see each other. “I’m doing this for us. Keeping things platonic is for the best.”
“It may be for the best, but is it what you want?” David turned his body so that he was facing her. His brown eyes bore into hers unaccusingly, but she refused to look at him.
“I want was is best for us...and the show.”
“You know the show will be fine no matter what. We could make it work.” He replied hotly, but then remembered he had not come to argue with her. He had come to fix things.
“Please don’t fight me on this.” Pleaded Emily and she finally turned to face him. When their eyes met, and each could see how broken down the other was, they knew that there would no more fighting.
“I don’t want to fight with you.” He told her honestly. “I didn’t come to fight. I just wanted...” David trailed off to give himself time to get his thoughts in order. “I just came here to tell you that no matter what you decide, I’m okay with it.”
Emily’s brows furrowed in surprise, but she didn’t interrupt him. “I can’t loose you. I need you in my life. If that’s just as a friend and partner...then I’ll take it.”
“David...” She argued, her tone barely a whisper. Her eyes were still filled with emotions, but she had gotten control of them, and tears were no longer threatening to spill down her cheeks.
David didn’t give her the chance to speak, and Emily was a little grateful, because she had no idea what she should say. “I’m hurt. I’m not going to pretend like I’m not, but, what we have is something special. I know it.” Though there were also a lot of emotions pooling in his brown eyes, his tone was confident. It never quivered. “I wont let this destroy that.”
“I’m sorry. I really am.” She wasn’t begging for his forgiveness, but, her tone did have a hint of desperation. It was important to her that they could still work together, create a friendly work environment together, and most important, continue their partnership, together.
Instead of telling Emily that he would be mad at her for awhile, but would eventually be okay, he smiled softly and wrapped his arms around her. She let out a surprised squeak, but accepted the hug.
“I don’t know how we got ourselves into this mess.” She mumbled against his chest.
“I don’t know either.”
An hour later, Zooey should have been sleeping. But, instead, she found herself creeping out of her bedroom door and into the living room. A part of her had expected David to have stormed out or Emily to have kicked him out....or even, them to be on opposite sides of the room. What she actually saw, surprised her.
On the sofa, David and Emily sat beside each other. Her head rested against his shoulder and they were both sound asleep. Putting her hands on her hips, Zooey sighed. “If I had to live your life I’d loose my mind.” She mumbled to herself.
Assuming they were out for the remainder of the early morning, she went about turning out the lights. She wouldn’t worry about where they had to be in the morning or who would wonder where they were. She had done her good deed for the day.