Apples and Tim Tams

Chapter 6

A/N At the end of this chapter we get to see a little bit from Travis. I hope you all like it.

Holy shit!! I'd been so busy these last months I hadn't really given much thought to Travis. Exhaustion usually claimed me by the end of my day and I would crash into bed and sleep until I started it all over again the next day. I held my phone in shaking hands wondering if I should respond and even more, how I would respond. Before I could overthink it though another message popped up on my screen.

Travis: I'm sorry I haven't reached out to you before but the girls said you needed time and I wanted to give that to you. I really miss seeing you.

My heart was racing as I read his words and I was still trying to work out what I could say back. I suddenly realised that my feelings for Travis were still there, I guess they wouldn't just go away, right? I've liked this boy for years. Okay, I can do this.

Emma: Hey!

Well, that was great. Just one word. Jesus, what is wrong with me?

Emma: When suits you?

Shit.

Emma: I mean, I'd love to catch up.

Emma: You know, if that's what you meant?

What if he didn't mean that?

Seriously, it's like I've forgotten how to communicate. Shaking my head at my own ineptitude, I waited to see if he would answer.

Travis: I'm free now, are you?

Emma: Sure. Would you like to come over?

What? Come over? Here? I looked around my tiny unit and saw the mess of a week of putting off cleaning chores. Fuck, I'm an idiot.

Travis: That sounds great. What about if I get some food on my way over? Can you send me your address?

I sent him the address and then jumped up and started to madly clean my home. Thank God it's only small and I could get it done in a short amount of time. I looked down at myself and saw I was still in my work uniform but at that moment my door buzzer went off. Well, I guess my first time seeing Travis again was going to be in my uniform. Dammit.

I quickly unlocked the outside gate to let him in and within a couple of minutes he was knocking on the door. Travis stood in front of me holding a bag of takeaway and looked so damn good. I couldn't take my eyes off him and hadn't even said a word yet.

"Can I come in?" he said with a grin.

"Oh, umm yeah, yeah, of course. I'm sorry." I stepped back and let him in. I could feel myself wanting to apologise for how small my home was but stopped that train of thought. I was proud of what I had achieved. I loved my space and I didn't need to apologise for something I've worked so hard for.

"Wow this is great, Em. It looks like you've really settled in." He paused before continuing. "I'm just going to get this out upfront. I don't know all the details of what happened and I'm not sure how much you want to tell me but, Emma, from what I have been told you have done amazing things."

Travis smiled at me and put the food down on my dining table. Or desk as the case maybe.

"How much do you know?" I questioned as we sat down to eat. I was so nervous having him here I nearly knocked over my drink.

"Only that your mum made you leave. Your friends are very protective of you."

"Okay. Well, that's pretty much it." I told him all about coming home from the party that night and then the struggles to get myself set up as an independent adult. I glossed over a lot of the hard times because no-one needs to know about the sleepless nights and copious amounts of tears I shed.

"Wow." Travis sat back in his chair and seemed to be a bit dazed.

"Yeah, it's been real, let me tell you." I couldn't read Travis' expression but for some reason it made me uneasy. He seemed lost in thought and not good thought either.

I got up and started to clean up our mess from dinner when Travis abruptly stood up.

"I should go." He stated.

"Really? Already?" I didn't know what else to say. I wanted him to stay but wasn't sure how to ask him.

"Yeah, I've got some study to do and I told Amber I'd go to her place for the night." He walked to the door and turned to me as he reached it. "It's been nice seeing you again, Emma. Maybe we can do this again."

"You're back with Amber?" I could barely get the words out. My throat felt tight and I could feel tears forming in my eyes. "Why did you come here? Especially if you're with Amber?" I spat the last word out, anger also starting rise in me.

"Look, I just needed to see you. I, I don't know. Amber and I aren't together but she still means something to me. This was a bad idea." He sighed and opened the door. "You're so much more than what I expected, Em. You've made something of your life and I'm still treading water. I thought if I saw you I'd know what I wanted but I'm more confused now."

"Well that makes two of us, I guess. I'd say thanks for coming but you know what? Fuck you, Travis. Just go."

The sound of the door closing was all that I needed to let the tears loose. I curled up on my lounge and sobbed until I ran out of tears. I don't even understand what happened tonight. But I did know that this was the last time I'd cry over someone.

TRAVIS POV

I walked to my car trying to figure out what the hell I had just done. Why did I say anything about Amber? When Emma had opened the door I was surprised at how happy I felt seeing her after so long. Her friends hadn't said much about what was happening in her life and I didn't want to keep asking after her in case they thought I was some kind of weirdo stalker. I still took Tim Tams to lunch every day just because it made me feel somewhat closer to her. Tonight I had finally worked up the nerve to message her and I laughed reading her mixed up responses. She's still the same Emma, I had thought in relief. But then when I got there and I saw that she was really living on her own, had a cat and was so adult like I was intimidated. Listening to her tell me about what she had gone through and how she had coped made me realise that she had moved on with her life. I was still this dumb school kid who didn't work more than one shift a week at a fast food place and didn't have to make any decisions about life. The hardest thing I had to do was a little bit of study to keep my grades up. What exactly could I offer someone like Emma? She seemed so calm and centred and so sure of what she needed to do. My mind pretty much shut down and I ended up spewing out all that bullshit about Amber. I didn't even talk to Amber anymore. She had tried to start rumours about Em at school but Evan, West and Abby shut her down pretty quickly. I was ashamed that I didn't do anything and let her tell her lies for a few days before the girls confronted her. What kind of a friend was I?

I slowly drove off and kept thinking about ways I could redeem the situation. My 18th birthday was in a few weeks so maybe I could get her to come out with us all. I had plans to go clubbing to celebrate and I knew Emma was already 18 so hopefully she would be there. Even though I felt like I wasn't enough for her, tonight proved that I still really liked her, and I was prepared now to fix my dumbass mistake. I needed to speak to her girls and get them to help me. Surely it would work?