One Roof

Chapter 23

With Emily's exams done and dusted, she was finally free. With Christmas no more than a week away, Emily made her way back to Jakarta for the end-of-the-year vacation. Emily's family asked me to pick her up. She gave me the flight number, and I checked the flight tracker. The second she departed, I headed for the airport.

I now waited at the exit. Emily remained silent and seated. She then unbuckled her seatbelt and stood up. She lined up on the plane's aisle and slowly moved forward. With a smile, she thanked the flight attendant and walked past me. I pretend to not see her. I played with my phone as I waited for her to navigate the airport.

Like when she visited last September, she didn't have much with her. Based on how her hand looked to be dragging something, I assumed she had the same black suitcase that she brought last time. I then received a phone call from her. She must have entered the terminal. I picked it up and reduced my phone's volume to the minimum. It was our way to not look suspicious. I would still hear Emily's real voice ahead of the phone, although only slightly.

It bothered me a bit, but if we suddenly talked normally in a public space like this, people would surely look our way.

"I'll take a while, since I need to wait for baggage."

She said, I guess my assumption was wrong.

"Sure, don't worry about me."

"Thanks."

As I waited for her, I thought of where I should take her. I would be making my way home to Jakarta as well, to my family's house. Emily's family had been kind enough to lend me their sedan.

The problem was that I couldn't sleep last night, and ended up waking up late. I regretted not packing up earlier, thinking that since I didn't have much stuff, I would just take things and go home immediately after picking Emily up. As it turned out, I overslept and rushed to the airport the second I woke up. I hadn't even eaten breakfast yet.

The mall across from my apartment was a viable option. I hope Emily didn't mind waiting a bit there.

I decided to ask about it once we were already in the car and turned off the call. After around fifteen minutes, Emily appeared from inside the terminal.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yes, a very long while."

Hearing my intonation, Emily giggled. I then took her to the car. Emily put her suitcase in the trunk and climbed onto the passenger seat beside me.

"Do you mind waiting for me?"

I asked as I pulled my seatbelt.

"Sure."

I was surprised that she didn't even ask what for, but I decided to explain anyway.

"I overslept and left some of my stuff back at my apartment. Don't worry, there's a mall across the street that you can go to."

"I don't mind going to your apartment, though."

She said. I heard a click coming from her seatbelt.

"Are you sure?"

"I mean, we're just picking up some stuff, right? Besides, I'm curious about your apartment as well."

"It's leased, though, so I don't change it much."

"It's fine."

"Well, if you say so."

I couldn't force Emily off anyway, although I didn't get what benefit she would have from visiting my apartment.

The drive took us slightly longer than expected thanks to traffic. After forty minutes, we arrived in front of my apartment building. We made our way through the lobby, passing the receptionist's desk and heading directly for the elevators. It felt weird because this time, Emily was actually standing beside me. All this time, it was just a shadow of her following me around, but now, the real physical being stood there.