Against the Law

Chapter 18: Friends

Emily's POV:

"So... you do love me?" James asked me.

Sniffling, I nod. "Yes, I do. I have terrible experiences with having people in my life who claim they love me. I was just scared. I wasn't expecting it, and I definitely wasn't prepared for the aftermath." My voice held a little bit of venom.

I know it's not his fault, it was a messed-up situation, but I didn't think he'd just go be with some random girl. He proved my point enough when he decided to kiss her and do whatever else they did together.

"I told you I was sorry about that. It was a huge mistake. I wish I could take it back." I stared down at my hands, picking at my fingernails as he continued to talk. "When you didn't say anything back, I was devastated. After the amazing night we had together, I thought you felt the same way. When you didn't, I was pissed..."

I scoffed. "I understand that you were mad. You had a right to be too. But when I saw you kiss her, James, it hasn't left my mind. Even if I was pissed at you, I would never do what you did to me." I wiped my eyes for what felt like the thousandth time. I watched James as he contemplated everything I said. "Listen, it's late, I'm exhausted and I'm sure you are too. Let's just go to bed, huh?"

As I was getting up, James grabbed me around the waist and held me there just hugging me. "J-James, please..."

"I know you have to leave. But please, I still have so much to say to you." I sighed and sat back down. "Thank you."

I nodded for him to continue. "Well, first, I don't want things to end between us, but I understand where you stand, for now. So, could we still be friends at least? I don't want you to leave my life."

Thinking for a few long seconds, I finally answer. "Okay... but you have to give me some time, okay?"

He nodded with a smile on his face, "Of course. Secondly, you already heard this from me, but I am so sorry, Emily. I was scared, but that's no excuse for me to act the way I did."

I nodded at him. "I'm sorry too. I should've expressed myself better or explained myself better too maybe."

"No." James shook his head. "You can't put that on yourself. You've had a rough past, and I should've thought of that before I did what I did." He then stood up, opening his arms. "Friends?"

I smiled, walking into his open arms. "Friends."

___

As Alex helped me settle into my new room at her place, we sat down to take a break.

"You doing okay, girl?" I sighed, giving her a sad smile.

"I'll be fine, Alex. Trust me." I could already see that she didn't believe me for a second, but thankfully she didn't ask me again. "Thanks for letting me stay here, by the way. This was totally sweet of you."

"No problem, girl." Alex gave me a huge grin. It looked like she was about to say more but was interrupted by a knock at the front door. "One second..." she says, then leaves the room. Seconds later, I heard her scream, "BABY!"

I ran downstairs to see her wrapped around a tall guy, making out with him. She squealed, hugging him again. "What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting you at least another week!"

He grinned, kissing her passionately before speaking again, "I wanted to surprise you, baby. I missed you so much." Just then, his eyes caught mine, and he gave me a creepy smile while eyeing me up and down. He put his arm around her, turning towards me. "Who is this?"

Alex smiled. "Emily, this is my boyfriend, Jeremy. Jeremy, Emily."

"It's nice to meet you, Emily." He continued to smile at me.

"It's nice to meet you too." We all stood there awkwardly. So, I decided to release some of the tension. "Well, I'll give you guys some time to catch up."

"Are you sure, Em?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, of course! I have some unpacking to do anyways."

"Thanks, Em." She took his hand, and dragged him to her bedroom, closing the door, laughing some.

I decided my mind was too full of thoughts of James, and I could hear what was going on in the room downstairs, so I put my headphones on, and began unpacking. So, with my favorite playlist queued up, I hit play and let the familiar melodies was over me.

As I began to unpack, I tried to focus on my tasks, but it was no use. I couldn't focus. Even though the boxes that surrounded me held promise of new beginnings and possibilities, I was still distracted. And if I wanted this place to feel like home, I had to dive into work.

As I determined to keep myself busy, the noise from the room downstairs became nothing more than a distant murmur, drowned out by the melodies that danced in my ears.

Soon enough, I was lost in my own little world, my hands worked methodically, finding the perfect spots for what little possessions I held. Each item I unpacked held their own little memory or story. As I carefully picked out places for them, I felt a connection to my new home.

Time flew by as I continued to unpack. The room gradually transformed from a maze of boxes to a cozy and inviting space. When I finally pause to take a breath, I looked around and couldn't help but feel happy with how it looked so far.

I took my headphones out and left the room to go find Alex. "Hey, Alex. I was going to order some pizza. Want to come order it with me?" As the door flew open, I was unhappy with the sight in front of me as it left me with a sinking feeling in my gut.

"Hey, Emily. Alex had to go out, but I'm starved after all the... activities I've been up to with Alex. Do you want to order a pizza together?" I moved back to give myself some distance from him.

"Umm, I'll just wait for Alex, thanks."

"Nonsense. We should get to know each other. Let's order that pizza." he told me, leaving the bedroom.

"O-okay..."