Trust (Sequel to Fire and Ice)

Chapter Five

     I'm sitting at the Dunkin Donuts down the street from me, waiting for Emmett to meet me here.  It's the same place I saw him after I lost my powers and he told me he was going to pick me up from work that night.  I smile at the memory.  Then, Emmett slides in the booth across from me.

     "Hey." he says awkwardly, knowing I'm mad at him.

     "Hey." I reply and we sit in awkward silence for a minute before I say something.  "I know that you were just doing what you think is right."

     "I know and I screwed up."

     "Yeah, you did."  I say, and he looks guilty, so I smile to let him know that this isn't me yelling at him.  "I'm not here to yell at you.  I just think that there's some things that we need to work out right now."

     "You're right."

     "You lied to me, when you knew I had trust issues."

     "I wanted to protect you." he says.

     "But that's just another part of the problem!" I exclaim.  "You can't keep trying to protect me when I don't need protecting!  I can take care of myself."

     "I just want to keep you safe." he whispers.

     "I know." I say gently, grabbing his hand from across the table and squeezing it.  "But you need to let me take care of myself."  He sighs, realizing that I'm right.  "No more lying, okay?"

     "No more lying." he says, smiling.  

     "I guess I should start being honest with you, then, huh?" He nods.  "I'm scared.  I'm scared that if you see how much problems I have, you'll realize that I'm too much of a burden  to deal with and leave."  He stares at me in shock at this.  

     "You think I'll leave you?" I nod, looking down.  "That's ridiculous.  Amy, I'm not just gonna leave you when things get tough.  I'm in it for the long run."  He squeezes my hand reassuringly and I look up and smile.  

     "I don't deserve how good you are to me."

     "Yes you do.  Now what's up?"

     "I feel like I can't do anything right these days.  It's like I'm not meant to be a superhero anymore."

     "You're the biggest hero I know!" he exclaims.  "You saved me when Alex took you, and you literally died in the process.  You went with him just to keep me safe."

     "But I almost got myself killed by him yesterday, even though I have powers and he doesn't!  I'm useless."  He shakes his head.

     "You are not useless.  Fighting you're crazy ex-boyfriend just probably isn't easy right?"  I laugh.

     "You have no idea."  We sit in silence for another minute, but this time it's not awkward.  "Do you want to talk about the nightmares?" I finally ask, softly.  He sighs, frowning.

     "I just keep on seeing you dying in my arms.  The first time was bad enough, but now I see it every night.  It kills me a little every time."  

     "It wasn't your fault.  Alex made you do it."

     "That's not what you've been saying in the dreams." I frown.  "You always blame me as you're dying.  You say it's my fault."

     "I would never blame you Emmett." I say reassuringly.  

     "I know. It's just hard to believe when I see you doing it every night."