Drowning

Day Number Eight

Eight days after the breakup, and I was starting to look forward to the semester starting. Maggie and I had gone out for dinner last night with Mark to Sophie's Steakhouse. We talked about what we had done for New Year's, which wasn't much. Mark had gone to bed early and Maggie and I had sat in front of the TV until about a minute after midnight so that we could watch the ball drop in New York. I didn't really have much to say about that holiday, since I didn't go to any parties and there was no one to kiss as the clock struck twelve. I've always wanted to go to New York for New Years, and maybe someday I'll be able to with my significant other. That night was pretty hard since I couldn't help wishing that Emmett was with me. That was only a few days after the breakup, so I hadn't fully regained myself.

I still wasn't back to normal. A week was not enough time to forgive and forget. I still missed him and everything he did. He would be leaving in a week, and then I would be sure to never see him again. I had mixed emotions on this, since I missed him so terribly but was angry all the same. I was sitting in my room, which was proving to be the usual spot for me, when the doorbell rang. I let Maggie get it and continued scrolling through the web page I had found on Michigan's Medical Program. I heard a scuffle outside my door and closed my laptop, pushing it aside and climbing off of my bed. I wrapped my arms around myself and debated grabbing a sweater since I was only in a pink tank top, but decided against it when I heard Maggie raise her voice.

I threw open my bedroom door and was met with the blue water of the lake I had been staring at the past eight days, but this time, it wasn't the lake. Maggie was standing somewhere behind him, but my focus was solely on the man in front of me. It had only been a week, but seeing him in person again was taking a toll on my physical well being. I felt my knees start to buckle and caught myself before I let the air rush from my lungs. The sea-blue eyes electrified and widened as they watched me almost fall, but calmed again once I was standing on my own two feet. I swiftly stepped back and reached for the door, slamming it in front of me and pressing down on the lock, keeping those transparent eyes from searching mine any longer.

"She doesn't want to talk to you, Emmett. Leave." Maggie's words hit me hard. Of course I wanted to talk to him, but I couldn't. I wasn't that weak and I wouldn't bend before him like he expected. "I'll wait for her." His voice was rough. It sounded like he hadn't used it in a while. It sent my emotions into frenzy and I debated opening the door, but stopped myself before I touched the handle. I was better than this, and if he thought I would be easy, he was out of his damn mind.

I heard his body hit my door and slide down to the floor. He was clearly sitting outside of my room. This would eventually work for him, but only if I had to go to the restroom. I had all of my supplies in here and I had eaten before he arrived. He would be out there for a while, and maybe the extended time would make him give up and leave, though a part of me hoped he wouldn't. It was hard trying to decipher these feelings.

I subconsciously turned my body away from the door and backed against it, sliding down and wrapping my arms around my knees. "Grace?" Emmett whispered from the other side. I jumped, forgetting that he was only inches away from me, but so far at the same time. I didn't know what he wanted, and I had no clue if I was strong enough to deal with whatever it was. I didn't answer him, and heard him sigh on the opposite side of the door.

We both sat there for an hour, just waiting each other out to see who would break first. I was tired and stressed. My legs had fallen asleep and my back hurt from being stuck in the same position for so long. I could have gotten up, but that would have meant a minor defeat. Emmett never moved from his side of the door, but I heard him messing with his clothes and hair through the wood. He was becoming fidgety, and I knew that I would only be there a few more moments before he got up to leave.