Chances

Chances Ch. 22

"Thanks for the ride, babe." I say, leaning into him and kissing him. "No problem. Love you. I'll be here at 6." He says, kissing me back. I meet Derek and Daniel inside and start working as soon as Derek does, except today I'm working at the café.

After a long day of taking people's orders and making espressos, I'm definitely ready to go home. Derek has already left, so Daniel and I are left alone to close the shop. "You have a ride home?" He asks me, looking at his watch. "Yeah. He'll be here at 6." I say. "It's 5 minutes past 6." He says, raising one of his eyebrows.

"I'm sure he's on his way."

"I'm not leaving you here alone. I'll wait with you. If he's not here in 20 minutes, I'll take you home, alright?" He says.

"Thank you." I smile.

5 minutes pass. I call Julian, no answer.

Ten.

15.

Twenty.

"Alright, I'm taking you home." Daniel says, looking at his watch one last time. I search around the parking lot, but there's no sign of Julian. I hope he's okay.

"Sorry." I say to him, embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it, really, I don't mind." He smiles.

After I give him Julian's address, we walk out in the somewhat dark parking lot to a gold 2000 Honda. A girly car for a masculine man.

"What kind of music do you like?" He asks me as his engine roars. "Anything, really."

He pops in a CD of The Cure.

"I didn't picture you as a Cure kind of guy." I say, looking over at him.

"Never judge a book by its cover." He says. I take a brief look at him then look back on the road. He's wearing a light purple button up shirt with black slacks and black shoes. A pretty generic combo, but he makes it interesting.

What am I thinking? This is my boss that I'm talking about. But he is undeniably handsome..

"Here we are." He says, stopping the car and unlocking the doors.

"I can't thank you enough, Mr. Andrews." I say as I get out of the car.

"See you on Monday." He says, giving me that winsome smile before driving off.

I walk up to the door, thinking about what I'll say to Julian. I twist the doorknob, since it's already unlocked, and I walk in on what makes me want to vomit. It's Juliet. And Julian. Juliet is in Julian's lap, facing him, and kissing him. All of a sudden, everything is in slow motion, and my only reaction is to cover my mouth.

"Oh. My. God." I whisper whilst a tear trickles down my face. You've got to be fucking kidding me. Juliet jumps off of him and looks at me. Once he sees me, he runs a worried hand through his hair and starts walking toward me. I'm frozen at the doorway. Juliet apologizes to me and walks around me outside, but I ignore it. Julian pulls me inside and shuts the door behind us.

I rush to the bathroom to hide my tears, but Julian grips my arm and holds me back. "Wait." He says, his voice cracking.

"Don't fucking touch me." I calmly say. He lets go, allowing me to run upstairs and lock myself in the bathroom. I sit on the toilet seat and stare at myself in the mirror, wiping my makeup off with a wet rag as I softly cry.

I wake up to a shining light through the bathroom window. I'm hunched over on a toilet seat with mascara smeared all over my cheeks. I walk closely to the mirror and wash my face, then quietly open the door, not wanting to awake the devil. I really don't want to deal with him right now. When the door is all the way open, I see Julian in front of the bathroom door asleep on the floor. I go in the chest of drawers and take out every ounce of clothes that belongs to me, putting it in my old bag. I then take with me my toiletries, along with my makeup, and sit down next to Julian who is still passed out. I look down at him with sorrow. There's a notepad of his on his dresser, so I take that with a pen and write him a note. I lay down the house key that he gave me next to him and kiss his forehead.

"I will always love you." I whisper, as one last tear falls from my face.

I grab my bag and leave his room with dignity, making my way to my car.

I pray before starting it, and thankfully, it starts. I take one last look at his place, then leave.

The only destination I can think of is Leila's place, so I find my way there. After a few knocks, she greets me with a happy yet unexpected look.

"Emma? Is everything okay?" She asks.

And with those last three words, I break down.

An Hour Later

"I'm so, so, so, sorry." Leila says, giving me a warm hug. I've finally stopped crying, but I can't find words to say. "I don't know what to do. He was, like, my life. I love him so much." I say, trying with all of my might not to cry again. "Let it be. Emma, if it's meant to be, you'll find your way back to each other. Trust me. If it's not, then it's not. You're so young too. You've got other stuff to worry about." She says.

"Like where I'm going to live."

"Live with me until you're on your feet. I'd love to have you here!" She says.

"I'd feel wrong. It's so unexpected."

"Unexpected things are always good." She says. Well, not always..

I wake up to Leila tugging on my shoulder. "Time for work." She says.

"Thanks for waking me up." I say.

The clock says 7:30, so I only have 30 minutes to get ready. I shower quickly, and then brush my teeth and do my makeup. My hair is air dried by the time I'm dressed, so I say goodbye to Leila and get to work.

During Work

"Are you alright? You're not yourself today." Derek says, eating his sandwich as I walk into the break-room."

"I'm myself. Same old me. Haven't changed." I say matter-of-factly.

"You know what I mean." He says, putting his lunch down.

"Me and Julian broke up." I say, distracting myself with the microwave.

"Oh God, Emma, I'm so sorry." He says, walking over to me and hugging me tightly. I bury my head into his chest and bite my lip to control my tears. "Please. Not here." I say, breaking our hug.

"I'm going back to work." I say, leaving Derek in the break-room. I go back to the cash register and start helping customers again. Talking to people definitely relieves some sadness.