Mismatch Lovers

Chapter 32

*Emma's POV*

I ran down the alley next to the station, hiding behind it. I squeezed my eyes shut against the tears I felt welling in them, ignoring the calling of my name on the next block. It went quiet after a few moments, the only sound being the cars going by while I tried to work through everything.

The man back there was my father, the man who had been supposed to being taking care of me my entire life, but I'd never actually met. I didn't want to see him, I didn't want to talk to him, I wanted to ignore that pain like I had the last twenty eight years. God, why couldn't I just do that? It had to be these stupid baby hormones.

Wait, the baby hormones. Killian. That was exactly what I needed. I took a breath but it didn't do as much as I needed it to. I just shook my head, barely holding back my sobs as I made my way over to the garage. I knew he should be there and his office was open so I headed that way, standing in the doorway watching him work until he noticed me.

"Swan?" he asked with concern all over his face. "Love, what's wrong?"

That question broke me and I just started weeping. He quickly got up, coming over to gather me into his arms. He shut the door behind me, holding me close and stroking my hair gently to try to soothe me. I turned my face into the crook of his neck, my hand on his chest holding tight to his shirt.

This was it. This was what I needed, to have him hold me and whisper soft soothing words to me while I let myself cry for the first time since I'd lost him. I should have known sooner.

"Come on, love," he said softly, leading me to the small sofa in the corner of his office and pulling me into his lap. "Its alright, Emma. I'm here, just go ahead and relax."

"I'm sorry," I all but sobbed quietly but I cuddled into him anyway, his arms tightening around me. "I'm so so sorry."

"Shh," he comforted me, tucking my hair behind my ear and kissing my forehead. "Just breathe for me, baby, okay?"

"Mkay," I mumbled, cuddling closer and focusing on his steady heartbeat to try to slow my own. My breathing eventually slowed, my body relaxing in his hold as I looked up at him with guilt all over my face.

"There's my girl," he half smiled, making my lips turn up a bit as well when he kissed me softly. "Now, would you like to tell me what all that was about, or should I just chalk that up to the little one?"

"No, the little one is fine," I laughed a bit, letting my hand fall to my still flat stomach. "I just... I ran into my dad, actually."

"I was going to tell you he still worked at the station," he sighed, lifting my chin gently to meet my eyes. "What happened?"

"I ran," I admitted quietly, seeing his eyes soften even more. "When I was looking for them when we were in high school, I found out their names, and when he introduced himself... I just ran."

"I don't blame you," he said as he took my hand, squeezing gently. "You weren't ready for any of this, that's why I wouldn't let them force it on you. I didn't want you to feel like this."

"I was standing behind that building, thinking about how he was always supposed to take care of me," I started thinking aloud, looking back up to his eyes as I threaded our fingers together. "And I realized I just needed the one person who always did take care of me, even when I didn't know it. So I came here, and you made me feel better. Like always."

"That's what I'm here for," he smiled again, his cheeks going pink and his thumb running over the back of my hand. "Why don't you just come work here for a while? Just until you find something you like better?"

"I don't know," I answered hesitantly, worrying my lip between my teeth. "What would you need me to do?"

"Pretty much just run the front desk," he shrugged. "As you can imagine in a town this small, we don't usually have too many cars in here at once, so after Paul retired it's just been me. I tried to hire that kid for the desk, the one you met when you came back into town, but he's in school and he's a lot handier with the cars."

"I'll give it a shot," I agreed mostly just to see his face light up. "But only if you promise I won't be distracting you."

"I'll do my best," he grinned, hugging me closer as he pressed a chaste kiss to my lips. The desk bell rang and he looked up with a sigh. "Stay here. I think I know who that is."

*Killian's POV*

"I told you to leave her alone," I said angrily after shutting my office door and finding David at the front desk. "What are you doing here?"

"She came into the station, okay?" He answered defensively. "But the second I said my name, she up and ran... I just want to know if she's okay."

"No," I snapped at him. "She's not okay. Do you not understand how hard this is for her? How hard anything emotional is for her? She doesn't trust easily, she hides behind her walls."

"Her walls?"

"Aye, the walls that you and every other person who let her down put in place," I told him, trying not to just snap and punch him in the face. "She puts on her armor every day and hides behind those walls, protecting herself from getting hurt again."

"Well how do you deal with them?" He asked in defeat.

"I don't really have to anymore," I sighed, a tiny hint of a smile coming to my face. "And that's probably the most beautiful part of loving a guarded woman like Emma. When she let's you in, it's not because she needs you. She stopped needing people a long time ago. It's because she wants you, and I think that's the purest love there is."

"You really love her," he smiled slightly, now watching the doorway behind me. "Well so do we, so when she's ready, we'll still be here."

He left and I turned around, finding Emma in the doorway. She was crying again, this time just silent tears rolling down her cheeks and her hand over her mouth. I went to say something but she stopped me, stepping forward and yanking me down to her lips.

It's a little late, but it's been a long day for me. I got an idea for another one of my stories, CaptainSwan in College if you read that, so I'm going to try to get that done this week too.

Anyway, please let me know if you have any suggestions and I'll try to incorporate them when I update again- hopefully this week. Later, loves.