Two Souls, One Fate | CS AU

Chapter 11 ~ Decisions

(Emma's POV)
"Miss me?" He asks, a nervous smile upon his lips. I find myself in a daze, unsure of what to say or do. Suddenly I find myself with a million questions that need answers. But where do I even begin? My emotions are running wild. I'm angry, confused, frustrated, touched, and concerned. And that's just the tip of the iceberg of emotions.

When I realize that I haven't said anything yet, I open my mouth but then shut it. What am I supposed to say?! I decide to ask him the questions that are starting to give me a headache. "How did you--why did--when--" I blurt out, not really sure on what question to start with.

"Take a deep breath, love," he says reassuringly. So I do. After I've somewhat calmed down, I look back up at him to see a look of patience on his face.

I clear my throat before asking, "Mind explaining to me what you're doing here and what the hell is going on?" It's a vague question, yes, but maybe he'll answer all my questions this way. Hopefully.

He gives a nervous laugh and replies, "Right, of course." He bounces from one leg to the other, fiddling with his fingers while I could tell his mind was at work, trying to figure out where to start.  I know what that feels like.

"You can sit down, if you want," I offer, knowing he's too much of a gentleman to ask. He smiles slightly and nods while I scoot over to the window seat and he sits in my aisle seat. "But don't get too comfortable," I warn him. He just nods once more. He just sits there for a few moments, gathering his thoughts before turning to face me.

"I couldn't just let you go off on your own, knowing that you'll be in danger. And as I said, I've been meaning to run away and you've given me the perfect opportunity," he explains. My heart does an involuntary flip at his first statement. I understood where he was coming from, but I can handle myself.

Deciding that I need answers before dealing with this whole situation, I ask, "How did you find me?"

"Well, after those vines released me, I ran in the same direction as I saw you run. Then I saw the train tracks and figured if you were looking to leave town as quickly and discreetly as possible, that'd be your opportunity. I went to the train station and sure enough you were there," he says. My eyebrows furrow.

"That doesn't explain how you knew where I was going or how you even got on this train without me noticing you," I point out. Unless... Suddenly it feels like someone's thrown a bucket of water over me to wake me up as realization dawns on me. "The old man."

"Harry's his name." And just like that, my thoughts were confirmed. "He helped me out. Both of us, actually. He allowed me to sleep behind his desk and made sure that you never saw me. Because we both know that if you'd seen me before getting on the train, you would have run and never would've heard me out."

He's right. I would have. And now I have nowhere to run, being forced to face the music. I thought back to my time at the train station until another realization was made.

"The old ma--Harry, said that he received a large amount of payment. That he wouldn't be losing money if I took the ticket. But that first part's a stretch of the truth, isn't it?" I question. "You paid for my ticket, didn't you?"

"Well I knew that you didn't have the money, and as luck would have it, I did. As for the stretch of the truth bit, I knew that you sure as hell wouldn't have taken the ticket otherwise. Your pride has too much of a hold on you." Once again, he's correct.

"And how did you have the money? Hmm?"

"Don't worry about it, I saved up. I've got plenty of money." I raise an eyebrow at him and stare him down, knowing that there was something else he wasn't saying. He sighs. "And I kind of, might have, stolen my step father's credit card." He mumbled the last few words but I heard it.