The Perfect Emma

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Grayson Todd

Grayson had forgotten about the alarm clock. If he had remembered, he'd have turned it off already. He sighed again as his body relaxed, watching Emma leave the room, and shutting it when she'd gone. Now alone, Gray rubbed at his face with a quiet groan. It was going to be a long day, he could already tell. Though Emma had said she was okay with heading into the PD, he'd seen how she reacted yesterday, and he knew she wasn't thrilled with the idea. Unfortunately, her instability had gotten her a pass. But today, she was going to be asked about what had happened to her. And, further unfortunately, there was nothing Grayson could do about that. Without her statement, there was a chance Aaron could walk free.

But that could be dealt with later. For now, Gray chose to focus on dressing himself. It was after fixing his awful bed—...couch head, that he caught himself using cologne. It wasn't often that he did so—only when absolutely necessary—and he was a little confused at himself. With a glance at the door, he had a feeling it was prompted by the presence of another human being. Odd.

Deciding to ignore that for the time being, Gray straightened his tie a little before exiting the room. He stopped when he saw Emma and stared at her for a second. Her back was to him, so she didn't notice, thankfully. She....

For a painfully brief heartbeat, Gray had thought he was looking at Rosalind.

Emma, as Gray had told her to, was wearing clothes from the box he'd given her. And with the haircut Aaron had given her, she looked like Rosie. Having heard Gray appear, she turned her head to look at them, then faced him with her whole body. Emma tilted her head, catching his expression as he attempted to hide it. "....Everything okay?"

He shook his head quickly, touching a temple. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, fine. You ready to go?"

She furrowed her brows slightly. "Um, yeah." Then she shuffled and looked down at the floor, as if she had something she was debating on saying. Grayson would go so far as to suggest she looked like a child that had done something wrong and was afraid to admit it.

"....Is everything okay with you?" he asked slowly, arching a brow.

Emma winced before murmuring, "I...looked through your kitchen for something to make for breakfast but I couldn't find anything. I'm sorry."

Gray was silent for a moment, before he snorted. She looked up at him in confusion and mild anxiety. "Emma," he said, laughing a little. "You apologize way too much." He cleared his throat and stopped laughing, though a slight smile remained on his face. He didn't usually eat in the morning to begin with, but he wouldn't mind it for her sake. "If you're hungry, we can stop for breakfast on the way. Alright?"

Her expression brightened, and she nodded, beginning to smile a little. "Do....Do I get to pick where?"

He shrugged, moving towards the coffee table to snag his service weapon and slip it into its holster. "Sure. Doesn't matter to me. C'mon then." Happy to see her happy, Gray smiled as he held the door open for her and walked with her outside to his car. Once in, he turned the key and asked, "Where to?"

Now that she was given the choice, she seemed slightly overwhelmed by it. "Um. Where....Where doesn't have cameras?"

Here we go. Without asking why that was important, Gray merely shook his head and said, "Cameras don't matter. Anywhere you want."

Emma seemed perturbed by the idea of going somewhere with security cameras. Grayson was baffled how she managed to go anywhere without security cameras. She must not have been to very popular or high budget places in the last year. It also didn't escape him that she still kept her head down, even though they hadn't moved yet. Finally though, she murmured tentatively, "Brew Crew?"