Matters of the Heart

Chapter 10: Revelations

Chapter 10:

Revelations

She didn't think she'd be able to sleep after everything she had been through, but her body disagreed. She was so exhausted that she didn't even hear Caleb and Hanna when they got in. The next morning when she got up the first thing she did was call the doctor. As luck would have it, they had an availability in the afternoon. She made the appointment, then took a shower and got dressed.

She went into the kitchen to get something to eat. Hanna was standing next to the stove eating a bowl of what looked like leftover macaroni and cheese. She was staring at a tea kettle waiting for it to start steaming.

"Morning." Emily yawned.

"Hey. You sleep okay?" Hanna asked.

"Yeah, pretty good." Emily nodded. "Caleb still in bed?"

"No. He had a tux fitting this morning."

Emily made some toast and got some water and then walked over to the table and sat down.

"Everything go okay with Pam?" Hanna asked as she pulled the steaming tea kettle off of the stove.

"You know you can never call my mom that to her face, right?" Emily asked.

Hanna shrugged and then laughed.

"Did she buy the wedding excuse?" Hanna questioned.

"Yep. I told her you were still trying to narrow down bridesmaid dresses...even though you haven't asked us yet." Emily paused and looked over at Hanna. "You are going to ask us, right?"

"You've got a lot more to worry about than that." Hanna poured them each a cup of tea.

"It's not that big of a deal." Emily downplayed it.

Hanna gave Emily her typical "I don't believe you" side-eye.

"You kinda need your heart to live." She walked back over to the stove.

"I have a heart, Hanna." Emily rolled her eyes. "It's just not entirely functional."

Hanna went to put the tea kettle back on the stove and accidentally brushed her hand up against the hot eye. She jerked back and dropped the tea kettle. It hit the floor with a loud clang. Emily dropped her toast and nearly fell out of her chair.

"Are you okay?" Emily questioned.

"I'm fine." Hanna ran her hand under some cool water. She turned around to face Emily and noticed that her hands were trembling. "Why are you the one shaking? I'm the one with the scalded flesh." Her eyes widened. "Oh, crap, I'm not like...giving you a heart attack am I?"

"What did I tell you about acting like a paranoid helicopter mom? I get enough of that from my doctors." She scoffed. "I'm not going to die if you make a little noise."

"Yeah, Caleb and I figured that out last night," Hanna said under her breath. "We really didn't wake you?"

"No. Why?" Emily asked.

"Because we nearly broke the damn bed," she said sheepishly. "Drunk sex is the best." She sighed happily.

"Well, I'm glad I'm not cramping your style." Emily laughed.

"Sorry." Hanna bent over and picked up the tea kettle.

"Don't be sorry. I'm glad at least one of us is getting some." She leaned over to pick up her toast.

"So, what gives with the nerves?" Hanna motioned to Emily's still shaking hands.

"Yesterday I had to take this new medication and it's made me all jittery. I feel like I've had a triple shot of macchiato and I'm about to jump out of my skin." Emily tossed the bread down on her plate and glanced at her phone. "And...on top of that, A is threatening to tell my mom about everything...my heart, dropping out of school...all of it." Emily ground her teeth in anger.