Mine // Sam Wilkinson

Part // XLIII

Emma's POV

I walked into the basement to see Claire and Mack asleep on the couch. They were cuddling, so I know she's been crying to him. I did not expect this whatsoever. Claire hasn't always been a huge fan of Mack, but they have a decent friendship.

I had to admit, they looked pretty cute laying like this.

"Claire, Mack!"

They woke up, startled. They both look surprised to be laying with each other. Claire moved the blanket off of her lap and ran to me. I hugged her tighter than I ever have before.

"How'd you know I was here?" I heard her mumble into my shoulder.

"I texted Mack when you first left to make sure you were safe before I exploded on the boys."

"You didn't..."

"Oh I did. Nate's pretty mad at me and I think I made Sam cry harder than I meant to."

"Is Alyssa still over there?"

"I think she left when I did. She was getting her stuff when I got up and got mine."

"How did she react?"

"Well I kept referring to her as 'whore' and let's just say she didn't exactly like that. She was all like 'I have a name' and I might've exploded on her."

She looked at me and cracked a smile, "Em, what the hell did you say?" she giggled.

"Something along the lines of 'Did I ask for your input? No, go back to whore island and make yourself a cup of coffee. I can smell the liquor from here. I would so hit you for Claire but I'm afraid your makeup will come off in chunks."

"Emma!" She was finally laughing.

"I told you I exploded!"

We sat down on the couch as Mack gave both of us part of the blanket as he picked a random movie on Netflix.

"Do the guys know you're both here?"

Claire shifted around, turning her attention to me.

"No, I don't think so at least. I never said anything about coming to your house nor did they ask where Claire happened to go or where I planned to go."

I pulled my phone out to see eight missed calls from Nate and two voicemails along with multiple texts.

Nate: Emma. Call me now.

Nate: Tell me you're okay.

Nate: Where are you?

Nate: I'm sorry I yelled at you.

Nate: Don't hate me. I love you, Em.

Emma: Love you too.

That was all I felt like saying back. After all, I had no reason to tell him where I am just yet. I wasn't gonna go see Nate without Claire, but seeing Nate meant having to force Claire to see Sam.

"Hey, Claire?" I need to figure out what to do now.

"What, Em?"

"Do you wanna see if we can change our tickets to a sooner flight or do you wanna stay?"

Mack looked at Claire intensely, waiting for her answer.

"I... I really don't know. I mean, should I try talking to Sam or should I just go home and hope he makes an effort to chase after me?"

"Which option do you think will hurt you less?"

"Honestly, neither will hurt less. I'm gonna hurt either way. They both could turn out so horribly," I could hear the tone in her voice signaling she was close to crying again.

"What do you feel is the better option?"

"I want to stay to see the Jacks and all of the boys. I don't want you to have to leave Nate just yet. I know you've been dying to see him. I can just get a hotel room for the time being. I don't have a problem staying there."

"Or you could stay here until you decide to go home," Mack cut in.

"What?" She was as confused as I was.

Why is Mack being so nice to her recently?

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, my sister's room is always empty now since she left for college and we also have the two guest rooms. You can have your pick. It'll be cheaper."

Claire nodded.

I gave her the what the hell are you doing look but she just ignored it.

"I'll get your bags and tell Nate we got you a hotel room..."

"Thank you. Do you mind if I take a quick shower, Mack? After traveling all day, I feel gross."

"Go ahead. You can shower in any of the bathrooms. You can get one of my shirts or my sisters clothes that she left. You honestly can do whatever," he flashed her a smile as she got up and went upstairs.

I stared at Mack with the same look I gave Claire moments ago.

"What?" I know he knows.

"What the hell, Mack? You're friends with Sam and you're gonna let his girlfriend live with you for two weeks? Why have you been so nice to her today?"

"What do you mean?"

"You can't keep your eyes off of hers. Ever since you picked us up earlier, you kept looking in the mirror to see her. You kept trying to talk to her. MACK, WHEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT BEING THERE FOR A GIRL IN A ROUGH TIME AND THEM BEING SOUL MATES, DID YOU MEAN CLAIRE?" I was trying not to yell.

"Emma, what?" I might've talked too fast.

"Mack, YOU like Claire!"

He looked down and smiled.

"Oh shit... What are we gonna do?"

"Don't tell her or the guys. I'm trying to control it. When she was crying on my shoulder tonight, I couldn't help but hold her so close to me. As soon as we stepped into my house, her tears just exploded from her eyes. I could tell she was trying to hold it in. My brother wasn't home then, but I could tell she didn't want anyone to know she was crying. I had to tell her multiple times to get it out. I carried her downstairs and set her on the couch to get her to relax. I made sure to play her favorite movie to calm her down a little more and I couldn't let her go."

"I don't get one thing about this whole situation though."

"What?"

"You were talking about helping someone through a rough time and eventually realizing they're soul mates when you dropped us off today. How did you know you would be comforting Claire tonight before she even walked into Sam's house to see him with Alyssa?"