Broken Without You

CHAPTER 16

Emily's pov

Sunday morning comes and goes. I follow my usual routine, take a shower, read some books and do my homework.

I have an hour until we have to go to Mrs. Andrews for dinner. My insides churn and I get giddy.

What should I wear? I don't want to wear something too formal, but not something too casual either.

After a few minutes of searching through my closet I settle on an army green long sleeve dress. I wrap a thin brown belt around my waist to accentuate it, and pair my outfit with light brown boots that reach just under my knees.

I sit at my vanity and apply some mascara and lip gloss, my go tos. I pulled my drawer open and took out my black velvet jewelry box and put it in the vanity.

I stared at it for a couple minutes, contemplating if I should open it or not.

But after deep thought I shake my head and open the box before I change my mind.

I catch sight of my necklace. It was a miniature golden box held by a thin chain, which encased a small diamond inside.

It was beautiful, and was the last thing my father gifted me before he died.

He gave it to me on my seventh birthday and told me that the box represented himself, and the diamond was me. And that no matter what happened, I would always be protected by him and be safe in his arms.

I rarely wore it after he died. I don't exactly know why, but seeing it just brought back too many memories.

I take it out and clasp it around my neck.

It catches the light from the lights on my vanity mirror and and shines beautifully.

I grasp it delicately between my fingers and twirl it.

"Emily! Come we have to leave now!" My mom shouts from downstairs.

"Coming!" I yell back, take my phone, look in the mirror one last time and go downstairs.

I reach downstairs and see my mother and Max waiting for me by the door.

"Took you long enough." My brother says under his breath and leaves the house.

"At least I look presentable." I say, taking a jab at his Beatles t-shirt and jeans.

My mom locks the door and joins us.

"Just because you put on a dress doesn't mean you look presentable Emily." He says and rolls his eyes.

"Stop it you two, we're almost there." My mom scolds.

We reach the house and mom rings the doorbell.

A few seconds later the door opens and we are greeted with Mrs. Andrews' kind face.

"Oh welcome! Come in!" She says excitedly.

We step in and immediately get hit by the delicious smell of beef. Mrs. Andrews is a wonderful cook, I can't wait to see what we're having for dinner.

She directs us into the dining room and we all take a seat. There's an empty chair beside me and I wonder where Axel could be.

"Axel just got out of the shower, he will be down shortly." She tells us and smiles.

Not even two minutes later, he steps in the room, wearing his usual plain white shirt and black jeans, with his hair still wait.

He greets us and sits down next to me. The smell of his mint shampoo overtakes my senses.

Mrs. Andrews serves everyone their serving and we start eating.

We have casual dinner conversation, we talk about our day, school, and even the weather, when suddenly the topic switches to Axel's childhood.

"Axel used to run around in the garden, pretend he was a pirate and always had one of his eyes covered with an eyepatch." Mrs. Andrews tells us with a smile on her face.

"I was the best pretend pirate there ever was." He boasts and chuckles.

"Did you have a crew?" I ask and raise a brow.

"Of course I did, we even had a rival." He tells us and we all laugh.

"Emily don't make me tell them about your obsession with Dor-" My mom begins to say.

"Mom!" I cut her off.

"Fine, you shall be spared." She says dramatically and the table bursts in laughter.

"Don't even get me started on when Axel went to England and asked Olivia if he could have some chips and she brought him fries." Mrs. Andrews laughs.

I hear the clanking noise of a fork hitting a plate and see Axel's face harden.

"Don't talk about her grams." He grits his teeth, and sets his jaw.

"Oh I'm sorry I didn't mean to-" Mrs. Andrews tries to say.

"Just stop." Axel cuts her off, and stands up.

The sound of the chair scraping against the floor could be heard clearly as the room suddenly goes silent at his sudden action.

"Excuse me, I'll go talk to him." I dab my mouth with the napkin on my lap and get up to follow him.

I see him enter the kitchen. I follow him and close the door behind me. He whips around at the noise, and his eyes widen, not expecting to see me.

"What do you want." He snaps.

"I came here to check if you were okay." I say.

He runs his hand through his hair and sighs.

"I'm fine." He says after a while.

"I can see that you aren't." I say and step closer. His muscles are tense and he keeps pacing back and forth.

He stops once he sees me standing next to him.

"What do you want me to do Emily?" He  throws his hands in the air, frustrated.

"I don't know, I don't even know who you don't want her to talk about." I murmur in a small voice, trying not to remind him of the person who clearly had such a big impact on him.

He sighs and sits down on one of the stools surrounding the marble island.

"Sit and I'll tell you." He says, glaring at the marble, as if trying to crack it with his eyes.

My eyes widen at his words, I don't waste a second longer, afraid he might change his mind, and sit down in front of him.

Am I finally going to get some answers to my never ending questions?

Am I finally going to figure out what is hurting his heart?