Master Plan {d. dobrik}

18

Emily wasn't thinking.

She didn't think about her dad's diagnosis. She didn't think about David or her life in LA. She didn't think about the possibility of losing her dad. She wasn't thinking.

As soon as Emily Neal stepped out of her Los Angeles apartment, her mind was running purely on instinct. The Neal family needed each other, and that was the only thing that mattered in that moment.

Stepping into JFK, Emily kept her head high as she walked to baggage claim. Whitney informed her she'd be picking her up from the airport, and from there, the two friends would go straight to Emily's parents.

At the same time Emily arrived in New York, David arrived at Emily's apartment. He was more than excited for his day he'd planned for Emily and himself. Bouncing up and down as the elevator stopped at her floor, David practically sprinted to Emily's doorstep. Though, upon his arrival to her apartment, his happy-go-lucky demeanor diminished.

The note confused him more than anything. David wondered why she hadn't called or texted him in advance, which was an immediate red flag. Emily always warned David in advance if plans were changing or if she had to cancel for any reason.

Yet this time, he received a note taped to her front door.

Emily was more than grateful to have Whitney; she had no idea where she would be without her. Throughout her entire marriage, Whitney was there to pick Emily up when Derek knocked her down. Well, beat her down, to be more accurate. Now, she was here again, helping Emily and her family through a battle between cancer and Warren.

As she pulled her small suit case off of the conveyor belt, Emily's phone vibrated in her back pocket. Pulling it out to look at it, she saw five messages and two missed calls from David.

Davey
you're in new york?? you didn't
mention that last night
12:17 pm

are you okay?
12:45pm

em at least let me know what's
going on
2:12pm

emily please let me help
3:34pm

please call me. i'm really worried
about you.
4:08pm

He'd called once before the last message and once after it, which Emily didn't answer. She didn't want to focus on her friends worrying about her when her family needed her. Emily felt terrible for leaving David in the dark, but he'd still be in LA when she got back. She wasn't sure her dad would be if she wasted any time getting to him.

Arms engulfing her caught Emily by surprise, but she relaxed when she heard the person say, "I'm here, babe."

Whitney.

Emily simply nodded against her best friends shoulder. Deep down, she was terrified. She'd fought like hell through her marriage with Derek, but this fight was different. This fight, she had no say in. Hell, no one had a say in it except the cancer. If it wanted to, it could take Emily's father away from her within the week.

Thirty minutes later, Emily and Whitney sat in front of Nora and Warren Neal. Warren was resting, tubes hook up to different parts of his body, all doing different things. Emily couldn't help but cry at the sigh of her father. The trip could very well be the last time she'd see him. Only time would tell.

"How are you feeling with... everything?" Nora asked her daughter after they'd retreated to the waiting room while the doctors drew blood for testing. Whitney left to go get the three of them something to eat, not wanting Nora nor Emily to leave Warren's side.

Emily let out a sigh, wringing her hands together. Tearful eyes searched her mother's face as she said, "I don't know." Nora sat beside Emily, pulling her into her chest for a hug. "This place, this city, it's brought nothing but sadness to my life. Now, it's going to be the place where my father dies."

"Emily," Nora said sternly, pulling away from her daughter to look into her eyes, "We don't know what's going to happen. All we know is your dad needs us right now. We don't know what's going to happen, and that's out of our control. But right now, all we can do is hope and pray and be there for him."

Emily nodded. "You're right," she whispered, wiping a stray tear from her cheek, "You're right."

"Now," Nora said, moving on to get Emily's mind off of Warren, "how's David?"

Emily chuckled. "He's great, actually," she said, wiping the remaining tears from her cheeks, "Maybe next time I come visit I'll bring him along. Under better circumstances, I hope."

Nora smiled. "That boy is in love with you, you know?"

Emily groaned. "Mom, David is not in love with me," she said. Nora gave her daughter a pointed look. "He's not!"

"You say that, but you don't see what I do," Nora smiled smugly.

"If he was in love with me, why would he keep telling me he's pining over another girl?"

"I don't know, Nelly," Nora let out a breath, standing up, "But David, since the moment he came into your life, has been nothing but a beacon of hope and happiness for you." Emily looked down at her fiddling fingers. "And I'd be a terrible mother if I didn't see that you love him too."

"If I loved him, why would I be helping him win over another girl?"

Nora smiled slightly at her daughter. "Because you're a good friend," she answered, "and above anything else, you want him to be happy."

"I'm not in love with David," Emily said, frustration laced within her voice.

"I used to tell my mother the same thing when she told me I should be with your father instead of my first fiancé." Nora said, causing Emily to look up at her mother. "Some times we shield ourselves from great possibilities because we're afraid of being hurt," Nora advised, "Don't be afraid of loving him, Emily."

Emily watched her mother walk away, one thing on her mind:

Her feelings for a certain shaggy-haired vlogger she called her best friend.