Master Plan {d. dobrik}

19

Emily Neal would never forget the day she sat in court, divorcing her husband. It was a day of memorabilia, though she wished she could forget anything and everything about him.

Sitting before the doctor as the looked upon her sickly father with her mother and Whitney Sterling on either side of her for support, was yet another memorable day. Doctor Smith wore a look of sadness as he entered Warren's hospital room, and in that moment, Emily knew what he was about to tell them wasn't good in the slightest.

In one aspect, Emily was grateful. Grateful her father wouldn't be put through any more pain than he had been over the last year, not knowing it was cancer the whole time. But in another aspect, Emily wanted to be selfish. She wanted her father to see her get married, for him to walk her down the aisle and meet his future grandkids. She wished she had more time with him.

But there wasn't any more time to give.

"Six weeks?" Emily asked barely above a whisper.

"Give or take," Doctor Smith said, a solemn look taking over his features, "We could still continue with..."

Tears flowed freely down Emily's cheeks, Doctor Smith's continuing explanation of their options fading from her reality. Warren Neal was going to die. Her father was going to die, and there was nothing she could do to save him.

In that moment, all she wanted was for David to hold her as she cried into his chest. He'd tell her she'd be okay, and that Warren wouldn't be hurting anymore, that he'd be in a better place. She'd be in his arms. That was the most comforting place she could ever be. But she was on the entire opposite side of the country from him, so his comforting hugs were unreachable for her.

It truly pained Emily how much she missed David, and though she didn't want her mother's accusations to be true, more and more each day they were seeming to be. She was falling for her best friend, the guy who's heart belonged to someone else. But she wouldn't admit that to herself. Not yet.

The next twenty four hours were a blur for Emily.

After meeting with the doctor, Emily and Whitney went back to Nora and Warren's home to get some of Nora's things. She was staying with Warren for obvious reasons, and Emily needed to get away from the hospital for a bit.

Something inside her was screaming at her to call David and let him know she was okay, but she couldn't go through with it. Knowing the situation and talking about the situation were two completely different things. Emily didn't know if she could handle that yet, seeing as she'd barely had time to process it herself.

"Maybe you should go home, get some more of your things and fill David in on everything while you're there," Whitney said as she sat on Nora and Warren's bed, watching Emily pack some of her mother's things.

Emily shook her head. "I'm not leaving," she said, not making eye contact with Whitney, "I can't leave, knowing he might be gone when I come back."

"Then at least call David, Em," Whitney said exasperatedly.

"And tell him what, Whit? That my dad is dying?" Emily said, her voice raising as she turned to look at her friend, "He wouldn't hesitate to fly out here just to be with me."

"Shouldn't that tell you something?" Whitney said, giving Emily a smug look.

Emily let out a breath. "You're starting to sound like my mother," she replied, turning back to the bag she was packing.

"Maybe that should tell you something too, then," she said, standing from the bed to walk over to Emily, "Look, Em, I've known you a long time. Through everything with Derek, through college, through you moving to LA, I've been here, and I've never seen you act the way you do with David with anyone else."

"He's my best friend, Whit," Emily shrugged, looking down at the duffle bag in her grasp.

"You know it's more than that," Whitney said, "I'm not going to push you, but I do think you should at least call him."

With that, Whitney left Emily to pack alone.

Letting out a sigh, Emily sat on her parents bed, tears in her eyes. She pulled out her phone, tapping away until she got to the text messages between her and David.

Davey
i hope you're okay
Delivered 2:48 PM

please just tell me what's going on
Delivered 3:04 PM

or if you're coming back
i miss you
Delivered 3:07 PM

Letting out a breath, she tapped the phone icon at the top of the screen.

The phone rang two times before she heard his voice.