Master Plan {d. dobrik}

33

Deciding she needed a day to herself, Emily all but boarded herself into her apartment. She slept in, took a two hour bath, painted her nails and watched her favorite show while she ate her favorite snacks.
Her friends texted her all day, making sure she was okay, which she reassured them she was. She just needed a self care day. Not a big deal.

Emily Neal had a rough few months behind her, but now she was ready to be okay again. She missed her best friend and she missed being happy. Her dad would want her to be happy. So, she spent the entire day in her apartment rejuvenating herself; it was well overdue. If she was going to sit down and talk to David about his confession, she had to prepare herself mentally.

While she had recently felt overwhelmingly sad, Emily's self care day made her feel anything but. She was ready to take on whatever life threw at her.

Starting with her best friends love for her.

The next day, Emily knocked on David's door with determination. He looked confused as he swung the door. "Hi?"

"You're mad at me."

"Um.."

"You're mad at me," Emily repeated as she walked into his house, turning back around to face him. He still stood with the door ajar as he stared at her, confused. She continued, "You're mad, and you have every right to be. But I'm done just trying to forget about everything."

"What're you-"

"We need to talk, Dave."

David's eyes widened as he swallowed, his mind now totally blank. Quickly regaining his composure, he shut the door. David was silently thankful none of their friends were at his house at the time. The conversation about to commence between the two friends was very personal, and he wanted to keep it that way.

"C'mon," he muttered as he led her to the backyard.

They sat on the outdoor couch for a few minutes before Emily began to speak.

"Look, when you told me you loved me, it honestly freaked me out. Not because it was you, but because I... I don't have a good track record with relationships. Before I was married, I was in a committed relationship. I ended up getting married to him, and he took everything from
me. He made me feel like I wasn't worth anything, like no one would truly love me.

"When you and I met, we were both in bad spots, My divorce had just been finalized, and I had just moved out here. I was blessed to meet you, David. You have been the best friend I've ever had, which meant, suddenly I had something huge to lose again. So... when you said you were in love with me, I did what I do best and dipped. I was scared, I'm still scared. I'm petrified to be sitting here having this conversation right now, but you're my best friend. I'd go through anything to have you back."

David blinked a few times, shaking his head slowly before he grasped Emily's hand in his own. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I just needed you to know how I felt... how I feel," David said, "I will always be your best friend first, Em. No matter how you feel, that will never change."

Tears welled in Emily's eyes, making her blink the swag so she could speak. "I don't know what the future will hold. But I know I want you in mine," Emily said, lowering her voice to say, "I miss you, Davey."

David pulled her into his chest, saying, "I miss you, too."

The two friends sat like that for what felt like forever, just appreciating each other's presence. Emily didn't quite know how she felt about David or how she would feel about him in the future. But in that moment, she knew she needed him in her life no matter what they were to each other.