Chapter Eight
Jake
What kind of hell am I living in? I'm out for a few weeks with hockey thanks to an injury I received during a game against Pittsburgh. That was enough to drive me crazy. My schedule has been go, go, go for three years now and bam! It slowed down dramatically. I miss it and want it back so badly. Unfortunately, I've created more problems at home and that's even worse than being out of the game.
On top of what I am doing hockey-wise, building a house that Emily knows nothing about, and now having to do everything she does for a week, I'm about to lose it. It's been four days, and I've barely seen her. When I have, I might as well be Drake for how much affection I've received from her. I'm constantly doing something, and I don't feel like I've rested at all. I've washed clothes, cooked supper, ran Drake everywhere he had to go, worked on house plans, and dealt with Drake's smart mouth. I didn't know he had it in him! I've only seen this side of Drake once before, and that was when he fussed about Emily nagging him. Has he been this way to her more than I've known?
And Emily.
She's gone half the time at God knows where, and I actually miss her. It's weird because I'm usually out of the house a lot anyway, but being stuck at home while she's out? It makes me wish that she was home. Is this how she feels? Maybe she's used to it by now. Being run ragged with everything she does makes me appreciate her so much more. Drake wouldn't be able to do half of what he does if it wasn't for Emily. I sure can't do it all myself and have my career too unless I hired someone to help.
She's sort of the girl behind the curtain, running everything. I knew that before, but I really know it now. All I want to do now is send Drake away for the weekend and spend time with Emily. I texted her earlier and told her she could be home tonight because I was fixing supper. She said she would be here. That gave me hope for us to truly fix this. But supper comes and goes and Emily doesn't show up. Where the hell is she? I've called her like twenty times and no answer. This isn't like her and I'm starting to worry.
“Hey, love,” she says when she finally walks in the door.
“Where the hell have you been?”
The corners of her mouth rise ever so slightly, but I notice. She parts her mouth into an oh, like she's surprised. “Oh? Was I supposed to be home for supper? Sorry, Helen called and I just lost track of time.” Emily shrugs as if it's no big deal.
The anger immediately leaves my body at her words. She only did what I had done to her on her birthday. I'm utterly defeated. There is no more fight in me. All I want is for things to be better. “Point taken, Sweetness. Can we go back to normal now?”
Emily sighs and plops down onto the couch next to me. “I don't want normal, Jake. I want things to actually improve.”
“Sorry, that was a poor choice of words.” I pull her to me and love the feel of her. It's been forever since I've even touched her. It feels like she's always avoiding me, going out of her way so I can't touch her. Is that how I treat Emily? “You're the backbone, Sweetness. You hold us together. Point taken. I've learned my lesson.”
She tilts her head to look at me. “Have you? Or are you just sick of doing it all?”
“I appreciate all you do, Emily,” I begin, but she interrupts me.
“That isn't the point!” Emily pulls away from me and moves to the chair. “One point was for you to realize that yes, I do help out a lot. I don't mind doing that because most of what I do is for Drake and I'd do anything for him. The main point is that you treat me like I'm barely more than someone who helps you with your brother, Jake!”
“Will you let me finish?” I raise my voice to match hers. She has to stop fighting me or we're never going to move forward. “Damn it, Emily! I'm trying to apologize to you! I'm an ass! Okay? Is that what you want to hear? You hate what I do, you hate the way I treat you, and I'm a fucking ass! Are you satisfied now?”
Emily's lips set in a firm, thin line. That wasn't the right thing to do or say. I wish I could bang my head against the wall. She snatches her purse up, goes to our room, and seconds later, clothes, pillows, and covers are being thrown out. Her yell fills the apartment.
“Since I hate you so much, stay the hell away from my room!” She slams the door and I hear it click, locking me out.
Damn it! How did I go from apologizing to being back on the shit list? You know what? No. This isn't happening again. Her ignoring me and not talking about our problems is killing us and doing so quickly. Sucking up my pride, I walk over and knock softly on the door.
“Sweetness. Open the door. We're going to talk.”
Silence. I rest my forehead on the door. If I could sink into the floor with the loss I feel, I would.
“Sweetness, please. I don't want to fight anymore.”
“Give me one good reason to talk to you right now, Jake.” Emily doesn't even sound mad. She sounds as defeated as I feel.
“Because I love you,” I say softly.
She's quiet for what seems like forever before the door unlocks and opens. Sweetness goes to sit on the bed, and I sit down next to her. She stares down at her hands, but I can still see a tear fall down her cheek. It's like a knife twisting in my gut. I hate it when she cries. I absolutely hate it. Before I can speak, Emily does.