“No, she’s definitely not going to do that, kiddo,” I reassured her, as I kissed the top of her head. “No one can take you away from me. Not even your mom.”
I held my daughter as she cried and thought about how I was going to counter Remy’s charge that I was an unfit parent. I thought about Emily and how she’d betrayed my trust. If she had only told me that Nina had returned! I was furious with her, but I also knew it wasn’t entirely her fault, it was just easier to blame her — for now.
I had no idea how I’d do it, but I knew I wasn’t going to give up without a fight.
Chapter Forty
Emily
I waited a few days to give Blake some time to cool down, and to give myself time to think about the situation with Nina. I knew that waiting to tell Blake that Nina was safe had been a mistake, but I also felt he’d overreacted. I texted him on Friday afternoon, and by Sunday morning I still hadn’t heard from him.
I made Howard and I a huge Sunday breakfast as I thought about the week’s events. All week, I wondered how Nina was doing. She’d been transferred out of my History class while the school investigated Remy’s complaint against me. I’d explained the situation to my principal, and she’d assured me that while I’d made a questionable decision about informing Nina’s parents, she was fairly sure I’d be given a formal reprimand by the school board. Meanwhile, Blake was obviously avoiding me, and I felt hurt.
“What should I do, buddy?” I asked Howard as he crunched his breakfast on the counter next to me. “Should I keep calling or should I just let it go?”
Howard raised his head and stared at me for a moment before returning to his breakfast. I set my coffee cup down and rested my head in my hands as I fought back the sadness that threatened to engulf me. If Blake was gone for good, then that meant everything associated with him was gone, as well. No more dinners with his family or movie nights with him and Nina. The thought of losing the little family I’d begun to build knocked the wind out of me, and I began to cry.
Howard head butted me and mewed as I dropped my head to the counter and cried.
“Em? Are you home?” a voice called from the front entry. “Hello?”
“KO?” I said hopefully. “Is that you?”
“Hey, girlfriend, what’s going —” KO cheerfully said as she entered the kitchen. Her tone quickly shifted to concern as she saw my tear-stained face. “Girl, what’s going on?”
“Oh, KO!” I cried. “He’s gone! I did something stupid, and now he’s gone!”
“He’s gone? Who’s gone?” she said, dropping her bags and wrapping her arms around me. “What the hell is going on around here?”
“I was with him the other night when Nina disappeared and then she came back, and I didn’t tell him right away now he’s mad at me, and he won’t answer my calls!” I sobbed, in one continuous sentence.
“Girl, I have no idea what you just said,” KO chuckled softly. “So why don’t you start from the beginning and tell me what happened while I was gone.”
“Hey, fat man!” she said, as she reached out to pat Howard and was rewarded with a swipe of his claws. “Ouch! Damn, that hurts!”
“I don’t think he likes being called fat man,” I said quietly.
“Well, if the shoe fits…” KO laughed, as she moved to the sink and rinsed her hand. She poured herself a cup of coffee and then sat down next to me and listened. For the next hour, I told her everything that had happened since she left, ending with the debacle that was our Valentine’s Day date.
“I don’t know what to do now, KO,” I said, starting to cry again. “I miss him! And I want to work things out, but I don’t know how to get him to talk to me. He’s just too angry.”
“Hmm, it sounds like he’s angry about things that have nothing to do with you,” she said, as she drank the last of her coffee and began picking at the leftover waffle on my plate. “I’d give him a little space before you start to do the hard-court press.”
“I’m not going to act like I’m desperate,” I said grumpily.
“But you want him back, don’t you?” she asked, as she popped a piece of waffle dipped in syrup into her mouth and chewed.
“Yeah, but he doesn’t need to know how much,” I said, folding my arms across my chest like a stubborn child.
“I’d argue otherwise, but I see your point,” she nodded. She chewed thoughtfully for a bit before she spoke again saying, “Don’t worry, Em. We’ll figure this out.”
“Are you back for good?” I asked, realizing I had no idea why she’d returned. “What made you come back?”
“Eh, family stuff,” she said, waving me off. “I don’t know how long I’m back for, but while I’m here, I’m going to try and help you get your man back!”
“You make it sound like a Wild West caper,” I giggled, despite the tears still flowing down my cheeks.
“Maybe that’s just what we need,” KO said brightly. “We need a plan, my friend!”