he joked.
“That would be nice wouldn’t it? Thank you.” Emily reluctantly took her hand from his. “Bye.” She gave a warm smile as she slowly walked away.
“Goodbye,” she heard Alexander call out.
Emily’s mind was frantically going over each and every moment. “ Why didn’t I ask for his number? No that would have been too bold. He is way out of my league. Besides since when do you just ask some stranger for their number?”
Emily tried to focus. She was now in the lobby, and still needed to come up with a reason for the bump on her head before she saw her father. Once on the elevator, she rehearsed different scenarios in her head, but concentration was difficult. She kept seeing Alexander’s striking green eyes.
By the time she got her key out to unlock the door the only story she had was that she tripped at school and fell into a wall.
“People trip and fall all the time, that isn’t unusual. Although they typically catch themselves with their hands without their head taking the full force of the blow.”
But, it was the best she had at the moment.
Emily took a deep breath and opened the door. The lights were off. Her father wasn’t home. She breathed a sigh of relief. She walked to the kitchen, dropped her keys on the counter then turned to the fridge to find a bottle of water.
The cold liquid felt good running down her throat. She hadn’t realized how parched she was. She looked around the kitchen for any indication that her father had been home. Emily’s cell phone rested on the opposite counter. She had set it down when she came home from school and had failed to take it with her this afternoon.
“I really had myself set up for disaster today .”
She walked over to pick up the phone. It flashed, signaling she had a voicemail. Emily put the phone to her ear and waited for the message.
“Hey, Emmy, it’s Dad. I was calling to let you know that the computers crashed this afternoon, so I’ll be at the office late tonight trying to catch up on lost time. Anyway, sorry I won’t be home for dinner. Call me if you need me, I’ll try and be home by about eight. Love you.”
So her father would be late. That was good news. She wasn’t so sure about her story, and this gave her the much-needed time to think it over.
Nothing sounded that good for dinner. She hunted the cabinets and fridge a few times until she decided it was a lost cause.
Emily went to her room and sat down in the oversized chair next to the window. She took off her boots and then turned sideways in the chair swinging her legs over the arm, and laying her head against the soft pillow in the corner. She closed her eyes and tried to relax but all she could see was the awful attack that afternoon. It played over and over in her head. She kept trying to convince herself that it was no big deal.
“Nothing major happened, just a bruise on the head, I’m fine.”
But that only lasted for a few minutes. Emily could no longer fight against the overwhelming feelings of fear and anxiety built up inside. She burst into tears. She sobbed even harder when she thought about how she just wanted her mom there to hold her and say that everything was okay. Now, there was no reason to restrain herself. She often suppressed her tears for fear that her father would hear and be concerned. Since he wasn’t home this was her opportunity to rid her soul of the pent-up emotions that tore at her heart.
After Emily had drained her body of every possible tear, she dragged herself out of the chair and over to her bed. She was tired before, but after crying so much, she was exhausted and didn’t even care about getting into pajamas. Emily didn’t bother pulling back her sheets. Climbing right on top of them, she dropped down into the fetal position. A few more sobs escaped her throat.
Chapter 3
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Surprises
The next morning Emily woke up only to see from the time on her clock that she had slept in. Emily feared she wouldn’t be able