EMILY
Seth wouldn't even look at me as he put all the stuff in a bag without ringing them up.
I placed a few dollar bills on the counter, "I want to pay for all this."
"It's okay. I got you, Emily." He said that with a stoic expression on his face. He wasn't even glad to see me and why would he be? I'd done nothing but break his heart.
"No, you're taking the money." I pushed it towards him.
"It's not like I would be building Castles with ten dollars and twenty-five cents." His tone was irritated.
"But it's a business." I could bet he rolled his eyes before he picked up the dollar bills without another word and stuffed them in the cash register. I knew business must not be too great in this part of the town so taking free stuff from him made me feel guilty.
I took a few minutes to drink him in. His hair was tousled as usual, and his eyes looked tired like he had difficulty falling asleep.
"I heard about your dad. I'm sorry for your loss." I placed my hand on top of his, it was pure impulse.
He looked at my hand like it were a poisonous spider. I thought he would directly reject me, but instead, he nodded and said, “Thanks.”
"I was wondering if we could talk?"
"We're talking right now." He pointed out.
"I mean, talk in private."
He looked at the curly-haired girl taking inventory.
She gave him a look, "Don't look at me like that."
"Can you take care of the cash register for me?"
She sighed and placed the boxes down, "Sure." And then she threw poison-dipped daggers at me.
Gosh, if this girl had powers to kill enemies with laser beams, I'd be dead.
Before she passed by, she stopped in front of me. "Listen, Rich girl, Seth's been through enough, so if you're here to play your little games, then please leave."
"Amy!" Seth warned her.
"He doesn't need stuck-up rich girls here who think they are too good for farm boys like him."
"Amy, that is enough. Do what you're asked to. I don't pay you to run your mouth at people you just met."
"Just sayin the truth.”
"It's okay," I said.
It was not okay but I guess I deserved that. It also meant Seth had talked about our relationship and talked to Amy about it.
"I'm not here to hurt him in any way." I explained, "I'm only here because I need him to hear me out."
"Emily," Seth walked to a door at the end of the counter, "This way."
I followed him through the door. It led directly into his living area which was a cozy little room with a worn-out couch in the center in front of an old tv. A four-sitter wooden dining table was in the corner right next to a door which I assumed was the kitchen.
Two picture frames hung against the wall. In one of them, Seth was about ten years old sitting on a beach, smiling at the camera. The other one was the wedding photograph of his parents. Ruth looked so young, and his dad had the same green eyes as him. It was like looking at an older, mature version of Seth.
"Home sweet home." He said, "It's not much exactly."
Why did I have a feeling like he was embarrassed about showing me the place?
"It's cozy and adorable," I said genuinely.
He gave out a humorless laugh, "You can stop being so nice. Oh, and I'm sorry about Amy. She's not always hostile to people."
"Guess I'm special. Does she have a crush on you?"
"Maybe? She's fourteen, Emily."
"Wow. I definitely thought she was sixteen."
"Well, she just looks like that. She works in our store part-time for extra cash. I used to babysit her when she was little."
"And now she likes you."
He shrugged, "she's a kid. I caught her installing Barbie dress-up game apps."
I laughed.
"I wish I could be there with you during your dad's funeral."
"It's alright." He padded towards the old-fashioned refrigerator, "Would you like something to drink?"
My stomach grumbled loudly. Color rose on my cheeks.
"Okay. That answers my question. How do scrambled eggs and hash browns sound to you?"
"Delicious."
He smiled, "coming right up."
I stood by the counter in the little kitchen as I watched him cook. It was a sight to behold, his muscles flexed when he tossed the eggs like a pro chef. If that were me, the eggs would have been splattered on the floor.
Minutes later, I had a plate in front of me with fresh scrambled eggs and golden hash browns. The food might as well have been served from heaven.
I took a bite from it and almost moaned. How could I have let someone like him walk away from my life? I'd almost lost him. I could still lose him if I didn't lay all of my cards on the table.
He watched me curiously while I ate the meal.
"I miss you." I blurted out.
"You drove all the way here to say that?"
I ate the remaining eggs, "No, it wasn't only that. I realized the mistakes I’ve been making. When I found out about the bet, I was completely shattered."
"I don't know how I can make up to you for that. You have to believe me when I say that I'm extremely sorry for hurting you.”
"We are humans and we make stupid mistakes." I smiled at him, hoping to make light of the situation. "I was afraid that I'll be hurt again so I kept running away from my feelings."
"What does that mean?"
"Seth...I—"
The door burst open and a scrawny guy wearing huge glasses walked into the room holding a six-pack of beer. He was a lanky version of Harry Potter.
"Yo, Seth, look what I got!" He announced, throwing packets of chips and peanuts onto the table. Then his eyes registered me in the room, "Oh, I didn't know you were having company."
"I didn't too until a few minutes ago. Joey, this is..."
"Oh shucks, you must be the infamous Emily-Mae. I know you. You're the girl he can't stop talking about."
"Joey, do me a favor and leave."
I couldn't help but laugh, "I didn't know Seth talks about me."
"Oh, he's told us plenty. Everyone here knows about you. I'm Joey, by the way, Seth and I are neighbors. It’s the big blue house right next door."
He seemed nervous for some reason, but it was amusing, "Pleased to meet you, Joey."
“I hear you have a huge house. Seth told me you have like eight bedrooms and six baths but you stay alone there most of the time. Must be nice.”
“It gets lonely sometimes,” I admitted.
“You have a fancy ride.”
“Joey.” There was a warning in Seth’s tone.
"My family owns an apple orchard. We make lots of cool stuff with it if you want I could give you some to take home with you. I bet they are the best apples in the country. No shit.”
"That's amazing. I would love to take some. Is it really okay for me to take them?"
"Of course, I'd give them to you. We had so much fun during our holidays. My mom makes the most delicious apple pies...actually, we make apple everything. In middle school, Seth and I played a game where we invented a snack made of apples...it was hilarious. I put cheese, apple, and Nutella on a cracker. He put barbeque sauce…"
"Joey," Seth pinned him with a look, "Breathe. We don't have a hospital nearby and Emily's not going anywhere so you can slow the fuck down."
“Since we are all together here, we should do something. I'll go bring my board games. Do you like board games, Emily?"
"Sure."
"Okay, I'll be back in a minute."
When he walked out of the room, Seth sighed, "you can just say no when he gets like that. Don't let him bully you into saying yes to everything."
"He's cute."
Seth's brow arched, "cute, huh? So Joey is your type now?"
"Don't be ridiculous. He seems really nice."
“He’s shy around girls.”
“That didn’t seem shy to me.”
Seth grinned, “I mean he gets excited and talks non-stop. He could talk your ear off.”
Joey returned with a few board games. He pulled out Twister. "Should we play this?"
"Hell no, dude," Seth answered before me. "I don't think she likes a lot of physical games, right, Emily?"
I bit my lips so as not to laugh at Seth for being jealous. Twister was the type of game where you touched the colored dots on the mat, my body could make contact with Joey's while playing the game and Seth wasn't going to allow it.
“Fine! How about Monopoly?”
*~*
SETH
Two hours. That’s how long I had to sit through Joey’s chatter. No wonder his mother wanted him to move out of the country.
After he’d gotten bored with the board games, Joey had decided to play a movie in the old VHS player. We still had those because dad used to collect the tapes.
I wanted him gone. I needed to know what Emily had come here to tell me. I was practically grinding my molars, losing my patience. It didn’t help the fact that she looked hot in the high-waist jeans and a white off-shoulders blouse. I also noticed her wearing the necklace I’d gifted her on her birthday.
“Joe, I think your mother’s calling you.”
“My mom?”
“Yeah, I just heard her.”
Joey stood up, a frown on his face. “Let me see if she needs anything.”
Words couldn’t describe my happiness.
When he was out of the room, Emily giggled, “You’re so mean.”
My happiness however was short-lived. He barged into the room again, “Nah, my mom wasn’t calling me. Hey, you wanna watch another movie?”
*~*
EMILY
Seth had enough. It was hilarious when he got up from his seat and started pushing Joey out of the room.
“You can come back some other day, okay? Emily and I need to talk.”
“I’ll plug my ears, promise.”
“Dude, I need some fucking privacy. Get a hint.”
Joey’s eyes lit up, “Ohhhh…I get it, man.” He punched Seth on the shoulder, “You should have mentioned before. I gotcha back.” He looked at me, “I’ll swing by later to give you the apples.”
“Thanks again.”
Seth closed the door behind him and locked it. Then, he walked over to sit beside me on the couch, “Fucking finally. No one will disturb us now. So…what did you want to tell me?”
Now that it was time for me to say what I’d traveled here to say, I started getting cold feet. It made me nervous the way his emerald eyes searched mine.
I reached out and squeezed his hand.
“I love you.”
I couldn’t gauge anything from his features, I wasn’t sure if I was too late to say it.