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Post by Emma Clark on Jun 28, 2017 19:03:51 GMT
I been looking at the stars tonight
And I think oh, how I miss that bright sun Nervousness was an unfamiliar sensation to Emma Clark. She was usually prepared for everything, debate club was a good prep for that as well as having two neurotic and high achieving parents of course. She wasn't one to dive into things without thought and preparation therefor she was seldom nervous. When she went into something she would try to see every angle possible, every move and how she could counter. It was boring to some perhaps but to her it gave a constant comfort. Today however was different.
As Emma Clark drove her red Ferrari 488GTB down the highway the closer she got to the bay the tighter her chest constricted. She didn't really know why she was nervous, she had nothing to be nervous about. She had left this place years ago as a bright-eyed girl intent on taking on the world and she had done it. She was a successful lawyer, she was a regular at the Metro and spent her evenings dining at the best restaurants with her equally successful fiance. There was nothing in the world Emma Clark should be nervous about yet here she was. The odd feeling of pressure and nerves settling in and making their home in her chest as she slowed down and pulled into town.
Things seemed to not change and yet be totally different in only the way a small town like this could. She passed a few new shops and briefly wondered if this town would make it, if it could make it and why anyone would choose to live there. She waited at a stop light and watched a band of teenagers laughing as they crossed in front of her. She had crossed that street a thousand times just like them but now it felt different... like she didn't belong, like she was an outsider looking in which she supposed was accurate. Emma turned the car and headed towards the Hills when her front tire caught a pothole in the road jarring her and sending warning lights flashing on her dash. " No, no, no....you've got to be kidding me." Wonderfulshe mused. She had been in this town less than fifteen minutes and it was already trying to ruin her day. The car was making an awful noise as she drove and she cringed as she imagined the damage one stupid hole could make. Turning the car around and wincing each time there was a sound of grating metal she headed towards the mechanic shop she had passed on her way in.
Pulling up she didn't see anyone outside which figured of course. Walking to the front of the vehicle she felt her heart drop as she saw how bent the tire was. Emma was instantly angry, what kind of town allows a road to be in such disrepair?! she bitterly fumed as she decided to take it upon herself to find help instead of waiting for whoever was inside to finish watching tv or whatever they were doing that was clearly more important than doing their job. She called out as she began walking towards the entrance " Hello? Can I get a little help here?"
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Post by Darren Martell on Jun 28, 2017 19:44:16 GMT
 Under normal circumstances Darren wouldn't have been at the shop this morning, typically he was running around checking in on the other shops at this time of day, namely the one his dad was running, but today he wanted to just work on his car and take care of anything that might drop in, but typically he got calls from people wanting to get into his shop, because it was normally really busy. They had managed to get all the work done the week before so for now they only had a little old lady from Feronia Hills having her gardener bring in her car this afternoon for an oil change, other than that there was no need for anyone else to be here. Her keys would be dropped in the slot that they had by the office and the gardener would pick it up the next day or Darren would drive it by himself that evening. Nothing more than a thirty minute job, but the widow Mrs. Evans wanted Darren to take his time with it, she didn't even drive it really anymore. He had finished up working on his own car, just changing a few filters, so he was in his office eating lunch when he heard a car pull up with a rather odd sound coming from it. "Great." he finished chewing a chip when he heard an impatient yet familiar voice calling out for help. The voice he heard couldn't possibly be who was out there. There was no way fate could be that cruel. His mind was just playing tricks on him, no way in hell could she be coming to his shop six years to the day from when she had left him that little note that had broken his heart on the day he planned to ask her to marry him. That would be far too cruel even for Emma Clark. Hell, she probably didn't even know or care what day it was. Wiping the crumbs off of his jeans he walked out of the office into the bright light outside and stopped short when he saw her. She looked exactly how he remembered, if not even more beautiful with the way the sun was shining on her golden locks, and it pissed him off. There she stood bold as brass on the drive of his flagship shop. Emma Clark. His high school sweet heart, the love of his young life, and she didn't even seem to realize where she was. His name was on the sign for God's sake. Martell Automotive, did she not use her damn brain anymore? Though, he knew very well who she was these days, successful lawyer in New York and all that, word got around the neighborhood. He also knew the Clarks were talking about moving to New York so, that gossip had reached his ears too. Hearing that had made him think maybe he could finally have closure, because if the Clarks left Feronia Hills and the bay in general, he might never have the prospect of seeing her again, unless it was maybe at their ten year reunion or something. Maybe he could finally move on with his life. He couldn't even hold onto a real relationship since her, everything he tried had ended badly because he was still in love with Emma. That pissed him off more than anything else. How could he move on when his heart belonged to someone else. Damn her. " How can I help you Miss Clark?" He moved past her and to the Ferrari, of course she would have an outlandish car. He bent to look at the tire which she had no business to have been driving on, she probably had bent the axle at this point from driving on it. " Let me guess you hit the pothole on the cross street heading to your parents house?" he had seen the pothole patched more than once in the past few years, but the last storm had really washed out the patchwork when it had flooded that area. He on instinct avoided the hole like everyone else from that neighborhood, but she hadn't been home in years for all he knew and probably had been on her cell phone or something and didn't even see the damn thing. He lay on the concrete to look under the car as best he could, yep, she had bent the axle, " This is going to take me a few days, my guy is out of town for the week so I will have to do it on my own and I've got a few scheduled appointments to deal with. Though I'm sure you have another car you can use while its out of commission huh? Maybe your dads Porsche?" he sat back up and climbed to his feet grabbing the clipboard that had the work orders on it. " Let's see here, the axle needs fixed and you need a new tire, probably a rim since you drove on it. That's not including any possible engine damage, these things are notorious for breaking five thousand parts when you hit the smallest hole." he thought to himself she was great at breaking things...her car, his heart..... |
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Post by Emma Clark on Jun 28, 2017 20:49:03 GMT
Emma had turned to look back at her car. It was like a wounded animal, something beautiful and wild that this small town was trying to kill. The cherry red car was now marred slightly where the wheel had rubbed and she counted two places that looked like metal was coming off. Even if the wheel had continued to function she would be looking at a few grand in new paint alone. The sun was starting to beat down on her and she found herself growing more and more impatient. It was then that she heard a voice. No, not just any voice but his voice. The voice that came to her whenever she thought about this tiny town, the voice that sometimes woke her up at night, the voice that she still couldn't shake after so many years. " How can I help you Miss Clark?" The shortness of his voice caught hers and for a moment she didn't know what to say. He was handsome, every bit as handsome as she remembered. He had more muscle now and there was a hardness there but his eyes were still the same piercing green. Darren. Her at one time she thought forever Darren. It made sense that he was working with cars, he was always good at that kind of stuff. She had always done the damage and he had fixed the mistakes. Swallowing hard she tried to find her voice " Darren? I didn't know...I'm sorry, I mean I would have gone somewhere else I mean...I wouldn't have..." She took a breath trying to calm her nerves. Emma Clark did not falter, this didn't happen. None of this was supposed to happen of course yet here she was. He had moved to the car and when he mentioned the pothole she nodded a bit numbly " Uh yeah...I didn't really see it and next thing I knew all these warning signs were popping up." She shook her head and sighed a bit as if to try to forget the incident " You know uhm they should really do something about it. That's a lawsuit waiting to happen." Yes, law. Righting wrongs, justice....those were the things she knew, those were the solid things she could focus on right now, not this devastatingly handsome ghost from her past. Not that she would ever sue this place, something like that would probably sink the town. When he laid under the car she wished more than anything she could run far, far away and forget this ever happened. His voice was calling out though, a solid reminder that she wasn't dreaming this. When he mentioned he'd have to work on it personally she shook her head " Oh..no I couldn't intrude. I can just call and have it towed or something I mean I'm sure they keep you busy here and I uhm don't want to be a... problem." She was fairly sure she had never said uhm so many times in her life. There was just something about his penetrating gaze that shoved her off of whatever calm rock she was normally seated firmly on. He had then grabbed the clip board and went on about how much damage she had probably done. " I know, it's fine really. Whatever we need to do. I can just get a rental or something, you know how my Dad is about the Porsche." She felt her cheeks redden as soon as the words left her mouth. It had been a mistake of course to bring up, a memory involuntarily flashing in her mind of the two of them, some spilled cheap wiskey and the backseat of that porsche. Clearing her throat she glanced away a moment before speaking again. " So how have you been? You look great." She tried to smile normally but was fairly confident it wasn't happening. It was one thing to run into your old high school love but it was a total other ballpark when that said love was someone you knew you hurt, someone you knew didn't deserve it. |
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Post by Darren Martell on Jun 28, 2017 23:47:35 GMT
How could he forget what it was like to be in her prescence? The mere closeness to her at the moment was making his skin fill like there was an electric current through his body. It was maddening. He had never stopped loving her, and that made him even more so angry to be this close in proximity to her. She was like a siren, her voice alone was giving him heart palpatations and he hated her for it. How could she, after all this time still effect him like that? It wasn't fair. No one should be able to have that power over another human being, it just wasn't right! He raised his eyebrows and gestured up to the sign on the building, the one that clearly said Martell Automotive. " You didn't honestly think my DAD could have done this do you?" he gave a sarcastic laugh and shook his head. His dad hadn't been the most successful human being in Delphin Bay, which was alot of the reason that Emma's parents had such a problem with her being with him. She may never have said it, but the fact that she tried to keep their relationship a secret for so long well, that said alot about the opinion of the matriarch and patriarch of the Clark family. He wasn't stupid, he was in fact very intelligent, and if Emma knew him at all like she supposedly did, she would know he knew better. She never came out and said it, but Darren was very well aware that her parents hated him, and Emma wasn't that good of an actress to pretend otherwise. Why else did they never go to her house or do anything around there for their date nights. The closest to any of that they ever had was the memorable night in her dads Porsche. " That pothole has been there for years Em.." he faltered as he slipped into the familiar nick name he had always used for her. It caught him off guard and he cleared his throat. " You need to keep a better eye out when you drive Miss Clark, you could have seriously hurt yourself." he could pretend he didn't care all he wanted, but if anything ever happened to Emma, even though she was no longer a part of his life, it would destroy him more than her breaking his heart all those years ago had done. Emma was the one person he had always thought he could count on through his high school years, and when he had lost her, he had lost himself. " They have fixed it several times, but the last storm washed away the patch." he touched the fender where the paint was already flaking, " You really did a number on this thing. Its not going to be a cheap fix, even with me discounting it for you." he shouldn't give her a discount but he still cared about her, still loved her, and he had to get her out of town or it was just going to be worse for him. He chuckled as he climbed off the ground, " They keep me busy? Emma this is my shop. I have several up and down the coast now. You really think there are that many Martell's around? Hell you had to have passed at least four on your way from New York." he shrugged. " You can tow it if you want but there isn't a better shop in this county, you should know that better than anyone." she had watched him work on his old muscle car for hours and not complain. He suspected it had to do with enjoying watching him work with his hands and get dirty, but that might have just been wishful thinking. He wiped his hands on a towel and gestured towards his office. " No need to get a rental Miss Clark, I have a few cars around you can use one of mine if you promise not to do to it what you did to yours." He gestured towards his old impala, the one she used to love to watch him work on. " You can use that one." he had a few cars now, but that one was his baby. " We have alot of paper work to go over." he didn't really want to tell her how he had been, how could he possibly tell her that he had been doing nothing but working, trying to get his mind off of her? It had been years, and if rumors were true, she was engaged or some thing along those lines. Not exactly something he had wanted to know but it was all her parents could talk about, and so much so that it was in the newspaper here. " I've been fine, just working and expanding, bought my grandparents old place." he opened the office door and gestured to the chair across from his desk as he slid into his own chair, pulling up the program he needed to look for parts for her car. " This is really not going to be a cheap fix Miss Clark." he was having a hard time calling her Emma, it hurt too much to look at her as anything other than a client. |
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Post by Emma Clark on Jun 29, 2017 3:02:18 GMT
It had appeared that her gut had been correct about being nervous. Here she was thinking she could just come back to this town with all of it's memories without leaving unscathed, oh how naive she was. She hadn't honestly thought she'd see him. She figured he would have moved on from this sleepy little place, that he would have left like she had. She hadn't thought that he'd be the first person she'd see. That he would be here almost like he had been waiting on her this whole time. When he motioned to the sign she angled her head and actually read it. She hadn't originally, she had just seen mechanic shop and kind of glazed over the rest yet there it was. His last name on the building. She found herself smiling, genuinely happy for him, laughing a bit she shook her head " No..I honestly didn't see it though cut me some slack I was kind of distracted with all of the grinding metal noise and warning lights." When he called her Em her heart stopped for a brief moment. No one called her Em. He had taken to calling her that when they were together and it had always been his. Friends, family, future boyfriends or whatever have you...they never called her Em, it was always Emma or Emmy which she particularly hated. Em had always been his and she hadn't remembered how it sounded, how much she missed her name on his lips until he had spoken it. It was uniquely personal, private and theirs. That moment however was quickly shoved away with the care of a thousand elephants when he then called her miss clark. He had then went on to lecture her on the benefits of driving safely and that the town had fixed said pothole but she couldn't focus on that when he continued to insist on calling her miss clark. Like they had never met, like they were never friends, miss Clark like the women at the salon called her mother. It was irritating her to pieces. Ah well, she thought to herself two could play at this game. " Mr.Martell please don't worry over discounts, I'm happy to pay whatever your shop requires. " She met his eyes as if demanding he see how silly this was. They weren't two strangers surely he couldn't be serious. She wasn't expecting a happy reunion or greeting of course, but this was like they had never existed. When he mentioned how many shops he owned she shrugged a little " No, I just didn't notice I suppose." Alright so that hadn't been exactly true, she had seen the first store an hour into her trip and it had instantly taken her to those days in the garage watching him work. She hadn't know what Darren was going to do back then, but he loved cars and he was always so good at fixing things it just made sense now. She had reminisced a few miles down the road then pushed it away and focused on the task at hand. He was a young love, a part of her past and according to him they had been apparently nothing. " No that's alright, I believe you, you were the one who got my car running after I accidentally drove it into the Jacobson's pond remember?" She grinned a bit thinking about that day. She was sure her father was going to kill her but Darren had been there and saved the day, three whole weeks later it was running again like a brand new car. She didn't doubt his skill. When he called her Mrs. Clark again she put her hand on her hip and tilted her head to the side ready to argue. However when he mentioned his car she paused. That car was his life, she knew that. How was he ok with her driving his precious car around when he wouldn't even call her by her name? " Alright are you sure you're feeling ok? I know how much that car means to you I mean I have been gone for a while but I don't think the love between you and that car could have changed any." She grinned a bit before motioning to her car " Lest I remind you that is not my fault but rather a reflection of your town's disrepaired roadway systems."She looked back and him and waited for his explanation. Maybe he was feeling bad for all of the Miss Clark jabs. As she looked back at him Emma noticed he had a small smudge of oil on his cheek. Without thinking she reached forward, her thumb rubbing the mark gently and wiping it off. Freezing in place with her hand on his cheek she felt her heart stop. He wasn't hers and she had no right to be touching him, he wasn't hers to touch and she had long ago given up that right. Not to mention it was extremely rude to be randomly wiping things off of people, especially people who hated you. Plus for all she knew he was probably married. Pulling her hand back quickly she spoke a barely audible " sorry " and was thankful when he mentioned they had a lot of paperwork to go over. Nodding she followed behind him. As he opened the door he mentioned buying his grandparent's old place. " That's amazing Darren! I'm so happy for you. I know you loved that place. How are they doing by the way? Did they downsize to something smaller? I remember your grandma always said she hated Hills life." She sat down in the chair opposite of him and watched him while he began typing things out on the computer. He was so different than the boy she had memories of but yet so familiar. He still had that amazing scent she could pick from anywhere, a mix of sandalwood and car oil. He still had that always busy demeanor and those eyes, those piercing eyes were exactly as she remembered. When he brought up price and called her miss clark again she sighed " Ry I know you hate me and that's fine. I get it, I understand but miss clark? Seriously? Like we never knew each other?" |
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Post by Darren Martell on Jul 3, 2017 20:54:36 GMT
The longer she stood there in his presence the harder it was for him to keep the feelings at bay. He just couldn't deal with the emotions that were running through him from the moment he heard her voice. Emma had been the one person that he thought he could always count on, and she had dropped him like one of her last season bags. It was a horrible feeling and he couldn't stand the pain that had ran through him when she had left him like that. It was horrible, and he had become a totally different person. He was a workaholic after that, and didn't let any woman get too close to his heart again. It was one thing to spend a few nights with a chick, it was another to let her see that side of him that had died when Em had left. " You always were distracted by shiny things." he gave a half hearted chuckle, thinking of the ring he had thrown away like it was garbage, he had saved up for a year for that thing, and now it was in the sand at the bottom of the bay. A smirk however did cross his face when she called him Mr. Martell, it had clearly gotten to her, him calling her Miss Clark, but to be honest it was what he called all of his customers. He was number one in customer service in his places for a reason, he treated each customer with the utmost respect, just as they should be. " Ah now come on Emma, what kind of guy would I be if I charged someone that...never mind, I couldn't charge you full price Emma, it doesn't feel right, but its still going to be kind of steep, and I apologize for that, I just won't charge much for the labor alright?" he was happy to get the labor done, get the car fixed and get her back out of town. The longer he knew she was around the harder it was going to be on him. All these years later and still she had a firm grip on his heart that she had no idea probably even existed anymore. Not that she would care she was in love with some big shot in the big city, she didn't need some small town mechanic even if he was much more well off than he used to be. She was too good for him, always had been. Her dear parents made that evident. No matter what he did, he would never be good enough for their little princess. " Ah well that explains it." he frowned slightly, all he had accomplished and he still wasn't any more to her than some high school boyfriend that she too probably thought would never amount to anything. Surprise, surprise, he was still some jack ass from the wrong side of the tracks. Oh well. " yeah that pond wasn't ever the same either. Though apparantly its still a favorite make out spot for the high school crowd." he grinned at the memories, even though at the same time they were a white hot jab into his heart at the same time. " I'm still surprised your dad didn't skin me for trying to fix it myself instead of taking it to my dad." not that his dad was a bad mechanic, Darren was just better, and everyone knew that. When she put her hand on her hip she looked just like she did back in high school when she was ready to be sassy about something. She was a handful back then and apparantly nothing had changed. The car had always been his baby, still was, but it also held a lot of memories for him that made it difficult to drive as much as he used to. " Yeah I know, but..some things are hard to let go of." his lip twitched as he looked at her, his eyes locking on hers for a moment before looking away again. " It's just a car Em, I've got others and it's just to get you home, though I could just drive you home when I close up too, I just can't leave so I was offering so you could get to dear old mom and dad." he ran scratched at a spot on his cheek depositing a spot of oil without even realizing it. She made him nervous, which was not something he had grown used to. He hated that feeling. He froze like a stone cold statue when she touched him. He could smell the perfume she wore, not what she used to, smelled like it was even more expensive than the old stuff, but still the shampoo scent smelled the same. It was like her past was intermingling in her present and it made him remember those hours of being alone in his garage, his dad either passed out or at work, times alone that they would never have gotten at her house. Intimate moments that he cherished even now. Her skin felt soft against his cheek and his face turned a little red at her touch and as she moved away saying sorry he mumbled, " Don't." He didn't want to hear an apology, he didn't want her to move away from him, hell he wanted nothing more than to wrap her up in his arms and hold her forever, to kiss her lips again, run his fingers through her hair. He wanted her again, and it HURT. His grandparents, that was a safe subject, " Oh they decided to move down south, get away from this place. Too many memories of my mom for them and stuff." he frowned as he tapped on the keyboard keys, " I miss them but Gram hated it here, you are right about that. The place they got is a little smaller but that's what they wanted, I'll visit them when I can. I helped them get set up down there." he shrugged. He loved their place, she was right about that. The barn in particular held some good memories for him and he hoped Emma too. " I'm thinking of redoing the barn soon, but it may take me a bit. One of my horses is pregnant, she's going to foal probably any day now." horses was always one of the things that had in common. Then she hit a nerve and he clenched his teeth for a moment, his eyes full of pain as he looked at her, " I don't hate you Em, I never could hate you, you hurt me more than words can even express, but I dont HATE you." he slammed his hand down on the desk with force, " WHY did you just leave a note Emma? Christ, it was like you didn't even give a damn about me!" He took a deep breath and composed himself, " I'm sorry that was out of line. I'm calling you Miss Clark because its polite and its what I do with all my customers, its nothing against you." he buried his face in his hands for a moment, " You just left, like all those years together were nothing more than a fleeting thing that was some high school bull shit. Emma...you were so much more than that to me..." he hated feeling weak, and there she was, making him feel again, and it sucked. |
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Post by Emma Clark on Jul 8, 2017 0:54:16 GMT
 Darren had made a small joke about her being distracted by shiny things and then laughed. She had forgotten how nice his laugh was. It wasn't goofy and it wasn't rigid like someone might expect from someone so rough around the edges it was soft and warm. It was like a ray of sunshine in the dead of winter, bringing life and happiness into whatever situation he was in. She had met her fair share of guys since him and they were mostly the same. They had similar backgrounds and similar views, they all pulled for the same teams and wanted the same career paths. Their taste of drink was usually the same and their drunken laughs and clothing choices were so predictable it was almost comical. It was predictable but there was a certain security in that. She knew what she could expect with guys like that, she knew their lines and what they wanted, she knew how to impress their parents. There was no second guessing or fear in the unknown. They weren't Darren. He was adventure and excitement all wrapped up into an unpredictable package. Emma raised her eyebrow slightly as he mentioned charging someone that...her mind could fill in where he had left off of course, someone that he dated, that broke his heart, that had abandoned him, there were a lot of ways to complete that sentence, unfortunately. Still she knew there was no point in arguing, nodding her head a bit she spoke " Ok, well whatever you feel like you need to do...." She looked down at her feet a moment before continuing on "I do appreciate it, though I mean it when I say I don't expect it. Trust me, New York isn't exactly the city known for deals and discounts. " That was certainly true, at least in the circles she ran in. If you were invited to a gala event not only were you expected to pay a few grand per plate but you were also expected to shell out money towards whatever charity you were there to support. No there was no such thing as a free meal that was for sure. There was something that nagged at her though, how had he known she was in New York? She doubted her parents would have given him any information and it wasn't like she was all that famous unless someone was in the legal field perhaps" Hey...how did you know I was living in New York by the way?" She had then went to the passenger side and took care while reaching her hand in, pulling her laptop case from the damaged car. There were a few bags in the trunk of course she would need to get out, but nothing was quite as valuable as her mobile workroom. When he mentioned the old makeout spot she felt her cheeks blush hot at the memory. He really had been a good kisser. That time seemed like ages ago when she wanted nothing more than to be in his arms with nothing but adventure and happiness ahead of them just waiting on them to take a leap together. It was embarrassing now to think about the dreaming girl she had been with him, the girl who didn't want to see the ending of the book. Laughing a bit she shrugged at his comment " He hadn't been at first, but I talked him into it. I think it was one of those pick-your-battles kind of things." Her father had given Darren a chance and it had paid off of course, Darren had the car running like new. Then she had left barely five months later. She could still hear her mother and father arguing about it from their room Just let him work on it, it's not as if he'll be in her life much longer dear. She had thought her parents were crazy but in the end they had won and here she was. It was strange to hear Darren talking about the car she had jokingly told him a few times he loved more than her as if it was just any old car. Then again she supposed he wasn't the same high school kid she had fallen in love with either. Em, there it was again. That small action making her long for him to say it again. How could two letters hold so much emotion? " Ok, well it'll work for me if it works for you. I'd much rather have an escape vehicle anyway if mom and dad decide to throw a boring farewell party which...it's my parents so of course they will." She laughed a little though she was absolutely serious. She could remember pressed napkins and a full orchestra for her graduation party. Then she had put her hand on his face and made everything awkward. They had both frozen and she was left feeling like the worst person in the world which was then validated when he told her don't. It was hard knowing you were so completely and totally in the wrong. Even if you had the best reasons in the world, even if you knew that it was what needed to be done it wasn't much consolation when you were face to face with the pain your choices made. They had thankfully went inside and he had begun talking about his grandparents. She had loved them, much more than her own maybe. They had always been so warm and loving. They hadn't ever made her feel like she wasn't enough or ask a million questions about her future. They had always seemed happy that she and Darren were happy. When the conversation turned to horses her smile brightened " Aww, I haven't been riding in ages. I mean I've been to the polo field which is exactly as boring as it sounds by the way but I haven't gotten to ride in forever. Mom and Dad sold Pharoh after I left of course." She loved that horse. He was smart and regal and while she saw him as slightly mischevious her parents had seen him as challenging and not worth their time. Her parents had told her a few months after she had left almost as a side note. Alright honey we've paid tuition for the year be sure to study hard and oh by the way we sold your horse. Talk to you soon dear. It was a small blip to them but she had cried more than she would ever admit after hanging up. When Darren had burst out that he didn't hate her she really didn't know what surprised her most. The fact that he was practically yelling at her or the fact that he was saying he didn't hate her, he had been hurt but he didn't hate her. She almost couldn't believe it. There was no way someone could cause another person so much pain and that person not hate the other. She felt her lip quiver a bit, her eyes threatening to spill over. Why? Why did she have to face the one person she had hoped she would never have to see again on her first day back? It was repentance she was sure, she knew she deserved to see him so upset, she knew the bill would need to be paid one day but she hadn't seen it coming today. She had to take a deep breath, willing her voice to be strong as she tried to answer him " I'm...I'm sorry Rhy. I didn't want to. It's not like I knew I was going to leave from the moment I met you or something. I thought....I wanted..." She felt a tear slide down her cheek and she paused a moment. How do you tell someone that your heart broke just as much as you broke theirs? That your actions solidified a chain of unfulfilled relationships from that moment on. " I had to leave a note because I knew if I told you in person then I wouldn't have been able to do it and I had to do it. There was no plan B. There was no future together where we would have been happy Rhy, admit it. We were kids with silly ideas about love and life. You're a family guy and you love this small town I....I'm nothing like what you need." Her parents could spin it however they wanted to whoever they wanted but she had always known in her heart that it was she who wasn't good enough for him. He was kind where she was cynical, he was romantic where she was realistic, he was a dreamer and she was a pessimist. He didn't deserve to be a part of a family who would never accept him, he deserved so much more than anything she or her family's money could give him. When he said she treated what they had like some high school fling she could physically feel her heart being wrenched. The tears were falling freely now and she hated that she was crying. She didn't cry. She lost one of her first cases at her firm and her boss had yelled at her in front of all of the staff and she hadn't cried. Yet here she was, back in this town feeling like a terrible person and crying like a child. " Darren I'm sorry. I am so sorry and I know that doesn't change anything or affect anything but I mean it. I never wanted to hurt you. You were the only person in this whole town who I cared about and when I left...a piece of me stayed with you. I know it doesn't make it right and you probably won't understand but my parent's..." She had never told anyone about that day. How her parents had tried guilting her into leaving and when that hadn't worked they had done something she hadn't seen coming. It was embarrassing and filled her with shame and regret every moment from that second on but he deserved to know. Steeling herself she took a breath before continuing " My parents came to me the day before and told me that if I didn't leave, if I didn't go then they wo-" she paused as her phone began vibrating on his desk snapping her out of her thoughts. The name " Jake" flashing across the screen, she pursed her lips a moment as it then went silent, flashing that she had two missed calls before going off again. Clearing her throat she grabbed the phone numbly " I should...I should answer this. " Turning from him she walked towards the other side of the room, speaking into the phone, trying to sound as normal as she could " Yea, sorry I got into a bit of a wreck. No the car is going to need repairs. I know...I'm sorry. There was a...deer. I'll let you know when I get back home I'm still at the shop. I know Jake. I'll be back in time, it shouldn't take longer than two weeks. This is just a small s- I know...I know. I will. I said I would and I will. Ok, bye." She exhaled a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and wiped any of the tears that had still stubbornly refused to leave her cheek away. " Sorry about...that. Look I was...am...a terrible person ok? I'm awful and there isn't an excuse for what I did. You deserved better then and you deserve better now ok? " She looked away again, brushing more traitorous tears away. |
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