Chapter 4: Uh, Oh

Dave was staring at Emily,

“Are you okay, you look pale, is it Hunter? Did something happen to him? Why are you dressed like this in the cold? Bestie, please say something.”

When Emily had walked out of the Thorne mansion with nothing, not even her phone, she hadn’t been thinking of anything except that she had to get away before she killed someone, which would most likely be herself.

However, she was there, standing on the road, barefooted and cold with no phone or clothing or even her books. So, when she saw a teenage girl riding her bicycle, she had no choice but to beg to use the girl’s phone to call the only person in the world who she could trust, Dave. And now he was here, looking concernedly at her as though she wasn’t the same girl who had abandoned him for three years. How stupid was she to think that abandoning her life, her family and her friends would make her more acceptable to the Thornes?

“Dave, I’m okay, I just needed someone and the only one that came to mind was you. I know I haven’t been…”

“Get in the car, Em. You’re looking terrible enough, we don’t need to add frostbite or pneumonia.”

Sitting in the car, covered in Dave’s huge black jacket as he drove home, Emily began to tell him all that had been happening to her. The more she talked, the more his hands twitched angrily until he couldn't hold it in.

Banging the steering wheel, he stopped the car. When he looked at her, there were tears in his eyes.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me about what was going on? I was waiting for your call every damn day! I kept on rushing to the phone every time it rang thinking it was you, every damn time, Em. Why the fuck didn’t you call me? I would’ve dealt with that son of a bitch!”

“I’m sorry, Dave, but I kept on hoping things would get better. And I was scared of what you’d say after I disregarded your warnings and went ahead with the marriage. I was so scared.” Emily sniffed and looked out of the window.

"Em, everyone makes mistakes. After you got married to him, I kept on thinking, what if I had been wrong? Every day, I felt even worse for pushing you away. Em, Hunter was your choice, and I want you to know that I respect that."

Emily sobbed,how could Dave be so kind to her when she had destroyed their years of friendship because of a silly obsession she had.

"Every day Dave, I kept on wishing I had listened to you. I'm so sorry."

Dave took both of her hands in his big, warm palms,

“You're safe now. That bastard will never treat you like trash again, I'll make sure of it.” Dave's eyes flashed with anger.

“Thank you, D, thank you so much for being there.” Using the napkin to wipe her eyes, Emily sat up straight as Dave began to drive them away, to safety.

Knowing that he was still angry, Emily carefully avoided mentioning anything else about Hunter or his family members to Dave, or anything about the past years of her life. Instead, she asked him about his. Turned out, his life had not exactly been much better than hers. With an exception, his love life was so much more better.

“Luckily, I recently found the best thing that ever happened to me. My soulmate, Hunter, you'll adore him.” Dave gushed.

Noticing her silence, he understood what she was thinking about,

“Don't worry about it, Em. We don't live together and I've told Hunter so much about you that I'm sure you'll fall in love with each other at first sight. And trust me, he might not be as rich as his namesake, but he's definitely a better person. And a good lover.” he giggled.

Emily playfully punched him and they both burst out laughing.

"So tell me about him." Emily prodded.

"Okay, so Hunter is a 6 ft 2 hunk. He works out. Has six packs the size of your hips. He has stunning tanned skin and his pink lips are to kill for. Furthermore, his blond hair shines like burnished silver in the sun, and I've heard many people say he has the perfect physique of a Greek god. Ooo, and his hands... "

Dave broke off, noticing that Emily had gone completely quiet.

" Wait, did I say something wrong? Is it because he seems like Hunter? I promise you, Hunter Hinsley is nothing like Hunter Thorne. He's much more hotter."

They burst out laughing.

" No, Dave, though I'd like to argue against your point that Hunter is hotter. However, I asked you to tell me about him, not describe how hot he is, you demon." She laughed.

"Oh, Hunter is an architect. He works with the Dell builders and he's the chief architect of their team. And he's just thirty-two. Satisfied?" Dave snickered.

Emily was quiet for a while, before replying, "Dave, Hunter Thorne owns Dell." Once again silence filled the car.

Looking out of the window, Emily resolved. A painful one, but one that she needed to take. One that she had made before, but now, she was sure of what she wanted.

“Dave,” she called.

“Em?”

“Tomorrow, I'll apply for a divorce. I'm done with the Thornes. Maybe I've finally come to my senses. After the divorce, I will go back home, the perfect prodigal daughter and maybe my family will accept me back.”

Dave took his eyes off the road for a second and looked at her before taking one of her hands in his, while with the other one, he steered the wheel.

“You know I've got your back. Whatever you decide to do, I'll be in full support. I always have.”

For a while, everything seemed okay. Now that she was out of the Thorne family, she could try to build her life back, the future was beginning to be a little brighter.

Until they got to the house and just when Emily was about to get out of the car, she crumbled down.