Chain Reaction 3.49: My Precious

Emily

Where are you?

I'm still in the park.

I'll be there in a minute.

     Plum.

     What is Alex going to say when he gets here and finds the place practically deserted?

     "Where is everyone?" He looks around, sees Alaric on the bench, and then looks at me. I don't blame him for looking suspicious.

     "They went home hours ago. We're reconvening in a few hours near city hall."

     "Why didn't you come home?" He approaches me, and his loving eyes search mine... until I close them.

     How do I tell him that I just had to talk to Drake? It's not like I was doing anything bad, but I don't know if he'd understand. "Alaric was asleep." That was a weak excuse.

     "Yes, so you let him spend half the night on a park bench? Why not just bring him home?" Alex sounds so loving that it's killing me! Doesn't he know how much I want to shake him? He can't possibly understand how stressed out I am about my dad. I've tried to talk to him, but he just doesn't get it.

      I still haven't opened my eyes.
     "Emily?"

      I open them. He looks concerned. I take a breath. "Did you know Drake organized the protest? He said he's the one to work with the newspapers to get the retraction, et cetera."

      "Well, that answers one question I've been asking myself." He pauses. "How did you find out? He told you?"

      "Yes." I don't need to say more. I'm sure he can guess how that came about.

      "So that took hours?"

      Does he think I cheated?! I look at him closely now. He does! "We talked; I yelled at him about everything; and then we played chess."
     "You were yelling at him then decided to play chess with him?" When he says it like that, he makes it sound like I'm crazy.
     "I had issues!" And Drake didn't reply to any of them. He distracted me. With chess. "I had to know why he did all that. Did anything, really. I hope you don't think something happened. Alex..." My lower lip quivers.

     His fingertips stroke my hand before he wraps his hand around mine. "Emily, let's go home. You need to rest."
     He strokes the back of my hand with his thumb, and I hate how I suddenly see what Drake sees. No! Stop it! Get out of my head! I've never seen Alex as preying on me. I don't want to start.
     Why is my world collapsing?!
     Alex's voice sounds soothing. "Let's go home, get some rest, and then I want to help." His other hand reaches up to caress my cheek. "What can I do to help? Obviously, I can help by protesting right alongside you, but do they need funding?" He smiles. "Do you want me to hire professional protestors?" He's joking with the last bit, I know, but he looks like he really wants to help.
     Why? He hates Dad. Is it just because it's what I want?
     These Goth men are all the same. I look at my son. And I brought another one into the world.
     I start crying from the horrible feeling of thinking that last thought.
     Alex wraps his arms around me and kisses my hair.

     "My precious Emily, let's go home."

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Drake

     Dad is a master craftsman. Of course, he has a leg up on me. He hasn't been an asshole to her in the past. Ugh! Look at him! Caressing her face like I dreamed of doing all night.
     There he goes. Back in her good graces again.

     I hate how he so easily schmoozes his way back. He'll have her eating out of his hand in a moment. Oh, maker. I'm standing here like a loser watching them kiss.
     Turning around, I make myself go to bed. Baby steps, Drake. Baby steps.
     All in all, I think I did rather well tonight. I stealthily avoided any conversation that would involve me verbally drooling all over her. In fact, I made it a point that I wasn't going to. She brought it up, and all I did was say that my reasons were obvious.
     She made some very good points tonight, though. One of them was that I don't know what love is. Perhaps there was some truth to her words when she said I only started dating her to tweak her father's nose. Then why do I think about her all the plumbing time?
     She's nuts. Of course I know what love is: It's being filled with the notion that you'll do anything to get and keep someone in your life.
     Satisfied with my revelation, I decide to get a little sleep.

     When I wake up, I go downstairs and eat dinner, watching Morgan's ass sway back and forth as she feeds Valentino. Maybe next time I'll hire an older, less attractive nanny. I'm as randy as a March hare--or however the saying goes--and there she is casually flaunting that perfect ass.
     I want my precious Emily. Badly. So badly that right now, any hot woman will do. And Morgan is hawt.

     I told myself I need to stop getting distracted! I need to stop wanting to bang the nanny. She's made it clear she's not interested, and I'm trying to be a better person.
     But I would feel so much better if I were to just throw her against the counter, yank down her shorts, and have done with it. Plum, Melody was so good for that.
     I hit the bag harder, perhaps bruising a knuckle.