EMMA

"Ow, shoot," I grumble, balancing my coffee cup with my chin and stack of manuscripts, while juggling the keys to my office door. Saving the manuscripts, I dribble coffee down my arm, leaving sticky residue under my sleeve.

"Need a hand?" Adam asks behind me. "It's okay to ask for help, you know,"

I turn to him sheepishly, grinning politely, feeling a flush of embarrassment as I recall the last time I saw him at the bar. When I stared just a little too long before finally turning away.

"Thanks," I mutter as he pushes my door open, dressed impeccably today in a crisp button up and navy dress pants. "For everything," I add as I dump my belongings on my desk, hoping he won't push it any further. I don't want to even think about Beau right now, never mind discuss him with Adam.

Just hang in until Boston, I remind myself. I'll see Beau and we'll talk, and things will all be better. At least that's what I'm trying to convince myself.

"Hey, I've got a lunch meeting today, so don't wait up for me." Adam reminds me and I feel my heart sink. Lunches without Adam are always the worst.

"Knock 'em dead," I smile encouragingly before watching him return to his office, sending me one last apprehensive look over his shoulder.

With a sigh, I start up my laptop, drumming my fingers over the cool surface of the trackpad. The hallway is quiet today - Jerry is on vacation and Wren has been sick the past few days, leaving Adam, Lizzie, Tori, and I to have the space to ourselves while Jess mans the front desk. I turn on some music to tune out the silence and focus on getting next weeks calendar organized.

About an hour or so goes by before my belly begins to rumble. Reaching for my bottom desk drawer, I find I've officially run out of office snacks. I'll have to grab some more, I make a mental note, deciding I'll refill Adam's M&M jar, as well, since I so often am the one to polish it off.

On my way to the break room, I stop outside Lizzie's office, a familiar tune catching my attention. As quietly as I can, I press my ear to her door, making sure no one else is coming down the hall. By now, the lyrics are fuzzy in my memory, but some part of my brain still remembers the rhythm. Once Beau's voice joins in the chorus, the old MisFits song is nearly rolling off my tongue.

Lizzie hums along, the sound of a pen tapping the desk in time accompanying her voice.

That's when something clicks, sending me backwards a couple of steps. I almost smirk as the realization becomes fully clear: it's not that Lizzie doesn't like me, it's that she's jealous of me.

For all of her snide comments about me being with a celebrity - Beau is exactly why she acts so nasty. But not because he's a rockstar - rather, because she is a fan.

I let out a content sigh, mood infinitely improved by this revelation. I shake my head slowly: I'd bet anything that Beau was even her favorite MisFit.

I nearly stumble into the break room, preoccupied with my recent discovery, and am shocked to see Tori curled up on the couch, a book in her hands.

There goes my mood.

Saying nothing, I search the cabinets for any "up for grabs" snack I can find, the hunger rumbling in my stomach once more. Maybe I'll bring Adam a coffee, I decide, not liking the tension between us.

I jump at Tori's voice. "Hey, Emma."

Looking at her over my shoulder, I nod slightly. "Tori,"

Magnified in the glasses she wears, her eyes are dark and wide like Rey's. Equally as dark hair is pulled in a slick bun, giving her a wise librarian look today.

She sets the book aside on the couch, untangling her long legs to lean forward and look at her feet.

Letting my gaze fall, I return to hunting for some food. I put a tea bag in my mug, press the button on the coffee maker for Adam, and grab a crinkled package of smushed toaster pastries.

Feeling a bit rude, I turn to face Tori and lean against the counter casually, chewing the crumbled snack slowly.

She blushes, smiling sheepishly. "Hey, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."

I nearly drop my mug to the floor. It looks like today has more in store than I thought.

"I shouldn't have gone along with Lizzie. At first it was kinda funny," She shakes her head. "I guess it never really was. But that thing at the bar was too far,"

"It was." I agree, knowing Lizzie must know of Beau's addiction. "Thanks for apologizing."

Grabbing her book and nodding to herself, Tori offers me one last smile before quietly resuming her reading. The tension in the air dissipates a bit; the break room becomes more inviting and warm, the way it was when I interned over the summer and could only sneak peaks when the door opened and closed.

Feeling satisfied in more ways than one, I bring the rest of my tea back to my office, dropping Adam's mug off cheerfully, a new pep in my step.

***

I approach the coffee shop right as I see Gemma and Nadine walking out, each with a bag of pastry in hand. The difference in height makes me chuckle - Gemma could make anyone look tall, but when someone actually is, like myself or Nadine, well, the result is comical.

"Emmie," Gemma wraps me in a hug, pulling me down to her level.

"You want something before I lock up?" Nadine offers, lazily tossing her keys from hand to hand. I shake my head gratefully.

"I was looking for you. Both of you, actually." I laugh, looping my arm through Nadine's and walking them back to her car, parked across the street to save room for customers in the lot. "I'm feeling a fancy dinner out, lots of cocktails."

"Oh," Gemma doesn't sound excited. How strange. "Actually, Em, I have a date."

"We both do," Nadine rolls her eyes, shooting me a knowing look when Gemma isn't watching. "Gemma's boyfriend has a friend, apparently."

"And I think they're going to be perfect together. I told Nadine it'll be good to give dating a try, don't you think?" Gemma's smile is infectious despite the slight yearning I feel, wishing I could go with them.

"I'm always telling you to date," I bump my hip against Nadine's as we finally arrive at her car. "I seem to remember you always telling me I worked too much." My eyebrows raise in a challenge.

"Don't get your hopes up," Nadine stifles a yawn with her hand. "He's too young."

Now it's Gemma's turn to roll her eyes. "He's only a couple of years younger than you. Connor says he's great,"

Without listening for an argument, she hops into the passenger side, already nibbling on her muffin.

"How do you do it with that one?" Nadine sighs.

I smile after my friend, "Go on, she might be right, you know."

Nadine shakes her head again, the setting sun catching her deep skin beautifully, "You don't want to join?"

I turn the offer down, not wanting to play the fifth wheel. I wish them both a great night and make Nadine promise to call me and spill every detail once she's home. When they finally pull away from the parking lot, I watch after them, long after the car has faded from view.

Taking my time walking across town to my condo, I stop in the general store where Stevie used to work. Behind the counter is a teenaged boy, shy and awkward at the register.

I stroll through the aisles leisurely, nodding hello to some of the people I recognize, smiling at the preteen girls over by the magazine stand. For dinner, I decide on something simple: chicken noodle soup from the can. Scanning the rows of granola, I select a box of honey oat and chocolate chip bars, and then another dried fruit variety. Down the candy aisle, I find my last item: the jumbo bag of M&M candies for Adam. The oily skinned boy behind the counter counts my change carefully before finally sending me on my way.

The slight evening breeze raises goose flesh on my forearms and I pull Beau's flannel around my torso more tightly. Missing his voice, I dial his number but am disappointed to hear his voicemail pick up.

Frowning, I decide to call Val - realizing I miss her voice, too.

"Emma!" Val is cheery, uplifting my nostalgic mood immediately. "It's been too long, girl. What's up?"

"Just walking home some groceries. I miss you, Val. How's LA treating you?" I cross the main intersection of town, carrying my paper bag in one hand and holding my phone with the other.

"I can't believe you don't like it here," I know she can't, I chuckle. "But hey, I actually saw Beau today. Which is weird because he's on tour?"

My brows furrow as my lips turn down in a frown. I almost don't notice the bike coming down the sidewalk until it's right on top of me and I just narrowly stumble out of the way, almost dropping my phone.

Regaining my composure, I try not to let on that I wasn't aware Beau was in the city. If he saw Val, it must not have been a secret. I need to trust him: we may never work if I do, but we're doomed for certain if I can't.

"That must've been awkward. I know he kinda made things hard for you towards the end there." I've finally reached my neighborhood then, the sound of dogs barking and kids laughing reminding me why I picked the place.

"Oh, who cares at this point?" Val waves it off. "It's in the past. Plus, it did make for decent experience on my resume."

"True," I chuckle, entering the condo and making my way to the kitchen, dropping my work bag at the door and kicking my shoes off in the hall. I chat with Val mindlessly as I let my soup simmer on the stove, allowing myself to be distracted by her outrageous stories of clients even wilder than Beau.

By the time we're off the phone, I've talked myself into a better mood. Checking the clock and then my cell, I notice that Nadine hasn't called - maybe her date went better than expected, after all. I hope that it did.

Grabbing The Great Gatsby from my end table, I curl myself into my knitted blanket and pick up right where I left off, eyes already heavy with sleep.

Hi loves - thanks for reading!
Emma's putting her faith in Beau, but is he doing right by her?
And looks like Lizzie's secret is out!
Let me know what you think in the comments ❤️