Memories of the Heart: The Emmett Bledsoe Chronicles
Chapter 1:
A/N: Trying something a bit different guys. This will be a collection of Emmett chapters. All told in flashback form. It starts from the first time Emmett sees Bay five years after graduating high school, although it might flashback to some parts of high school as well. Depending on the popularity, I'll see how far I shall continue.
August 5, 2019:
It's the first time he's seen her in five years. He honestly can't believe she's here. It's not that things ended badly with them. They just simply ended. She knew – and he knew – they both knew that he couldn't keep hanging onto her. It wasn't right or fair to either of them. She had let him down gently on the evening of what would have been her brother's wedding, letting him know that this time she would be waiting for Ty to return from his deployment.
She wanted him to find someone good, someone better, better than her. The problem was, that was simply impossible to grasp. Someone better than Bay Kennish? Was she kidding? There was no one better than Bay Kennish; not for him. But he needed to let her go. After all, wasn't that was she was doing for him? Letting him go? Be free to fly, Emmett; soar those beautiful wings of yours and fly.
He couldn't be angry with her. He knew she needed him, but she was making a choice for both of their happiness. He loved her for that. So, he let her let him go.
They spent their senior year at Carlton being cordial and civil to each other. Friendly, but not friends. It was difficult as they were thrust together many times, but things got a bit easier once he met Jo. She transferred in a couple of months into senior year. She was striking, beautiful, and he did fall for her. He even fell in love with her, but being in love with Jo wasn't the same as being in love with Bay. He realized that at the Kennishes' graduation party. They were just two different levels of love. However, he tried to make it work with Jo. He really did. They managed to stay together throughout his freshman year at Gallaudet, but at the end of the day, it wasn't meant to be. Since then he had a few more relationships. All wonderful in their own way, but none as intoxicating as the one he shared with Bay.
Meanwhile, Bay, who ended up matriculating at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, had managed to continue her relationship with Ty all during his deployment, and then two years after. He found out through Daphne that when Bay turned 21, Ty proposed. Bay turned him down and they broke up. He hadn't heard of any new suitors since then.
Avoiding Bay was both painful and necessary. It was also difficult and easy. Although they both found themselves home for the holidays and summer breaks, Emmett tried his best to stay away from any place he knew she'd be. He and Daphne would hang out at his house. Awesomesauce was on-and-off due to Emmett's schedule as well as Toby's, who eventually found himself at WashU. And after a while, it became even more simplified when he took summer classes at Gally and Bay stayed behind in Chicago for summer internships. She ended up moving there permanently after graduating and he came back to KC.
It was really for the best, he thought. Until now.
He wasn't prepared for this – for her.
She was dressed in a black dress and her normally wild, messy, curly hair was in a bun. Damn, she was still beautiful. That dress on anyone else would look ordinary. On Bay, it was breathtaking.
He was hoping she wouldn't notice him although how stupid was that? Of course she would notice him. And she does. She smiles.
His heart stops beating for a millisecond and he has to remember how to breathe as she walks towards him. When she is a mere inch from him, she stops.
"Emmett."
That's all she has to say. He's already become undone. The façade he's put up for the past five years is beginning to unravel. "Bay who?" he would say. "Oh, yeah. There was this girl in high school, but that's over," to various girls.
"Bay," he responds.
She hugs him, tightly. When she pulls back, she is positively glowing.
"Emmett! This is awesome! I am just – I am so proud of you. Your photography in a gallery, with prospective buyers! Someone is going to end up purchasing this. You must be thrilled."
"Yeah, I am. Thrilled."
His palms are sweaty. He wants to say more, but they are interrupted by his agent, Paul.
"Emmett, you should really be mingling."
Bay just looks at him, embarrassed that she's taken up too much of his time. Holding him back, yet again.
"Go. We'll catch up later."
And so he does.
Three hours later and she's still there. She's staring at his photograph. She looked to be in awe, mesmerized by its beauty. It was of a broken bridge.
"Do you like it?"
"Like it? Emmett, it's amazing. Seriously. People would be crazy to not buy this piece."
He smiles and hugs her, and as he does, his cheek brushes up ever so slightly against her lips.
"Thank you."
She rolls her eyes, but is still smiling. She lightly punches him.
"Don't thank me. I should be thanking you. This gives me hope that one day my art will be here. One day someone will appreciate it."
"I've always appreciated your art, Bay."
She bites her lip unsure of what to say next. There was always an underlying electricity between them and neither one was ever really sure how to handle it.
"I know. I didn't mean it like that."
"I know."
He takes a peak at his watch. It's nearly midnight and the gallery has pretty much cleared out except for him and Bay. He doesn't want her to go; not this time.
"Do you maybe want to go back to my studio? It's been so long and we should catch up."
She bites her lip again.
"You know? That would be great."
Fifteen minutes later they arrive at Emmett's studio. Bay is impressed at the artwork on the walls, but then again, she was always drawn to Emmett's artistic eye.
"Well, this isn't quite the man cave I was expecting."
Ah. Classic Bay.
"When have you ever known me to be just an ordinary guy?"
She just stares at him for a second. They lock eyes. "Never."
He goes to the fridge and takes out two beers. Nothing special; just Coors Light. He hands her one and she leans up against his counter top. They clink their beers before drinking.
"So," Emmett begins, "How's Ty?"
She cocks one eye at him seeing right through his crap.
"Emmett, that's been over for a while."
"Oh?"
She laughs.
"Daphne told you about that."
"So what if she did?"
She shakes her head.
"Okay. No Ty. Anyone else in your life? Anyone special?" He's praying silently that she says no.
"Nope. Just a lot of unlucky un-special people. You?"
"Me? No. Lots of….un-special people for me, too."
"Bay and Emmett: Unlucky in Love. They should start a reality show about us."
He laughed.
"I'm sure that would be riveting." A beat passes. He wants to ask her. "Why do you suppose it hasn't worked for us? Relationships I mean."
She shifts her eyes down to the floor. Clearly, it's something she has thought about, too.
"I don't know. I guess if I am being totally honest, nothing has ever felt right since…."
She doesn't let herself finish.
He takes both of their beers out of their hands and places them on the counter.
"Nothing has ever felt right since what, Bay?"
She stares at him again, longing to answer, but also terrified of what might come from what she has to say.
"Since you and me."
He doesn't do anything immediately. He lets it linger there for a few minutes, and then, he puts his arms around her waist and kisses her. He doesn't expect for her to kiss him back, but she does. And they aren't soft pecks; they are real kisses, the definition of passion. She's as hungry for him as he is for her. It's been what, nearly seven years since they had a real reciprocated kiss? God, he's missed her.
He leads her into his bedroom, which isn't so much a separate room, but rather a bed surrounded by dividers. When they get there, he helps her take her dress off. She's wearing this beautiful laced black bra.
She moves onto the bed and he follows. He gets on top of her and kisses her some more. He wants to feel her so badly, he's almost about to burst. It's been years of longing and now he gets to have her.
But he doesn't. She stops him.
"I'm sorry. I can't."
She kneels to the floor to collect her dress and then proceeds to put it on. Emmett is just looking at her, the same face he had when she left him at Blue River Road.
"Emmett, don't look at me like that. I'm sorry. I am. This just doesn't feel right. We haven't seen each other in five years, have barely spoken, and you want it to happen like this?"
"Why not like this? When has our relationship ever gone according to rules or plans?"
She shakes her head.
"It shouldn't happen like this, alright?"
She is so full of crap he can hardly stand it.
"Bay, come off it. This isn't about timing. This is about you. This has always been about you." She is puzzled. He sighs. "Why do you run?"
"I don't run."
"You run. You know what we could have, what we could be, what we were. You've always known and you are just too scared to let yourself feel anything because you got hurt the first time. Well, I'm sorry. I am. I know I hurt you, but I can't take it back. But, you know what? That's life. There are some risks that are worth taking. When are you going to realize that? When are you going to realize that we are one of those risks?"
Bay was indignant now. "You don't know what you're talking about, Emmett."
"I don't? Then why did you say no to Ty's proposal? Why are there a number of un-special guys, Bay? If it was really about not loving me, about being over me, then why haven't you let yourself move on?"
Tears began to stream down her face. Suddenly, she didn't look 23 at all. She looked 16 again, her face filled with the same fear and sadness as it was at prom when he confessed his infidelity.
"I just can't do this right now."
She didn't wait for him to say anything else as she turned around and walked out the door.
Emmett wondered if his words had penetrated her heart and maybe, just maybe, she would be back and ready. Ready to finally start a life with him. All he had left was hope.
A/N 2: All right guys. Please let me know if you would like me to continue or if this sucks. I can promise things will start to look up for Bay and Emmett. :)