"Will! Stop it!" Emma heard the high pitch scream from the choir room, and she couldn't help being drawn to see what was going on. When she arrived, what she saw sent her up a freaking wall. Will was twirling a tall, leggy, blonde woman around, pulling her in and kissing her every few turns. Wait- that tall, leggy, whore-of-a-woman was the one and only Holly Holliday, the English sub. Emma was shocked! Had Will really moved on? Sure, she was married… but that doesn't mean she didn't feel a little, tiny pang of jealousy when she saw Will happy again. Not that she didn't want him happy; of course she wanted him happy! But… she wanted him to be happy, with her. "Oh my God." The realization of the conclusion she had just come to hit her like a wall of bricks. She abruptly turned and ran through the empty halls of McKinley, needing to get home. Needing to talk to Carl. Needing to end things with him.
She all but completely broke when she got to her car. Her eyes were overflowing with tears; it was no doubt she looked like crap. Her make-up was probably running, staining her cheeks, and dripping down onto the steering wheel, but she could care less. She turned on the radio, hoping that music would lift her mood, but to no avail. The first song that came on was All By Myself, by Eric Carmen, oh the irony. She remembered sitting in her car over a year ago, crying to the same song. But oh how things have changed. She was married now. Well, not for long she wasn't! Her tears had subsided enough for her to drive, so she stuck the key in the ignition and started home. She was anxious the whole ride- she had no idea how Carl would respond. Hopefully he wouldn't mention Will. Emma didn't think she could talk any mention of him right now…
Twenty minutes later, Emma was pulling up in front of the apartment complex. She walked up to the third floor, and found apartment 322. After digging her key out of her purse, she hesitantly walked into the apartment. She found Carl standing over the stove, making spaghetti.
"Hey, Emmie! How was work?" He flashed his trade mark smile, that looked like it belonged to an old sitcom character, and would normally calm her. But tonight, only one person could calm her down, and he was probably making out with the English substitute.
"Carl.. can we talk?" His face dropped, as if he knew what was coming.
"Sure. What's up?" She took his hand and led him to the couch, when they were sitting, she took a deep breath and started her story.
"Look, Carl, I can't do this anymore…"
"Do what, Emma? Talk to me."
"Be married. I should have never said yes… I'm so sorry. I just got caught up in the spur of the moment, and I didn't want to hurt you. But the truth is, my heart has never truly been in this. I'm so sorry." She dared to meet his eyes. Oddly, he didn't look all that upset.
"Well, it took you long enough to say something. When you wouldn't sleep with me on our wedding night, I knew that it was bound to break. But, I kept believing that we could fix it, somehow. I'm not mad at you, Emma. Will you just answer one question?" She nodded, and knew the question long before it left his lips. "Is it Will?" She just nodded, and stood up.
"I still have my apartment across town, so I'm going to head out. Goodbye, Carl." She took the ring off and placed it in his hand.
"Bye, Emma. I'll have the annulment papers drawn up in the morning." And with that, she was gone. Her marriage was over. Her left hand was no longer weighed down by a ring that filled her insides with remorse and regret every time she looked down. You would think that she'd be upset, but she was relieved. For the first time since sectionals last year, she smiled. A real smile, on that reached her eyes, and lit up her entire face.
Upon arriving at her apartment, she felt a comforting sense of familiarity. She changed, showered, and was picking up, when she heard the doorbell ring. She was shocked as to who was behind it.
"Holly? What are you doing here? Its-" She briefly turned around to look at the clock "almost eleven o'clock!" But looking at her eyes, Emma saw they were bloodshot and swollen.
"Well, I wanted to tell you that Will really, really loves you. And, I live two doors down, an di was wondering if I could borrow your mixer… I don't have one, and I'm making cookies!"
"Uh, ya sure. Just come in for minute while a grab it. What happened with Will? I thought you guys were together?" Emma wondered how she kept herself composed while talking to Holly, who had been twirling around the choir room with Will just hours earlier.
"He broke up with me tonight. Said he was in love with is best friend. I'm not stupid, anyone with eyes can see he's completely in love with you." Emma pulled the mixer out of her cabinet, and Holly walked out the door. "Emma, just talk to him, okay? He's breaking. He just isn't the same…"
"Okay, I will. Goodnight Holly." She shut the door, and a flood of guilt washed over her. She knew that Will had been upset, but broken? Over her? Why? Deciding she would talk to him at school in the morning, she headed off to bed, to a dreamland where everything was perfect, no dentists, English substitutes, or crazy ex-wife's screwing up people's lives.