A/N: So close to 13,000 views and so blessed to have you all following along side this journey with me. We are nearing the end of the climax of this story, so I hope you all are starting to prepare yourself for some forms of resolution to start coming over the next dozen chapters or however long this ends up being.
Thank you tremendously for all of the support. Sending you all so much love!
*This is gone through a basic edit, so please ignore any glaring errors for at least the first few days this is posted.*
"What? Can you try that again for me? I can't understand – No. Em, wait. Give me a minute. I'm in the living room with Caleb, let me go somewhere quieter. Can you breathe for me, please? Are you okay? Is your mom alright? Start over for me, love."
"I can't leave." Hanna caught the end of Emily's sentence as she closed her bedroom door behind herself.
"Leave? Emily, what are you talking about? I can't understand what you're saying through the tears."
"The bathroom! I can't leave. I can't walk out and face her."
"Look, babe. I know you think you're making sense right now, but there's no fucking way I could even attempt to put the 15 words you've said to me into a cohesive thought. Are you locked in the bathroom? Are you stuck? Do you need me to call –"
Emily groaned, on the other end of the line, "I didn't know who to call."
"That's okay; I'm here. Can you text Maya to come over while I talk you through it?"
"No. She's already here."
Confusion soared through Hanna's words, "But you called me instead?"
"She's asleep. I guess I typically would've called Alison, but she's divorcing me." Pause reentered the conversation as Emily's sobs drenched the other end of the line.
"What do you mean, Ali's divorcing you?"
"She sent the papers. She must've met with a lawyer and wants to go through with it. I haven't even been able to read them yet; the words all blur when I try to get them into focus."
"Could you call Spence? Could she help you?"
"Well, they came from her mother's law firm. Not from her office. The middle guy in the firm's name, Dominic Miller? So, I'm sure Spencer's already involved somehow."
"Alright. I mean, this isn't the worst thing, Em. We knew it was headed this way, right? You and Maya have wanted this since you got engaged, I presume. This is just the first step to that."
"Yeah. But that's another reason I called. I can't talk to Maya anymore. I think I'm losing my mind and might be engaged to a sociopath? That's why I locked myself in the bathroom. I don't think I can leave and face her. Han, am I going crazy?"
"A sociopath? Emily, what are you talking about? Why do you think that?"
"When these divorce proceedings showed up today, I called her over here to talk about it because I have to draft some sort of response so that deliberations can begin. But the things Maya was saying to me didn't make sense. I was trying to empathize with Alison to head in the direction of wanting an amicable divorce. But, she kept trying to spin my empathy. Like I was trying to calm down and understand, but she wanted to keep my upset, I think? My mind is still spinning. During that conversation, though, I think that Maya might have been… I don't know how to say it. Stalling me?"
"How so? Wouldn't she want you to be divorced for the two of you to then get married?"
"She does. It's complicated… It's like she wants the divorce to happen her way when she's not even involved. She wants me mad about it. But if this is actually what's best for Ali, Liv, and me, why would I be mad at her for doing what's best for us? You know?"
"Yeah, that does seem weird. She should be happy that it's headed toward an end."
"That's what I thought! And when I attempted to start making decisions about it, she kept twisting it around to being Alison's problem. But now that I've had time to think about it, I don't think it's Alison's problem. It's my fault we're in this mess."
"No shit, Em."
"Would I be crazy to think that Maya's manipulating me? Would it be so farfetched that Maya's looking for a way to gain something from my anger or my pain?" Hanna was silent on the other end of Emily's question. "Han?"
"No, Emily. I wouldn't be surprised."
"Really? Fuck. I started thinking about it tonight… it's like the way she phrases things. When I look back, they're unsettling. It's as if she wants the power, but not just in our relationship. She wants power over me and my actions and decisions. Anytime I come close to actually deciding how I want to move forward, she interjects or distracts me with sex or guilts me into reassuring her how much I care about her. And I do. I love her a lot, but part of me knows that Alison never spoke to me like Maya does. Alison never speaks that way to me even now. She wants me to be my own person. That's all Alison's ever wanted me to be."
"Look. I will never tell you what to do within your own relationships, but all of us have never been able to stand Maya. You lose yourself when you're with her. She leads you around through life, and you let her because it's comfortable. But with Ali, you two always walked side by side. That's all I'll say. You know what you deserve."
"How do I even try to talk to her about this? I didn't even know this was happening until today, and we've been dating over 6 months. Maybe Maya's stuck in this pattern and needs a jump start. She may not even realize she's doing it."
"Maybe, Em. We're getting into waters that I don't feel comfortable swimming around in. I can't tell you what to do or how to do it. But I also trust you enough that I think you already know the answer."
"Okay. Thanks for talking me off the ledge."
"Of course, babe. Love you."
"Same here. Bye."
Emily continued to sit on the edge of the tub as she hung up the phone. These were two separate issues, and she tried with all her might to not combine them. Of course, if she went deep enough, she could find the links between the two. But for her next steps, Emily needed to make sure that Maya knew they were separate. No matter how much Maya wanted her to believe they were intertwined.
"You okay in there?" she heard a knock at the door. Despite causing her to jump, Emily recognized the voice on the other side.
"Hey, Mom. How'd your afternoon go?" Emily took a deep breath, trying to keep it together.
"Pretty well. I was going to take Liv to the park. Do you and Maya want to come with us?"
"I think Maya's still taking a nap. Maybe we'll meet up with you there?"
"Okay, sweetheart! Hope you're alright."
She waited for the next dozen minutes until she heard the front door close shut again. Taking a deep inhale, Emily stood up from the tub, adjusting her shirt, hair, and face in the mirror.
"You've got this. You just need clarity. She's not a villain, Em. She's your fiancée. You've got this."
When Emily walked back into her bedroom, Maya was just coming out of the adjoining bathroom off of Emily's room, now fully clothed in her previous attire.
"There you are." Maya paused, grinning at Emily tenderly.
The pit in her stomach stayed, no inkling of the butterflies returning again now that she could see a different side to the woman in front of her. She inhaled. "Yeah, I was helping Mom get Olivia ready for the park. She invited us, and we can definitely go. I just wanted to chat about something real quick."
Emily sat on the edge of the bed, patting the cushion firmly for Maya to take a seat next to her, "Of course, babe. What's up?" Maya wrapped her hands around Emily's yearning for Emily to return her smile.
"While you napped, I was thinking back to our conversation earlier, and parts of it made me uncomfortable. Looking back on it, I mean." Emily could feel the sweat beginning to build underneath the top layers of her skin. The woman in front of her was either sincere or deceitful. It didn't need to be solved in one simple conversation, but Emily knew a dent needed to be made for her to know what steps came next.
"I don't know what you're talking about. What do you mean?"
"When I was talking about the next steps for the divorce, it seemed like you are trying to make Alison the bad guy, and I don't want that negativity to continue. A divorce is negative enough without putting Alison's character into the mix."
"Emily, I understand what you're saying. My negativity should have no place in our next steps. We don't have to discuss it any further. Alison's maliciousness will shine through on its own."
Maya's blunt forwardness in trying to push the smallest boundary Emily put in place set her off. Emily stood walking toward her window, "But that's what I'm talking about! That last sentence. It's not warranted. You didn't have to mention your opinion about her."
"Opinion? Emily, what are you talking about? We just agreed that she was manipulating the situation before the nap. You agreed with what our next steps should be."
"It's not our next steps, My. It's my next steps. I'd love your support during the next few months, but this is in no way our divorce. You aren't involved."
Maya stood up in shock, "Who did you talk to while I was asleep? Did you call her?"
"Who? Ali? Sorry. Alison? No, I didn't. Why would you care, though?" Emily began attempting to turn her body away from Maya approaching her.
"You're talking crazy, Em. We've always been in this together, and now, you're trying to change your tune."
"I never chose a tune. I just want all of this to be less negative. I want to be in a good headspace for everything that's coming up. That won't happen if – "
"Who did you get all of this from? I've been working through all of this with you, babe. I'm not injecting your head with negativity!"
"I didn't talk to anyone. I told you I was thinking about this lying right next to you. Do you not believe that?"
Maya placed her body up against Emily's, bringing her hands up to her face, "Of course I trust you, Em. It's not you that I don't trust – it's everyone else."
Emily took one step back, bumping her heel into the closet. She was slowly feeling the tide turn in their conversation, and Maya was trying to win. "Who? My friends? My mother?"
"Whoever is placing these false ideas into your head. You're being dramatic about one simple conversation we had."
"I'm not trying to be, Maya. I'm just trying to set a simple precedent for our future conversations."
"Okay. I can do that." Maya walked back toward the bed, running her hand through her hair before turning around. "I think you misunderstood what I was saying though. You don't understand how I feel in all of this. How hard it is to feel like the afterthought. I'm trying to help solve this for us, and now, you don't want me to help."
"That's not what I said, My." Emily groaned, "This is so frustrating. I wanted to have a full conversation about everything we talked about that when stepping back from it, I don't totally agree with it. And we can't even get past the first thing."
"Oh, so there's more!"
"Of course, there is! You said some pretty shitty things about my future ex-wife. She's going to be in the picture for our entire relationship, so we need to iron it out. Especially before we start going through the divorce process."
"Now there's a we in all of this? Nice to know I'm being considered for once!" Maya's voice raised as she continued to pace.
As she finished her thought, though, both Emily and Maya heard the front door close downstairs.
"I guess, Liv and Mom are back. Can we talk about this later?"
"This whole thing is so frustrating. You always do this… Making us stop right in the middle of us talking when all I want is for us to move forward successfully together. Fuck, Em. Just forget it. I don't want to argue."
Emily froze at Maya continuing to get more upset before she heard an aggressive voice behind her. "If you don't want to argue about it, maybe you should get the fuck out of here then."
Turning to face the door, a disheveled and obviously worked up Spencer stood there out of breath.
"You've gotta be fucking kidding me, Em. You called her?"
"Not exactly, crazy. I heard that Emily was going into a potentially confronting conversation with you and immediately remembered how bonkers you become when faced with a truth you can't swallow. We sure as hell don't need a repeat of you and Alison at the hospital in high school. So, I figured that I would come to break it up before you say or do something to Emily that the rest of us would have to make you regret."
"I don't understand what you're even talking about, Spencer. I don't know what insane ideas you put into my fiancée's head while I took a fucking nap. But Em, you can call me when you're ready to talk about the rest of our conversation earlier. This is bullshit. Have a good night with your friends, babe."
Along with Maya went Spencer's negative energy, which faded into a half-grin when she left, "Sorry about that. Do you hate me?"
Emily inhaled for the first time in over 5 minutes before wrapping Spencer in a loose hug, "No, I couldn't. Um, thank you, though. I thought I had it under control. And then, when I brought up having multiple things I wanted to talk to her about, she started freaking out. I really have never seen her like that."
"This time around, right? Cause she was insane when you dated in high school."
"Spence!" Emily announced accusingly, "She was not!"
"Okay, Em. Whatever you say. I'd like to think I showed up at the perfect time. I had to race from work and everything, but Alison assured me it was urgent."
"Alison? I haven't talked to her today."
"Right, right. Han reached out to her. Called her an ass for not forewarning you that divorce papers were headed your way. Mentioned thinking that Maya was manipulating you. Told her that you were convinced that talking to her about it was the right option. So Alison ended that phone call as quick as she could and called me!"
"Why didn't Ali – Why didn't Alison come then?"
"Well, she'd have to Uber or take the bus first of all. Second, she said she was 'in the middle of things' at her place. I didn't ask questions. The phrase "old Maya may be back" was enough to light a fire under my ass."
"I got it. Thanks… I hope she's alright."
"Who? Maya?" Spencer scoffed, "She's driving home, planning how to get back in your good graces right now. Don't worry about her."
"I'll need to call her tonight, though."
"It's 7:30, Em. She can be a big girl until tomorrow. Make her sweat a bit."
"Ugh. Okay. What are you up to? After that argument, this room feels gross. Want to grab dinner or something?"
"I was actually going to go check on Ali. She sounded pretty concerned on the phone, and I haven't talked to her all week. Would you want to come with me? Say thank you for tipping me off?"
"Sure, whatever. I need to get out of this energy for sure."
Emily felt tense the entire way to Alison's house. Today had been a whirlwind from beginning to end. Maybe seeing Alison in person would give them a chance to smooth parts of their relationship over from Christmas. They could walk into their future deliberations with the same end goal. All she needed to do was put on a smile, breathe, and check on her wife. They would be in and out. No big deal.
While pulling into the driveway of their home, Spencer's phone started ringing, "You're kidding me. Sorry, Em. Private convo from a client. Feel free to go in; this won't take long. Promise."
"Yeah, sure." Emily slowly climbed out of the car as she whispered to herself, "Excellent. Get to confront Alison alone. This isn't a problem. You've got this. Just walk up to the front door and knoc –"
But before she could raise her hand to the door, it opened on its own. And instead of expecting to see Alison's smiling face on the other side, she saw someone else with her. A stranger. Who was giving her a hug. Who was laughing as she let go of her wife's shoulder. Who turned toward Emily with a smile.
"Oh, goodness! Ali, you have another visitor it looks like."
Alison turned toward her sidewalk and immediately went white, "Em. Wow. Um, this –"
"Hey there!" the younger brunette next to her, interjected, "I'm Cassie. Was just stopping by real quick."
"Em – Emily. I'm her soon-to-be ex-wife."
"Emily, nice to meet you. Can't wait to see more of you! Bye, Ali. Coffee this weekend, right?"
"Right." Alison barely choked out before meeting Emily's eyes again, "Hi."
"Hi? Really, Al?" Emily felt tears hitting her eyes with every tiny word she spoke. She held her hands up in surrender, "I can't do this."
"Emmy?" Alison looked desperate as she lifted the fabric held in her right hand, "She was just giving me back my scarf – "
"Doesn't matter, Ali." She muttered as she turned back toward Spencer's car though before opening the door, she looked over her shoulder for one last comment, "See you in court."
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter involves some of the initial divorce proceedings and any potential semblance of Emily and Alison maybe having the potential to get back together again. Thanks for the support! I am exhausted from writing and editing all of this is less than 1/2 a day, so hopefully, it's alright.
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- secretpen28
