Chapter Six: I Don't Feel You Anymore

Chase me through the dark
Ready on your mark
First to reach the stars
Wins a broken heart
One that broke apart
Shattered from the start

Emma

I woke up the next morning trying to keep the kiss out of my mind. But it wasn't working. I don't have anymore feelings for Sean, but when your first love does stuff like that, it really screws with your mind.

It took me a long time to fall asleep last night. Oliver's bed was not the same as before because he wasn't in it. I cried for most of the night, and woke up with a headache. After showering and getting dressed, I got Danica up. I gave her a bath since she fell asleep on the way home last night, and dressed her. Then I heated up some of the oatmeal that she likes, fed it to her, and stuffed four bottles into her baby bag for day care.

I was already running late when I grabbed everything and ran out of the house. Of course I hadn't had time to put any makeup on except eyeliner and lip gloss. And my hair was pulled up into a ponytail. Rushing around, I locked the door to the apartment and dropped my keys on the floor. While struggling to figure out how to pick them up without dropping anything, especially my daughter, someone walked up and grabbed them.

"Here you go," he said. I looked up at his face and guess who it was. Yeah. Jay.

"Thanks," I said, grabbing the keys from him. "What are you doing here?" I eyed him suspiciously. As far as I knew, he didn't know where Oliver lived. Unless he followed me here, which is just creepy.

"I live here. Well, I live in apartment eight. This is where my mom picked. Kinda weird huh?" he asked. "I didn't know you lived here…"

"I just moved in yesterday. Wow um…this is kinda weird." Why did I say that out loud? He probably thought that I was weird. "I'm running late, I gotta go," I announced, and walked towards the stairs.

"If it's easier for you, I can always watch her," Jay suggested as he followed me.

"We already talked about this Jay," I said, still heading to my car.

"I just don't think that it makes much sense for her to go to day care, especially since we live in the same building now. And I can watch her for free," he offered.

"It's fine okay? I have a new job and I can manage," I said. Then he grabbed me on the shoulder and spun me around.

"So I save your life and this is what you do to me? You shut me out and try to ignore me?" And he was right. I never though I'd find myself feeling sorry for Jay.

"Jay, I'm sorry, but I can't just pull Danica out of her day care. Rachel loves taking care of her, and she lets me pay less already. It would really help if you could watch Dani tonight when I go to work though. But only until I get things settled with her father. He needs to be spending time with her too," I explained.

"That's great, thanks," he said. "I'll be there."

I was finally able to get Dani in the car and drive her to daycare. I handed Rachel all of her things and hurried off to school. I actually had two minutes until homeroom, which surprised me. Then I realized that my watch had the wrong time on it and I was freaking out for nothing. I walked over to my locker, which, conveniently, was right across the hall from Sean's. And what I saw sure surprised me.

Sean was standing there, with Brooklyn. They were standing pretty close to each other, and he had his hand on her arm. I guess they were flirting, which I found odd, since he kissed me last night. But I don't care. Maybe they'll get together and he'll be off my back. But I still have to talk to him.

"Sean, can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked him as I walked up.

"Sure. I'll see you later," he said to Brooklyn. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. She smiled at me and walked off to class.

"What was that all about?" I asked him.

"What? I kissed her on the cheek, what's wrong with that?"

"You kissed me last night. And it wasn't on the cheek. Look Sean, you're a great guy, and my first love, but I've moved on. I don't know why you even still like me. When you left here, you were with Ellie. But anyway, I can't do this with you," I told him.

"Emma, last night was a mistake. Yes, I'm still in love with you, and I think I always have been. But I know now that I shouldn't have kissed you. You're with Oliver, I get that. And I also heard about you and Jay. Everything's just been so crazy, and I felt like I needed to at least kiss you one last time. I'm going to try and move on, but it won't be easy. I came back because I needed you in my life one way or the other," he said. The bell rang, interrupting our conversation.

"I gotta get to class. Maybe I'll see you later okay?" I asked him.

"Yeah," he said before walking away.

I hurried to homeroom and pushed all thoughts of Sean out of my head. Glad that's settled.

"Hey Joey, it's me," I said into the phone. It was lunch time and I needed to clear some things up before my first day of work. "Yeah, I was wondering what time you wanted me to come tonight."

"What time is best for you?" he asked.

"Well, when school's over, I was going to pick Danica up, bring her home for a bit, go visit Oliver, and then come into work. So I guess that would be around six tonight…"

"That's fine Emma. See you at six!"

"Okay, see you then," I said, hanging up the phone.

I left the bathroom and walked towards the cafeteria. When I got there, I saw Brooklyn and Sean sitting at a table together. I decided not to bother them. I noticed Manny sitting alone, but I wasn't going to bother her. I was just about to sit with Toby and JT when I heard her calling me.

"Emma!" I looked in Manny's direction and she was waving me over. Great. Well, here goes nothing.

"Hi Manny," I said, sitting down.

"Does our friendship mean anything to you Em?" she asked suddenly.

"Of course it does! I just thought I should give you some space. You ran off at my party and haven't talked to me since."

"Good. I just want to tell you that I understand what happened. I just needed some time to think about everything. I don't want us to hate each other," she said.

"I don't hate you Manny. I never have. I just have a lot to deal with right now too," I told her.

"How's Oliver?" she asked.

"The same."

"I'm sorry Emma."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," I said.

"Yes I do. I'm sorry that I gave up on you when you needed me. I want you to know that I'll always be there for you." Wow, everyone's saying that lately.

"Thanks Manny, I know. Hey, did you talk to Craig?" I asked.

"Yeah, but that's our business. Well, I'm sure he'll tell you anyway," she said. "Don't ask."

"Okay." We hugged briefly and then the bell rang.

"Um…you should be able to find everything okay…" I said to Jay. Even though I knew he was great with Dani, I was still worried.

"Yes, have a good time at work," he said, ushering me out the door.

"Goodbye sweetheart. Mommy loves you very much," I told my daughter. I kissed her on the forehead and was just about to leave when the doorbell rang. Running over to get it, I pulled it open and there stood Craig.

"Craig? What are you doing here? I was just about to go to work." Then I noticed that he had a couple of bags with him.

"It's Manny. She doesn't want to have anything to do with me. Not yet anyway. She said that I should spend time with Danica and you and…Emma, I can't go back home. I don't need Joey asking about all of this crap. Can I stay here for a few days?"

Like I really need Craig living in my boyfriend's apartment with me. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. Then he gave me that look he gives everyone.

"Fine, but only for a few days. Um, Jay is watching Dani though so you don't need to stay," I told him. Jay smirked at Craig, who plopped down on the couch.

"He can go. I got it covered." I looked over at Jay and he was starting to get mad.

"No, he's staying. Maybe he can teach you a few things…" I shot a pleading look at Jay and he reluctantly nodded his head.

"Yeah, maybe…" Craig trailed off, staring into space.

"Be good you two. I'll ask Danica to give me a full report," I joked and headed out. When I got to my car, I sat for a minute. How am I going to do this?

Are you there?
Do you read me?
Are you there?
I don't feel you anymore

A/N: The date is Monday, September 30…the last day of September. Who's surprised now? So yeah, Craig's moving in for a bit…should be interesting. The song is "Over and Out" by the Foo Fighters. It has to do with how Oliver just isn't there at all and she needs his help to deal with all this crap…like all the guys that are around now and everything. Anyway, I hope you liked it.

TemporaryxInsanity: Wow, that was quite an enthusiastic review!Don't worry...they're not together.There will be more surprises, trust me.

JemmaFan: Don't worry about the late reviewing! You don't have to apologize. The fact that you're reviewing at all is great...do it on your own time when you get a chance.

WishinWell43: Yes, I've heard the Veronicas on The-N...I've only heard that one song though. Danica is still five months old...the same age that she was at the beginning of the story...she'll be six months on October 22, since her bday is April 22. Emma does know that Craig is the father for a fact...he was the only person she's ever had sex with. And I can't tell you if Oliver will wake up or not! You'll find out.