Good afternoon! Here I am again. :D

Thank you so much for taking your time and I hope you like this one. ;)

Siophiefandom: Thanks! I know this story is like a rollecoaster, but they will finally speak like adults and make up. In the meantime I am trying to spice things up. Anyway, don't give up, you deserve a happy ending. ;D

MJ: Their interactions are a mess, I know that. It's not only the fact that they both have girlfriends, also the fear that is paralyzing their actions, mostly Emily. They will eventually be brave and deal with their problems, but that won't happen overnight. No cliffhanger? You are asking for too much, that's in my nature. xD This chapter is going to be quite calm, but I am already working on the next one and I assure you is getting interesting. :D

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE

: Chapter 42 – Patient:

I put my pajamas and I'm so exhausted that I flop on the couch like I had run a marathon. I open a beer bottle, I order a pizza and turn the TV on with the goal of thinking about anything not related with my life. I'm so tired that my eyes start to slowly close, but I'm hungry at the same time so I will wait for the delivery and then head to bed. I need a good rest so I can get rid of all the anxiousness I felt during this long and intense day. I have to admit it was harder than I have thought it would be. I mean, breaking up with somebody is never easy, but given our history it was way more difficult and I feel like shit. I know I should have done it before, but Emily had to come back so I could open my eyes and face reality like an adult person should do in my same situation. The last years with her have been good, I was happy because I love her, but I was not in love with her and now I feel guilty because I made her fall in love with me to end up dumping her. It's not fair, but she doesn't deserve a person that only wants her as her friend and enjoys her company while she is thinking about other woman. I feel like crap because she has everything anyone would want in a girlfriend, but I still can't feel the same as I feel about Emily and I know that after five years I won't ever feel like that. I mean, I don't feel goosebumps and she doesn't provoke that dumb smile on me whenever I see her. I would do anything to feel like that about Alison, but my mind doesn't work like that. Everything would be so easy and nobody would be suffering. But life doesn't work like that and sometimes you need to hurt somebody in order to be happy. It seems like a selfish attitude, but after some time even Alison will realize that this was the right thing to do. I hope she finds someone that really falls in love for her and makes her happy, because she really deserves it.

The hardest part of it was the moment she entered my place and she had that bright smile plastered on her face. I decided to do it at home because I didn't want to do it somewhere public. The moment she saw my face she realized something was wrong. I tried to be straightforward, I didn't want to prolong the already uncomfortable moment with a list of reasons why I thought I needed to end things, and make her sad and angry at the same time. I know saying that it was only my problem and not hers is a cliché, but I was being sincere. The moment she started crying inconsolably I felt really anxious because I'm guilty of her tears. I tried to hold her hand, but she rejected any physical contact. She was really hurt and I know I couldn't do anything to make it better. I felt useless. She ended up yelling at me that now that I got rid of her I can be with Emily. Her words were painful because I still adore her but I know that's the way any person would react. She felt betrayed and I understand why. I kept silent while she yelled at me, understanding her need of relief considering that I deserved it. She finished her speech saying that she didn't want me to call her or contact her at all. Then she slammed the door with anger and left my place with tears in her eyes. Her absence made me feel a huge void. It's hard to let go a person that's been so important in my life, that I used to rely on whenever I was feeling down. I know she will reconsider everything that happened between us and I hope I will at least be able to keep her friendship although I guess she needs time. That's why I won't pressure her. I guess Caleb and Hanna are going to see me more now that Alison is not part of my life. I have no one else apart from them and my family so they will me my support from now on. I've always handled loneliness pretty well, but after seeing a person every day you end up getting used to their company and I know it won't be easy.

I gulp the beer and while I wait for the delivery person I look at Emily's texts. Even though I feel like crap she makes me smile. Once the pizza arrives, I devoured it and get into bed. I feel pain all over my body. I guess it has to do with all the stress I had to handle during the day. I am so tired that I fall asleep in just a few seconds.

This morning I feel good, happier than I've felt for a long time and deep down I know the reason of my change of attitude. When I remember about yesterday I can't help but smile. The flirting at work and then seeing her at the hospital and what she did for me is something I won't forget. I mean, the dinner was perfect, but now that I think about it I would prefer if the person sitting in front at me was her instead of Maya. I like Maya, I really do. She is nice, funny and caring, but if I compare my feelings towards the two of them, there's a clear winner, and her name is Paige. I admit she is trying really hard to make things easier between us. It doesn't mean I will forgive her for everything she did in the past, but I'm definitely going to give her a chance to explain herself and try to have an amicable relationship. I woke up earlier than usually, so I take a long and relaxing shower and prepare breakfast for Spencer and me. My friend leaves her bedroom and approaches me as she rubs her sleepy eyes. I know she had a tough shift yesterday and she is already awake. I don't know how she handles her work routine. If I was her I would be grumpy all day and I would have huge dark bags under my eyes due to the long hours of work. However, she handles it like a pro and that is one of the reasons why I really admire her.

"Morning." She yawns and I smile at her. "This is nice." She points at the food on the table and I smile back at her. "How was your dinner last night? When I got home you were already asleep."

"It was really nice."

"Did you go to that restaurant you wanted to?" Her eyes are wide open, her sleepy eyes gone.

I grin at her. "Yes, we did. Thanks to Paige."

"Excuse me?" She frowns at me. "I thought you were going with Maya."

"I went with Maya, but it's practically impossible to get a table over there and Paige made a call to make it possible." I can't help but smile like I was a teenager in love.

"Wow... just wow. That was so considerate of her. I don't think I would be capable of doing that given that she's so deep in love with you."

"Don't say that," I add, a little bit bothered by that affirmation. "You don't know that. She is just trying to apologize."

"I have eyes, Em. She is so into you that she would do anything for you. You're lucky you found someone that loves you so much. You need to forgive her and stop this bullshit." I look down. She is right but it's not that easy to fight with those conflicting emotions.

"I am trying to make everything right, Spence. Just give me time, okay?" She nods at me, gets another pancake and rises from the table.

"I would love to continue this conversation, but I need to hurry up if I don't want to get late." She winks at me and heads to her bedroom.

"Sure. We don't want your reputation of punctuality to go wasted because of me," I tease her. I finish my coffee and clean the table. I go wash my teeth and when I'm about to get my purse so I can leave to work my phone starts ringing. When I look at the screen and see her name I feel goosebumps. If this is not a sign I don't know what is.

"Hey," I greet her, a smile plastered on my face.

"Emily?" A man's voice leaves me speechless. "Is that you, Emily?"

"Who are you?" I don't know who is calling from her phone and I suddenly have a bad feeling.

"It's Nick."

"Nick?" I am still in shock.

"McCullers."

"Oh!"

"I'm calling to tell you that Paige is not going to go to the office all week. I just wanted you to know so you can organize your agenda. I suppose this will affect the project, but you don't need to worry about that."

"Actually she advanced a lot of her work, so I have enough material to work on." Just when my brain is starting to process all the information and I intent on asking what happened he continues speaking.

"That's great. I need to leave you now. Have a nice day, Emily." He hangs up and I don't know what to do. It is weird that he used her daughter's phone to call me. A lot of thoughts start to go through my mind and I start feeling nervous. I can't call her phone because her dad is obviously going to answer. I start walking nervously around the living room and an idea comes to my mind. I grab the phone and dial Hanna.

"Hanna?"

"Morning, Em. I was about to call you."

"What happened with Paige? Her dad just called me to say she is not going to the office all week. Is something wrong?" My previous good mood is starting to fade away.

"Calm down. It's nothing. She's in the hospital but it's nothing serious. She was feeling pain last night and came to the hospital. The doctors diagnosed her with appendicitis and operated on her. But the surgery went fine and she is feeling okay. Now she needs to rest and she's going home in a few days. You know how she is. She just drove to the hospital, she didn't call us and we got a call from the hospital this morning, when the surgery was already over."

When I was having dinner with Maya she was in pain and alone at the hospital. I suddenly feel the urge to go visit her, but I realize I have to go to work. I take a deep breath and leave my place knowing that I won't concentrate on work, but I guess I have no choice except wait.

I've been sleeping for I don't know how long due to the tiredness I'm feeling. When I open my eyes I don't even know if it's day or night. A knock on the door makes me open my eyes. The door opens and the person that appears in front of me provokes a dumb smile on my face.

"May I?" she politely asks. She looks worried, I know the meaning of that frown very well.

"Sure," I reply.

She takes a seat next to the bed and gives me a reassuring look. "How are you feeling?" She takes my hand and squeezes it. All the pain I was feeling suddenly disappears. She is way better than any painkiller.

"I'm okay. How about last night? Was it worth it?" I ask about the restaurant, trying to change the topic of conversation.

"Are you kidding me?" She starts laughing. "You were into surgery and you ask me about that? You're just incredible." I smile at her and then look away. There's nothing I would prefer than hugging her, but I know I can't do that. No physical contact yet, I need to gain her confidence first.

"My dad and my brother asked the same question. I am bored of giving the same answer, so I prefer to talk about anything that doesn't involve this." I point at myself. "So?"

"It was unbelievable. Thank you."

"It was a pleasure," I add, smiling back at her. "My dad called you when I was asleep. He told me. I'm sorry this affects you."

"Don't apologize, silly. You didn't choose this. And I will manage with the project, you just focus on resting and don't worry about that."

"I hope I will be back on Monday. The scar looks good." I raise the hospital gown and show her my war wound. She flushes and that's when I realize I shouldn't have done that. It feels good that she is uncomfortable about it, that means she likes what she is seeing. "It's not like you haven't seen that part of my body, Em." She flushes again and gives me a shy smile.

We talk for a long time and I think she finally is trying to be nice to me. It feels good that she's sharing this moment with me and came to visit when she could stay at home. Her laugh and presence make me really happy.

She looks at her watch and stares at me. "I guess I should get going. I'm sure there will be more people coming to visit today and you need to rest."

I shake my head. "No, you can stay a bit longer. My parents and Caleb came this morning, so I'm not expecting anyone." I realize she is looking at me like I said something weird.

"And Alison?" She raises her eyebrows to look at me and I sigh.

"I'm not expecting her." I don't give her any more details about my recent break-up. It still hurts although it was the right thing to do.

"Is everything okay?" she insists. I guess she noticed that question made me a little bit sad.

"Yes, everything is fine. I broke up with her last night." She looks at me with her eyes wide open.

"Why?" This news apparently took her by surprise.

"Do you really need me to answer that question?" I tease her. She looks away, avoiding my gaze. I love how she gets so shy when I'm practically saying that I want her. It's really sweet of her that she reacts like that when we were a couple and shared everything. She should be used to my flattery.

"I guess you need to sleep, so I will get going. Besides, Spencer ends her shift right now so I will wait for her." Her change of topic is revealing. She stands up and gives me a last look and a shy smile.

"Are you going to come tomorrow?" She turns around before opening the door to answer to my question.

"Do you want that?" Her sexy smile drives me crazy.

"Of course I want that," I admit, showing her a big smile.

"Then I will try to come after work. Do you need anything? I mean, newspapers, books... Something to keep you entertained."

"Would you do that for me?" I didn't expect her to be offering her help.

"Of course I would. What do you need?"

"Would you go to my place and bring a book and my laptop?" I see her surprised face and I reconsider my request. "Forget about it. That was too much, I will call Caleb."

"No, it's okay. I owed you a favor anyway," she jokes.

"I hope that doesn't mean you won't accept an offer for a coffee or beer just like I told you I wanted from you." She laughs.

"I will bring you those things and then I will go out with you," she says. "I mean, not go out like a date or anything." Her cheeks redden and she looks really cute.

"I guess you need more time for that to happen," I tease her. She just smiles at me. I give her my place's key and explain where the laptop and the book are. She knows my place really well, so the explanation is brief.

"See you tomorrow."

"Thank you. I will be waiting for you." I wave at her and she leaves my room. I can't erase the huge grin on my face. Things are finally going the way I wanted to. This looks good.

We take the subway, but we don't go directly home. Spencer decides to come with me to Paige's so I can get her laptop and book.

"You could go home instead of coming with me," I insist to my friend.

"You waited for me to finish my shift so now it's my turn to be nice to you. Besides, I'm curious about seeing her place." She gives me that devilish look that makes me laugh.

The moment I take the keys and open the door reminiscences of the past come back. The place is exactly as I remember. It's really clean and it smells like her. She's always been a neat freak.

"I expected her place to be like that. She's one of my kind." Spencer grins and I realize they are exactly the same in that matter.

Spencer takes a seat at the comfy couch while I go to her bedroom where the laptop and the book are. When I enter the bedroom I remember the moments we share in that bed and I instantly flush. I look at the she shelf where she had her collection of books and remember her trying to convince me to read them. She is always been a book freak and I can't help but smile. The huge fantasy book collection has even gotten bigger than what I remember. She's always liked that kind of literature. I've always found that kinda cute. She always used to say that she likes fantasy books because she doesn't like reading about things that can already happen in real life and that everything is possible in fantasy books. I get the book from the bedside table and realize there's a photo frame with a picture of the two us at Central Park. We are both smiling and I remember that day like it was yesterday. It was a very sunny day and it was our first week after we started dating. I didn't expect her to have pictures of us. And it's not the only one, I saw another picture of us in the living room. We broke up five years ago and she keeps those memories so anyone can see them. I guess I am more important to her than I had expected. That makes me happy and sad at the same time. I mean, if she is so into me, why did she start ignoring me when we were together and everything was going well between us? I try to forget that bad memory as I head the closet where she keeps the laptop. When I open it and I see all the clothes ordered by colors I smile. She didn't change at all. It may look like a closet a person that suffers from OCD would have, but it's really sweet. I can't help but get closer and smell her perfume from it. So many memories flow through me. I take a deep breath and grab the laptop case with the computer inside it. I get the book inside the case and go to the living room where Spencer is admiring a few pictures. She gives me a devilish look and I instantly know what she's going to say.

"Did you see this?" She has another picture of us smiling, but in this occasion Caleb is hugging her sister from behind and I'm beaming next to them with my arm around Paige. "There are more over there. This looks like a damn shrine, Em. If I didn't know she's so into you, I would think she's obsessed and I'd apply for a restraining order", she teases me as she jokingly elbows me.

"You are not helping, Spence." She grins at me, she is clearly having a good time mocking me.

"It's really cute, Em. If you don't try to mend things with her, I will reconsider giving it a try. She's so adorable." That comment makes me laugh.

"Let's go. I'm starving, I want pizza and I can only think about relaxing at the couch." She nods at me and we both leave the apartment. I take a last look before closing the door and I realize how much I missed this place. And also the tenant.

After a very busy morning with a few meetings with the project team I take the subway and head the hospital. I am exhausted, but I am willing to see her and I know she will cheer me up with her charm. I open the door and she greets me with a huge smile.

"Hi." I smile back at her and approach the bed. "How are you feeling?" I feel the urge to establish physical contact when I see her beautiful face. I cup her cheek and caress it with my thumb on an impulse, but I remove my hand when I realize what I just did. I gaze at her and she is looking at me with her beautiful eyes wide open. I suppose she didn't expect this. I flush and take a step back.

"I'm better now that you are here." She keeps flirting and being as adorable as humanly possible, making my cheeks get even redder. I give her the things she asked while I stay in silence. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." I shyly smile and give her the keys back. "You still read those nerdy books." I look at the book I just handed her and she laughs.

"If reading quality books means I am a nerd, then I am guilty." I grab the chair and move it next to the bed, getting closer to her.

"Did you sleep well?"

"I did. The doctor told me she will discharge me tomorrow morning. So I will finally sleep at my own bed. And now that I have my laptop I will work a little bit this afternoon." She is relentless.

"You should rest, Paige. I didn't bring you the laptop for that." I furrow my brows.

"I need distraction. You can't imagine how bored I am. You know me very well, so you know I can't be doing nothing all day. I need something that entertains me or a good conversation. Tell me anything." Her words leave me speechless.

"What do you want me to say?" I laugh.

"Anything."

"My life is not that interesting," I add, arching my eyebrows.

"Tell me about Maya." I gaze at her and sigh. She is the last person I should be talking to if the topic of conversation is my girlfriend.

"I don't think that is a good idea," I admit.

"She must like kids if she chose to be a pediatrician." She keeps insisting, like she didn't hear a word I said.

"She adores kids."

"I'm happy for you that you have someone like that in your life." I don't consider Maya as important in my life, but I don't think telling her is the wisest thing I can do right now.

"Thank you."

"You know we have a conversation pending, right?" She raises her eyebrows. She is going straight to the point. I'm starting to get nervous. "I know it's not going to be easy, but we need to talk about it. We could delay that conversation, but I don't think that's wise. Anyway, I realize that you're getting uncomfortable." I've been looking down for a few seconds now, avoiding her gaze. "So, what if you invite me to that coffee you owe me, forget about what I just said and we leave that conversation for another day?" I know she is right, but thinking about opening up gets me anxious.

"Paige, I..."

"I'm going back to work on Monday."

I sigh. "Okay." I finally accept her invitation. "Let's go for a coffee after work on Monday. I think I don't have plans."

"Friends?" She extends her hand and gives me that irresistible look.

"Friends," I answer while I shake her hand. The simple fact of touching her, that innocent handshake, makes me shiver. If she makes me tingle with that touch, I can't imagine how my body would react if she touched me in other places.

To be continued…

Stay tuned! ;)