Emma closed the bedroom door, afraid that the voice on the other line would carry through to the other room. She tried to smooth over the situation - make excuses as to why the choices she made were okay, but none of the reasons she could fathom were good enough. She could only blame the voice in her head for not doing enough convinving when her heart had obviously taken control.
"I can't believe you're letting him stay at your apartment!"
"As opposed to the Lima Inn?" She countered with dissapointment.
Shannon raised her tone even more. "No, back to wherever he came from."
Defeatedly, Emma fell onto her bd and remained silent. She knew what him leaving meant and that wasn't an option. Her and Will both agreed that they needed to find peace with each other because that was better than harsh feelings and resentment. He looked into her eyes so humply when he said that he wouldn't feel right abondoning her and she was wholeheartedly thankful for that.
"I think you're being unreasonable, Shan."
She heard a sigh, "And you're being naive."
All of her trepiditons were magnified with one statement just as easily as she tried to pretend that they didn't exist. She was the most afraid of making the same mistakes again but it was becoming painfully clear that she had to trust herself and him; now that was the hardest part. She turned away from the glare which made it's way through the curtains and hoped to shed some light on her matter at hand.
"I get what you're saying." Emma held the phone closely. "But I still care about Will and I can't stay mad at him forever you know. He's tying and well... that's all I wanted from the beginning, right?"
"I'm just worried about you."
She smiled sadly, "I know, I just - " A knock on the door. " - I'll take care of myself, okay?"
"Alright, alright." Shannon sighed once more. "I'll talk to you soon, Emma."
"Bye." She clicked the 'end call' button and took a deep breath. Straightening out her shirt, Emma sat up from the bed and walked towards the door with a straight face. She opened it slowly, and couldn't help but enjoy the sight.
Will held a washcloth in his hand with a goofy expression. "Dinner is ready."
Emma examined the sweat on his brow down to the colorful fabric wrapped around his waist. She wanted to laugh but they hadn't done much of that lately. Her eyes found their way back to his, and he raised his eyebrows in a curious manner.
"That apron suits you." She smiled playfully.
He looked down for conformation. "I'm glad you think so."
In situations like this one, she'd expect him to take her by the hand where they walked nearly endlessly together to even the closest of places, but now they barely touched. It was almost like he was scared cross any boundaries or make her uncomfortable. It was discouraging at times but one of them had to be subdued. So she followed him to the kitchen table at a distance. What she smelled was delicious.
He pulled her chair out and pushed it in because it was a simplistic gesture before taking a seat himself and uncovering their plates to reveal freshly made pasta. Will sat on the edge of his seat waiting for her impression of the meal and he had barely touched his plate before asking.
"How does it taste?"
"I'm pleasantly surprised." She looked up at him in between fork fulls. "You must cook for yourself a lot, right?"
His voice was timid. "I cooked even when I wasn't by myself." His statement came out as as a matter of fact, though a bit out of mind.
Emma eyed him curiously. It was strange when he didn't notice because normally he caught every glance – but maybe he didn't want to this time. Her suspicions were confirmed when he changed the subject.
"I have to audition for another role sooner than I planned to." He looked down at his plate distractedly. "That would mean I'd have to leave for a couple days."
They both put their utensils down simultaneously The room went quiet – not for any real reason because there wasn't anything to be distraught over right? Emma sat up in her chair straight, trying to not seem to effected by what he was saying. If she knew that auditions turned into long term commitments then he knew that just as well.
"Aren't there always tons of auditions though?"
"Yeah, but I don't want to take my chances. I need income." He didn't expect to have more expenditures besides Paris this summer.
Emma was adamant. "What if you get the role?"
"I don't think we should worry about that right now."
His face fell monumentally; he should've been happy about an opportunity like that.
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound selfish." She continued to ramble incrediously because if he didn't feel the same way than she might as well have been talking to herself. "I mean, who even knows where we'll be by then and – "
He didn't want to think about the rest.
"It won't be easy for me either, you should know that." Will spoke as inveigled as possible without being confrontational. He had been doing a good job at thinking before speaking when in reality he was walking on a thin sheet of ice. Lowering his head, he composed his thoughts and relaxed his mind because patience was key.
She arranged her silverware. "You do a great job of hiding it."
"I'm a good actor, Emma."
He pursed his lips before sliding out of his seat. Emma watched as he sauntered towards the sink to begin washing the dishes, as deflective as ever and it wasn't making the tension go away either. Quietly, she came up behind him but not enough to keep him from turning to face her. Her hands reached around his middle to the tie of his apron which she started to unknot slowly.
"You know you're being really impatient."
Will narrowed his eyes at her. "How would you know that?"
Emma grinned involuntarily, "I'm a good guidance counselor, Will." When the strings finally came undone, she pulled the material around his side and into her hands. "And usually I know others better than I know my myself." Because she was still unsure about a lot of things.
"I thought about the whole forgiveness thing, and it's something I can work on - if you keep giving me a reason to."
He smiled sorrowfully, strangely finding comfort in what she was saying because before now he felt like brick wall; now she was reaching him and it felt good opening himself up in that kind of way. He swallowed to keep his emotions deep down, in some place that hadn't seen the light in such a long time. He was ready for her to be his beacon though, a place where he could start fresh. Will realized he was taking her willingness for granted and he didn't want to do that any longer.
"Thank you... for letting me stay here." His voice softened, laced with honesty and regret. "I know I was wrong, but I won't let you down. I've just never been in a place like this one."
She peered up at him rebukingly, but not without out a playful glare in her eyes. "Try not being so defensive."
His head fell in mock defeat, and a grin crept on to his face. He watched intently as she put the apron around her her own waist and looked glared at her quizzically. He'd though what he had made was enough. She walked around and over towards the fridge, rummaging through it.
"I'm gonna make some dessert if that sounds good?"
"Anything you make sounds good, Emma."
Will thought he heard her laugh at his failed attempt at being casual, but ignored it because it didn't matter. What mattered was him and her finding some sense of normality again, because the awkwardness was starting to become unbearable. Crossing his arms on the surface of the island that sat in the middle of the kitchen, he admired her from behind, watching her every move as if it was the first time he witnessed her existence.
"Let me get it."
Her hair flew accross her face as she turned to protest, but he silenced her with the raising of a hand. He didn't want to walk away, but not any less than he didn't want her to. The doorbell rang once more, so he quickly got a move on. Will wanted to slam the door shut just as fast as he had opened it.
"You should probably leave."
Andy's expression hardened, "I think I came here to talk to Emma."
His grip on the door tightened as he peered over his shoulder and back to the man in front of him. "She's busy - and I don't think she wants to see you." Will kept his voice down consciously, because he didn't want Emma to hear. It was easy keeping a calm and leveled head, knowing that he had nothing to prove. He wasn't the one standing in the hallway.
"It didn't seem like she wanted to see you either."
Yeah, but I'm the one cooking her dinner now. "Look, don't waste your time, alright? She's not interested in you. I don't know why you didn't get the hint before."
His mind went back to the night where Emma cried in his arms and that's when he decided that he'd protect her from anything. He still didn't know what exactly happened before she had called him, but it definitely wouldn't happen again.
Andy stepped up defensively. "Oh, so you're calling the shots here?"
"No." His brow furrowed. "I'm just delivering the message."
Will gave him a challenging glare which wasn't met with the same vigourity and opted his way out of the confronation. He just wanted to get back to her – and he was tired of wasting time. The door closed more forcefully than intended, so he turned around coolly. Soft light from a candle flicked, illuminating the room as it please as Emma leaned against the wall, waiting.
"What took so long?"
He pursed his lips. "Just some sales guy. He just wouldn't let up." Part of that was true.
Emma raised her eyesbrows and laughed softly at the way he said it. Tilting her head to the side, she gestuted him into the kitchen, and he moved without hesitation. He followed her to the counter, which some how was meticuously clean except for the large silver bowl in the center. Will peeked over the edge and smiled.
"How'd you know that chocolate chip cookies were my favorite?"
"I took a guess." She nudged his shoulder playfully. "Want to help me finish them up?"
He grabbed a spoon and looked down at her as if the answer was obvious. "How could I say no?"
