Title: Love Accidentally - Chapter 21
Author: kreia03
Rating: M
Warnings: Some swear words.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, and I hate that fact. Seriously.
Summary: "She closed her eyes, letting the tears fall down on her cheeks, the tears she had been keeping hold of almost half of her entire life. She knew Emily could hear but she didn't stop, nor did she care. She just wanted to be free, be free of a burden she had been carrying for so long."
A/N: Next chap! Hope you guys like it! ^^ I've got some bad news though, I might not be able to update as often as I can from now on, coz my laptop's dead. Haven't got enough money yet to buy a new one. But I'll work something out and try everything so that I could still update as often as I used to. Just letting you guys know, if in case. And thanks for the WONDERFUL comments! You guys flatter me so much!
"So Mum, would you like to tell me what exactly are you doing here?"
Gina lifted her gaze from the magazine she was reading and watched as her daughter and Emily settle on the couch, sitting side by side next to her. She closed the magazine and tossed it on the coffee table, smiling at the two girls as she clasped her hands together. "Nothing in particular, love." She replied, eyeing the two. "I was just up for a visit."
Naomi snorted out loud. "Really?" She rolled her eyes and quickly turned to Emily when she felt a sharp nudge on her rib. "What?" She whispered.
"Be nice." Emily hissed as she glared at the blonde. Turning to Gina, she smiled warmly. "It's well nice of you to drop by."
"Thank you dear. You're such a darling." The older woman replied gleefully. "But you do look quite a little pale." She turned to her daughter. "Naomi have you been taking care of Emily?"
Naomi covered her face with her hand and scrunched it altogether, grumbling under her breath.
"I-I'm just a little tired." Emily butted in, throwing a nervous glance to the blonde beside her. "Haven't been getting enough sleep the past few days." She smiled uptight. "You know, writing and stuff."
"Ah." Gina muttered. "Lovely garden by the way. Perfect place to go all muddy." She winked at Emily.
"T-Thank you." The red head stammered, feeling the hotness fan out across her cheeks.
"Mum!" Naomi hissed.
"What? I was just saying it's lovely." Gina shrugged, brushing her daughter off. "Did you do all that?" She asked the red head. "The garden?"
"Yes. It took me quite a few years to grow it though."
"You should teach me some time. Mine looks horrible." She chuckled. "Where are you going Naomi?" She abruptly asked, seeing her daughter spring up to her feet with her mobile phone in her hand.
"Thomas is calling. I'll just take this." Naomi excused herself and stepped out of the living room.
Emily's gaze followed the blonde's direction, her eyes boring into Naomi's back, momentarily forgetting that the older Campbell was there with her, her heart beating nervously as the seconds ticked by. What if it wasn't Thomas after all? What if it was, it was-. Her fingers started to fidget as she swallowed hard. She couldn't even manage to think of the name, her name, for each time she tried, it just sent her heart throbbing with pain.
"Is something wrong Emily?" It was Gina who called out the red head's attention, breaking her reverie.
"No. I'm okay" Emily turned and replied, shaking her head gently.
"Sometimes I don't know if I should like her job or not." The older woman sighed. "She's always out somewhere else."
"But she's doing really good at it." The red head replied. "And she seems happy. I guess that's what matters."
Gina smiled widely at Emily. "True. I've never seen her that passionate about something before." She paused. "Ever since her dad died."
"What happened to her?" The red head curiously asked. "I-I mean, right after he died?"
"She stopped talking. Wouldn't talk to anybody, including me." Gina answered with a sad smile. "She'd keep herself locked up in her room and she won't come out unless you force her to." She continued. "Well that was until Effy came along."
"Oh." It was all what Emily could come up with. She brought her gaze down, looking at her fingers to somehow hide the flash of sadness in her eyes. She would never win against Effy, not when Naomi's been with her longer than she had been.
"Now, now don't you get all jealous." The older woman comforted. "They're just friends."
"Who are friends?" Naomi butted in, appearing out of nowhere, her eyes trained at Emily who had her head bent down. "Mum, what have you been telling Emily?"
"Nothing love." Gina answered casually. "We were just talking about your job." She added. "Now, I supposed you'd be leaving?"
Emily snapped her head up and watched the blonde nod in agreement. "You're going out?" She blurted out in surprise.
"Thomas wants me to come down to his office." Naomi grumbled.
"Is it really Thomas?" The red head couldn't help but ask, turning her gaze away from the other girl.
Naomi's forehead crumpled, her brow arching up. "Yeah, who else could it be?"
"I don't know." Emily shrugged. "Effy maybe?"
"Don't be ridiculous." The blonde snorted. "I'll go ahead now." She turned around, leaving her Mum and a baffled Emily in the living room.
Gina quietly watched the exchange between the two girls in amusement, with a content smile shaping in her lips.
Ah, the wonders of subtle jealousy.
O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O
Emily shuffled on the comfy couch as she waited for the older woman to come back from the kitchen. As soon as Naomi had left, Gina had invited her to come around her house and she gladly accepted, knowing well that her mind would run around crazy thoughts again when she's left alone, the utter silence of her own house driving her mad. She stood up and walked towards the row of paintings hung on the wall, admiring each and every unique artwork she could see.
"Was this done by your husband?" She asked upon seeing Gina enter the living room, two cups of tea in hand.
"Yes."
"It's beautiful." Emily muttered with such awe.
Gina placed the cups down and stood beside the red head. "This one." She pointed to the painting Emily had once seen before. "That little girl there." She glanced at Emily. "That's Naomi."
The red head's eyes grew wide with surprise. "That's her?"
The older woman nodded. "That man playing the piano is my husband."
"Wow. He's so talented!" Emily exclaimed. "Who painted it?"
"He did." Gina replied.
"B-but how?" Emily asked, her forehead folding into a crease, confused.
"I took a picture of them." Gina answered. "He loved it so much that he made a painting out of it."
"Your husband." The red head beamed. "Is the coolest person ever." She let out a soft chuckle. "I wish I had a chance to meet him."
"He's very much like Naomi." The older woman replied, circling her arm around Emily's shoulder. "He's pretty stubborn and cranky." She fell into a snigger. "I used to think he has a disorder or something."
Emily couldn't help but laugh at the certain coincidence. "Let me guess." She muttered. "You can't get his mood."
"Exactly dear." Gina agreed. "It took me quite a while before I got a hang of it." She added. "He's not naturally sweet, but when he's making an effort to be, he could be the sweetest person you'll ever know."
"Yeah, could be." The red head mumbled, smiling more to herself as she relived certain moments.
"I think we should sit down. The tea's getting cold." Gina stated, leading Emily to the couch and handing her a cup of tea as they settled down. "Did I ever tell you that Naomi knows how to play the piano?" She asked after taking a sip from her cup.
Emily shook her head. "She does?"
"Yes. She used to paint too." The older woman added. "But she stopped doing a lot of things after what happened, even after she met Effy."
"How old was she when he died?"
"She was ten." Gina answered. "It had been so hard for her to cope up. She used to be so cheerful, used to smile a lot but she changed. She built walls around her and kept everyone out. She didn't want to open up to anybody, didn't want to talk about what happened to her dad. She'd always want to be left alone. And she never cried, at least not in front of someone." The older woman continued with a sad smile. "But I know the old her is still there. I know it is." She sighed wearily.
Emily inched closer to the older woman and wrapped her arms around her shoulders and gave it a comforting squeeze. "She'll come back." She whispered reassuringly. "Just give her time."
"I know." Gina smiled and placed her hand above the red head's.
O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O
Naomi frowned as she stepped out of her car, seeing the house dark and seemingly empty. She scurried inside, bolting straight to Emily's room and scowling upon not finding the red head in there. She went to her own room and fished her phone out, quickly pressing speed dial one. She paced back and forth in front of her bedroom window, stretching her neck from time to time to look for any signs of Emily down the path, as she waited for her to pick up.
"Naomi."
"Where are you?" She blurted out. "Are you with Freddie?" She instantaneously asked, grimacing once she realized how stupid she sounded. She smiled though when she heard the red head giggling on the other line.
"No I'm not." Emily answered in between her giggles. "You keep asking about him. I'm starting to think you're jealous of Freddie."
"W-What?" She stuttered. "Me? Jealous?" She chuffed out loud. "Of course I'm not. Why would I be?"
"I'm kidding Naomi." The red head bantered. "Relax yeah?"
"W-Well-" Naomi's lips quivered. "You didn't answer my question! Where the fuck are you?"
"Why are you so wound up?" Emily chuckled. "I'm in your room."
"My room?" Naomi started to move around, searching for the red head. "I'm in my fucking room and you're not here."
"Is this you?" Emily blurted out. "You look so cute! You're wearing a uniform."
It was only then when Naomi figured everything out. "Oh, you're at Mum's house." She murmured. "Yeah, that's me during middle school."
"Your Mum asked me to stay, since it's already late. Told me to sleep in your room." The red head replied. "Did you do this?"
"What?" Naomi asked as she sat on the middle of her bed.
"Fingerprint painting. Are these your prints?"
"Yeah, mine and my dad's." The blonde answered.
"It's pretty."
Naomi smiled. "You see that photo frame on my desk?"
"Yeah. Is this him?"
The blonde swallowed hard before answering. "Yeah that's him. With me and Mum."
"He looks quite like you." Emily muttered. "His eyes are blue like yours and his nose, you got his nose. Oh."
"What?"
"This picture." The red head said, stumbling upon another photo. "This is the one he made a painting out of. You, sitting on top of the piano."
"It's my favorite." Naomi replied before heaving a long sigh. "He finished it, t-the night before he died." She took another swallow, pushing back the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. "H-he got hit by a car, t-to save me." She closed her eyes, letting the tears fall down on her cheeks, the tears she had been keeping hold of almost half of her entire life. She knew Emily could hear but she didn't stop, nor did she care. She just wanted to be free, be free of a burden she had been carrying for so long. And she knew Emily would understand, among all people, she'd be the only one who'll understand.
She shuffled on her bed and rested her back on the head board, tipping her head up to rest against the cold, hard, wall, her knees buckled up before her chest. "I-I was running down the street with him following me and t-then a car came speeding down. A-and before I knew it, before I knew it-" She bit her lip hard to muffle her sobs. "H-he pushed me away and I p-passed out on the pavement because I hit my head somewhere."
"Naomi." Emily softly called out, her voice full of concern.
"I w-woke up in the hospital and the next thing I knew, h-he was dead."
"Nai-nai."
"I-I blamed myself for what happened. I stopped talking. I'd lock myself in my room. Everything was my fault Em. Everything was."
"Nai-nai, it wasn't." Emily muttered. "You don't have anything to do with it."
"But it's because of me." The blonde retorted, gripping her phone tight as she shed another wave of tears. "He died because of me."
"Stop blaming yourself. Please." The red head pleaded, hearing the muffled cries coming from Naomi. "Don't cry." She took a deep breath, her eyes stinging as well. Because Naomi was in pain, and Naomi's pain was her pain. "Do you think your dad would like it if you continue to blame yourself?"
"I don't know."
"He wouldn't Nai-nai. He loves you and he doesn't want you to suffer. I'm sure he doesn't blame you either." Emily replied reassuringly. "Don't cry, please." The line went silent for minutes, the longest minutes Emily had ever been into, as she waited patiently for Naomi to calm herself, the sound of her muffled sobs slowly being replaced by little sniffs and long, deep breaths.
"Who's crying?" Naomi murmured after taking one last deep breath. "I'm not crying." She wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
"No one." Emily answered with a hint of smile on her voice. "Nobody's crying."
"Did you just call me Nai-nai?" The blonde blurted out, still sniffing a tad bit.
"Yeah, I did."
"You really think I look like a bloody horse?"
"What?" Emily scowled. "Naomi, don't start."
"I'm not." Naomi fell into a soft snigger. "I'm actually starting to love it."
"Well." The red head smiled smugly. "Told you it's pretty."
"Right." The other girl snorted.
A long comforting silence fell, and an exchange of deep, heavy breaths that somehow sounded like music to their ears.
"Nai-nai."
"Hmm?"
"What are these jars for?" Emily asked. "These ones full of folded papers in it."
"Effy made those for me when we were young." Naomi answered. "She said, every time she sees me sad, she'd make a note for me to read and make me smile. I kept them in those jars."
"Oh." Emily replied, biting her lip to hide the pain in her voice. "I take it you were sad most of the time." She joked, trying to sound funny as much as she can, yet she couldn't. It still sounded forced.
"Pretty much." The blonde muttered on the other line.
"She made you smile a lot I guess."
"She did." Naomi answered happily, oblivious of the hurting red head. "Up till now."
"Well, that's nice to know then." Emily bit her lip, her voice sounding so much huskier as it was almost cracking down.
"Em, are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah." The red head swallowed, pausing for a moment to compose herself. "I'm just a bit tired."
"You should go to sleep."
"I will, in a minute." She sighed. "You go--shit!"
"Emily? Are you alright?" Naomi asked, jerking up from her seat as she heard tiny squeals coming from Emily. "Hey, what's happening?" Another squeal instead of an answer. "Emily!"
"I'm alright."
The blonde heaved a sigh of relief. "What's wrong?"
"Thunder."
"What?"
"I'm scared of loud thunders."
Naomi turned her head to look at her bedroom window, flinching a bit when she saw the flash of lightning mark the sky. "Oh, it's raining."
"I'm scared."
"Emily calm down. It's just rain." The blonde replied comfortingly, hearing Emily's trembling voice over the phone. "It's not gonna hurt you." She could hear the rustling of the sheets and she was pretty sure that the red head was hiding under the covers. "Go to sleep yeah?"
"I can't sleep." Emily mumbled, cringing when she heard a loud thunder roar. "Naomi, I'm scared. I'm really scared." She barely whispered as she was near to bursting into tears. She closed her eyes and took one of the pillows to cover her head, muffling her screams.
"Sssh, Em. Listen to me." Naomi gently shushed as she tried to turn the red head's attention away from the raging thunders. "Fucking hell." She blurted out when the lights suddenly flickered, causing another strangled scream from the red head.
"I'm scared."
"Alright, hang on." The blonde jumped up from her bed and grabbed her car keys from the nightstand, practically running down the stairs. She bolted out to the door and scurried to her car, her mobile still burning in her ears. "Listen Em. Close your eyes and wait for me yeah?"
"Don't hang up." Emily answered. "I need to hear you."
"I won't."
O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O
"Clark, where's Mum?" Naomi asked as she burst into the huge doors of her mum's house, the good chauffeur greeting her.
"I believe she's already in her room." He answered. "And Ms. Emily's in your room."
"I know that." She replied. "Thanks." She spun around on her heels and ran through the hall, heading to her room straight away. She stopped in front of her door, twisting the knob gently so as to not startle or scare Emily further. "Em." She softly called out, spotting the red head hidden under the rusty maroon covers, just as she thought, curled up like a baby. She slowly stepped inside and closed the door gently, shrugging out of her coat as she sat on the edge of the bed. She could feel Emily's body trembling from where she was sitting, which made her reach out to the red head instantaneously, lightly pulling the covers down. She watched when Emily lifted the pillow from her head, the tears dripping from her eyes down to the sheets. She caught a lone tear streaming down, Emily flinching from another thunder that roared. "Scoot over." She muttered and slipped under the covers when the red head moved.
Emily rolled quickly to her side and buried her face on Naomi's chest when another loud thunder echoed across the room, her hands gripping the blonde's clothes tight. Naomi wrapped her arms around Emily's shoulder, rubbing the red head's back as well to soothe her down. She could feel Emily's arms encircling around her waist as she nuzzled on her neck, her warm but quick breaths hitting her skin. Emily's hold on her would tighten every time she flinched and, in return, she'd whisper words of comfort in her ear and kiss the top of her hair.
"Nai-nai, I'm scared."
"Shh, don't be. See, I'm here already. Get to sleep."
How she wished that there'd be thunderstorms every fucking day. And if there'd be none, she'd gladly pay for cloud seeding just to make it rain.