The cell rang. Again. It was Jason. Again. She tossed the phone aside on the counter at her mom's house and resumed scrambling eggs. Brushing loose strands of hair out of her face from her messy ponytail, she pushed up her pajama sleeves. She cut up some ham and mixed it into the skillet. Eating a couple spoonfuls herself, she dumped the rest on a plate for her mom. Her stomach growled, but food didn't appeal still after three days.

Her cell chirped a voicemail. The fourth one he'd left since her birthday. No, the day her dad had died. She no longer had a birthday. There was nothing to celebrate that day anymore. The cell chirped a text alert. Anger bubbled up. SHe needed to smash something. Hate clouded her vision. If she hadn't wanted a date with Jason, she would have stayed with her parents. Maybe he wouldn't have died if she'd been there to help her mom with him while waiting for the ambulance. She would've been there to say goodbye. If Jason has been there still too, he might have been able to save him. She snatched up the cell, seriously contemplating throwing it out the window.

She hadn't had the strength to go back out and see him at the hospital, to have to say her dad was gone. So a nurse had sent him home for her. She hadn't listened to any of his messages because hearing his voice would make her cry. Throwing the phone across the room, it bounced against the wall and slid across the floor to land at her feet. The text message had opened. She bent down and slowly picked it up.

This isn't good for you and your mom to be alone. Let me come out or see if one or your relatives can. Your grandmother said your mom is still in bed. You don't need to do this alone, sweetheart. I'm coming if I don't hear from you by tonight still. J

She didn't want him. The pain could remain buried if he stayed away. It was time to stop putting off the inevitable.

Don't. Mom needs me here. I'm resigning and moving back home. I'll explain my notes to my replacement once you find one. Goodbye, Dr. Port.

Her finger hovered over Send. It was a barb, but it hopefully would push him away hard enough he wouldn't come back. Her lip quivered. Her mom's physician wanted to admit her mom to a psychiatric hospital for severe depression. She couldn't go back to Colorado. She had to stay here. This was her life now. The life insurance had been due the day of her dad's death, and her mom said he'd been about to pay bills online when the stroke had occurred. Some kind of loophole existed that let the insurance company not pay out. All her mom had was her dad's last paycheck and the house. They'd cashed all the stocks plus her own paychecks from Jason to pay for the funeral. She survived the pain by looking for jobs and had a night waitressing gig lined up at a diner. Her mom didn't know. If she slipped bills out of her mom's mail and paid them, maybe her mom wouldn't know. Her mom hadn't worked in years due to frequent, debilitating migraines. But her dad's paycheck had always gotten them by.

The house phone rang. Her blood pressure shot through the roof as she looked at caller ID and snatched the phone. "What about that wasn't clear?" she snapped at Jason.

"Shoving me away won't make anything better," he said calmly. It sounded like he was in the car.

Her face crumpled hearing him so gentle and calm. "I've got enough to deal with without a relationship too." Her voice quivered.

"I'm not calling as a boyfriend but as a friend, Emma. This is too much for you to handle on your own."

"Did it occur to you that I don't want to talk to you?" God, that sounded cold even to her own ears.

He was silent for a moment. "I know you're angry I didn't get you there even two minutes sooner. I know you need to be angry at someone because what happened is too painful to absorb yet," he said softly. "You don't have to talk to me. I can just be there and help with your mom or run errands or whatever you need."

Or hold her. Biting her lip, she took a deep breath. "What's the point? We both knew we weren't going anywhere. It was a fling. I have to move on with my life now." The tears rolled down her face, but she had to do this. She couldn't make her mom move out to Colorado and leave her home, and she couldn't make Jason come to the city with all the people.

"Don't," he whispered. "Don't say things out of anger that you can't take back. I can't walk away, Emma. And I don't think you honestly want me to."

She sank to the floor and bent her knees up. And then she sobbed. He wasn't supposed to see through it. He wasn't supposed to be kind and understanding. As long as he was around, she couldn't shut down her heart because he'd fight for her. She hung up the phone. Then she picked up the line, the dial tone ringing in her ear. "I need you here. I'm so scared. I can't do this. I'm so lost, Jason." The dial tone was the only answer.

The doorbell rang minutes later. She didn't move from where she still sat on the floor, clutching the phone as her only link to Jason. The doorbell rang again. A dog barked. Her head whipped up. That bark. It couldn't be. She pushed herself up and took a step, her heart beating faster. No, it wouldn't be. The disappointment would be crushing. If that was Prince, it meant Jason was with him. Neither one of them could have gotten here that fast when Jason said he would've come tonight. The dog barked twice, sounding anxious.

She ran into the livingroom and looked out the window to see Prince on the front step. An unfamiliar car was parked in the driveway. Whipping open the door, she stared in disbelief. Jason stood there, like a beacon amid the waves crashing in the storm. Prince ran in circles around her, barking happily. She held Jason's eye. With the next beat of her heart, she flung herself in his arms and wept.

His strong arms wrapped around her. "It's going to be alright," he whispered against her hair. He didn't let go.

Jason quietly took over finishing making breakfast even though it was eleven o'clock in the morning and listened to her unload everything off her chest.

He set a plate of eggs in front of her. "Eat. You look like you're getting ill." His hand felt her brow for a moment. Then he set down the plate for her mom and sat in a chair. "Emma? May I ask your mother if I may give her some money? Even as a loan if she's uncomfortable just taking it." He held up a hand. "It's not charity. It's helping family." Compassion filled his eye. "I don't like the idea of you waitressing at night. If something happened to you, your mother would never forgive herself. Don't make her suffer because of pride. Or make me suffer either," he added quietly. His hand rested over hers on the table. "If you want to quit your accounting job, you can. The money for your mother would come without any strings. Even if you decide you don't want to date me. Let me take the eggs to your mother and see if I can get her to talk." She slowly nodded. Then he kissed the top of her head and walked down the hall.

Prince sat beside her, waiting for his share of eggs. She picked at the food but took a few bites to appease Jason. A little of the weight of the world lifted from her shoulders having someone else to help handle the burdens. His voice traveled down the hall when he knocked on the bedroom door even though it was open.

"Mrs. Hoplin? It's Jason. May I come in?"

"Jason? Oh, I'm sorry. I must've fallen asleep. I didn't know you were coming." Her mom sounded more tired each day even though she slept all the time.

"My apologies for waking you. I took the liberty of showing up. Emma and I made you breakfast. May I speak with you for a moment?"

Sheets rustled.

"Thank you. Mrs. Hoplin, Emma is very worried about you and expressed her concerns about what the physician said. No, don't be embarrassed," he said with so much compassion. "I disagree with the physician. I don't know what it's like to lose a spouse, but I've lost both parents and had some depression after my accident. I want to help, whatever way you and Emma need. Tell me what would help."

Her mom sniffled. "I think Emma feels responsible for me. She's young and shouldn't be tied down trying to support me or move in with me."

"She mentioned what the insurance company did. If I may, I'd like to give you some money until we figure out what to do."

"Oh no-"

"Ms. Hoplin, I'm crazy about your daughter. Her family is mine. I wouldn't do any less if I had any family. You can figure out finances down the road, if you prefer it to be a loan. You and Emma shouldn't have to worry about money right now." Her mom must've nodded. "I have to ask...do you want to remain in this house? Some people don't want to part with the memories, and others find them too painful to stay."

"I want to stay, but I can't stand this place right now. I keep seeing him when I turn around." She started crying again.

Her eyes teared. Jason had gotten her mom to open up more in three minutes than she'd been able to get in three days. She walked into the room to see Jason sitting on the edge of the bed holding her mom as she sobbed. His eye met hers, so full of grief for them.

Her face crumpled, but she didn't even know for sure why. Jason held out an arm for her. Her mom looked up and held out her other arm too. She crawled across the bed. They held her, with her and her mom crying and Jason swallowing hard. They'd get through this. They could do this as a family.