Page 139 of Don't Leave Me

“After you, my love,” he motioned to the booth, and I hurriedly sat down next to Emily.

I shrugged off my jacket then sat closely next to Emily, my sweet, naive cousin. Jack sat on the side opposite of me and next to Adam where they began to chat.

“So? How’s it been with you and Jack?” she asked curiously, ready for all the juicy details.

I smiled as naturally as I could. “It’s been really great,” I lied. “He’s been helping me a lot through all of this.”

Emily shook her head at me and gave me an apologetic smile. “I can’t imagine how hard it must have been to make that decision,” she said before putting her hand onto mine.

My insides were crawling. I returned the smile. “Really hard,” I nodded. “But I made the right decision,” I added, then looked over at Jack – he had been watching us discreetly, but carefully.

“He’s been calling me, you know,” Emily admitted as she opened up her menu.

I quickly turned to her. I kept my voice low, but I knew Jack could hear every word. “Michael has?”

Emily nodded, another sympathetic smile. “He’s been asking about you, if I’ve talked to you or seen you. I told him I have been keeping in touch and that you’re fine. He just…he can’t get over it,” she shrugged, looking a little sad.

I felt another lump in my throat with my chest feeling like it had punched by a car. I turned my face towards my menu to shield any view of my eyes starting to fill with tears.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t be talking about him. Let’s talk about you and Jack!” Emily’s mood shifted. “What have you guys been doing the past few days?”

I looked up at Jack. He smiled at me then to Emily. “Well, this is our first time leaving the apartment,” he said shyly.

God, he’s such a great actor. He’s almost convincing me that he’s a sweet angel.

Emily and Adam laughed, knowing exactly what he meant.

The evening continued with light conversation, Jack and Adam talking about their music together and Emily telling me about some show at Terminal 5 they had gone to. I tried my hardest not to make it seem like I was internally planning my escape route –I could grab Emily, run to the nearest police station, call Michael, have him call my parents and have them all meet us at the station. Jack wouldn’t have time to try to grab his gun and then hunt my family and loved ones.

“I have to go to the bathroom. Han, join me?” Emily eyed me.

I looked over at Jack. He widened his eyes quickly but didn’t seem to object. “Yeah,” I nodded to her as I got up and followed her towards the back of the building.

I waited for Emily as she peed in a stall, staring at myself in the mirror, my adrenaline starting to kick in. My instincts wanted me to tell her, to run out through the emergency exit that I spotted on the way to the restroom. But as she came out of the stall, I couldn’t do it.

“You okay?” she examined me, starting to wash her hands.

“Yeah,” I smiled at her through the mirror.

“I have to ask, Han,” Emily started, drying her hands with a paper towel, turning to me somberly.

My heart sank. I waited.

“Did he hurt you?” she questioned hesitantly.

“What?” I choked out.Does she know?

“Michael. Did he hurt you physically? Did he hit you?” she interrogated, one hand on her hip.

Oh, Emily. I wish you knew. I shook my head slowly, my eyes lowering.

“No, Em. He’s never hurt me like that. I just couldn’t marry him,” I answered, each word stinging in my chest.

“You would tell me, wouldn’t you? You tell me everything,” she asked after a moment.

I nodded, giving her a slow smile. “Of course.”

By the time we left, after barely touching my food, I was exhausted and sick to my stomach.

---