Page 9 of After Everything
I watched him workthrough the kitchen doorway, completely unbothered by the fact that he was changing locks on a stranger's house at seven in the morning because her husband had cheated.
"Thank you," I said quietly. "For calling him. For being here."
Jess squeezed my hand. "Where else would I be?"
My phone buzzed on the coffee table. Another text from David.
Emma please. Can we just talk? I'll do anything.
I stared at it. Then I picked up my phone and blocked his number.
It felt like nothing. And everything.
"Good," Jess said, watching me. "Fuck him."
Sebastian emerged from the back hallway, wiping his hands on his jeans. "All done. Front and back are changed, garage too. I'm setting up the app on your phone now." He held out his hand for it.
I unlocked my phone and handed it over.He tapped and swiped for a minute, then handed it back.
"You're all set. You can lock and unlock from here, see when doors open and close, get alerts if someone tries to force entry. I set a temporary code for now. You can change it to whatever you want." He showed me the screen. "The old locks are completely replaced. Even if someone has the old keys, they're useless now."
"Thank you," I managed. "How much do I?—"
"On the house." He was already packing up his tools. "Jess said it's an emergency. We take care of emergencies."
He said it so matter-of-factly, like it was obvious, like helping a stranger whose husband cheated was just what you did on a Wednesday morning.
Something in my chest cracked a little. In a good way, maybe.
"Seriously," Sebastian added, pausing at the door. "You need anything else, like cameras, alarm system, whatever it is… you call me. Jess has my number."
Then he was gone, and it was just me and Jess in the too-quiet house.
She looked at me, reading my face the way she always could. "You want to stay here or come to mine?"
I looked around. The wine stain. The new locks that David's key wouldn't open. The empty space where his suitcase had been.
"Here," I said quietly. "I need to stay here."
Jess nodded. "Okay. Then I'm staying with you."
"You don't have to?—"
"Emma." She gave me that look again. "I'm staying. End of discussion."
I didn't have the energy to argue. And honestly, I didn't want to be alone.
CHAPTER 4: EMMA
Jess made me eat.
Not much, just toast and scrambled eggs that I barely tasted, but she stood there until I finished, watching me like I was a patient she couldn't leave unsupervised. Maybe that's exactly what I was.
"Now shower," she ordered, taking my empty plate. "You'll feel better."
I doubted that, but I went upstairs anyway.
The shower ran until the water went cold.
