Chapter Two
-Present day-
Emma sat up on the rooftop of her apartment building with a friend of hers, who also happened to be her next-door neighbor, as the sun was setting. It had been another bad day. Lately, her life seemed to be full of them and she was getting fed up with it. She was now twenty-three years old and had been living on her own since she was seventeen. The day that she graduated from high school she left her mother’s house. She tried living in suburbs where she grew up, but everywhere she went there were sign of her mother or even worse, her mother in person, so she moved out to the city.
When that happened she also lost her best friend. Amazing, as it seems, Justin and Emma, still remained best friends through out high school. Through other boyfriends and girlfriends, Emma’s constant problems, other friends, sports and school, they still stayed strong to one another’s friendship. That all ended the day she moved to the city though. They tried to keep in touch, but Justin was doing his thing in college at home and Emma was busy working.
After a few phone calls and emails they completely lost touch. Emma never thought that she could live without Justin, but so far she seemed to be doing so, if you would like to count her life as it is now.
“Why do I always get myself in these situations?” Emma asked.
Kirstin just shrugged as they both stared at the sky, “Relationships are hard work.”
Emma took her eyes from the sunset and gave her friend a blank stare. “I’ve been crying for like four hours and that is the best advice you can give me. Come on, there’s go to be something better up there in that head of yours?”
“What do you want me to say, Emma?” Kirstin asked, “You have lived a shitty life, we all know that, for god sakes every single one of your boyfriends has had to listen to that sob story. You try and blame everything on your mother, which is old too. I tell you all of this every time we sit up here because you’ve just been dumped, once again, and it hasn’t made an improvement yet.”
Emma turned her blank stare into a glare and crossed her arms in defense, “My life has been shitty and everything is my mother’s fault.”
“No, it’s not! You can change it. You can forget your mother and move on so that you will have a chance to live a life. Your not her.”
Emma sighed and sat back just in time to see the last part of the sun fade beneath the horizon, “It’s not as easy as it sounds.”
Kirstin just shook her head and stood up to leave, but before she did she said, “Well, I am done playing pity party with you. You can stay here and drown in your own self defeat, but I won’t be taken down with you.”
Emma watched as her friend opened the door to go back into the apartment and slammed it behind her. She knew that Kirstin was right, but it was so hard to let her past go. It was her curse. It is always so hard for her to go out with a new guy because she was always afraid that she would be left out in the rain, which always ended up happening, but there was always something inside her that thought that this could be the one. This could be the guy that makes her heart skip a beat every time she sees him in his boxers in the morning, or who would do anything to please her even if he really didn’t want to. Like going to get the paper and some milk at the corner store in the pouring rain right after he wakes up.
All of her relationships start out that way. All happy, perfect and blissful, but all to soon they all seem to start tumbling down hill and building speed as they go. Then when it hits the bottom everything just falls to pieces. Emma didn’t know what she was going to do. She didn’t even know where to start. She needed to get her mother out of her mind for good, but that would take time and she wasn’t sure that it was even possible anyway.
She stood up and started to pace the roof, as if moving were suddenly going to create a revelation and the answers would just appear before her like they had been there all along. She had a tissue clutched in her hand and she knew that her eyes were still practically swollen shut, but none of that was on her mind now. She needed answers and she could only think of one thing.
She had to stop dating all together. That was the only answer. Until she forgave her mother for everything that she did to her, there was just no other answer. So, if it takes her a month or the rest of her life she would be giving up men. Emma stopped pacing and held her head high; she would be able to do this. She had to for her own sanity. The next thing she knew she was off to find Kirstin to let her in on the plan.
-
“Hey man, what’s up?” Drew asked Justin as he approached the table that Justin was sitting at in the little café.
Justin looked up to his friend, “Well, it’s nothing really.”
Drew gave Justin a little side-glance that literally said ‘your full of shit.’ “I drove all the way down here because of nothing?”
“Well, it’s about me and Emma.”
“Emma again, huh?” Drew answered sympathetically.
“I miss her. I can’t get a hold of her and all I really want to know is if she’s alive or not. Is that so bad?”
“Listen man, you’ve got two choices the way that I see it. You can either move on with your life, as it seems that she has. Which, means you can finally start seeing girls again and not dwelling on the fact that Emma isn’t here anymore.”
Justin cut Drew off at the end of that sentence, “That one is never going to happen. What’s the second option?”
“Option two, you can pack up and go after her. I prefer that one because then you wont be this lonely loser anymore. The choice is yours.”
“I don’t know where she lives, or works, or who her friends are. It’s been like six years. I don’t even think that she knows that her mother is dead, not that she would really care. She could be a completely different person for all I know. What would I be chasing after?”
Drew just shook his head and gave a very dramatic sigh, “How about true love?”
Justin looked up at Drew with shock on his face, “What?”
“Oh, come on, you can’t be that blind. I have known since we were just kids that you two were soul mates. I just couldn’t believe that you never dated in the first place and that when she left you hadn’t gone after her.”
Justin didn’t know what to say, “I never thought of her that way.”
“You must be crazy then,” Drew said.
“So what do I do?”
“Dude, love must do some really crazy things to your head because if I really have to explain this to you then I am going to have to hit you.”
Justin understood full well what the consequences could be and stood straight up and smiled at Drew, “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it. Now get on your horse and ride after her,” Drew joked as Justin ran away.
Justin went home as fast as he could and started packing frantically. His mom heard all the commotion and went to his room to find out what was going on. She opened his door and saw what he was doing and questioned,” Where do you think you are going in such a rush?”
“I’m going to find Emma.”
“Emma? Hunny, do you have any idea where she is?”
“She’s in the city. Don’t worry about me I’ll be fine. I just have to find her,” Justin said, never pausing a second from his packing.
“Why do you all the sudden have this need to find her? You haven’t seen her in forever.”
That question stopped him dead in his tracks to his closet. He turned to face his mom and a huge smile spread across his face. “I think I love her?” His mom just sort of chuckled to herself and tried to cover it up with the palm of her hand. “What?” he asked.
“Nothing really, it’s just that I always knew that this day would come. I just kind of gave up on the thought of anything ever happening because it took so long.”
“You knew all along, too? Why don’t you people let me in on this kind of a thing?” Justin asked a little angrily.
“Because that is something that you have to discover on your own. I’ll make you something for the road and find the map. You’ll need some extra money because you need to buy flowers for her and you never know what could happen on the way there.”
“Mom, there’s no time.”
“You obviously have never seen me in action. I am a mother and a damn good one at that. I can have all of that done by the time you finish packing.”
“Fine, just make it fast,” Justin ordered and went on his way again as his mom disappeared down the hallway.
About 15 minuets later he was in his car ready to go and his mom had done everything she said she would, faster than he finished. She kissed him on the cheek as he was sitting in the driver’s seat of the car ready to head off, “Good luck, sweetie.”
“Thank you, Mom. For everything.” His mom winked at him then backed away from the car so he could be on his way.
She waved one last time and tears started to come to her eyes then she said proudly “I’ve raised one hell of a son.”
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