Fire on Fire

14. It is what it is

"So, are you gonna tell me what happened or should we just keep driving aimlessly?" Alexander wondered, glancing at her for a moment, but mainly focused on the road. He'd been driving for over 15 minutes, but Emma hadn't uttered a single word. She was completely lost in her own world, staring out of the window, as if unable to hear him.

"Emma?" Alexander called again, brushing her thigh for a moment, which caused her to flinch, as if suddenly waking up. "What happened?" He asked. "Why are you so upset and tense?" Did Nancy do something to her? His girlfriend was a dangerous enemy to have, he was well aware. But he hadn't told her anything yet, could she have found out and turned against her friend?

"I'm fine." Emma murmured, eyes once again fixated on the streets blurring past her.

He sighed, retrieving his hand from her thigh to switch gear. Without a word, Alexander took a turn on the left, heading far away from the city lights. Maybe, away from New York's chaos and surrounded by the cozy halo of his Nana's house, she would calm down and start talking. However, of one thing he was certain, if Nancy was behind this, the worst was yet to come.

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"Why are we here?" Emma grumbled, stuffing her hands in her pockets.

Alexander shrugged, mimicking her. "I thought I'd take you to Nana's, but then I thought ... the ocean usually soothes me, I figured it might help you, too."

"I don't need soothing." She muttered, walking away from him. "Plus, it's cold here, and I can't see anything in this damn darkness." She grumbled.

He rolled his eyes, walking up to her. "Here, Grumpy Pants, put this on." He said, placing his jacket over her shoulders, but she shrugged it off, choosing to brace herself instead. "Emma ..."

"Just ... take me home, alright?"

As a response, Alexander slid his arms around her and pulled her into him, kissing her temple. "You are home, baby."

Her heart skipped a few beats. "Alexander ..."

He tightened his grip on her, leaving his chin on her shoulder. "Whatever happened, it means she knows. It's not going to be easy, so why not just lay everything out in the open, at this point?"

"Don't ..."

"I won't. But know that I do." Alexander stated firmly. He placed a soft kiss on her cheeks, and entangled their hands together. "We need to prepare for the storm that's coming our way."

"Don't say things you'll regret." She stiffened, yet didn't move.

"Why would I regret the utter truth?"

"Alexander ..." Emma sighed. What was wrong with him? This wasn't the right moment. Not after the night she'd had, taking blow after blow, not with everything that was going on.

Nancy not only knew, but she had immediately jumped down her throat, attacking her in her most vulnerable points, as if she knew exactly where it would hurt the most, as if she'd been preparing it for a long time.

When she'd decided to take it all, in the name of her guilty conscience, Emma hadn't imagined just how far Nancy and her friends would go. Her whole past exposed like that, in front of everyone, had made her feel naked and defenseless, no way to react or justify her wrongdoings.

The fact that Nancy had been able to dig up all her lives, reaching deeper and deeper, finding even that Allison Healy she'd left in Tennessee, was frightening. And now Alexander was here, claiming they should prepare to face that storm together. Just how foolish was he? Didn't he know his girlfriend one bit?

Shaking her head, Emma slipped out of his grip. "Take me home."

"Okay," he agreed, "but we need to face the issue sooner rather than later. Hurricane Nancy won't wait too long before-"

"What's Nancy got to do with anything?" Emma faked surprise.

He wiggled his eyebrows, confused. "What happened ... you went to Nancy's, I assumed ..."

"You assumed wrong. Nancy did nothing to me." She lied.

"Then why did you tell me to come pick you up? You sounded upset, you told me to be quick ..."

She rolled her eyes for show. "That's because I was bored out of my mind." Emma claimed, crossing her arms over her chest. "What, you thought I wanted you to be my knight in shining armor?" She scoffed, overstressing her contempt. "The hunter protecting Snow White from the Evil Queen?" She let out a chilly laugh. "You should try growing up, Alexander. This is no fairy tale. There's no evil villain, there's just two selfish bastards that are guilty of a horrible betrayal."

Alexander pressed his lips. Was it the right moment to tell her everything? She wasn't in the right mindset for it. "I don't believe you." He said somberly. "You forget who you're talking to, you were way too upset for it to be nothing." He reached out for her hand. "You were in a haze throughout the whole drive here. This is probably just some coping mechanism. But you don't need to pretend with me."

Emma laughed wryly and humorlessly, slipping her hand out of his. "You're seriously delusional, Alexander." She spat, taking a couple of steps backwards. "You brought me here, thinking this would be oh, so romantic, and that I would fall into your arms, declaring my undying love for you." She hated herself for the venom she had to fill those words with, but it was necessary.

"I did no such thing." Alexander said slowly. "I brought you here because you were upset, which you are, despite your attempts at hiding it." He pursed his lips, contemplating his chances. "And maybe yes, I somewhat hoped we could have an earnest conversation about ... us. But I see that's not going to happen tonight, so-"

"There's no us!" Emma shouted, losing control of her voice for a second. "Don't you see? It was nothing but a dirty sexual affair to me. I'm sorry your heart got involved, but I didn't ask for this." She turned away, a cold breeze hitting her skin. "You meant nothing to me, Alexander. Nothing."

"Emma ..." She couldn't be serious. She couldn't be seriously condemning them both like that. He couldn't have read the signals so wrong. Something had happened, he was sure. Or maybe it was sense of guilty. Argh, if only she knew the truth! He should have been open since the start.

"It was nice, but it's over. Move on." Emma swallowed her emotions to sound as detached as possible. "Now, are you gonna take me home or I should catch a ride?"

The chilling coldness of her voice cut his heart in half. He knew she was aloof, but to dismiss their bond like that, after all that had happened ... Alexander raked a hand over his face, trying to be sensible and not let his own hurt take over. "Okay ... I'll take you home. We can talk about this when you're not upset." He began to walk back to the car.

"I'm not upset. You're just choosing not to believe me. But it is what it is."

"Sure, whatever you say, Emma. Let's just go." Shaken up at the very core of his essence, Alexander drowned his every thought in the utter silence of the night. Whether she meant those words or not, this would not be the last time they talked about it, of that, he was sure.