Christmas sucks.
When Emily Shepherd's boss boyfriend cheats on her with her best friend, she loses everything in one night-love, friendships, job, and home. In a weird fit of desperation (or some deep-rooted need to punish herself even more) she m...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Emily was able to unpack the groceries and find a place for everything. She purposely put things in different locations than she'd had in the condo. She wanted everything to be different. So, the coffee cups, no matter how inconvenient it was, would go in the bottom cabinet across the room from the counter where she set up the coffeepot. And the set of five new pots and pans she bought would go in the upper cabinet next to the fridge.
It was awful. She was pleased.
She'd hung her clothes up in the bedroom closet—at least the ones she had just stuffed into the trash bags, hangers and all. She'd not bought hangers at Walmart, unfortunately, so some things she just folded and put on the floor, next to the wall. She would have to put hangers on the list of things to buy next time she was out. And maybe a table and chair so she didn't have to eat standing up or look for a job on the laptop on the floor.
She smirked to herself. "Don't get crazy now, Em. You think you're made of money or something?"
That was her dad's expression—do you think I'm made of money—and it made her a little sad that she would miss seeing her parents this Christmas. But she needed the money. So, she'd refunded the tickets—well, 80% of them, which was the best the airline would give her—as soon as she'd gotten home. That money in her bank account would buy her some more time in case she didn't get a job quickly.
She could always ask her parents for help, she knew. They would definitely not let her starve or be homeless. But then she'd have to explain what happened with her and Jake. And, although they would never say I told you so, Emily knew that's what they would think.
They had not been impressed with Jake from the start. Mom had said she didn't think he was serious about the relationship and Dad had just flat out not liked him. Turns out, their instincts were better attuned than hers. She would, of course, have to tell them at some point. She just wasn't ready to do that right now.
She glanced around at the mostly empty house. Being with Jake was a mistake. Was moving here another mistake? She could have stayed in the Chicago area. She could've moved to Englewood with Mom and Dad. She could have gone anywhere, really. Why did she come back to Johnson?
There were no big businesses here. There were no large retail stores. There weren't even any large warehouses for her to manage. If she found a job, it would not be here in Johnson. It would be in one of the larger towns nearby, maybe.
Why had she committed to a year-long lease? Why had she—
Were those footsteps?
She froze in place, listening carefully. She'd definitely heard footsteps from down the hall, in the living room, maybe. She looked around for anything she could use as a weapon, but there was nothing. She didn't even have one of her new knives since they were all in the drawer next to the refrigerator.
She balled her fists, thumb on the outside like Dad had showed her, and stepped to the bedroom door. "Hello?"
The footsteps stopped. Yes. Those were definitely footsteps. And there was definitely someone in the house. Her heart pounded against her ribs. She'd left her phone on the kitchen counter. What should she do? Open the window and leave? Her shoes were in the hall closet in the living room, with her coat.
