Fortuitous {WLW}

Chapter Nine: Never Fall for the Straight Girl

Emerson's POV:

"Don't tell me you're falling for her again." Tate says, sounding defeated as she marks down prices with her price gun.

I quickly look around, making sure no one heard her in this tiny hardware shop.

"Tate, would you be quiet?! I didn't say I was falling for her... I just said she was intriguing." I whisper.

"And that she's captivating, stunning, genuine, and hot... let's not forget hot." Tate says, popping her gum in my face.

"Okay... those too." I admit, cringing a little bit by how desperate I sound.

"I thought you got over this crush. Aren't you sick of the unrequited love story of falling for the straight girl? I thought you moved past this stage in your life, Emerson." Tate lectures.

I sigh, "I thought so too until I saw her."

Tate shakes her head as she begins to walk away from me and behind the counter, "what is it about Saylor Holmes that you can't get over? It's been years, Emerson. You've had a crush on this girl since you were a literal child."

I lean against the counter as she rummages through the supplies below the cash register, "I don't know. She's not like the rest of the people she hangs out with. She's not shallow or superficial. She's sweet and kind, especially to me."

"If a girl being nice to you is all it takes to get your attention, then your standards are in hell." Tate says, slamming the drawer shut as she walks around from behind the counter with a chisel and a hammer in hand.

"What are you doing with those?" I ask.

"I'm going to pry open your skull and see what's wrong with you." She says.

"Okay, shortie. You can't even reach my head from your height." I joke.

"I'll bust your fucking kneecaps with this hammer and then you'll be at my height." She threatens as she walks past me.

"Who knew someone so small could be so violent." I tease.

"It's because I'm so close to hell." She jokes as she begins to scrape some gum off the bathroom door.

I laugh, "explains a lot."

"Yeah and I'm not over this Saylor talk. What makes you think she'd even give you the time of day? She didn't back in high school, so what makes her different now?" Tate asks.

I shrug my shoulders, "that's the thing. I don't know if she'd give me the time of day, but she seems different. She's grown as a person and even though she still lets Hadley have a bit of control over her, I can tell she wants to branch out. She just needs the confidence to stand up for herself, be her own individual, and then maybe she'd see we aren't all that different and we have more in common than she thinks."

The gum falls off the bathroom door as Tate gives it one last good hit, "do you realize how sad you sound?"

I sigh, "yeah, actually... I do. It's just hard to explain."

Tate slowly turns around to look at me, "you're an idiot."

"Thanks." I say, defeated.

"Listen... I love you, Emerson, but this whole crush on Saylor thing has got to die. You got to let this ship sail, get it?" She jokes as she grabs the gum as tosses it in the trash.

"Are you even over Zara?" Tate asks, causing my heart to feel a tinge of pain at the name.

I run my hands through my curls as I take a deep breath, "it's hard to tell. I think I'm over her in the sense that I don't love her anymore, but I'm not healed from the trauma of her cheating. I don't know if I want to get close to someone again and yet, it's all I want. I gave her so much of my heart and she took it for granted... I just want someone that can reciprocate."