Break The Cycle

Chapter 24:

Killian POV:

I wanted to jump for joy! Emma was slowly letting me back in, those walls were higher than ever but I knew I could break them down.

Naturally, the first person I told was Liam. He called me a bloody idiot and then told me it shouldn't have taken this long for me to get the nerve to talk to her. And that if I messed up again he would find me and make me regret it, out of brotherly love.

Then, at my session that afternoon, I told my therapist. She thought it was a great step. She praised me on having the patience to show Emma and start what would hopefully be a friendship. Maybe one day it could blossom again.

I continued with re decorating my house. I had he living room and entry way done. Now I wanted to start the kitchen and dining room. I started with refinishing the cabinets with Liam's help, then painting the walls to change the depressing grayish color. The dining set had been mother's choice, so it stayed.

My next project was the upstairs, making the bathroom and bedrooms look like a place you would want to go, not run from. The beds and mattresses had been long since replaced, given how worn out they were before, but the wall paper had to go, and the sink had to be replaced in the bathroom.

While this was happening, I was also spending time with Emma here and there. We ate lunch together, occasionally she helped me shop for my house, and met for coffee in the mornings sometimes. We had to meet earlier now, because of her new job and house. Sometimes I messed up and went a little outside our friendship, a hand on her waste of brushing her hair from her shoulder. She was always quick to give me a side eye and put some space between us. I was fine with it, I always reminded myself that I would go at her pace of she even wanted this to eventually move into a relationship again.

I had still only met Henry once, I asked about him a lot because it brought her so much joy to talk about him. He was now seven, his birthday was a couple of weeks prior to when this started. She didn't talk about letting me meet him though, and I respected that. She wouldn't let me around her child until she was sure I could be trusted.

He was a bright boy, from what she told me he was engaged in school and read books constantly. He had required reading from school but even then, he read the books he had at home. He loved to write too, he would come home and show her the short stories he had for writing class with a big A on the front for a job well done.

Then she told me about the massive dog she had. The day after Henry came home, she took him to pick a dog from the shelter. Frankie stood out to him because no one wanted a dog that big. Apparently, the two of them danced and sang along to music in the living room all the time, because Frank was named after Frank Sinatra when he started howling to music in the shelter.

Emma had also picked two cats, siblings, who kept her company at night. I smiled at the thought of her having a couple of companions to chase away the nightmares. Apparently, all of the living things under her care were spoiled rotten.

Henry's birthday had been celebrated by Emma, her friends Ruby and Regina, along with Robin and Roland, Henry's former social worker, and a few friends from school. Emma herself had bought him a swing set to play on in the back yard, and others had bought him things like an inflatable pool and a slip n slide. Summer was approaching, and Emma was happy to tire him out with his new toys since he wouldn't have school to keep him occupied. Regina was a school teacher now, so she was off for the summer and happy to keep Henry and Roland during the day while Emma worked.

"Killian?" Emma asked, breaking me from a trance.

"Sorry, I'm just happy to listen to you talk about your boy. He seems to make you happy." I said.

"He does." She smiled. "I wanted to ask you how your house was coming along."

"It's great. Liam has been helping me restore it, you've already seen the living room but now the kitchen is fixed up, so is the dining room. We're working on the upstairs right now." I said.

"That's great, you seem so much happier now that you've got those memories out of the house."

I wanted to tell her that it wasn't the memories making me happy again, but it might jeopardize all the progress we'd made.

"Agreed." I grinned.

"Oh damn, I have to get back to work. Thanks for lunch, Killian." She placed a hand on my arm and electricity shot up and down it. It gave me the push u needed to ask her this.

"Swan!" I said before she could leave. She turned to me with a questioning look.

"I forgot to tell you, Liam is getting married. I'm the best man and I kind of need a..." I trailed off, afraid that the word date would throw it off.

"Date?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Strictly as friends, you don't even have to dance with me." I assured her quickly.

"It sounds lovely, Killian. Text me a date and time, I have to do." She smiled and left the restaurant. Meanwhile, my stomach was doing flips at the idea of an almost date with Emma, just like when it happened the first time.

Emma POV:

I felt like it was that first night with Killian again. I kept reminding myself that it was just as friends. It had only been a month since we started over. He was doing great, he didn't have any angry flashes like before. It must have been from him and his brother making a project out of fixing up that house.

Or because he's spending time with you again.

I shoved that thought to the back of my head. I wasn't sure if I was ready to let him back in. I got back to work behind my desk. I met with a couple of people today, a thirty something woman with an assault charge, and a kid who was rebelling against his mom. I kept trying to tell him to appreciate his mom, I'd met her myself and she seemed great. He'd scoff and I'd tell him to be grateful he has one, because I never did.

Killian texted me the date for the wedding, two weeks from this Saturday and six in the evening. I would have to send Henry for a sleep over at Regina's. He would love it, Roland and him would be up all night playing video games and eating junk food with Robin. I let them have their fun, since he never really got to to that at home.

I texted Regina asking about it and got a yes almost immediately. Shaking my head, I went back to my computer.