The Perfect Emma

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Emma Mabel

After what felt like forever, Emma eventually managed to calm down. Her irrational mind that was trapped with Aaron eventually pushed itself down to the point that she was able to think logically.

Emma found herself leaning against Grayson - his shirt now stained with tears. She rubbed at her eyes with her fingers and glanced down, slightly ashamed. "I'm sorry," Emma eventually murmured out.

"There's no reason to be sorry," Gray told her, rubbing her shoulder softly. The comforting touches were... odd. Not that she didn't appreciate it - she just wasn't used to it.

Moments of silence passed until Emma spoke again. She raised her hand up to her raw cheek and let out a slow, steady sigh. "I had a nightmare," Emma eventually admitted. She glanced over towards Gray, who merely watched her in silence. "Just..." She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head slightly. "Aaron is probably so furious at me."

"I don't care what Aaron feels." Grayson said simply, squeezing Emma slightly. "Aaron isn't getting anywhere close to you again. He can be pissed all he wants, behind bars."

Emma tilted her head slightly. It was the first time she heard that - that Aaron would be put in jail. "Do you think he'll be put in jail?" She questioned curiously, watching Grayson. Aaron had always told her that he had connections within the police station. Therefore, she always assumed that he was untrappable. Clearly, since he wasn't caught by the police at this point, he might still have some.

"Actually, I know he will be put to death." Grayson murmured while rubbing her side soothingly. It was comforting.

"Oh." Emma murmured. She scrunched up her nose slightly in thought before glancing over towards Gray. "I don't think Aaron would like that..." She said slowly.

Grayson shook his head slightly and loosened his grip on Emma's waist. "I don't care what he thinks." Gray said, adding. "And you shouldn't either."

Emma nodded her head and rubbed her arms softly with her hands. She continued to lean against him in comfort for a few more moments before sitting herself up. Grayson pulled his arm away from around her and rested it against a cushion on the couch.

"What is going to happen tomorrow?" Emma asked curiously, turning her head to look at Grayson.

Gray blinked his eyes and shrugged his shoulders slightly, rubbing his jaw with his other hand. "Good question," He said with a slight smile. "I'm not sure. I'll probably take you into work with me to figure that out - if... you're okay with going down to the station?"

The eyes.

"Yeah." Emma murmured with a nod to her head slightly. She turned towards Gray and noted that his eyes seemed extremely exhausted. She didn't blame him - it was the middle of the night. "I'll be okay."

"I'm glad to hear that," He said with a genuine smile - likely seeing it as somewhat of progress. However, Emma saw it as merely swallowing her fear. She had more and more fears because of Aaron. "Why don't you head on into the bedroom and get some sleep on a bed. Wouldn't want you falling off again."

Emma gave a slight frown as she watched him, shaking her head stubbornly. She made a deal to sleep on the couch.

Grayson smiled towards Emma and shook his head. He hauled himself up onto the couch from the floor and laid himself down on his back. "Come on," he insisted with a smile. "Just the rest of the night, at least." Gray crossed his legs on the couch. "Can't let you sleep on the softest couch. If I tell you it's better than the bed, would you believe me?"

"No." Emma responded immediately, blinking her eyes while watching him.

Gray merely snickered and laughed, laying his head back. "Well, I'm not getting up." He stated stubbornly with a smile and nodded his head towards the bedroom. "I'm too comfortable now here. You'll just have to take my bed."

Emma crossed her arms after pushing herself up to her feet. She peered down at him and tilted her head slightly. The bed was tempting - but it was just a test. It was always a test.

Except, Grayson had told her that he wasn't going to hurt her. He promised.

Was it a test?

"...Okay." Emma said slowly while watching him, staring at his face. He didn't seem to get angry at the fact that she had agreed. In fact, he seemed... happy?

"Okay," Grayson said with a grin, sitting himself up slightly. "Did you want me to get out new blankets for you or something-"

Emma shook her head. "No, no it's okay." She said, continuing to watch his facial reactions. This... was okay... Right. "I'll just... go on into your bedroom to sleep." She said, slowly stepping towards the bedroom. She watched his body and face carefully to make sure he didn't react negatively to that.

He didn't.

"Alright," Gray said, waving his hand slightly towards her. "Goodnight, Emma."

"Goodnight." Emma murmured, watching him while shutting the door to his bedroom. Once the door was shut, she blinked her eyes in confusion. She stared at the bed, trying to process what had happened. Everything always needed to be processed.

It... wasn't a test?

Right?

Quietly, Emma stepped over to the bed and slipped under the sheets. She pulled it up to her chin and stared at the ceiling in the dark. Emma was no where close to sleeping, especially after her nightmare with Aaron. Instead, she used her time to process the fact that Grayson wasn't testing her - at least, not with the sleeping in the bed.

The fact that he wasn't testing her on that made Emma begin to question more. What was he testing her on? Was she being tested at all?

Eventually, Emma shook her head and rolled onto her side. Her eyes stared at the wall until it gradually closed out of exhaustion...

Only to be shot open hours later by a blaring alarm clock.

Which caused her to scream in fear from the sudden alarm.

"Fuck shit!" Grayson stumbled into his bedroom, pushing open the door while running over to the alarm clock. He slapped it a few times while trying to turn it off, clearly surprised himself. His hair was all over the place though his body was alert.

Emma had a feeling that he wasn't expecting to be woken up by a scream.

"I am so sorry." Grayson said, watching her carefully - as if she was a ticking time bomb that was going to explode in tears and panic attacks in any moment. It was odd to be looked at that way so frequently, especially since Emma saw herself as nothing close to that... before Aaron got his hands on her. "Are you okay?"

Emma nodded and gave a soft smile. She pulled the blankets down slightly as she sat up, also alert herself from the sudden awakening. "I'm okay. It just... scared me." Emma murmured bashfully while rubbing her cheek with a yawn. Gradually, she shifted her hand from her cheek and over to her hair, beginning to comb out the mess.

Seeing that Emma didn't seem to be blowing up, Gray let out a sigh of relief. He smiled towards her and nodded his head. "I need to start getting around for work," He said, glancing towards his closet. "Also, good morning."

Emma smiled and tilted her head slightly. She pulled back the blankets on the bed and pushed herself up to her feet. "Good morning," She said quietly towards him. Though the nightmares she had last night frightened her, it was definitely nice to wake up to something other than Aaron.

Well - something other than a blaring alarm clock would have been nice, too.

Nonetheless, even an alarm clock is better than Aaron.