The Perfect Emma

Chapter Thirty-Three

Emma Mabel

Emma hugged her arms around herself as she hesitantly stood up and walked inside of the much more comfortable apartment. It was far better than the one she was assigned. Despite being more comfortable, Emma also knew that she did something wrong. It was easy to tell just from hearing Grayson's side of the conversation - where he seemed resistant to even let Emma inside.

"I can stay in the hallway," Emma murmured while nodding her head towards the front door. Grayson closed it and shook his head, slipping his phone into his pocket. "I don't want to be in your way."

Grayson shook his head, once again, and gave Emma a smile. "You're not in my way, Emma-"

"But I shouldn't be here." Emma pointed out. Grayson's pathetic shrug was evidence enough that she was right. She shouldn't be here.

"Technically, IAB doesn't want you here - but that doesn't mean you're bothering me. IAB made that decision, not me."

Emma furrowed her eyebrows together. Cop language. Even Aaron used it, but she didn't dare ask what some of abbreviations meant. Emma was about to bite her tongue and not ask - though she had the urge to. Aaron is abusive. Grayson is safe. Emma fought the internal battle between her mind and her body before eventually speaking. "...IAB...?" She asked hesitantly.

Grayson didn't seem put back by the question in the slightest. "Oh. Internal Affairs Bureau." Gray had a slightly annoyed look on his face. He doesn't like Internal Affairs, she was able to determine.

...Well, if Grayson didn't like them... then they were bad. Right?

Emma furrowed her eyebrows together slightly at this new discovery but remained quiet. She nodded her head at his words, but continued to think about her discovery. It made sense. Of course they were bad. They were the ones that said Grayson couldn't be around Emma - the one person she felt relatively safe around.

Grayson stepped over to the fridge and tapped his hand against the counter. "Did you, uh... want something to drink?" Emma shook her head and glanced down to the floor. Grayson remained quiet for a few moments before turning around. "I'll just grab you a water, in case." He said while filling up a cup at the sink. Dropping ice into the glass, Gray began to make his way over to the couch. He sat himself down and Emma followed closely after.

"Thanks," She gave a smile to Grayson as she took the glass from him. She took a drink from the glass and pulled it down, glancing over at the table in front of them for a coaster. No coaster. "Where are your coasters...?" She questioned, leaning forward slightly as if that made her miss it.

"Oh, uh." Grayson rubbed the back of his neck out of what seemed like embarrassment. "Don't worry about it. You can just put it on the table."

Emma rolled her eyes slightly and glanced over at him. "You don't have coasters, do you?" She remarked and shook her head with a slight smile. "You should get some coasters." Emma scolded as she leaned forward to place the drink on the table.

Then she froze.

Emma had not only scolded Grayson but she had rolled her eyes. That type of behavior around Aaron was one that would surely get her hit. It was how she acted before Aaron had taken her. It wasn't Emily.

"I'm sorry," Emma immediately apologized as she slid back into the couch, sliding down slightly. She tensed up her body, as if preparing for a hit.

Grayson watched her with confusion and tilted his head slightly. "You're fine. You didn't do anything wrong." He assured her, still confused. "I should get coasters. You're right." He added.