"Babe, I'm not having..." I held my hand up to stop her from talking.
"We've known each other since we were little Em. We've been married almost 6 years. I know you better than I know myself. I know when something is bothering you." She looked at me and put her fork down, but she didn't say anything.
"Are the nightmares about you getting shot?" She shook her head.
"I keep seeing his face. That split second when I turn around, right before he pulls the trigger. The bullet wasn't meant for me. It was for the guy he had gotten into it with."
"You always try to see the good in people. That's something I admire about you, but he made the decision the pull out his gun and in his mind he wasn't thinking about anyone's safety when he pulled that trigger. He didn't care when you were lying on the floor in a pool of blood. He ran. Like a coward and it took almost a month for Toby to find him." I wiped the tears out of my eyes before continuing. "I should've never made you leave."
"What?"
"That day. I should've... I should've let you stay. All you wanted was to have dinner together and spend more time with Honor, but I pushed you away instead. I said things that I didn't mean and.." Emily got up from her seat and kneeled in front of me.
"Ali,that picture looked real, to the naked eye. I mean it really made you think that I kissed her."
"I should have still believed you when you said you didn't kiss her. I'm so stupid. I mean why wouldn't I believe you? You never lied to me in the past. You never intentionally hurt me. If I would've just said 'You can stay.' you would've never went to the bar that night. You wouldn't have been there when the fight broke out. You wouldn't have stopped it. You wouldn't got shot and almost died. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry..."
"Hey, it's not your fault Als. Stop blaming yourself for something that you couldn't control." She reached up and wiped the tears that fell down my cheek away.
"But..."
"No buts... You didn't pull that trigger Ali. Please don't put this stress on you and our baby. I don't blame you for anything." She stood up and pulled me up from my chair and hugged me tightly. "I love you so much." She whispered in my ear. I put my face in the crook of her neck. I felt like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. When Emily pulled away she smiled at me.
"How about you go find us a movie while I clean up in here?" I nodded my head.
"Okay." I was about to walk out of the kitchen when she grabbed my arm. "What?" I asked when she just looked at me.
"I really love you Ali." I smiled at her.
"I really love you too." I caressed her cheek with my thumb. "So i can pick any movie I want?"
"Yes, I will watch anything you want." She chuckled.
"Okay!" I walked into the living room and turned on the TV. I decided to see what new movies Netflix had. I was scrolling through the movies when I stopped at one. I decided to just watch 13 Reasons Why until Emily got done in the kitchen. The show was half done when Emily walked into the living room and placed a bowl of popcorn on the table.
"So what did you pick?" she said as she sat next to me.
"Bird Box." I said as I pressed a button on the remote to exit out of 13RW. "Babe could you get me something to drink?" She nodded her head and got up from the couch. "And the cheddar seasoning please!" I yelled out as she walked into the kitchen.
Two minutes later she walked into the living room carrying a tray filled with six sodas (pops), the cheddar seasoning for the popcorn and some random candy boxes. She placed them next to the popcorn and sat down next to me.
"Thank you baby." I kissed her cheek and reached for the popcorn and put some seasoning on it. She grabbed my chin, "A real kiss." she mumbled against my lips before kissing me.
"Now let's start the movie." I clicked on the movie and cuddled up to her.
...
