Two-Way Street

54 - On A Time-Out

Hey guys! Here's the chapter I posted asap as promised. 

EMMA

"But well, I wanna go to Stanford, but...not as badly as I wanted to a year ago, you know? And I came to you 'cause you have some experience in helping people overcome their doubts, and I thought...I don't wanna leave Matt, you know...but this is my entire future we're talking about..."

Emma exhaled, not being able to speak anymore. This was so hard. She should be happy, jubilant, joyous, but she was not.

"Do you love him?"

"Of course I do", Emma replied.

"Then you should follow your heart", Erica replied, placing a hand on her chest.

"But...my heart is so confused right now", Emma whined, gripping the chains of her swing tighter.

"Your heart cannot be confused. Only your mind can. Your heart always knows what's right", Eri said, with so much confidence that Emma started debating all her life choices.

"Huh, maybe you're right", she mused, swinging a little higher.

"I'm always right", the little girl replied, with twice the confidence than before. Where did she get that from? And could she give Emma a dose?

"Okay, I'm sorry but I have another appointment", Erica said, voice lined with as much authority as a seven-year-old could muster.

Hannah came and sat on the swing on the other side of Erica, tears streaming down from Hannah's characteristic sea-green Lewis eyes.

"Oh my God, Matty's gonna be gone! And I'll have no one to make me pancakes, and no one to bully Nate and Ty for me, and no one to", Hannah's eyes widened, "I'll have to dust the shelves of my closet all by myself! And there are so many!", Hannah's voice went up an octave, "And, and I'm gonna be the eldest at home after he's gone, and Mom's gonna yell at me the whole day!"

Erica sighed and pointed at Hannah, "See."

Emma smiled, "Can I at least get a small Erica hug at least?"

The kid hopped off the swing, as Emma knelt down, and Erica wrapped those tiny arms around Emma's neck. Emma buried her head in the child's shoulder, and just took the child's little weight on her. And it felt so good. 

And Emma realised that she had to head to another, kind of, psychic, for a totally different reason.

WILL

"Yes, what have you got?", Will asked, taking a sip of his cappuccino, while Emma fidgeted with that bracelet with that cute crystal. Will had always thought about buying one for Liv. While they had been together. Only then.

"Um...nothing", Emma said, biting her lip, in the same way that Liv used to, every time she was nervous. Ugh, he had to stop thinking about her. It had been two fucking months and Will was still thinking about her like one of those wannabee star-crossed lovers, and he had to focus on Emma's speech at the moment.

"Em, there has to be a speech for me to edit", Will reminded her.

"I know, I know. But I don't know what to do. Should I make it emotional, or funny, complicated, or simple, or", Emma began that nervous rant of hers, but Will put his hands on her shoulders.

"Breathe, Emma."

"Being a valedictorian sucks", she muttered, and Will raised his eyebrows.

"Em, you get the chance to reminiscence all your favourite memories of the school, share your advice for the next class, be up there on that stand and give your parents that wonderful opportunity to take a terrible picture of you that they would show your kids on Christmas", Emma smiled and punched him on the arm for that, and Will remembered to add something, "Oh, and you even get to embarrass Matt big time when he starts bawling his eyes out after the speech, given his teeny-tiny emotional tolerance."