Chapter 81: The Lie
On Friday evening, Emily had arrived home, cold, tired, and more heartsick than she had any right to be.
It was just a job, she had kept telling herself. But that had done absolutely nothing to stop her heart from hurting. And it had not stopped her from curling up in bed and sobbing for hours on end. She had muffled her cries with her pillow, hiding the noise from her mom. But come morning, there had been no hiding her swollen eyes.
Her only saving grace had been that her mom had left bright and early on Saturday.
"Ems, you came in late so I could not tell you yesterday. But I will not be in for most of today. I signed up for a sponsored walk yesterday, and I’m going to catch up with some old friends afterward, so do not expect to see me till late. Bye! Love you," Her mother had said, for once Emily had not had to fake a groggy voice.
"Sure thing, Mom, love you, have a safe walk," She had called back, glad that her crying had been good for something. At least thanks to being so down, she did not have to try and come up with the energy to try and sound tired, she actually really was.
With her mom gone, Emily did not have to pretend. She had spent the rest of the day, alternating between laying in bed and crying, and laying on the couch in the living room and crying.
She had not even been able to eat. She had just pushed around her leftovers from the night before and then gone back to crying.
"Stop it, Emily, stop it. It was just a job. You can always get another one, it is what you do," She would tell herself in between bouts of crying, the floor littered with tissue paper, her nose red from blowing too much, her eyes puffy and hurting. And the words would work for a whole two seconds and then Emily would burst into tears again.
She had not gotten herself together until late Saturday evening. And even then it was not because she felt ready. No, it had been because her mom had sent a text.