Chapter 135: One More Chance
The call had come while Emily had been in the middle of butchering an unfortunate piece of embroidery. She had known even as she had been lying to herself saying that she was working on it, that all she was doing was destroying the piece of fabric. But she had been unable to stop herself, her anger needing an outlet. And destroying a piece of cloth had been a much safer option than destroying anything else in the apartment.
Then out of nowhere, her screen had lit up, the name Buttface Macbutt flashing on it. For a moment, Emily had stared, not really knowing who it was. She had looked at the screen, a dumb look on her face, and then the memory of her changing Derek’s name to Buttface Macbutt had resurfaced.
She had been torn between scoffing and carrying on with her work of destroying her art piece or actually answering. It had taken her a few more rings for her to make a decision. In the end she had decided to answer, common sense winning out. After all, if she just let it ring, she would forever be wondering why he had called. Emily did not want such a fate for herself. She had to know why he was reaching out.
Was it to apologize to her for his beyond rude statement? For just assuming that she would sleep with him? Or was it to tell her to be ready for a legal battle, that he was going to drag her through the courts and bleed her dry for daring to lay a hand on him? Since Emily had not fancied being followed around by such uncertainty, she had decided that answering was in her best interest. And so she had picked up the call and she had made no secret of the fact that she was not happy to hear from him in the least. But at the end, she had still agreed to a meeting with him.
And when the call had ended, Emily was glad. At least this way she had some control over the situation. She would not be at the diner constantly looking over her shoulder, wondering whether or not he would show up. At least this time, she knew for sure that he would be there. But that was if he stayed true to his word. If he made her wait, and did not show up. Then that would be it for them. She would not be giving him another chance.
After agreeing to the meeting, Emily had spent the rest of the day trying to get herself in a state that would not have her ending up in jail, if it turned out that Derek was there to threaten her when he finally made it to the diner. But now all of that had passed.
Her shift had begun hours prior and Emily, even though she had promised herself she would not be staring at the door waiting for him to come, was doing just that. It was just after midnight and Derek had still not shown up. In the past she would have said he would show sometime after two in the morning. But now she could not be so sure. She had made a promise to herself that if he did not pitch, then she would shut him out of her life for good. But that did not stop her mind from trying to think of possibilities, of what could happen.