The Fate Of Broken Hearts

Chapter 8

I walked into my room to grab my bag and went back out, finding Myra in the kitchen. She was opening and closing cupboards looking for something that probably resembled Tylenol.

She whined loudly when she closed the final door empty handed and with a large headache.

"I think it's in the second one." I smiled and pointed in the direction of the cupboard.

"I already checked in there." She shook her head.

"They're probably behind the unopened tissue boxes." I tell her.

"They won't be in there-" She took away the tissue boxes and there, was a small bottle of Tylenol. I smiled and filled up a glass of water for her. "Thanks..." She giggled and swallowed a pill.

"You're welcome." I put the bottle back and picked up my keys from the counter. I sighed and looked down at my outfit of jeans and a T-shirt.

"Where are you going?" Myra eyed me curiously. "You're all dressed up." She grinned widely.

"I'm just going to get some coffee." I half lied.

I didn't exactly want to tell her about my father. It wasn't something I was proud of, and I certainly didn't want to go into that conversation when I already had a really long one coming up soon.

"By the way, Elijah stopped by yesterday. He was looking for you." I open the door waiting for her response before I left.

"Oh, yeah he told me. I saw him at the party." Her eyes almost sparkled at her excitement. "You know, now that I think about it, I think he mentioned you. I'm not sure what he said but I remember hearing your name come up." She shrugged and put the pot of coffee for a new batch.

"I should get going," I begin to close the door.

"Hang on," She ran up to me but regretted it the moment she faced the bright sun. She winced but continued anyways. "What happened after I went to sleep last night?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, I got up to pee and I saw Aiden leaving and you going into your room with what I think were tears... is everything okay? Did he say something to you?"

"No, everything is fine." I forced a laugh. "It was just a small misunderstanding, that's all."

Myra didn't look convinced but she also didn't want to press me for answers, which I appreciated on her behalf.

"Anyways, I'll see you later." I closed the apartment door and sighed again.

My feet slugged over the each step on my way down the stairs. Last night weighed me down a lot more than I thought, and between meeting my father and Aiden, it didn't make me feel any better.

As soon as I opened my car I sank my body into the seat.

Traffic light after traffic light I remembered the knot in my stomach from this morning. It was tighter and it spread to my chest when I made my way into the parking lot of the café.

I glanced down at the clock on my phone and saw that I was a few minutes early so I shut off the engine and made my way through the chiming door. Down at the counter, the girl handing me my drink noticed my pale face and asked if I was okay.

"I am, thank you for the coffee." I gave her a kind smile and sat down at one of the wooden tables near the large glass windows that looked out onto the street.

It wasn't a busy day considering it was Sunday, but people roamed the street shopping for groceries and school supplies. I watched on as one particular family crossed the street and entered a boutique store. The little girl didn't want to be there and began to cry loudly. The mother was already gone but the father stayed and lifted her up to his chest. He pulled the blonde curls out of her face and kissed her head, calming her from tears.

My eyes quit the family and stood behind my phone screen, once more staring at the time. It was ten past two and as I kept waiting, I began to doubt if he would even show.

"Can I get you another one of those?" The sweet girl from the counter asked me. Her apron reached below her knees and she had a notepad in her hand.

"No, thank you." I replied to her with another smile. She looked at me for a while, like she wanted to say something else, but she only moved away to the next table without another word.

I gritted my teeth nervously whilst playing with my nails until the clock finally decided to pass another half hour. I was getting more anxious now, struggling to believe that on a calm day like this, traffic could be keeping him.

Before I knew it, the door chimed to announce another customer. My head shot up, eyes travelling to recognise the figure.

The man approached the counter and glanced around the shop subtly. I observed the man but the more I looked at his short stature and blond hair, I slumped down knowing it wasn't my father.

Again, I waited and waited until an hour went by. The girl that had been serving me all afternoon eyed me from behind the counter. Her stare was filled with sympathy as if she knew what I had been waiting for.

Even with people beginning to stare at the lonely girl sitting around nervously, I waited until another hour went by. I gave him a chance to show, to follow up on his word but yet again, I was let down by him.

I got up from the table I had been sitting at for hours and with a heavy chest, exited the café.

I turned the corner to reach the parking lot, eager to get back home and forget about how stupid I was to actually believe he would show up. My feet travelled fast against the cold and lonely pavement until a voice rang in my ears.

"Emmiline?" The man croaked out. I raised my head to meet the blue toned eyes and dark brown hair that stared, searching for me. "Is it really you?"

I tried to put his face to a name, slowly letting the words fall together until my throat dried up and tears fell to my eyes.

"You..." I choke on my words, all the while trying to get rid of my mixed feelings.

"It's me... dad," he tried to smile through his teeth.

"Dad...? What dad?" I questioned angrily. "You were never a father to me," I felt myself grow heavier and weaker through my words.

"Emma... please, let me explain..." He pleaded, not only with his eyes but also with everything he seemed to have.

"No! You... you left! You left me!" I began to erupt under my own emotions.

Everything was flipping upside down and the fact he dared call himself a father after everything, hurt me even more. "Do you have any idea what you put me through? What you put mom through?" Wet drops graced down my cheeks. I thought it might have been rain but I realised I had began to cry.

"I know..." He whispered into the thin air.

"No, you don't know! Otherwise you would have come back! Did you even think about us when you left?" I wiped away the wet stains with resentment.

"You were better off without me..."

"Better off? You call mom overdosing 'better off'?" His expression changed almost as soon as he heard my words. "We needed you! For years we needed you and you never came!" I cried more. My vision now blurred but I didn't care.

"I'm so sorry..." His own tears slipped and listened to me yell.

"Why didn't you care? Why did you leave!" My voice broke and hit the floor along with my heart. "I deserved to have dad! I deserved better!" He pulled me into his arms and held me even though I tried pulling away. "Why didn't you love me?" I sobbed into his coat.

"I loved you, Emmiline... I did... so much..." He sniffled in my hair. "I left because I needed to. You don't remember this, but your mom and I... we weren't good for each other. It was the only way she could be happy again. I had no idea about the overdose. If I had known, I would... I would have made contact..." He wiped at his face with one hand while still keeping me in his embrace.

My arms held onto his fabric and wrapped around his large torso. I had no idea how much I missed hugging him. I missed everything about him: the happiness I felt, the familiarity, the warmth... all of it... yet at the same time, I wanted none of it.