A Cycle
Emma
I tried to smile for Granny and leave out the two men behind me, but it was almost impossible when Peter was blabbering nonsense, even Granny was watching him, stunned and disgusted. Her gaze shifted to me, and she lifted a brow. This time, I couldn’t place a hand on the particular question she asked, so I ignored it.
I stroked her hands, that was between mine. They felt warm again, and Grandma was fine now; she’s had her surgery, and I don’t need to be scared of losing her anytime soon.
“Thank you,” I muttered, bringing her palm onto my cheek and rubbing my cheek against it. I didn’t want her away from my side, and I didn’t want to stop holding her. My heart still ached from the fact that I was near to losing her.
“Let’s take this outside.” I heard Liam say behind me, but I didn’t turn to them. Liam was clearly upset, and he had every right to be, but…I didn’t have a choice.
“Now, that’s rude. I need to greet my em-I need to greet the patient here.”
My heart already jumped out of my chest in the few seconds that Peter almost spilled that he is my boss. I had warned him not to say a word about that to Liam. Which was one of the reasons I let him take me down here. Wait, Let? I was threatened, using all my weak points, Liam, and being exposed for working with an illegal drug company. Yes, Peter had threatened to out me, and obviously, with the power the Andersons have, he could secure his illegal business from the public and twist a lie. Sending me to prison is a piece of cake for him.
“You know what else is rude? Being in a place you are not allowed to be in.” With the shuffles and sounds of footsteps from behind, I guessed Liam had pulled him out or somehow forced him out. Only Grandma could tell because my neck was too stiff to turn, and my heart felt too heavy to meet Liam’s disappointed gaze.
“Grandma, I don’t think I push on anymore.” The tears slipped down, a few minutes after they were gone, and I was stroking Granma’s wrinkled palm, trying to find comfort in it.
With my vision blurred by my test, I could still see the pity. She didn’t say a word, not that I wanted her to, I didn’t want her stressing herself, she still had the bandage around her head, and I could tell she was still feeling a little pain or discomfort, but she managed to stroke my arm, giving me a small smile and a slow and gentle nod. I dived into her arms, embracing her, scared that I could hurt her.
“What would I have done without you? Please don’t do that to me again, Grandma. I need you here with me.” Who would I confide in situations like this? Who would trust me, comfort me, and always believe in me like she did?
I dried my tears, standing erect, and finally returned her smile. Then I transitioned into telling her all that happened during her surgery, including Mrs. Anderson’s involvement, she didn’t seem surprised, instead she had a warm smile on her face all through.
But then our conversation was cut short when Liam walked in. I didn’t realize he had been out for that long till he returned, and when he did, his gaze was so called he tried to feign a smile for Granny, but I could tell he was mad upset.
I wasn’t expecting Peter to return anyway; Liam had the best ways to get rid of him, but not me. God knows what Peter had said to him, to make him look this angry.
“I’ll need to hear back home to get changed. I’ll make sure to return before midnight.” Liam informed with a feigned smile. Grandma shot him a worried look and beckoned for him to come closer ,and he did. Then she took my hands and joined them together, shooting us a shaky smile. Was she about to cry? I would never know because she blinked it back in as quickly as possible. We both seemed to have gotten the message, at least I did, but Liam nodded, this time his smile became a little warmer, then he stroked Grandma’s hands.
“You don’t have to worry about anything, just focus on recovering,” Liam said. It was honestly not what I expected him to say. I knew he understood what Granny meant by joining our hands together, but…he seemed to avoid that as he slipped his hand out of Granny’s hands gently, stroking it a little before giving Granny a little bow, then turned to leave. Grandma left my hand, nodding as though she knew what I wanted to do, and I took a breath and took the chance. Making my way out of the room, chasing after Liam.
“Don’t you need to work?” I questioned just when he was about to open his car door. He was well aware that I was following him, but not once did he halt or try to look back at me.
“I’m not in the mood, Emma.”
“What did he say to you?” I went straight to the point, not willing to prolong this fight, all these weeks we’ve been going on and on with fights every time we meet, and it was draining shit out of me. I felt like the worst person ever to him, and I was slowly giving up.
“Now, you’re curious about what he said to me, but you can’t tell me why the fuck you both are breathing in the same space?” He finally turned to me, and his eyes were so dark, his brows were tensed, and I could just see through his rage. I wouldn’t be able to explain to him.
“No, you tell me the answer, because I’m fucking losing it, Emma. I’m giving you one last chance. Why did he bring you here? What is between you both?”
I didn’t answer. It was better than lying. If I lied anymore, shit may not be possible to fix.
“Let me rephrase the question. What is your relationship with my cousin, Emma?”