Chapter 7 No Turning Back

Emily's POV

Ring, ring.

Ring, ring.

Ring, ring.

I rolled my eyes while I waited for my mother to pick up the phone; did she always have to take so damn long to do it? It was a cell phone, for crying out loud; it should have been on her person at all times. Why did it feel like she was crossing the damn ocean every time she went to answer it?

"Hello?" she eventually said, sounding out of breath, proving my point entirely. "Emily, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mom, just walking back from work. How are you?"

I wasn't sure why she was bothering to ask me how I was doing when she as the one who was sick, but that was typical of her. She had always been a big-hearted woman, which I loved about her, but honestly, I felt like she should have been thinking about herself for a change. "How have things been?"

"Okay... I mean, I am a little tired, but I'm not as bad as I could be." I hated the fact that she had cervical cancer; it felt fucking horrible to even think about, but she was dealing with it so well. And if she could be strong, then so could I. I didn't have any damn choice. "Was it your last day today?"

"It was," I confirmed. "And, everyone threw me a little party. It was sweet, to be honest. Susan came and got me and told me to act all surprised, but it was obvious what was going on. They'd baked me a cake and everything."

The emotions bubbled up inside of me once more, and I found myself a little too close to tears. It was hard to say goodbye to this life; I'd worked damn hard for it and I felt bad to have to give it all up, but I had to be there for my mom. She'd helped me through so damn much in my life, and I knew that she would never ask for me to be there, but that was the reason I had to be.

I was scared. Deep inside, I was absolutely fucking horripfied that something bad might become of this, and I didn't want to regret anything. I wanted to be there, just in case this shit took a turn for the worst, and there wasn't anything that could be said to change my mind.

"You really shouldn't have handed your notice in," Mom replied in a stern voice. "I never wanted you to do that. I can handle this on my own, you know. I'm a big girl. You have a life in New York and I don't want you to have to-"

"Oh shush, Mom," I scolded her. "Don't be so silly. I want to do this; I have to do this.

" She remained silent, which made me feel like I had to defend myself further. "Everything is already done now, anyway. I have a job interview set up already, my flight on Saturday is paid for, I've already organized the movers... I'm coming home, Mom."

I was just glad that when Mom had left Arrendale, she didn't sell our family home. She rented it out with the thought that she might return there one day, and now that day had come. It meant I would still have somewhere to stay while I got Kids sorted.

I was both keen and nervous to return to my childhood bedroom. Sure, everything had been stored in the attic while other people stayed in the house, but it wouldn't take long to have that all back out again. It would be back to normal soon enough.

"I understand all of that," Mom said in her overly patient tone of voice; the one that she knew drove me crazy. "But you can make more money where you are; for your career, you are much better off in New York."

"Mom, not everything is about money. I'm doing what I want to do, and nothing you can say will change my mind."

"Even if I refuse to let you in the house?" she joked. "Will you live outside with all your stuff?"

"You know it!" I laughed, finally reaching my apartment.

As I stepped inside, it hit me again how much I had to do. Over the years, I had managed to acquire a whole lot of stuff and boxing all of that up was going to be a real pain in the ass.

"Okay, well, I'll call you tomorrow," Mom finally said. "After my appointment. I'll be going to see the doctor in Arrendale tomorrow, a new guy to see what he suggests. I think his name is Doctor Grant."

Grant?

That name struck a cold, hard fear into my heart. It was the one name that I didn't want to hear, especially in association with Arrendale. It was a small place. There was only one family with that name, and only one man that I knew was heading into the medical profession. It seemed like he'd achieved his goal.

If my mom was going to see Nathan Grant, that meant that he was still living there. It was unlikely I would be able to avoid him in such a small place, and that was even truer considering I wanted to go with my mother to her appointments. I wanted to understand more about what was going on with her.

It seemed like I was going to have to simply suck it up and get the hell on with it. It wasn't about me and him anymore – and it never would be again.

That was all ancient news, stuff that had happened years ago. I'd moved past it and simply gotten on with my life. Seeing him would be a bummer, but that was it. I could handle it no problem now... Well, I was going to have to. I didn't have a choice anymore.

"Yeah, okay, Mom," I replied distractedly. "I'll speak to you tomorrow. You take care of yourself, all right? Love you."

"And you. Love you, too."

As soon as she hung up the phone, I slumped onto my couch while my mind reeled. Despite the fact that I didn't really want to think about him, I couldn't damn well help myself now. I suppose that I needed to come to terms with the past a little more anyway, especially when I was about to be faced with it.