Shattered Glass & Broken Hearts

We definitely need a girl’s day out or something. Jacky has been telling me interesting things about you and Ronnie, and I think Ryan’s been telling Joss the same things. Today at noon, at our coffee shop?

Emily swallowed hard as she looked at the text she’d just received from Hanna. She knew that her friends were probably confused about everything that had happened recently. All of a sudden, it seemed like, Ronnie was fully immersed in her life again, as though he had never left her. She bit her bottom lip as she started typing out her reply to her friend.

Sure. I think I have some errands to do before then, but I can be there by twelve thirty if that’s okay?

She felt a little bad for telling a little white lie, but she wanted to spend at least a little bit of time with Ronnie. This morning she’d gone to the grocery store and he’d been left alone for the hour or two that he’d been there.

“Em?”

She looked up when she heard Ronnie’s voice calling her from the living room. A soft smile was on her lips as she walked over to the doorway, biting her lip when she saw him sitting down on the couch. His shirt was halfway unbuttoned and she could see the tattoos peeking out from underneath the fabric.

“What do you need?”

He shook his head and then patted the cushion next to him. She smiled warmly, realizing that he must want her to sit with him for awhile. She turned off the kitchen light and walked over to the couch, sitting down.

It felt a little awkward – she wasn’t going to lie about that. But it also felt good, sitting next to him and being more than civil with one another. It almost reminded her of the beginning of their relationship in high school, when things had been fresh and innocent and there was no pain and hurt feelings between them.

“I found a movie,” he smiled at her. “I was wondering if you’d watch it with me?”

“Uh oh,” she arched her eyebrow, folding her arms over her chest. “I’m not going to like this, am i?”

He laughed heartily and then brushed some hair out of her eyes before he leaned over, pecking her forehead with his lips.

“Of course you will,” he smiled back at her. “Remember what the first movie we saw together as a couple was?” He asked, nipping his bottom lip as he pulled back from touching her. She thought for a moment and then blushed, looking down.

“You really wanna sit here for three hours and watch Meet Joe Black with me?” She asked him. He smiled back at her and nodded as he pulled her closer to him so that her head was resting on his shoulder.

“Of course I do. It was our first date movie,” he grinned. “Remember how you cried so hard on my shoulder that you fell off the couch?”

He chuckled and though the memory had once been bittersweet to Emily, she smiled as well. It definitely had meant a lot to her back then to watch movies with Ronnie. So many of her friends had been dating guys that really didn’t give a shit about them, but Ronnie had definitely given a shit about her. He’d cared and he’d shown it in so many ways.

It was why she’d been so devastated and heartbroken when she’d woken up from the coma and found him missing from her life. She’d felt abandoned and that wasn’t something that she had ever gotten over.

“Let’s watch it, then,” she smiled as she hugged him. “But I’ve gotta meet up with the girls in a couple hours, so we might have to finish part of it tonight.”

He nodded and then pressed his lips to her forehead again, holding her. He felt almost like he didn’t deserve to touch her, he realized as he pushed play on the DVD remote, the sounds of the movie filling his ears.

Back in high school, this was what he’d always been most excited to share with Emily. Back then, he hadn’t thought drugs were going to tear him away from the love of his life. He’d never thought he’d ever leave her side.

He hadn’t thought he’d be stupid enough to let her go willingly.

Back then, he’d had their whole future planned out. He’d wanted to marry her someday – hell, he’d even had the ring picked out. He’d wanted to have a couple of kids, and a nice house and the whole American dream with her. He’d known that he could achieve it because of how much faith she had had in him. Back then, Emily had believed in every dream he’d ever had. When he’d thought he’d be a professional skater, she’d told him he’d be bigger than Tony Hawk. When he’d told her his thoughts of maybe pursuing a rap career, she’d told him he was the next Slim Shady. And when he’d told her finally that he was going to make a name for himself in Escape The Fate, she’d told him she believed wholeheartedly that he could do it.

She had always believed in him, he realized. He was the one who hadn’t.

His thoughts distracted himself as the movie played on. Emily was slowly drifting to sleep on his shoulder and after a few moments, her light snores were loud enough that he turned the movie off. He knew she hadn’t slept much the night before, so he picked up her phone and texted Hanna to let her know that Emily had fallen asleep, not even thinking of it as he placed the phone back down on the coffee table before standing up and going to her bedroom in search of a blanket to cover her with.

He returned to the living room to find her the same way he’d left her, with a small smile on her face and her hair covering her eyes and cheeks as she slept. He put the blanket over her and tucked it around her a little bit before he sat back down on the other end of the couch, lifting her head so that she could use his leg as a pillow. He didn’t want to leave while she was asleep; not again, not like before. This time, he was gonna stay with her. He was going to wait.



When Emily awoke a few hours later, it was to the sound of her phone vibrating on the glass coffee table. She groaned, lifting her head and looking up to find that Ronnie’s eyes were closed, mouth slightly parted as he napped next to her. She smiled warmly when she realized that he’d gotten a blanket for her to be more comfortable, and then bit her lip.

He hadn’t left this time.

She pushed that thought to the back of her mind and lifted her phone to see who was texting her. Her eyes widened when she saw an influx of messages from Hanna and Joss, none of which seemed particularly happy.

Where are you? I got a text from someone saying that you fell asleep. They didn’t bother to tell us who it was that was using your phone, but I’m willing to bet it was someone you shouldn’t be around right now. Emily, I’m worried. Don’t let him hurt you again. He isn’t worth your time. Go find somebody worth your heart.

She felt her stomach sink when she saw that the text came from Hanna. She’d known that Hanna hated Ronnie a little bit more than Joss did, and especially because of how fierce she was. Joss was a little more even-tempered and willing to let things slide by in their own timing than Hanna was.

The next text was a little less harsh. It was also from Hanna.

I get that you love him, Em. I know that you never stopped. Just…think about things before you do anything, yeah? Your past with him is murky. He’s not an angel, and I know you’re not either, but you didn’t walk away when he was in a hospital or anything. The heart wants what the heart wants, and I get that. But listen to your brain, too.

Emily sighed, pushing her hair away.

It seemed as if her friends were more than a little worried about her growing relationship with Ronnie. She could understand it, of course. They only had her best interests at heart. They’d only ever seen her heartbroken over him. They didn’t know how happy she had been with Ronnie.

Her eyes lifted to his face, a small smile lighting up her face as she watched him sleep for a few moments. He seemed so peaceful in moments like this, like nothing was worrying him at all. He seemed so innocent. She knew it wasn’t true, but she also knew that he was different now than he had been. He’d grown and matured and she knew that giving him a shot was the right thing to do.