Would You Fall Too?

“Are you on your way back yet, Emmy?”

Emilie smiled as she rested her phone against her shoulder, pinning it with the side of her face. She had seen it coming, after delaying leaving the shop for a few minutes, she had figured that her boyfriend would be on the phone, but she couldn’t help but smile. She was only 20 minutes behind schedule and a part of her had been interested to see how long it would take Sergio to call. “I’ve just locked up” she replied as she checked the lock on the door “I can count on you to have some sort of meal ready when I get back?” she teased.

Sergio made a small noise, something which made Emilie laugh. “I’m not asking for a Michelin star meal, Sese. Just something would be good” she mused as she moved to start the short walk back towards their home. It had been a quiet day, not many people tended to frequent the bookstore, but Emilie much preferred it that way. Even before Jeremy, she hadn’t liked being around too many people and she was grateful for the quiet of the bookstore.

“I can make a start on something” Sergio offered “But I wouldn’t get your hopes up” he added.

Emilie shook her head. “How did you cope before me?” she teased, rounding the corner.

“I had Pilar” Sergio quipped “And Iker used to take good care of me. He’s coming over in the summer” he noted.

Emilie bit her lip. After the incident at Christmas when it came to meeting his family, she was slightly reluctant to meet anyone else.

“Emmy?” Sergio posed.

“I’ll see you in a little bit, Sese” she noted gently before she hung the phone up, slipping it into her bag. She knew that it meant a lot to him, from what she knew of Sergio, she doubted he was going to get tired of showing her off to the important people in his life, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t reluctant. She still struggled with people, even if she was comfortable with Sergio, and she doubted that he would react well to the idea of her telling him that she still didn’t want to try meeting his family or Iker yet. Shaking her head a little, she moved to round another corner, walking straight into the person who was walking in the other direction. Jumping, she backed away from the contact and lifted her head, her eyes widening a fraction as she spotted the woman ahead of her.

“Emmy” Mrs Hernandez noted “I was hoping to catch you. You still work at the same store?” she posed.

Emilie merely stared at her, her blue eyes wide as a lump formed in her throat.

“I know you don’t want to see me” the older woman noted.

Emilie merely shook her head, trying her hardest to find words.

“He’s so sorry, Emmy” the older woman continued, her eyes peeking at the ginger girl “He never meant to hurt you” she added.

“He knew what he was doing” Emilie murmured, her voice barely above a whisper “He knew that he was going to hurt me, he knew it, and I…I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to see you, or him” she spluttered.

“Emmy…”

“No” Emilie squeaked before she moved to take a step away from the older woman.

“Emilie” Mrs Hernandez noted, her hand gripping onto Emilie’s upper arm “He just wants to see you” she added, applying a little pressure.

Emilie spluttered a little before she pulled her arm away from the older woman, quickly moving away from her as she attempted to calm herself down.

~#~
Checking the time on the watch he wore, Sergio let out a little sigh, noting that it had been half an hour since he had last heard from Emilie. He knew that she had a tendency to work a little late, Emilie had a habit of wanting to make sure that the next person who took a shift at the store had as little to do as possible, but it seemed different. It unsettled him slightly. Sparing his watch another look, he moved to collect his jacket and keys and made a move towards the front door, pausing a little as he spotted the mass of ginger curls which was sat beside it.

“Emmy?” he noted, pulling the front door to as he moved to crouch down beside her “Nena, are you alright?” he posed, gently setting a hand on her upper arm.

Emilie flinched, moving away from him.

“Emilie” Sergio noted, his voice slightly firmer.

Emilie shook her head. “I am not alright, Sergio” she muttered, her voice shaking slightly as she lifted her head, showing off her tearful blue eyes.

Sergio’s stomach twitched. “What happened?” he muttered.

“His mother” Emilie mumbled “She was going to come to the store and talk to me” she added, her hand meekly wiping away the tears which still seeped out of her eyes “She grabbed my arm, Sese” she added.

Sergio just looked at her, his expression giving little away.

“I was sat out here to calm down” Emilie mumbled “I didn’t want you to get…”

“Upset?” Sergio cut in, his dark eyes glancing at her “Excuse me for caring that that woman is harassing the girl who her son hurt” he spat.

“Sese…”

“She even shows her face and you cry, Emmy, I am not just going to be OK with that. She has no right to do what she’s doing, and he has even less of a right to be anywhere near you” he ranted, shaking his head. He hated it, the idea that Jeremy’s mother kept getting near to Emilie, and he wanted to put a stop to it. The older woman had no right to convince Emilie to see the man who’d left her broken.

“Sese” Emilie murmured.

Sergio, who had been glaring at the floor, lifted his head, his brown eyes softening as they landed on the ginger girl who sat tearfully ahead of him.

“Do you think I could…?” she babbled, her words drifting away as a couple of loose tears fell out of her eyes.

Sergio nodded his head and opened his arms up, allowing her to lean into him, relishing the comfort of his hug. “I’m sorry, Emmy” he whispered as he pressed a kiss to the side of her head.

“I don’t like that they can find me, Sese” she murmured.

“I won’t let them get at you again” he promised gently.

Emilie sighed and cuddled a little closer to him, her head resting just beneath his chin as his hand brushed up and down her back, trying his best to offer her some sense of comfort. It was clearly an issue, two visits from his mother clearly suggested that Jeremy’s appearance was imminent, but Sergio wasn’t about to let Emilie deal with it herself. She was his girlfriend, and he was going to do the best he could to ensure that Jeremy never even got close to her.