Chapter 3-1

I was beyond nervous when I pulled up to Nikki’s house. I wasn’t so naïve to believe that she wouldn’t have tried to get in contact with me last night. She had probably called multiple times. If she got desperate enough, she’d go over to my house to look for me.

As customary, I didn’t knock when I walked into Nikki’s house. Her car was in the driveway, so I knew she was home, but I couldn’t hear her anywhere. I slammed the door and waited for the scurrying to tell me that someone was coming to chew me out.

That didn’t happen.

"Guess she’s not home." I muttered to myself as I walked to the shower. I took a nice and long one because I knew that Nikki would be home when I got out. Her neighbors are the biggest snoops I’ve ever met. They would’ve called her when I walked into the house.

I hung my dress to dry in the shower stall when I finished. I had to get Mac’s scent off of the dress so Nikki couldn’t scent him. I didn’t want to give him the headache if she ever happened to come across him.

I put on the brand new clothes I bought on my way here and braided my wet hair.

Nikki was waiting in the living room, pacing when I walked in. Her eyes narrowed on me, but she kept pacing. Mike sent me an amused smile.

"How long’s she been at it?" I motioned to Nikki's pacing, jokingly.

Nikki’s glare turned deadly and she stopped moving.

"Do you know how long I looked for you last night?!" She was practically screaming.

I rolled my eyes and sat down on the couch. "I’m allowed to go out at night without you."

She shook her head. "You should’ve told me! I was worried you’d gone and done something stupid!"

"Like what?"

She shot Mike an exasperated look. He just shrugged and smiled at her, which made her even more furious. "I don’t know Emily! You’ve been so off the radar lately."

"I told you she’d be fine." Mike held onto Nikki’s hand. "You’re overreacting."

She pulled her hand out of his grasp harshly.

"Look." I adjusted my position on the couch so I was sitting on my feet. "I needed a night out. You’re both busy with your pack stuff. I know this arrangement with Eddy is all fun and exciting to you. I just needed a night off."

"I thought you’d run away… or worse."

"Worse?" I asked confused, but then it clicked when Nikki’s eyes softened. "You think I’d kill myself because Eddy left me?!" I yelled hysterically as rage shot through my system.

Nikki exchanged a sad look with Mike. "I was just worried."

I jumped off the couch, right up in her face. "You think I’m that desperate? You think I could kill myself because Eddy has mated someone else. You must think I’m pretty pathetic if you think I’m capable of that."

I turned on my heel and went to the bathroom. I threw my dress in the new clothes bag and headed out the door. Nikki got in my way.

"I’m sorry!" She looked sorry. "I was just so worried."

I looked at my best friend with narrowed eyes. "If you could think that I could do that, what does everyone else think I could’ve done?"

I stepped around her and walked out the door. I threw the bag in the backseat and slammed the door. Mike knocked on the window as I calmed myself in the driveway before I could pull out. I reluctantly rolled the window down. "What Mike?"

"You know she’s just worried. She didn’t mean it."

I shook my head and looked away from him. "I need a few days."

He nodded. "Don’t take too long. You know she’ll start stalking you."

I smiled weakly at him and then went home.

Dad was in his spot when I got there, reading his newspaper. "Everything okay?" He didn’t even peek out from behind it.

I shrugged. "Define okay."

I threw the bag down the hallway. It hit my bedroom door. I sat down on the loveseat across form Dad’s ottoman.

He folded his paper and looked at me. "Nikki came over worried about you last night."

I just rolled my eyes. "She’s just a drama queen."

Dad smiled. "That’s probably true."

"You don’t look like you were worried."

He shook his head with a shrug. "I know you’re way too smart to go and do something stupid."

I shrugged. "I’m going to go rest."

"Hung over?"

I smiled at my dad. "Maybe a little." He smiled and whipped open his paper. "Go rest then."

I got off the couch and went to my room. "I love you."

"Love you too." He said just loud enough for me to hear before I went into my bedroom.

The next few weeks were hard on me. I threw myself into work. I did at least 3 double shifts every week on top of my regular schedule. In one pay period I went from my regular 80 hour work period to almost a 130 hour work period.

I was exhausted. Too exhausted to do anything besides sleep and eat. Dad didn’t say anything because he knew that I was almost exactly like him. When he was troubled, he would throw himself into work. I knew he would have stopped me if this all got too out of hand.

It was almost six weeks later that I was told that I needed to take time off of work. I was given a week of paid vacation. When I asked why I had to do this, they told me to look at my ankles. They were swollen. I hadn’t been eating right and I was on my feet all day. I had even complained a bit about being exhausted.

When I complained about a painful lower back, they sent me home without completing my shift. My patient was overweight and would not cooperate and use the lift we had to help him up. The stubborn jerk didn’t even look sorry when I walked out holding my back. While my employer appreciated the dedication I was showing, I needed to take a step back and take care of myself.

It was on my first day off that I had noticed that I hadn’t spoken to Nikki since we had that little fight. She hadn’t called me or left any messages. She didn’t even make Mike call me. She was actually giving me the time she thought I needed. I knew that I was going to have to be the one to make the first move. It was, after all, my fault that we weren’t talking.

It was the longest we had ever gone without talking and it was entirely my fault. It was Saturday morning, so I knew she’d be home and probably be a bit mad at me for not talking to her. I had to catch her before she left to the lake. If I didn’t catch her before then, I couldn’t show up to the lake. It would be weird and people would stare. Plus, if Nikki and I yelled, I didn’t want there to be a scene.