Shattered Girl (Emmy)

Chapter 137

“Nope, can’t do this right now,” I stood, brushing off Josh’s hand and hurrying out of the conference room. Once back in the hallway, I looked in both directions, spotting the sign for the women’s bathroom. I headed in that direction, pushed through the door, and hoped no one else was in there. Looking I saw all the stalls were empty, and took a deep breath, leaning back against the door, I took several deep breaths before turning the lock. I needed some time to calm down, and I knew once the guys figured out where I went, they would be pounding on the door, wanting me to let them in.

I saw a bench along one wall and went to sit down. No matter how upset I was, I was not about to sit on a public bathroom floor. No, thank you. Sitting down, I slid into the corner and pulled my legs up to wrap my arms around them. Resting my head against my knees, I just focused on my breathing. Why would someone I had never met want to leave me money? There had to be some mistake. They knew about me if they set up this trust; why didn’t they ever try to meet me or even let me know they existed? Were they afraid my father was going to dump me on them and take off? Or that he would want money from them? There must be some mistake.

I was still working through everything when I first began banging on the door, causing me to jump and let out a small shriek.

“Emmy, are you in there? Open the door, Emmy. We all want to know you’re okay.” Josh’s voice sounded muffled as he called to me through the door.

“I’m in here; I just need a few minutes to calm down. I will be out in a bit.” I called back.

“Emmy, baby girl, open the door,” Josh said again, his voice firmer this time.

“No, I want to be alone for a little bit. Please leave me alone. I will come out when I’m ready.” I knew that telling them to leave me alone wouldn’t make any of them happy, but I needed some time to myself to let this sink in so they would have to deal with it.

I could hear raised voices through the door. Josh was arguing with one of the other guys. After a few minutes, it quieted down, and Drew called to me through the door.

* Emmy, we are going to wait for you in the conference room. Take as much time as you need. Jake said he would wait here for you if you need anything.” I waited for several seconds before I responded.

“That’s fine, thanks.” When the hallway remained quiet, I retook several deep breaths. What was I going to do about this trust? I didn’t want that kind of money. What would I do with it anyway? I still wasn’t completely sure I wanted to go to college, and if I did, I had no idea what I would major in. I would probably be just as happy getting a job. I didn’t want to waste money on something I wasn’t sure about.

Plus, what if the trust came with strings attached? I wouldn’t jump through hoops for money from someone I didn’t know. What if I had to meet them? I was happy with my guys and the way things were. Drew and I had talked about it several times, and I still hadn’t decided if I wanted to look and see if I had any other family. If I did, they had never bothered to look for me. I had survived this long without them. Why did that need to change?

I sat on the bench in the locked bathroom for almost half an hour before deciding to go back into the conference room. I’m sure one of the guys would come knocking again if I didn’t return soon. Uncurling from the bench, I stood and stretched, working out my sore muscles, before going over and washing my hands. Looking in the mirror, I gently wiped the tear tracks from my face. While the bathroom was nice for an office bathroom, the paper towels were still that…paper, and I didn’t want my face to get any redder than it already was. Taking a final look at myself, I tossed the paper towels into the garbage and unlocked the door.

I stepped back into the hallway and saw Jake sitting against the far wall, his head bent and his phone in hand. He glanced up and jumped to his feet, coming over to me and wrapping me in a hug.

“You okay, sweetheart?” He asked quietly, kissing the top of my head.

‘I think so; thanks for giving me some space. I know not everyone was happy about it.” I grimaced, remembering Josh’s angry voice. I would have to talk about that with him later. Josh needed to understand that he couldn’t just bulldoze his way in and demand to always fix everything for me. While I loved his dominant personality, there were going to be times like now when I needed him to back off and let me figure things out for myself.

I squeezed Jake’s hand and leaned in to kiss him. He returned the kiss, deepening it until I melted against him with a sigh. “Come on, sweetheart. The others are waiting in the conference room.”

“Okay, let’s get this over with; I just want to go home and forget this morning with the attorney ever happened,” I said. Jake squeezed my hand again before walking back to the conference room.