Page 57 of The Finder

Emma stared after him, wanting to scream in frustration. What was going on? Why were they treating her this way? She waited a few minutes for Liam to go wherever he was going, then she looked down the hallway Garrett had disappeared down. She didn’t see him. She grabbed her purse and tiptoed her way to the front door. She would just walk until she could bum a ride to the coffee shop. She couldn’t let this job go; she had to talk to Helen and tell her it had all been a big mistake.

With her heart pounding, she quietly turned the knob on the front door. Turning it slowly, she glanced behind her one last time. No sign of Garrett. She turned back towards the door and opened it all the way. She nearly fell over when she saw Max standing in the doorway. “Going somewhere?” he growled at her. Emma backed away from him, and he came into the house and shut the door behind him.

He walked into the kitchen and Emma watched him go. She glanced back at the door. She could make a run for it. “Don’t even think about it,” Max said. “I’m faster than you. You’ll never make it,” he said.

Her anger made her want to try, but she didn’t doubt he was faster than her, especially in her weakened state. Emma felt tired and confused, but more than anything else, she felt hurt. She made her way back to her room and sat on the bed. She lay back on the bed and closed her eyes as tears dripped from her eyes. She really thought she had something going with these people. She thought she and Garrett shared something... special. Obviously, it was all in her head; and that hurt.

She repositioned herself on the bed so she was laying on the pillows. She pulled the blanket over her and curled into a ball. The tears continued to fall as Emma closed her eyes. Fatigue drew her back into sleep, where she could forget everything that was happening.

Emma didn’t hear her door open. She didn’t feel the hand that reached out and tenderly wiped away her tears from her face. She didn’t see the look of devastation on the man’s face as he stared at his mate. If she had, maybe it would have brought her a small amount of comfort. Instead, she felt unloved and alone once again.

Chapter 32

Emma stayed in her room the rest of the day. Garrett came to her door and tried to get her to eat lunch, but she ignored him. She mostly slept the day away, her body still recovering from her ordeal. She finally crawled out of bed around four p.m. She decided to take a shower; that would make her feel more human hopefully. But first she had to find more clothes. She walked over to the long dresser and began opening drawers, hoping to find something. The drawers were filled with all the clothes from the other house. She grabbed a long-sleeved white shirt and a long grey sweater and a pair of leggings. The outfit looked warm and comfortable, just what she needed right now. Right before she walked into the bathroom, she heard a knock at her door.

“Emma,” Garrett said from the other side. His voice made her tense up; she was hurt from how he had treated her. “You need to eat something,” he said.

Emma was going to ignore him, but knowing him, he’d probably kick the door down or something. “I’m not hungry,” she finally settled on, even though her stomach was growling.

“I can hear your stomach from here,” he responded.

“Go away, Garrett,” Emma said.

“You do realize I could kick this door down. The lock’s not stopping me,” he threatened.

Emma rolled her eyes. No surprise there; she had called it. “Yes, I know; but I would really appreciate it if you didn’t. Now, I’m going to take a shower.” With that, she walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her, locking it.

Emma took her time in the luxury shower. It felt so good. Only when her legs were shaky from standing so long, did she decide to get out. On the counter, she found vanilla lotion. She lathered that all over her body once she was dried off. Then she dressed in the clothes she had found. She was brushing her hair when she heard a knock at the bedroom door. Stepping out of the bathroom, she said, “I told you, I’m not hungry.”

“Not even for pizza?” she heard a familiar voice say.

Emma hurried towards the door and unlocked it, flinging it open. “Madison!” she said and threw herself at her.

“Whoa, I missed you too,” Madison said with a laugh. Emma laughed and pulled back, wiping at her tears. Madison looked at her. “Are you okay?” she asked softly.

“Okay is a relative term,” Emma said with a smile. The fact was she was okay now that Madison was here. Maybe she could help her sort out what was going on. “Did you really bring pizza?” she asked as her stomach growled.

“I did,” Madison said with a smile.

“What kind?” Emma asked.

Madison scowled. “That disgusting kind you like with the barbecue sauce, cheese, pineapple, and chicken. Only because I love you. Normal people shouldn’t eat pizza like that.”

Emma could practically taste it. “Is it from Papa Louie’s?”

“Would I get pizza from anywhere else? Come on,” Madison said, looping her arm through Emma’s. “It’s girls’ night. I’ve got movies, pizza, popcorn, and soda.”

Emma allowed Madison to pull her down the hallway. She noticed with relief that nobody was around. She breathed out a sigh of relief and moved towards the pizza boxes covering the island. Her mouth was watering. She found the box she was looking for and opened it and took a deep breath.

“I think you just drooled a little,” Madison said with a grin.

Emma couldn't help but smile back. She put two pieces on her plate and grabbed a can of Vanilla Pepsi. She eyed the boxes of kettle corn and sighed. Madison had gone all out and brought all of her favorites. She grabbed a stack of napkins and moved towards the couch before stopping. “Do you think it’s okay to eat out here?” she asked Madison.

Madison waved her forward. Emma took that as a yes and got settled on the couch. Madison came behind her with a plate full of pizza and a can of coke. She put her plate and drink down on the coffee table and opened up the duffel bag on the floor. She then placed a huge stack of movies on the end table. Emma stared at all the movies. “How many movies are we going to watch?” she asked.

Madison looked at her with a grin. “We need to catch you up on all the classics.” Madison had once asked her what her favorite movies were and Emma had responded that she didn’t know. She never had a chance to watch movies growing up. “All right. We have theTwilightmovies; those are about vampires and wolves. I highly recommend them,” she said with a waggle of her eyebrows. “Then we have all the Marvel movies with Captain America, the Hulk, Iron Man, Black Widow... any of those ring a bell?” Emma just looked at her blankly. “Okay, moving on. Lastly, we have the chick flicks. “The Notebook, Titanic, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Pitch Perfect, Me Before You,orThe Devil Wears Prada.” Madison looked at Emma, and Emma just stared at her.

“That’s a lot of movies. I have no idea. You just pick one,” Emma said.

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