Finaly My Heart's Desire (Meant for Me Book 2) (3 page)

I hoped Trish had better luck with her Shane than I did with mine.

Chapter 3

"I had a really good time tonight," I said to Carly, who was giving me a ride back to my parents' house when we were done painting pottery.

"Me too," she said. "Thank you for coming and for being a part of everything."

"I really am happy for you and Micah," I said. "It's good to see him happy."

She smiled at me from across the console. "We should all get together again sometime. Trish and Annie both said how much they liked hanging out with you."

"They're both really sweet," I said.

She nodded. "Annie's gonna take my room when I move into Micah's place next week, so she and Trish will be roommates."

"I don't think I knew you and Trish were roommates," I said. I didn't know that much about Carly at all, but that was understandable when you consider how quickly she and my brother decided to get married.

"Yeah, we live in a four bedroom house not too far from here. Trish and I share the place with two other roommates, Isaac and Ryan. You'll meet them all at the wedding."

I was staring out the window, lost in thought about roommates and the fact that I didn't have one when she said, "Trish is volunteering at the Happy House starting next week."

The Happy House was a nonprofit place started by my parents. My brother, Thomas, was the inspiration, and it was a place for people with special needs to take classes, play games, and just hang out and have fun. Carly was a science teacher and had been volunteering for a little while, but it was the first I'd heard about Trish.

"What's she gonna be doing?" I asked.

"Your mom left it pretty open. She's an English teacher, which you know. She was thinking about giving them some simple creative writing ideas, but maybe even something as simple as story time." She glanced at me from over the console with a smile. "I just kept going on and on about what a blessing it was to work with those guys, so Trish wanted to try it out. I think she'll love it."

I felt a tinge of negative emotion as a result of this news. My parents opened that house over five years ago, and I'd been around there quite a bit, but I had never even thought about volunteering on a regular basis. I wasn't sure if I was feeling guilt, or jealousy, or maybe some combination of the two, but either way, the news of another English teacher beating me to the punch made me feel funny inside. I tried not to show it and smiled when Carly glanced at me.

"That's really sweet of her," I said. "I know they'll be happy to have her around."

My initial instinct was to blame my mother for not asking me to do it first, but that was ridiculous. I knew she and Thomas would love to have me volunteer, and I just never made myself available. It was my own fault.

"Forgive me if I'm babbling and you don't care to hear any of this news," Carly said, glancing at me apologetically. "But while we're on the subject of new positions… your brother just hired Trish's boyfriend's brother to do concrete with him."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I was talking to Shane about his brother, and his story sort of pulled at my heartstrings, so I told Micah about it, and he hired him on the spot." She glanced at me smiling proudly.

"Why'd he need a job?" I asked, wondering what she meant by the
pulled at my heartstrings
comment. "Does he have problems or something?"

"Oh, I forgot you went to the bathroom when Trish was talking about him tonight." She paused and glanced at me, "Yeah, Shane's brother was in the Navy. He was in some special-forces unit or something. Anyway, he was in rehab for a long time and just got home like two weeks ago. He was honorably discharged with injuries, but Shane said he's got some issues. I think he wasn't too hip on working anywhere or doing anything until he met Micah. He's gonna try it out next week and see if it'll work out."

"What's wrong with him?"

"Physically he walks with a little limp, but you can't see any scars or anything… at least not with his clothes on."

"And mentally?" I asked.

Carly shrugged as if that was something she was curious about as well. "I think he probably has PTSD. Shane doesn't say much about it, but I know he was relieved that Micah was willing to work with him."

"You think he's dangerous?" I asked, worried for my brother.

She shook her head. "No, Shane's a good guy, and he said Brock would never cause anybody any harm. He's just been through a lot."

I was about to say something about my friend, Chelsea's, uncle who had issues with PTSD, but my phone began to vibrate in my purse. I picked it up to see that it was Robin.

"I should take this," I said to Carly.

She gave me an understanding nod and smile as I pressed the button to take the call and held the phone to my ear.

"Hey," I said.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"I'm with Carly."

There was a long pause, and then he sighed. "Emily, why is there an application to C.C.'s bookstore on your table?"

"Are you at my apartment?" I asked.

"What other table would I be referring to?"

"I thought you were hanging out with Ted and Jason tonight."

"We came by your place to see if you were home." His voice turned to a whisper when he said, "I'm throwing away this piece of crap job application." Then his voice went back to normal volume. "What time are you gonna be home?"

His statement made me feel angry and defensive. I figured he wouldn't love the idea of me getting a job, but I couldn't believe he said he was going to throw the application away. "I'll just have to pick up another one," I said stubbornly, though in a happy tone so Carly wouldn't pick up on any tension.

"What'd you say?" he asked.

"I said I'll be home in a little while. I'll probably see you tomorrow, though, since you have plans with Ted and Jason."

"Did you say you'll have to pick up another one?" he asked. In a calm, measured, but obviously annoyed tone.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow, Robin. Have fun tonight, okay?"

"We won't talk about it because you don't need a job, Emily. End of conversation."

"Carly's right here," I said, feeling embarrassed. "I can call you when I get home. Have fun tonight. I'll see you tomorrow." Then I added, "Love you!" in an effort to appease him and distract from my awkward phone conversation.

"What time will you be here?" he asked again.

"Probably within an hour," I said.

He sighed and hung up. Robin had mentioned several times that working a retail position was beneath me, and I knew finding that application must've been a shock, but I honestly didn't think he was going over to my apartment, or I would have hidden it. Getting a job wasn't even a priority for me, but having him get so mad about it made me want to do it even more.

"Okay, love you too," I said, for Carly's sake even though Robin had already hung up.

Carly glanced at me, and I smiled as I put my phone away.

"Robin?" she asked, being polite since she already knew who it was.

"Yep," I replied.

Thankfully, she could tell by my short answer that I really didn't feel like elaborating. We talked about other things until we got back to my parents' house. She thanked me again for coming, but left straight from the driveway without coming inside. I, on the other hand, went inside to visit with my parents and Thomas for a few minutes, mostly because I didn't want to give Robin the satisfaction of knowing I went home right away.

My dad was already in bed, but I talked with my mom and Thomas for a little while about how the evening went. Thomas thought of Carly as a science teacher, so he was really curious about us painting pottery and wondered if that was in some way related to science. I told him it wasn't and tried to explain to him that Carly only did science for a job and that she liked doing other things for fun, but he seemed skeptical like I'd forced her to paint pottery when what she really wanted to do was a science experiment. He finally came to terms with it once I insisted that she made the plans and not me.

My apartment wasn't that far from my parents' house, so I was still smiling about the conversation I had with Thomas when I pulled into the parking lot.

I knew the second I pulled up that Robin was still there. Ted's black Hummer was parked sideways in two parking spots. I was so confident it was his, that I turned the doorknob without even using my keys.

"There!" his friend Jason said impatiently the second I opened the door. "She's home. Can we go now?"

Ted and Jason were sitting on my couch watching TV, and Robin was sitting at my table with his chair cocked to the side. He was sprawled out with one hand on the table and the other on his knee.

I looked back and forth from him to his friends, wondering why they were sitting there waiting for me. "He's so whipped, he wouldn't let us leave until he knew you got home safe," Ted explained, standing up and stretching as if he thought they'd be leaving now that I'd arrived. Robin put out a hand to stop him and Ted plopped back on the couch with a defeated expression. "I thought we were going out!" he whined.

"We are," Robin said. "I just need to talk to Emily for a second, and we'll go. Why don't you guys wait in the truck?"

Ted huffed. "Why'd you tell me to sit down?"

Robin scowled at him.

"Just go wait in the truck."

"Bye Emily," Jason said, turning off my television and tossing my remote onto the coffee table. "Glad we got to sit at your apartment all night and wait for you to get home and then leave right when you got here."

"Yeah, that was really fun," Ted chimed in, as if their wasted evening had been my fault.

I stared at Robin with wide eyes as they walked out the door, closing it behind them. "Why did you stay here?" I asked. "I told you I was on my way home."

He banged his fist on the table causing me to jump. "Because how am I supposed to believe anything you say, Emily, when you're going around applying for jobs behind my back?"

"I didn't do anything behind your back. I didn't even apply for it yet."

"Yet?" he said angrily.

"Geez, Robin, it's not that big of a deal. It's not like I could get a job without you knowing. I was going to talk to you about it."

He sighed impatiently and slid his chair back causing it to screech on the floor as he stood. He peered at me through disappointed eyes, shaking his head slightly. "You're not getting a job at a bookstore, Emily. And honestly, it alarms me that you would pick up an application and try to hide it from me."

"I don't understand why you don't want me to get a job."

"Because it's pointless. I pay for everything you need and want. What use do you have for a minimum wage job, unless you're going there to meet someone else?"

I stared at him with an incredulous expression. "Do you actually think I would get a job to cheat on you?"

"I don't know what to think! Why would you need a job when I pay for everything you need?"

"Maybe I like books and I think it would be fun to work in a bookstore."

He scoffed. "Don't be stupid."

I stared at him, unable to believe how he was behaving.
Had he been changing recently, or had he always acted like this and I never noticed?

"What's wrong with you lately?" I asked, after the thought crossed my mind.

He cocked his head at me. "What's wrong with me?" he asked as he stared at me through narrowed eyes, clenching his teeth. "You are so ungrateful for everything I do for you."

"I'm not ungrateful, Robin. I'm very thankful for all you do for me. How is wanting to get a job being ungrateful? I would think you would see that as me wanting to help out."

"I would think you would see that as me wanting to help out," he said, mimicking me in a whiney tone.

He must've been drinking. I couldn't take it anymore, so I shook my head at him and started to walk off toward my bedroom. "Ted and Jay are waiting for you downstairs," I said with finality.

"They can wait," he said, grabbing my arm as I passed. I tried to squirm out of his grasp and his grip tightened. "That really hurts, Robin," I said calmly. "I still have bruises from the other day and you're hurting me."

"I can't believe you're going to bring up the other day when you have a ten thousand dollar stone hanging around your neck." he said, not letting me go.

"Take it, then," I said reaching back to unclasp it with my free hand. "Is that what you want? You want your necklace back?"

He pushed me backwards while letting go of my arm, causing me to stumble. I stared at him defiantly once I regained my balance.

"I want your respect, Emily. I deserve your respect. I do a lot for you, and you just act like an ungrateful little hoe."

My face turned to a mask of sadness as I racked my brain to figure out what I'd done to deserve the way he was treating me.

"You don't need a job," he said, with an edge of gentleness to his tone, finally.

We stood in silence for a few long seconds. "I know I don't need one," I said.