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Nick spent the morning cleaning out closets in the hopes that what Emma wanted to tell him was that she would be moving back in. She had seemed excited when she called him and he wanted to be ready. It took him a few hours to rearrange everything and to tidy up the mini messes he made. He had just taken a shower and gotten redressed when the doorbell rang; he raced to get out there.

“Hey you….”

“Hi Nick.”

“What are you doing here Lauren?”

“Hi to you too.”

“Sorry.” he said. “I was expecting someone else.”

“Emma?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.” Lauren replied with a smile, catching him off guard. “I’m glad you’re happy Nick, I really am.”

“Umm thanks?”

Lauren laughed. “Look, I know what happened last time I showed up at your door but I swear to you that’s not what this visit is for.”

Nick felt instantly relieved. “So you’re here for?”

“I came to drop off a check.”

“For what?”

“I sold the house in California and I wanted to give you your half of the money.”

“You don’t have to do that; we agreed that you could keep it.”

“I know but I don’t need to stay there anymore.”

“How come?”

Lauren blushed. “I got engaged.”

“Congratulations!” Nick said giving her a hug.

“Thanks.” she replied. “My fiancé wants me to move into his place in Las Vegas so I decided to sell the house. Since we split the cost evenly, I wanted to make sure you got your half back.”

“You really didn’t have to.”

“I know but it’s what was fair.” She paused. “And honestly, I really haven’t been fair about a lot of things in our relationship. I want to do something to change that so here you go.”

She handed him a check and gave him a quick hug. “Good luck with everything and I’m happy for you Nick. You’re both lucky to have each other and I hope it stays good for you guys.”

“Thanks Lauren, that means a lot. And congratulations again.”

“Thanks. See you sometime.” she responded.

He watched as his former girlfriend pulled away and breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was falling into place for him and he was glad that all the drama with Lauren was over. He headed back into the house and decided to pass time by watching a movie.

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Nick woke up a few hours later and was disoriented. Why was it dark out and why the hell wasn’t Emma here? He checked his phone and it said it was seven. Emma promised that she’d be there by five. Concerned, he dialed his girlfriend's number and it went straight to voicemail. He tried calling again and again but each time was the same. After trying the fifteenth time, he called Addie in a panic. She answered after a couple of rings.

“Where’s Emma?” Nick asked before she had time to say hello.

“Um with you isn’t she?” Addie replied.

“No, I feel asleep on the couch and just woke up. She was supposed to be here by five and she’s still not here.”

“Did you try calling her?”

“Of course!” Nick exclaimed. “Her phone just goes straight to voicemail.”

“That’s weird.”

“I know. I’m starting to freak out Addie.”

“Look, calm down and I’ll try calling her.”

“Will you call me back?”

“Absolutely. Give me a couple of minutes.”

Nick hung up and started to pace around the kitchen. Why wasn’t she here yet? What if something happened to her and she needed his help? Screw waiting for Addie, he thought and grabbed his car keys. Just as he was heading for the door, his phone alerted him that he had a text message. It was from Emma and his heart started to race.

Hey. Need to take care of some stuff. Won’t be able to come tonight. Call you later.

What the hell? She wasn’t answering her phone and now she sends some ridiculous message about needing to do things. What was going on?