The morning sun slices through the convenience store windows like a guillotine blade, severing my night from day as I clock out. Eight hours of fluorescent hell finally over, but the real nightmare is just beginning.
I push through the door into the blinding morning light, squinting against the assault. Emily's silver Audi sits in the parking lot, gleaming like a predator in wait. My steps falter as I approach, each one heavier than the last. My aunt's words from last night echo in my head: "She's a predator who's going to use you up and discard you."
Jessica doesn't know the half of it. Not about Emily, but about what's been happening with Holly. About the blackmail, the video, the violation.
Emily spots me through the windshield, her face lighting up with that smile that still makes my heart stutter despite everything. She waves, and I force my lips into what I hope resembles a normal expression. By the time I reach the passenger door, my hand is trembling so badly I can barely grab the handle.
"Good morning, baby," Emily says as I slide into the seat beside her. Her voice is warm honey, her silver braid cascading over one shoulder as she leans in for a kiss.
I turn my face at the last second so her lips land on my cheek instead of my mouth. The smell of her perfume, usually intoxicating, makes my stomach churn with guilt.
Emily pulls back slowly, her blue eyes clouding with concern as she studies my face. "What's wrong?" she asks, one perfectly manicured hand reaching to touch my cheek.
I stare straight ahead through the windshield, unable to meet her gaze. How do I even begin? 'My aunt wants to meet you. She thinks you're grooming me. Also, your daughter has been raping me for weeks and blackmailing me with a video that makes it look like I assaulted her.'
"My aunt Jessica showed up at the store last night," I say, finally, the words feeling inadequate against the weight of everything unsaid.
Emily's hand freezes against my cheek. "The one you've mentioned before? Your mother's sister?"
I nod, swallowing hard. "She wants to meet you."
Emily's face transforms before my eyes. The warmth drains away, leaving behind a mask of porcelain. Her blue eyes turn glacial, empty pools that stare through me rather than at me.
"Is she trying to take you away from me?" Her voice emerges flat, devoid of all the tenderness that was there seconds ago.
A chill runs down my spine. Emily seems like an emotionless void that somehow sounds more dangerous than any shouting ever could.
"What? No," I stammer, caught off guard by her reaction. "She's just worried about the age difference. She wants to meet you at dinner tonight."
Emily's hands grip the steering wheel, her knuckles whitening. She stares straight ahead through the windshield, perfectly still except for a slight twitch at the corner of her left eye.
"Your aunt has no right to interfere in our relationship," she says, each word precisely measured. "We're adults. You're an adult."
"I know, but she's the only real family I have left," I explain, trying to navigate this sudden minefield. "She's just being protective."
Emily turns to me slowly, mechanically, like a doll being rotated on a display stand. Her expression remains terrifyingly blank.
"I'm your family now, Danny," she says. "Me. Not her."
"Of course you're my family, Emily," I say, reaching out to touch her arm, trying to restore some warmth to this suddenly frozen moment. "But Jessica's still my aunt. She's important to me, too."
Something shifts in Emily's expression, a calculation happening behind those ice-blue eyes. The corners of her mouth curl upward in a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes.
"I'm already your Mommy, Danny," she says, her voice dropping to that honey-sweet tone that usually makes my spine tingle. "I could be your aunty too, if that's what you want. Would you like that? I can be everything for you."
"No," I say firmly. "Mommy is... plenty."
Emily stares at me, perfectly still, like a predator assessing whether its prey is worth the chase. The silence stretches between us, thick and suffocating.
"Look," I finally say, desperate to break the tension, "Jessica thinks you're going to just throw me away when you get bored with me. That's all this is about." I reach for her hand, threading my fingers through hers. "Let's just show her how much we love each other and be done with it, okay?"
The ice in Emily's eyes begins to thaw, warmth seeping back into her expression like sunrise after a long winter night. Her fingers tighten around mine.
"I would never throw you away," she whispers, bringing our joined hands to her lips. "Never."
I force a smile, ignoring the cold knot of dread in my stomach. "I know."
Emily starts the car, the engine purring to life beneath us. As she pulls out of the parking lot, her hand finds my thigh, fingers digging in slightly.
"We'll have dinner with your aunt," she says, her voice light again, almost musical. "And we'll show her exactly how much I love my good boy."
I feel my face flush hot with embarrassment. "Let's not be... weird in front of her, okay?" I say, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. "And can it just be us? No Holly?"
Emily glances at me, a strange little smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "Funny," she says, tapping her manicured nails against the steering wheel, "I didn't want Holly to go either."
"Good," I breathe out, relief washing through me. The thought of sitting through dinner with both Holly and my aunt makes me want to vomit. It would be like balancing on a tightrope while juggling flaming knives, one wrong move and everything comes crashing down.
Emily's eyes stay on the road, but I can feel her attention on me like a physical weight. "What did you tell her I do for work?" she asks, her voice carefully neutral.
My stomach drops. Of course, she'd ask that. I fidget with my seatbelt, buying myself a few precious seconds.
"I... didn't really," I admit, staring out the window at the blur of buildings passing by. "I told her I wasn't sure what you do. That it's complicated."
Emily stays quiet for a long moment as she thinks. The silence stretches between us like an elastic band pulled too tight.
"I'll just tell her I'm a day trader," she says finally, her voice casual as if she's deciding what to have for lunch. "It sounds legitimate enough, and most people don't ask follow-up questions because they don't want to admit they don't understand what that actually means."
I nod, relief washing through me. "That's smart."
"Besides," Emily continues, a hint of amusement coloring her tone, "it's not like she'll be able to find my OnlyFans without knowing my stage name."
My head snaps toward her so fast I nearly give myself whiplash. "You have an OnlyFans?"
Emily's perfectly shaped eyebrows draw together in confusion. She glances away from the road just long enough to study my face. "Yeah... Wait, did this seriously never come up before?"
"No," I say, my voice cracking slightly. "I had no idea you were a porn star."
A laugh bursts from her lips, genuine and rich. "Oh, honey, I'm hardly a porn star." She shakes her head, silver braid swinging gently. "I have my escort site, but to wash the money, I have clients pay me through big tips on OnlyFans. Makes everything look more legitimate for tax purposes."
"Oh." My brain struggles to process this new information, recalibrating everything I thought I knew about Emily's business model. "That... actually makes a lot of sense."
"I only upload a picture here or there, maybe once a month tops," she explains, her tone matter-of-fact. "Purely to keep the account active."
I nod slowly, my thoughts racing. "So you're not actually a porn star."
Emily reaches across the console to squeeze my thigh, her smile soft and teasing. "No, sorry to disappoint you."
"You could never disappoint me," I say, my voice catching with unexpected emotion. The words feel raw and honest in a way that surprises even me.
Emily's smile widens.
I clear my throat. "So, what's your stage name anyway? On OnlyFans, I mean."
A blush creeps across her cheeks, turning her porcelain skin a delicate shade of pink. It's such a rare sight that I find myself staring, fascinated by this glimpse of vulnerability from a woman who's usually so composed.
"Amber Infinity," she admits, her voice dropping to a self-conscious whisper.
"That's a cute name," I say, genuinely charmed by her embarrassment. It's endearing to see this side of her, almost innocent despite everything.
"Thanks," Emily laughs, shaking her head slightly. "I put absolutely no thought into it when I took it years ago. Just needed something that sounded vaguely sensual."
I laugh as the tension finally starts to dissolve.
"So," I venture, watching the familiar streets of her neighborhood come into view, "where should we take my aunt to dinner tonight?"
Emily's expression shifts subtly, that calculating look returning for just a moment before her face softens again.
"I'll figure it out," she says, her voice gentle but firm. "Don't worry about a thing."