“I'm just glad to see you're being careful.” Justus silently prayed his next words would be greeted with an aloof look of assurance rather than one fraught with anxiety. “Well, at least you were trying to be.”
As Emily offered up the latter, Justus draped an arm about Emily's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. His heart nearly broke as he watched the young woman's eyes widen, her confusion quickly replaced by fear.
“What...what are you talking about, Justus?” Emily stammered.
“Judging from your reaction - or rather lack thereof - I'm going to hazard a guess that this,” he motioned to the pills, “has been the only method of birth control that's been used between you and...Sonny, no?”
It took every ounce of Justus' considerable willpower to utter his former employer's name without drenching it in venom. But the disdain he felt for Sonny was of no importance now; his focus was solely on Emily. And her silence only served to heighten the growing sense of dread he felt.
The mute nod she gave only served to confirm Justus’ worst fears.
“Well, that said, Em, honey, unless you've got another pack of pills you've been using?” he posed haltingly. “We have a serious problem.”
Gingerly, Justus pried the dispenser from within Emily's death-like grip and flipped it open to reveal the source of his worry, and now Emily's horror: an entire row of “active pills.”
None of which had been taken.