EMMAAbout three hours later, the nurses took off the drip and every other thing that connected me to the hospital.One more vital check was what she had said, and that was what she did. She ran the tests, taking my blood pressure, checking my blood sugar level, and whatever.I couldn't wait to be out of this place. Staying in the hospital just gave me an uneasy feeling, and if we were going by my books, I was fine. Or at least I felt fine. That had to count for something. It had to be enough to let me go home.“Take a deep breath for me,” the nurse said,I took one in, and out.“Again,”I repeated the process.“That's very good.”She jotted something down. She checked my arms, legs, and eyes.She asked a few important questions, like when I had last seen my period, and whatsoever.I replied as best as I could, knowing the information was mostly fucked up in my head.“I'll be back shortly” she announced, walking out.Immediately Kristy came in. “Are they done with you?” She asked,“I
EMMASoon enough, we were done, and the nurses had discharged me.My mother had arrived to help me pack home.Kristy had been on her phone the entire time, typing furiously.I wanted to ask what was wrong, but I decided to give her some space. If she wasn't back to normal in the next two hours, that was when I would ask.As much as I loved her, I knew everyone needed their privacy, and it was no big deal. Moreover, I was already a burden, I didn't want to worsen it.“Are you ready?” Kristy asked, reaching out to take my mind.I wanted to tell her I was a hundred percent fine, and able to walk on my own but I thought better of it and let myself be babied. A little break wouldn't be so bad.As we walked out of the hospital, I took a clear view of the environment. This place was a bit different from the place my mother lived. It was livelier, and busier. The streets had different restaurants, motels, and cafes. But even with that, it still had that homely feel. I looked around.How could
EMMA.We both walked into the house, hand in hand. Although the building still had some unfamiliar vibe, it felt more homely than it had previously.That was probably because the last time I walked in, I felt everyone in it was evil, and probably hated my guts. I had been proven wrong. Very much wrong, and I was disappointed in myself.“Thank you again,” she appreciated I tapped her shoulder.“There's jo need to. I'm always here, whenever you need me.”She smiled gently.After all Kristina had done for me, it was genuinely crazy that she thought I had done a lot for her.If we were by any chance comparing what we had done for each other in the past week, I would lose by at least a thousand points, and it wasn't even an exaggeration. Kristina had moved worlds for me, bothe directly and indirectly. I owed her too much for her kind deeds.She pushed the door, and we both walked in.As soon as we stepped in, my mother's children sprang towards us.“Welcome!” Zara's voice came from behind
EMMA.I had to end the call just so I could focus on what was before me. Zara and my mother had returned, and it was time for some family moments. I would focus on the rest later. Alex had already taken enough of my time, and years. Now, it was time to give it to those who actually deserved, and appreciated it.I watched as Zara placed the drinks before all of us on the table. Joshua stapled down from my leg to visit the restroom and although I loved having him around, I appreciated having his weight off my thighs.I reached out for my drink, pressing a straw into it.“There is wine, but we won't be taking it in front of the children,” my mother announced.Although I didn't get her concept, I agreed. If she said her children were not allowed to be around wine, or alcohol, I would support it.Shs was doing for them ten times what she did for us, and yes it covered the things we went through. I would also do my utmost best to help protect her children.Zara started dishing the cake out,
EMMA.“While we're talking about missing me, Zara I wanted to ask you a question,” Kristina said.Zara leaned in closer. “What do you want to talk about?”“Your education,”“I'm a student,”“I know that. I'm asking if you'll transfer here or if you'll remain in Manhattan.”Zara paused, touching the leftover with her spoon.“I've not really thought about it,”“School resumes in six weeks. If you want to change to any state university around here, this is the best time.” Kristy said, and indeed she was right.“I don't think you should leave your ivy for a community school,” I suggested,“Yes, but there's the topic of bullying.” my mother said“Bullying? Why would they bully her?” Kristina asked,She looked at me and we all got the message.“Will there be side talks? Yes, but no one will ever say shit to her face. Moreover it's a normal thing for women to go after married men. I'm not saying it's right, I'm saying it's becoming normal, which is actually scary. Bottom line is, some would
EMMA.“Alex” I called out his name with gritted teeth. I was trying my best not to lose my temper, but it was almost impossible.“I thought you would never unblock me. I tried calling repeatedly, and-”“How dare you?” I interrupted,.retiring straight to the point.The last thing I wanted to hear was his dumb excuses, and his fake pledges of how he was into me, and how he was scared that I would never pick up.“Look, I know I accused you of framing me, and that was beyond disrespectful. I am genuinely sorry, and I didn't mean it. Too many things were happening at once, and I spiralled. Deep down you know that I could never believe you would do something like that to me. I trust you.”Who the fuck did he think he was trying to with those lines? We were past that. Far past that.“Deep down I know you could never think of me as a weak woman searching for revenge? Alex, you know that's a lie. That's exactly what you think of me.”“No, you're misquoting me. I said, you know I don't think o
EMMA.“Who is Kevin?” I asked, trying to recall where I had heard that name.It was all too familiar.“You don't know him. He lives around the neighborhood. He's an ex marine, quite muscular, and-”“Does he by any chance work at a restaurant?” Kristina asked,I looked at her in confusion.“Yes, but he recently got fired. He was accused of inappropriately touching ladies. It's a lie. Kevin would never do that.” She defended him.As she spoke, I saw an even dumber version of myself in her. I could have, and I did defend Alex in everything he did, but sexual assault would have been where I drew the line.“So, you're crying because your boyfriend was wrongly accused?” I asked her, trying to get the concept.“Not that entirely.”“Then why are you crying?” I asked, trying to maintain as much composure as I could. I did not want to lose my mind, although it seemed so. I still did not want to believe my nineteen fucking year old sister was crying over a man. Did she not learn anything from
EMMA.“Who is downstairs?” I asked, not wanting to admit that I already knew the answer.There was only one other person I knew outside this family.“The real question is, who are those downstairs?”“Those? How many people are downstairs?”“There's only one way to find out,” she replied, with a sheepish grin.“You can just tell me,”“What's the fun in that? Go check it out yourself.”I eyed her before walking towards the door.She was giddy walking behind me, as we walked into the living room. As we approached, I heard different masculine voices. They were laughing, and giggling.As soon as we got there I was blessed with the most gorgeous set of men.They were…one, two, three, four, five men. Five hot men.I gawked for a second before regaining composure.“Hi,” I said to everyone.Why did I say that?It was awkward.They were awkward. Why were they all hot?Before they could reply, I walked out of the room. Kristina was directly behind me.She was giggling as she trailed me.I frowne
EMMA.At about five pm, Samuel had texted, telling me I would get picked up by eight. That meant I had three hours to prepare. Kristina and I had already chosen the dress, shoes, and bag I would use so it wasn't that much work left, but I still panicked.I needed to get my hair, and make up right.We eventually started preparing by six pm. A girl needed her time to prepare right?I sat before the mirror as Kristina worked her magic with my hair. Luckily, Zara had some curlers around and we made judicious use of them.“This date will be amazing,” Kristina said, brushing my hair.“I hope so,” I replied, trying to ease the tension I felt in my chest.It had been a while since I went on a first date with anyone. What were the etiquettes? What would we talk about?For someone who had decided to dump the dating pool for a long while, it surely was too early for me to be rehearsing what to say on a first date. What would we even talk about? I couldn't think of one thing we had in common. Su
EMMA.I knew Kristina often worked out to tone her body, and maybe gain some strength, but I was beyond surprised when she lifted the heavy box off the floor, and headed into the living room.I stepped out of the way giving her all needed chance just so she could do what she wanted.She slammed the box on the floor, turning to face me.“It wasn't even that heavy,” she said, breathing heavily. Yeah…“It wasn't that heavy but you lifted it off the floor, and slammed it down like a two hundred and sixty five pounds man. Oh, and the delivery man himself refused to lift it because she thought it was ‘too heavy’”“Come on, you know I work out. I lift weights often. This is a breeze.”“I work out too, but you don't see me lifting things like superwoman.”.She laughed out, wiping her face.“There's absolutely no point in arguing over this. Samuel gave you a gift, and I helped you bring it in. The least you could do is appreciate me.”“Fine,” I agreed, “thank you.”*You're welcome.”“Now let'
EMMAOh well. The day I agreed to go on a date had arrived.I didn't inform Kristy, neither did I tell Zara. Not even my mother was aware.I sat on my bed, pondering on what to wear. I knew I should have told them what happened, but after yesterday's event, we all clocked out.Since then, I just couldn't come up with a way to tell them. Not that they would be annoyed or anything.I knew they would be excited for me. They loved me.Kristina on one hand would be over the moon. She had been waiting for this for a long time.But in my heart, I harbored some thoughts.Was it wise to start something with Samuel?What if it didn't work out? What would happen to his lovely relationship with my family? He knew them before me. I didn't want to get in the way of anything.If I ended up ruining their friendship, I would be pissed at myself forever. I couldn't even tell if I would recover from that.Then again came the question of time. Wasn't it too early to date? Did I want to fall in love jus
EMMA Well, it was safe to say this was the sweetest and most intentional thing any man had ever said to me.I was dumbfounded, and couldn't even come up with any concrete reply. “Emma,” he called my name.“Yes?” I croaked out.He seemed to be genuine. As I stared at him, I will ndered if his words were genuine? They could always be lies.I would be a fool to believe his lies.“Emma, I want to take the appropriate step. Can I take you out on a date tonight?”Tonight? I had nothing to wear. All the clothes I had brought were casuals, and it would be almost impossible to find an outfit that would work in less than six hours.“What's the time?” I asked,He pulled out his phone. “Six thirty three.” He answered.No. Definitely too late.“I don't think I can,” I replied, slowly. I just hoped he didn't get the wrong message. I did want to go on a date with him, but I was beyond unprepared.“Why?” He askedIf I asked for a dress for the date would I come out as entitled?I mean, he had alrea
EMMA.He turned around.“Are you sure about that? I can always come by later.” I closed off my phone, “I'm sure.” I replied.His smile was all too bright for his excitement to be hidden. It somehow made me excited too. He had this boyish glow in his eyes whenever he was excited.I walked up to him.As I approached him, I noticed his eyes following my chest.Little did I realize that I wasn't exactly clad. I had unbuttoned my shirt, and while I had covered up, the buttons were mixed up, giving him access to see my chest. He looked away immediately. What a gentleman. Well-behaved. He maintained eye contact with me, and in his eyes, I could see him battling not to look again.Something about that turned me on.“Please come back,” I said.I said out loud just because. It was good that I did. I wanted to choose someone who wasn't Alex, and I had done that. I verbally, outrightly chose someone who wasn't Alex.I had broken free away from his grasp. I was my own woman.I took a breath, l
EMMA.The first time I had made an attempt at calling Alexander Blackwood after his wife pleaded, he did not answer.I was immensely grateful for that. At least, I could say I tried.I mean, it would go down in record that I dialed his number, right?Yes, it would. I hadn't done anything wrong.I laid in bed, watching the ceiling, engrossed in thoughts.The day had gone all so well. Kristina and Samuel had gotten into a deep conversation about me, and I didn't want to be there while they analyzed my lifestyle.Well, two hours had gone by, and neither of them had come up to me.I looked out the window, only to find the entire family, and some friends in the backyard. They seemed to be having fun discussions, and eating together.Did anyone notice my absence?Did it matter?I was sure they were preoccupied with activities.I laid back.Looking at my screen, I stared at my wallpaper. There was a picture of me in sunglasses, and red lipstick. My smile was broad, and genuine. I was all too
Emma.“Hey, Emma. We need to talk,” Mrs. Blackwood's voice came out as soft and gentle, but it was enough to send a chill down my spine. I sucked in a deep breath and wondered if picking her call was a good idea. I hadn't thought it through before picking her call.“Mrs. Blackwood,” I replied, sounding a little apprehensive. “How may I help you?”I didn't need a mirror to know my face had turned pale. I could easily tell from the weird and worried look plastered on Samuel and Kristina's faces. Kristina mouthed the words, “Are you okay?”I shrugged.Mrs Blackwood let out an audible breath before continuing. “It's about my husband.”My mouth ran dry. I knew bullying Anna wasn't far from him, but talking his wife into speaking with me? I didn't think he'd go that low.“Firstly, my husband didn't send me to call you, if that's what you're thinking,’’ she continued.“Okay,” I whispered into the phone. I could feel my heartbeat pick up pace. If Alex had not coerced her into calling me, the
EMMA.“Well,” Samuel started his speech, still standing really close to me, “I would try to initiate a conversation to see if there's any remote chance we could have anything serious.”“And then?” Kristina urged,I knew what she was searching for, and judging by the kind of person Samuel seemed to be, he would play along, and that would ruin me.“After that, I would try to make a grand gesture for her. That is after she has given me a green light of course,”Did I, by any chance, give him a greenlight?“And what's the definition of a greenlight to you?” Kristina probed,“I don't think it's wise to disturb,” I tried to divert their attention, but Kristina was so focused on what she was trying to achieve.Knowing the kind of person she was, I let her be. If she wanted to prove, she better do it.Moreover she would be gone in three days, and after that, the only source of information she would have would be me. I would definitely make her suffer. It wasn't time yet.I just had to endure
EMMA.I didn't know how to react to that message. Well, it was obvious Samuel wasn't trying to hide his status, but what was he doing in such a small town? He was supposed to be with the top leagues.I had heard of the johnsons. Although I had never met or had any personal encounter with them, I had attended some of their parties. Of course, Alex had been invited to some of their parties, and when I worked as his assistant, I was an immediate invitee.I bit my lips gently. If I was wiser, I should have taken advantage of that opportunity.I should have made some friends, even at the least a few connections with some elites. They would have helped.I took a deep breath.“What is he doing here though? As a sheriff at that,” Kristina finally asked the questions in my heart,“We have no idea. Although some say his father is trying to build a brand here so he's kind of preparing the place for him.”“Hmm…” I took a breath, “so, he's brooding this place.”“Something of that sort,” my mothe