“Then these injuries were worth it.” I looked at Rosie. “I love that pretty face too much to ever part from it.”
Rosie blushed. “Thanks, Emmie. Maybe one day I’ll be as pretty as you.”
I laughed as I touched my face. “Yes, I’m sure I’m gorgeous right now.” I raised my eyebrows at Joshua. “So, you and Tiffy?”
“Oh, hell no,” Joshua said, disgust on his face. “Never in a million years. I have better taste than that.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. I wouldn’t want her as a sister-in-law.”
Joshua took my hand. “We’re okay, right? You’re not mad at me?”
“I understand now that everything’s been explained.” I squeezed his hand. “Stop doing sketchy things and we won’t have to question you.”
He squeezed my hand back. “Deal.”
“Can we go?” Thunder Thighs asked. “My arm hurts. I was shot.” We all turned to her. She pressed a bloody hand against her left arm and grunted. "And. It. Hurts."
Joshua stood and helped me onto my feet. He put his arm around my waist to hold me steady. “Emmie needs to be looked at, too.”
“Yeah, I’ve got two stab wounds, I’m pretty sure my nose is broken, and I’m going to need a new tooth.”
Dante came to me. “Really?”
I opened my mouth, wiggling the tooth with my tongue. “See?”
“That’s gross!” Rosie exclaimed. Then she smiled. “Do that again.”
Maya cleared her throat. “We should contact Gideon and Terrance. We also need to contact Austin’s head of security, if they’re still alive. We need to end the battle out there. It’s still going on.”
Dante nodded. “True.” He turned to Mom. “Would you know who to contact over here?”
“Yes,” Mom said. “I’ll get on it.”
We waited until all the right people had been contacted before we did anything else. Most of the Infinity Corp guards had retreated at Joshua's broadcast.
When the battle had stopped, we announced that New Haven was in charge of Infinity Corp and River Springs and we’d keep the residents informed of any changes. We sent them back to their homes until we could come up with a plan.
Though the sky was perfectly blue and clear when we stepped outside of Headquarters, it was still chilly. I wished I still had Courtney’s coat.
A bus pulled up and Samantha and Eric jumped out, running over to me.
By the look on Samantha’s face, I thought she might slap me. “I specifically told you not to leave the house! Do you ever obey orders?”
“No.” I patted her on the arm. “You should’ve picked up on that by now.”
Eric stared at my face, practically frozen in horror. He finally pulled me into his arms. “How could they do that to you?”
“The same way they could do it to you,” I said. His body shivered against mine and I knew it wasn’t from the cold.
“There you are.”
I pulled away from Eric and turned toward the source. Tami stood there, one hand clenched in a fist, the other behind her back.
Mom was standing right next to me. “Who are you talking to?”
“Both of you, actually,” Tami said. “You and Emmie have ruined my life.”
“That’s not true.” Joshua approached us.
“And you!” Tami yelled at Joshua. “You’re a traitor! You’re all traitors! Because of you, my father and my mother are dead!”
“Welcome to the club.” Santiago leaned against the bus with his arms folded. “Almost everyone standing here has lost one or both of their parents. So, get over it.”
Tami gaped at him. “How could you be so heartless?”
Santiago yawned, completely bored of the conversation. “I’ve met both of your parents. You’re probably better off.”
“What he’s trying to say,” Maya said, glaring at Santiago, “is that you’re not alone. This war has been brutal to all of us. We’ve all lost people we love.”
Tami groaned. “But you started it all! If the stupid revolutionaries hadn’t gone off and …”
“Then we’d all be living in cities that controlled our every move,” Dante said, cutting her off. “People would still be dying, Tami. Your dad killed many people before this whole thing started.”
“That’s not true,” Tami said.
Joshua sighed. “You can live in denial all you want, but it’s true.”
Tami’s focus landed on me. “What was the point of all of this? What did you want to get out it?”
I thought about it for a moment before I responded, but only one word came to my mind. “Freedom.”
“Are you happy?” Tami asked. “With the results?”
“Yes,” I said. “Obviously, there are things I wish didn’t happen and lives that shouldn’t have been lost, but that’s the cost of freedom. It’s the cost of war.” I stood tall, keeping my chin up. “And I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.”
Tears fell down Tami’s cheeks. “That's one thing you and I will never agree on.” She wiped away some of her tears. “I hope you’ve enjoyed your life, Emmie, because now it’s over.”
Tami brought her hand out from behind her back and lifted a gun, pointed it straight at me, and pulled the trigger. I yelled out as my body crashed onto the ground. Gunshots rang out around me.
Mom was on top of me, her eyes full of worry. “Are you okay?”
I blinked a few times, trying to figure out what had happened. “I … I didn’t get shot.”
“No,” Mom said.
She had jumped in front of me and pushed me to the ground. Blood fell onto my hand and at first, I thought it was from my previous wounds. Then I looked into Mom’s eyes.
“You’re hit,” I said. She nodded slowly. I rolled her onto her stomach and saw her back. Blood seeped out from the bullet hole. “Help! Someone, help us!”
Eric bent down next to us, removed his jacket and placed it against her back. Samantha tried to push me out of the way, but I couldn’t move.
I turned Mom’s face toward me. “Mom, stay with me.”
“Stop moving her so much,” Samantha said, kneeling next to me. “We need to keep her still.” They laid her flat on her stomach while Samantha checked her.
I bent down so I could see her face. “Mom, please stay with me.”
“I love you … sweetie.” Mom gasped for air.
I put my hands on her cheeks. “I love you, but you need to stay quiet.” I rested my forehead against hers. “I can’t lose you. I just got you back.”
“I’ve … always loved … you … I always … will …”
“Mom!” My tears fell onto her face. “Don’t leave me! Please, Mom!”
Her eyelids fluttered until they closed, and her body went limp.
“Mom!”
The next few weeks passed in a blur. We disbanded Infinity Corp and put Nick in charge of River Springs until we could get everything sorted out. We gave him everything he needed and all the personnel he wanted so they could get the city repaired. People were sent back to work and the children back to school.
Marcus did the same for Kingsland. With New Haven and Scorpion included, we were in control of all the cities.
President Mendes and Vice President Jennings were released from their duties. Once everything was settled, we would vote on a Mayor for each city. For the time being, everyone reported to the revolutionaries.
“I say we add that boxing is a required sport in each city.” Santiago leaned back in his chair and propped his legs onto the table in the conference room.
Maya rolled her eyes. “We’re not adding that as a law.” She was sitting in between me and Santiago. Dante was on the other side of me.
Santiago shook his head, making his shaggy hair flop around. “You’re no fun sometimes.”
“But we can have sports.” I had my legs propped up on a box beneath the table. They were still healing from the stabbing. My side was finally starting to recover since I was abl
e to rest for once. The swelling in my face had gone down and the scar from the cut to my face was almost invisible. I had taken the bandage off my nose yesterday. For being broken multiple times, it didn’t look too bad.
“I agree,” Dante said. “I’ve done a lot of research and I noticed they used to have a bunch of different sports back in the day.”
Maya sat forward and rested her forearms on the table, her charm bracelets clinking against the wood. “We have so many laws we need to go over and you want to focus on sports.”
Santiago shrugged. “So?”
“We’ve gone over most of the basics,” I said. “No killing, no stealing, no breaking and entering, no vandalism.”
“Add no arranged marriages.” Dante folded his arms. “I’m not being told who I have to marry. Or even if I have to marry.” He looked at me. “You know, you look pretty good with makeup on.”
I shoved his arm. “Thanks.”
It had been a long time since I'd worn makeup. With our limited supplies in New Haven, that wasn't a priority. But now that we had everything back in order, I had started using just a little to cover up my bruises and cuts. But Vivica had shown me how to make my green eyes pop so I'd been wearing it more.
Maya wrote things down as we talked. When she was done, she tapped her pen on the table. “I think people should live in whatever city they want. And if it doesn’t work out, they can move to another one.”
Santiago nodded. “I agree. And let people choose their careers.”
“Speaking of careers,” Dante said. “Should we start a bartering system or create currency?”
“I think we should.” I crossed my ankles. “Let’s start paying people for their work.”
Santiago let out a whistle. “We’re going to be here forever, man. We have to create rules and laws, even when we have freedom.”
“People can’t have complete freedom,” Maya said. “Think of what the world would be like. With people like Amber out there, it would be a scary place.”
Dante shivered. “No kidding.”
Maya glanced around at all of us. “How would you feel about me scouting around and trying to find an area where we can build up a new city?”
“Do you think there are other places that are safe to live out there?” Santiago asked.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Maya said.
Dante shook his head. “I don’t know. According to all our historical documents, most of the world was uninhabitable, which is why our cities were placed in such a limited area.”
“Things change, though,” I said. “Maybe some places that weren’t safe before are safe now. So many years have passed.”
“I’m willing to take the risk,” Maya said.
“If you’re willing to do it,” Dante said, “then I say go for it.”
Maya ran her hand over her spiky hair. “What about you three? Do you want to stay here?”
“I do.” I didn’t even hesitate. “New Haven is home to me now. I love it here.”
“It’s nice,” Santiago said, “but I’d rather go back to Scorpion.”
Dante nodded. “I want to go back to Kingsland. I love the area.”
I didn’t like the thought of being parted with all of them, but it had to happen someday.
Dante reached over and took my hand. “We’ll still see each other. We’re within driving distance.”
“I know.” I squeezed his hand. “I’ll still miss you guys. You’re my family.”
Santiago smiled. “Yes, one crazy family, but I love every single one of you.”
“We’ll need to hold monthly meetings.” Maya squeezed my other hand. “At least. Maybe every other week.”
I raised my eyebrows, my eyes hopeful. “Every week?”
Dante laughed. “Every week works for me. Since New Haven is central to all of us, we’ll hold them here. We can come here, have the meeting, and still be able to get home the same day.”
A small knock sounded at the door.
“Come in,” Dante said.
The door opened and Eric walked in. “Sorry to disrupt you, but I need to borrow Emmie for a few minutes.”
Santiago stood and stretched out his body. “We need a break anyway.”
“Good.” Eric came to me and scooped me up, holding me in his arms.
“I can walk, you know,” I said as I snuggled into him.
“Yes, but this is much nicer, don’t you think?” Eric asked.
I smiled. “Yes. Maybe I’ll have you carry me everywhere from now on.”
Eric kissed my forehead. “Don’t push it.” He carried me out of Headquarters, heading toward the park near the school.
Dee and the children from her class were outside, sitting on some blankets that were scattered about. All the snow had melted, but the grass was still dead from winter. The sky was blue, with some white clouds forming random shapes. Dee was reading them a story as they all watched intently. Some were sitting crossed legged and some were lying on their stomachs, their chins rested on their hands.
Eric set me down and put his arm around my waist. When Dee was done with the story, she closed the book and looked over at the two of us with a big smile on her face. “I didn’t know we were going to have visitors today.”
I looked up at Eric. “She didn’t know we were coming?”
Eric shook his head. “Dee, do you mind if we sit here for just a moment?”
“Sure.” Confusion crossed Dee's face, but she gestured to the blanket she was sitting on. We sat beside her and watched the six and seven-year-old kids. They were all smiling at us and a few waved.
“What are you doing here?” Dee whispered in my ear.
“I have no idea,” I whispered back.
One of the boys came to Dee and handed her a drawing. “I made this for you, Miss Jennings.”
“Thank you, Doug,” Dee said as she took it from his hand. The picture was of a boy sitting at a desk with a frown on his face. A lady knelt beside him, pointing at a paper on the desk and smiling.
Doug pointed at the boy. “That’s me trying to figure out math.” He pointed to the lady. “And that’s you, staying after class to help me understand it.” He blushed and ran back to his seat on the blanket.
A girl came up next, handing her another drawing. “I made this for you, Miss Jennings.”
“Thank you, Alice,” Dee said, taking it from her hand. The picture was of children and a lady outside on the grass. They were all standing in a circle, holding hands.
“That’s all the students and you outside playing Ring Around the Rosie,” Alice said. She smiled at me. “It’s my favorite activity Miss Jennings plays with us.” She went back to her seat as another kid walked over.
They kept coming up, handing her drawings of Dee with the kids, either helping them or playing a game with them. When the last kid sat down, Dee was holding back her tears.
She had handed me each drawing after she looked at them. Something on the back caught my eye, so I turned one of them over. The letter R was written on the back. I started turning them all over, noticing a letter on each paper. Placing them on the blanket, I spread them out so we could see each letter.
“Why are there letters on the back?” Dee asked the students. They all just snickered.
“Maybe they spell something?” I suggested.
Dee and I sorted through them, trying to piece them together.
It didn’t take long for me to figure it out. “Oh.”
Dee glanced at me. “Do you know what it says?”
I nodded as I rearranged the letters until they formed a sentence. I watched Dee’s face as she read it out loud.
“Will you marry me, Dee?” Her eyes went wide. “Oh!” She threw her hands over her mouth, but I could see her huge smile underneath.
Footsteps approached. Will bent down on one knee and took Dee’s hand. His face was bright red as he adjusted his glasses. “Dee, this past year has been the best year of my life.” He swallowed and licked his
lips. “I, uh …” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a ring. Small diamonds circled all the way around the silver band. “I love you more than anything in this world and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Dee Jennings, will you marry me?”
“Yes!” Dee threw her arms around his neck and he held her tight. All the students were smiling, and a few snickered. When she pulled back and kissed him on the lips, all the children giggled.
I turned to Eric. “You knew about this?”
Eric nodded, not holding back his smile. “Will came to me for some advice and together we worked this out with the students. I thought you’d want to be here to see it.”
“Plus, I was so nervous,” Will said. Dee had pulled back from him and was staring at the ring on her finger. “There was some comfort to having the two of you here.”
Dee smiled. “Well, Emmie and I are practically attached at the hip, so you two boys better get used to being around each other all the time.”
Eric laughed. “We already are. Luckily, we’ve had a year to adjust to this before either of us tied the knot.”
I shoved him away from me playfully. “We’re worth it.”
“Yes, you are,” Will said. He blushed, making Dee’s smile get bigger.
“Miss Jennings?” Alice called out.
Dee looked over at her. “Yes?”
“Does this mean we have to start calling you Mrs. Sanders?” Alice asked.
Dee let out a laugh. “Not until we’re married.”
Eric and I left and went to my house. When we got there, I opened the door and stepped inside. “Anyone home?”
“In the kitchen!” Derek yelled out. “You’re just in time for lunch.”
We walked into the kitchen and I smiled when I saw everyone at the table. Derek, Naomi, and Joshua sat on one side of the table. Eric’s dad, Alexander, sat at the head of the table, while Sean and Mom sat on the other side. I took a seat next to Mom and Eric sat down opposite his dad.
“I made potato soup.” Mom smiled. “And it actually turned out okay.”
“It’s more than okay,” Sean said. “It’s delicious.”
Mom set her left hand on his, the diamond from her wedding ring glinting in the light. They had decided to get married right after she got out of the infirmary. The shot she took to the back paralyzed her from the waist down. Sean still had a limp in his left leg from the explosion at the medical building. They had spent so much time bonding over the past year, and both needed help, so they thought who better to help them than each other. I loved the way Mom looked at him, so I was happy with it. Plus, I had grown to like Sean over the past few weeks. Even Derek and Joshua had taken to him.
Rise (New Haven Book 3) Page 27