by Dori Lavelle
“I didn’t know if you would survive long enough to give birth, but I wanted to do something right for once.”
“I had cramps. I was bleeding.” I’m talking to myself instead of her.
“You were going through a lot of trauma. It’s a miracle you didn’t lose the child anyway.”
Tense silence falls between us as I digest her words. Then I look up with tears in my eyes. “Thank you,” I say. She scared the hell out of me by entering my house without permission and I don’t know if I’ll ever feel comfortable with her in my life, but she did save my baby. “What do you want?”
“Nothing more than this. I’ve spent months gathering the courage to come here. I was in town for two weeks.” She shifts from one foot to the other. “I didn’t think you would let me near her, so I waited for an opportunity to—”
“You were stalking us?”
“I’m sorry,” she says. “I’m really sorry for everything. I hope one day you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me.”
I’m about to speak when Ella sighs in her sleep. I turn to look at her. She stirs but doesn’t wake up.
“I won’t bother you again. I’m going away.”
I want to tell her to stay in our lives, to get to know her granddaughter, but the words are stuck in my throat.
“Where will you go?” I look back at her.
“To the bathroom first, if you don’t mind.”
I frown as I stand and show her to the one nearest Ella’s room. I’m not so cruel that I would deny someone their right to use the bathroom.
I go back to kiss Ella on the forehead and close the door softly behind me.
I wait for Faith in the hallway. At the other end of the hallway, I can hear soft classical music playing in my bedroom. Curtis is waiting, but I have to deal with Dax’s mother first. I’m still conflicted about what to do about her.
She stays too long in the bathroom, so I knock softly. She doesn’t open the door. I wait a few more minutes and knock again. Nothing.
A cold feeling races down my spine. What is she up to in there?
When she still doesn’t come out, I run to my bedroom. I have no choice but to tell Curtis what has happened as fast as I can get the words out.
His face is a mask of shock. He doesn’t even have a moment to process the information because I beg him to help me get into the bathroom. It takes a long time for him to knock the door down. When he finally does, it’s too late.
Dax’s mother is sprawled on the bathroom floor, her face white as a sheet. Curtis drops to his knees to feel for a pulse. He finds none.
A while later, the paramedics show up to confirm her death. Apparently, she had taken enough pills to overdose. Hours later, when I fetch Ella from her room, I find the note Faith left behind.
Dear Emma,
I’m sorry for the horrible things my son did to you. I will never forgive myself for not doing something sooner. I’ll take my guilt to my grave. I just wanted to come and see that you and my grandchild are safe now. I wish I could stay to watch her grow into a beautiful woman. But I can’t. I can’t live with the memories anymore. I need some rest.
Goodbye, Emma. You will not see me again. Please protect my granddaughter from men like her father. When she’s older, tell her I love her.
Faith
A few days after Faith’s death, I take over the funeral arrangements—since she had no living relatives—and we bury her in Mistport, close enough so that one day, when my wounds heal more, I can take Ella to visit her grave.
Faith made many mistakes, but she was still Ella’s grandmother, and she did the right thing in the end. She saved Ella’s life.
With her death, a chapter of my life closed and I opened another. At her funeral, I made a conscious choice to look forward instead of behind me.
Unlike Faith, I choose life. I choose happiness. I choose Curtis. I choose love. . . real love.
THE END
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Emma’s story has come to an end, but there will be a spin-off series that will take you into the world of the Brothers After Dark (BAD) club that Dax had belonged to. If you would like to be notified when the prequel becomes available—in September 2018—sign up for Dori Lavelle’s mailing list here.