Fighting for Us

by Heather Lyn

  Fuck, baby. No.

  The other guy enters the room and picks Emmy’s body up, slinging her limp body over his shoulder. Blood is seeping through her blonde hair, and I know that’s where the stain downstairs is from. She could already be dead. Emmy isn’t big, and taking a blow like that to the head could’ve killed her. Did I just watch her die?

  Turning around, I race to the bathroom and in seconds I’m losing the entire contents of my stomach into the open toilet. My body shakes with each heave, and tears are coursing down my cheeks. How the hell can this be happening to us?

  Does it not matter how much Lily and I need her? How much we love her?

  How my entire soul will die right along with her if she’s forever taken from us?

  My house is a crime scene and I don’t want Lily here any longer. She hasn’t stopped crying, clutching her bunny and refusing to leave my side. Loading her into my truck, I let the detective know that I’ll be at my parents’ house. I have a million phone calls to make, and I’m hanging on by a thread here.

  During the drive, I call my mom and manage to keep it under control when I tell her we’re on our way. Her cheery voice and excitement have me fighting tears. Pulling in, I see my brother’s truck there, and I thank God that he’s here too.

  Climbing down, I see they’re sitting on the deck, Cade waving to us. Going to Lily’s door, I pull her out and she wraps herself around me, tears falling down my neck.

  Slowly, I make my way to the porch, and I know Mom can tell something is wrong. Rushing down the steps, she makes it to us in only a few steps and reaches up to cup my face.

  “Levi? Honey, what’s wrong.”

  Still holding Lily, I drop to my knees in front of her, the tears finally falling. Mom cradles me to her and I grab her with my free arm, tucking my face into her neck as I bawl.

  There is commotion around us as Dad and Cade come barreling toward us. My brother pulls Lily from me, who clings to her uncle, crying loudly. I use my mom as a crutch, holding her with both arms. She rubs circles on my back, holding the back of my head with her other hand.

  “Momma,” I whisper, lifting my wet face from her shoulder.

  “Levi, you’re scaring us, son. What happened? Where’s Emerson?” Dad asks, kneeling next to us, gripping my shoulder.

  Just hearing her name has me fighting to break down again, so I shake my head, wiping the tears from my face.

  “She’s gone, Dad. I don’t know. After Cade and I left work, I went home and the door was open. She locked Lily in a closet and there was blood and she’s gone. They fucking took her, right from my house. They hurt her.”

  Mom takes my face in her hands and looks me in the eyes, tears falling down her cheeks. “Breathe, Levi. You need to calm down and breathe.”

  Doing as she says, in moments I feel better, but I’m still trembling. Standing up, I take a deep breath, letting it out shakily.

  “Dude,” Cade begins, coming over to hug me hard. Slapping his back, I pull away, finding Lily standing next to him, holding his waist tightly.

  “Baby, come here,” I whisper, holding a hand out to her. She runs to me and jumps in my arms. Holding her on my hip, I turn to my parents. “Can we come in? I need to get in touch with Callie and Elliott. Fuck. I told the cops we’d be here, so I’m sure they’ll be coming by soon.”

  “Let’s go inside. I’ll get you something to eat,” Mom says, walking us inside.

  But I’m not hungry. I’m sick to my stomach with worry.

  CHAPTER 18

  Emerson

  SLOWLY BLINKING MY EYES open, the first thing that registers is pain. My entire body hurts, but my head feels like it’s full of lead. I can barely hold it up.

  When my vision finally stops blurring, I’m able to take in my surroundings. I’m in a basement, or so it looks. It’s dark, with no windows and only one bare lamp in the corner, barely throwing off any light. Scanning the room, I note a large bucket in the corner, and I’m tied to a sparse metal bed, covered in a dirty mattress.

  Looking down my body, I see that my clothes have been removed, and I’m only in my bra and panties. There is dried blood smeared across my thigh and I immediately start crying, trying to figure out how to get myself out of this.

  Crying softly, I conjure up images of Levi in my head. Those blue eyes that give away every emotion. His beautiful smile that always makes me feel loved. His strong arms that always hold me tight. And just Levi himself. The most genuine, humble, and beautiful person who has ever come into my life, besides his sweet little girl. Lily, the one I consider my own child. The little darling I wanted to adopt so I could be her mommy. And now she’s never gonna know either her real mother or the one who loved her like one should. Levi will be on his own again.

  Why is this happening to us?

  With that thought, I begin to sob, not caring how loud I’m being. My head throbs with each cry, though the pain in my heart overtakes the pain in my body. I have no idea how long I lose it for, but I’m startled by a loud bang and the sound of a door opening. Trying to get myself under control, I close my eyes and wait for whatever is about to happen.

  “Wakey, wakey, you whorey little bitch,” a deep voice taunts and my body shakes, waiting for a blow that never comes.

  Turning my head, I’m met with the evilest pair of green eyes I have ever seen. I’ve never seen him before, and I hope to God I never do again. The man has a nasty snarl on his face and when I don’t respond, he reaches out to slap me, causing tears to slip from my eyes.

  With a sinister laugh, he reaches down to untie me, my wrists and ankles sore from the tight rope that was around them. Grabbing me by the hair on the back of my head, he pulls me from the bed and yanks me with him. His face is only inches from mine, and I’m forced to stare directly at him.

  “Time for some fun,” he whispers, lips curling into a horrifying smile.

  “What do you want? I don’t have any money. Why are you doing this?” I cry, trying to stop him. I’m so scared, and I have no idea what this man is capable of. But considering I’ve been stolen, beaten, and God only knows what else, he’s certainly capable of vile things.

  “What do I want? I wanted that sweet little girl who belongs to your sweetie, but you were the next best thing.”

  “Leave Lily alone! You try to touch even one hair on her head—”

  His fist makes contact with the side of my head and my vision grows dark, but I fight to the surface. The smile is gone from his face and he’s pissed. Really pissed.

  “You listen to me, you fucking cunt. You are mine. I fucking own your filthy ass now. Fucking Dana screwed this entire plan to hell, and she’ll fucking pay for that. But you, my dear? You’re mine to do with as I so please, and it just so happens that my boys haven’t had a chance to, how shall we say it, release the tension. That’s where you come in.”

  I’m hazy but I have to push through it.

  “Dana? Lily’s mother? What does she have to do with this?”

  “Oh, you stupid fucking clueless girl. Dana is the reason for all of this. Lily was supposed to be mine, but you got in the way last time. We decided you were a good enough second place. You understand?”

  “Please, you can let me go. I won’t tell anyone, I promise. No, please!”

  Dragging me by the hair, he hauls me up the stairs I didn’t notice before and I kick the entire way up. My body is crying out with each step, but I can’t let him do this. I have no idea why Dana would want this man to have her daughter, and I can only pray that she screwed up enough for the police to catch her.

  Once we reach the landing, he shoves me hard across the floor and I go sprawling into the living room. Looking around, I see at least three other men. There are drugs and empty bottles of booze everywhere, and one of the guys glances to me after snorting a line of some white substance. Crawling backward, my back meets the wall and my teeth chatter. Please, no.

  “Well, fuck. Mark, my man, what do we have here?” The guy closest t
o me takes a swig of his beer, then stands to come crouch in front of me. I can smell the alcohol on his breath, and his pupils are completely blown. High on cocaine, no doubt.

  “This is Emerson, our new pet.”

  “Please,” I mumble, holding my hands up in front of my face.

  The man grabs my arms and pulls me to my knees. More tears fall when he starts unbuckling his pants, rubbing himself through the material of his jeans. Scrunching my eyes shut, I let my mind go to Levi. I was just with him hours ago—happy, in love, and safe. What the fuck is going on?

  I hear some of the men start hooting and hollering, and I begin to cry. At this point, I start praying for death, because anything would be better than being passed around as their personal sex slave or whatever they have planned for me.

  I won’t survive it.

  The sound of a zipper interrupts my thoughts, and my eyes pop open in fear. He frees himself and I fight the urge to vomit when he grabs my face. But before he can try to force himself into my mouth, I raise my right arm and punch him as hard as I can, right where it counts. A loud curse flies from his mouth and he drops to the floor, clutching himself as he howls.

  “Fuck you,” I grit out. But I know it was the wrong move when Mark comes over and backhands me across the face. Spitting out blood, I try to stand up but he kicks me in the side, pain stabbing through my stomach.

  “Stupid bitch.”

  I have no idea how many blows rain down, how many kicks. When one of them collides with my face, I’m thrown back into the darkness, and this time I welcome it. That way I won’t have any memories of them, won’t have to remember what they did.

  I need it to swallow me whole and not let me out until I’m safe.

  With Levi.

  Waking slowly, I find myself back on the bed in the basement, only this time I’m not tied down. I try to roll over but the pain lancing through my back stops me, tears springing to my eyes. My skin is covered in bruises, and God only knows what my face looks like. One of my eyes is swollen shut, and I can taste blood in my mouth. Lying in the dingy room, I allow myself to mourn what was my life.

  Clearly I’m not getting out of here alive. And if I do, I may as well die.

  Levi.

  Lily.

  My family.

  I’ve lost everything. My only saving grace is that Lily is safe with her daddy, where she should be. I pray that one day they find a way to move on without me. It hurts, imagining Levi with another woman, but he deserves to be loved and cared for. Lily needs a mother.

  “I’m so sorry, Levi. So sorry,” I cry, dispensing of all my fears. “I thought I was doing the right thing. I wanted to keep Lily safe. I miss you so much, Levi. I’m so scared. I don’t want to die. It’s just not fair. I want to be home with you. I want to feel your arms around me, telling me everything is okay.”

  Covering my face with my battered hands, I cry louder, not feeling the pain anywhere else but my chest. “Please tell Lily I love her. I was ready to be her mommy forever. I wanted your last name, wanted forever with you. It’s not fair! I love you, Levi Jackson. You were the only thing in life that I wanted, and now I’ve lost it. Please don’t forget me.”

  My whispers break off as I start to fall asleep again, the pounding in my head growing too strong to fight the darkness. I welcome it; it’s the only place I feel safe.

  The only place they can’t touch me anymore.

  Levi is waiting for me there.

  I have no idea how long I’ve been here. It could be hours, could be weeks. Since the last beating, they’ve left me alone. My mouth is completely dry and my stomach aches, growling and in pain. I keep praying that they’ll just let me go, but I know there’s no chance of that. They’re probably just waiting for my body to heal so they can try to rape me again.

  I open my eyes, my vision blurring as I look around the room for some sort of escape. But there is none. As carefully as I can manage, I stand on shaky legs, body crying out in agony. My teeth shake with my pain and anguish, and I force myself to take step after step. It takes me forever but I finally get to the stairs Mark dragged me up.

  Each step hurts, my breath coming in ragged pants. I’m light-headed and bordering on passing out. It hurts to breathe, hurts to move, and I fear that I won’t make it. But with every searing rip of pain, I think of Levi. I think of Lily.

  I need to get out.

  I need to survive.

  Finally, I make it to the top step, hands shaking as I reach for the doorknob. I fight back sobs of relief when it opens. Those assholes made me think I was locked up, when really I was free to get out. In the back of my mind, I should know this is a trap, but the desperate part of me ignores it, shoving the door open.

  Wrong move.

  “Well, look who’s awake. Hello there, Emerson. Ready to get started?”

  “Let me go,” I force out, voice cracking and weak.

  “I don’t think so. Come sit on my lap.” Mark pats his legs, laughing when another man waltzes into the room. It’s the one I punched.

  “No.”

  He reaches for me and I stumble back. Grabbing me by the upper arm, he yanks me to him, brushing my hair off my face.

  “This time I’m gonna get what I want. And what I want is to fuck this perfect mouth for as long as I want. Got it?”

  I shake my head and he grabs my face, pinching my cheeks.

  “I fucking said got it?”

  Oh, Levi. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.

  As carefully as I can manage, I nod, tears falling down my cheeks. He grins at me and my stomach lurches. Before I can stop it, I vomit all over him, crying with the pain.

  “What the fuck?” he shouts.

  “Please, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

  “Someone hasn’t fucking learned yet.” Grabbing my hair, he yanks me back over to the stairs, dragging me halfway down them. I fight him the whole way, not wanting to be back down there, but he shoves me the rest of the way. Falling to the hard ground, I cry out when my head hits, stars crashing across my vision. I hold up a hand, trying to stop him, but everything goes quiet. I don’t want to go back to the darkness, because this time I’m scared I won’t leave it.

  I don’t want to die. Not like this.

  CHAPTER 19

  Levi

  THREE DAYS.

  Emmy has been gone for three days. We’ve sat vigil day and night at my parents’ house, waiting for any news. Detective Warren, the lead on the case, just called me ten minutes ago to let me know they finally have something and he’ll be here soon. Lily is playing a board game with my parents, and Emmy’s parents are due any time now.

  I called Elliott and Callie right after telling my parents, and they immediately raced over to the house. They took one look at me and Callie started sobbing, hugging me tightly. I kept apologizing over and over but they stopped me, saying it wasn’t my fault.

  But that’s not true. It is my fault.

  I should have been home. I could have done something. I hate feeling so helpless. I’m staying in my old bedroom and Lily has been sleeping with me, her tiny frame curled up to me every night. She won’t leave my side unless she’s with my brother or mom.

  Sydney came rushing over after Em’s parents got here. She’s been my rock, sitting with me through countless interviews, holding my hand when the detectives told us they had no leads.

  It’s been hell. Completely. I hope whatever news Warren has for us is actual news, not the promise that they’re trying. I’m wrung out and don’t know how much more I can take. They’ve cleared my house, so technically we can go back, but I just can’t. She may not have moved in all her stuff, but that was Emmy’s home too. Our home. And I can’t go back without her. It doesn’t feel right.

  The sound of the doorbell ringing a few minutes later has me standing up and moving to open the front door. Expecting to find Callie and Elliot, what I find has my jaw dropping.

  Dana. Filthy and looking completely strung out.

&
nbsp; What the actual fuck?

  “Levi,” she begins, wringing her hands together.

  I step onto the porch and close the door behind me.

  “What are you doing here? After all this time?”

  “I heard about your girlfriend and I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I fucked up, Levi, letting you and Lily go. I shouldn’t have—”

  “Excuse me? You fucked up? You’re sorry? My girlfriend? What the fuck, Dana? How do you even know about Emmy?”

  “Please, Levi. I just… I need some money. I haven’t had a hit in hours and I’m dying.”

  “So you came to me? The man who has raised our child alone after you abandoned her? Yeah, smart fucking decision.”

  I advance on her and she shrinks back. She’s taller than Emmy by a good four inches, but she somehow looks smaller now that she’s in front of me. I can see fresh track marks on both her arms, and I’m sickened by it. Grabbing her upper arm, I twist her around so her back is against the house. Leaning down, I’m in her face and I see a flash of fear come over her.

  “You want money? You need to shoot up that fucking badly?”

  Frantically, she nods, her entire body shaking.

  “Then you’re gonna fucking tell me why you’re talking about Emmy. Do you understand me?”

  Nodding, she opens her mouth, but before she can get another word out, Detective Warren’s car come pulling into the driveway. Jumping from his car, he jogs over to me.

  “Levi, we need to talk.”

  “Gotta wait, Detective. My ex-girlfriend was just telling me some interesting things.”

  “Levi...”

  “No, she needs to finish talking.” I turn back to Dana and she’s shaking uncontrollably, eyes still distant. “Tell me,” I roar, back in her face.

  “I need—”

  “You either need to tell me what you know or get the fuck outta here. Now.”

  “Fine, asshole. Then I hope she gets what she deserves.”

  I go still, and my heart begins to race.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” I watch the blood drain from her face and realization dawns on her that she just said too much. “Tell me now.”