The Rescue

by Izzy Daniels

  “I could never hate you, Emma,” he says. He pauses once more to take a steadying breath. “I missed you all this time. It might be silly but I have an entire box of birthday cards and trinkets from over the years for you. I would just be in a shop and something would catch my eye and I’d know it was for you. I also have your mother’s things from your old apartment. I wasn’t sure if you’ve been able to visit her grave or not. I had a small funeral for her, but you’d already been taken away.” Her grave . My breath catches. I’ve never let myself think about where she would be buried because it just hurt too much. Hot tears spill down my cheeks.

  “I would really like to visit it,” I tell him when my voice starts working. He nods and puts his hand on my shoulder to comfort me. I believe he needed to say things as much as I did and to hear that I never blamed him. Over the next few hours we share memories and swap stories, and slowly, the hole in my heart, so vast for so long, gets smaller and smaller.

  16

  Brooke

  Emma is practically buzzing with elation as we pass through the sliding glass hospital doors. It’s Monday morning and she’s just been released. I can tell she’s sore but she’s still so happy to be out of there. Hell, I’m so happy she’s out of there.

  “Getting out of there is the best birthday present ever. Thank you so much for driving me home,” she tells me. She pulls my hand into her own as we walk through the parking lot. I love when she touches me. Every moment since I found her on the floor, my mouth has been desperate to tell her I love her, to tell her how much she means to me. I was scared that I lost her. I haven’t been able to come to terms with the fact that I let her be abused right under my nose. I’m so angry with myself for missing the signs. She thinks I should be angry with her, but she couldn’t be more wrong. Every mark on her body that I dismissed as her just being pale and easy to bruise, that she was always running into things, I wish I could undo. I think about all the lonely nights I spent wondering if she’d ever love me while she was being beaten and I want to hurl. How could I have been so self-centered?

  “Are you sure you want to go there?” I ask her again. “I can just grab your things while you wait in the car.” She agreed to stay with me at my apartment. Even though that sonofabitch is in jail, I wouldn’t be able to sleep if she stayed there by herself. I tried to make it sound like her staying with me would be a temporary thing until everything fell into place, because I didn’t want her to freak out. The truth of the matter is that I want her by my side all the time. I want her to move in with me permanently. Not because of the circumstances, but because I have wanted her to since we’ve became official. Before I knew what was happening to her. I’m all in with her.

  “No, it’s really fine. I promise,” she reassures me. She’s quiet during the drive there, so I simply rest my hand on her thigh to give her my support. Her good hand clings to it. I slow to a crawl when I turn onto her street, trying to ease the house into view, just in case it triggers anything. When we pull into the driveway she finally speaks.

  “It looks so small,” she whispers. Her eyes take in the house and the pale, cloudless sky above it. “I used to get such a sense of dread coming here. It’s never looked this small before.” She seems to be having a moment and I don’t want to disturb the moment, so I just stay quiet. Emma doesn’t say anything else though, just opens the jeep door and eases out, holding her stomach. I quickly follow behind her, holding her arm as we walk to the door. Unbidden images from the last time I opened it take over and a wave of nausea sweeps through me. Her scream was so blood-curdling, so haunting. I can almost hear the echo of it as we step inside. If I’m feeling that, I can’t imagine what she must be going through.

  She tells me to wait in the living room while she collects her things, so I just stand uncomfortably in the center of the brown carpeting. My eyes dart around, taking in the well-used chair, the dusty t.v. stand, and the small kitchen. I slip my hands into the pockets of my baggy jeans and turn to look out the living room window. I take in the houses across the street. It looks like any suburban neighborhood. I watch a guy locking his front door before slipping into his four-door sedan. Suddenly, I’m pissed again. How can these people be living across from this monster hurting an innocent girl and never have done anything? I’m irrationally angry at them, I acknowledge that but it doesn’t stop it. I fume at the injustice and my hands clench, making fists inside my pockets. I hear movement behind me and Emma is standing at the end of the hallway. Her face is flushed from exertion and her hair is all tangled up, but she’s still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

  “Would you maybe possibly help me? With the bag?” She asks shyly, holding her cast to her torso. I move into action and meet her at the entrance of her room where I see a medium sized duffle bag. Her room is still a wreck. Her dresser drawers are still strewn everywhere, papers scatter the floor, and there is a small hole in the drywall. I don’t want to be here anymore. I grab the bag and don’t look back into the room. Emma locks up as we leave and she takes one last glance at it. Jack has already moved her car to his house, so there’s nothing left here for her.

  “You alright?” I ask.

  “Yeah, I think so. Or I will be,” she answers. She gives me small smile, which is all I can ask while we stand in the shadow of her past. I pull back onto the street and slide my hand onto her thigh again.

  “Then let’s get the fuck out of here,” I tell her. She laughs as I hoped she would.

  When we arrive at the apartment, Morgan is already there. She’s standing in my kitchen setting some plates onto the counter. There are over a dozen inflated balloons floating around my apartment and the white box on the counter. I walk over to it and see it’s a cake, reading ‘Happy 1st Birthday, Emma’.

  “Hey, Morgan, why does this cake say ‘Happy 1st Birthday, Emma’?” I ask her.

  “Duh, dummy, you get a discount for your first birthday cake,” Morgan replies. “It’s marbled so shut your face.” Morgan moves out of the kitchen and gently hugs Emma. “Emma, I’m so glad you’re okay.”

  “Thanks, Morgan,” she says. “This was all very thoughtful of you.” Emma grabs a balloon and takes a seat on the couch. Morgan sits down next to her and starts telling her about the time when she was four and a balloon popped and she pooped herself. I roll my eyes at Morgan and carry Emma’s bags to my room. Our room . I’ve already cleaned out the top two drawers and made space for her in the bathroom. It’s wrong to feel this excited to have her here, considering why she agreed to move in with me, but I still am. Obviously, I’m a terrible person. When I walk back out, I catch Emma laughing at something Morgan said and my breath catches at the way she looks when she smiles. She does that to me so often I should be used to it by now. Actually, I hope I never get used to it .

  These last few months, getting to know her, falling in love with her, have been the best of my entire life. Now that I’m here, that I’ve gotten a real taste of love, I can’t imagine my life any other way. Every road I traveled moving state to state, every painful moment with my family and their rejection, every decision, it all brought me to her. I truly think they brought me to her at just the right time, for both of us. Fear clutches my heart when I think about what would have happened if I hadn’t shown up at her house when I did. It’s too much to think about the possibility of her beautiful light forcefully extinguished from this world before she had a chance to even live in it. I never gave much thought to divinity or fate, but she makes me believe. How could my life have ever gone a different way when I know I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be?

  We light some candles and sing the Happy Birthday song to Emma. She blushes the entire time. Afterwards, we spend time chatting, laughing, and eating cake with Morgan, who has been interrogating Emma on everything about Jack. We’re going to set up a double date with them so they can officially meet soon. After a few hours, I can see Emma starting to wince every so often. I check the clock and realize she can take her next dose, so I
grab a water bottle and her prescription and bring them over. She takes them gratefully and I turn to Morgan.

  “Alright, I think we should let Emma rest,” I propose. “Thank you so much for coming over and feeding us. I’ll give you a call later?”

  “Yeah, you’re welcome,” Morgan says. “See you guys.” She grabs her bag and briefly catches Emma’s eye and winks at her. Emma smiles broadly before she sees me watching her and she hides behind a sip of her water bottle. I see the door shut behind Morgan and turn back to Emma.

  “What was that about?” I ask.

  “Huh? What?” Emma replies innocently.

  “The wink and your suspicious smile, that’s what,” I say.

  “‘Suspicious smile’? I can’t smile at our friend?” She inquires. She gives me her wide, blinky eyes.

  “You can…” I trail off because I can’t prove it, but there was definitely something behind that smile. I help her up and we walk slowly to the bedroom. I pull off her shoes when she lays down and she smiles at me. She holds out her good arm and I climb up next to her and she wraps it around me.

  “Thank you, Brooke. You’re amazing,” she whispers. I smile into her hair.

  “No, you,” I tell her. I can feel her poke my side.

  “Dork. Will you tell me a story while I fall asleep?” she asks. She always asks for my stories. “I love your voice, it soothes me. It’s a birthday request.”

  “Ah, is that so? Fine. Let me think of a good one,” I tell her. It makes me happy that she loves my voice. “Did I ever tell you the time I snuck into my brother’s car when he went on a date?”

  “No, but please do,” she says with a giggle.

  “Let’s see,” I begin. “I was about ten years old and I was really mad that he never hung out with me anymore. So I came up with a plan and a little while before he was going to leave for his date I snuck out and hid behind the driver’s seat. I stayed there for so long I thought my legs would fall off. When he finally picked up his girl, Tina, I had to listen to him nervously bumble his words. It was tragic.” Her breathing is deep and even, her body relaxes into me and I stay still, not wanting to disturb her. It isn’t long before my fatigue and her soft breathing lull me to sleep with her.

  …

  When I wake up it’s past dark and I immediately feel Emma’s absence. I pat around me but she isn’t in bed. I look around the room, but it’s mostly dark. I don’t see her and my heart starts racing with worry.

  “Emma?” I call out.

  “Ooohh Wooooo.. it’s the ghost of Christmas paaaasssttttt,” an idiot says spookily from the hallway.

  “Very cute, Morgan. Where’s Emma and why the hell are you here?” I demand.

  “I’m here, dear friend, because I’m in charge of getting you where you need to be,” she informs me. “Emma is safely with Jack, worry not.” She flicks on the bedroom light, blinding me. I throw my pillow over my face and curse at her repeatedly. “My, my, that’s no way to talk to the Lady Secret Keeper.” When the stinging in my eyes passes, I peek out of my pillow at her. She’s leaning against my doorframe with her familiar cheshire cat grin on her face.

  “What are you talking about?” I ask.

  “Ah-ah-ah, tsk tsk, ‘what are you talking about, Lady Secret Keeper,’” she reprimands. I sigh in frustration at her but I realize that if I don’t play along she’ll never tell me what the fuck is going on.

  “Alright, fine,” I say. “What are you talking about, Lady Secret Keeper?”

  “Sorry, can’t tell you,” she says with a shrugs and then has to duck out of the way of the pillow I throw at her. Morgan then huffs at my rude hand gesture. “We have just under forty minutes, you might want to go shower.”

  “Oh my god, Morgan! For what?!” I shout at her. She just smiles and walks back towards the living room.

  “The clock’s ticking. Chop chop,” is all she says in response. I throw the blankets off of me and stand up. I kinda want to throttle her until she explains what the hell is going on but instead I head to the bathroom and take a shower as fast as I can. When I step out of the bathroom I hear her on the phone, she pauses with whatever she was saying and hollers at me.

  “Wear something cute!” she tells me. As if I have anything that’s not cute . Since I have no clue where she’s planning on taking me, I opt for a pair of black skinny pants, an untucked white button down, and a gray tweed blazer.

  “Alright, I’m ready. Can you tell me where we’re going at least?” I request and slide my feet into my boots. When I grab my bag I pull out my phone to check it, no new messages and it’s a 6:45 p.m. God, I slept forever .

  “Nope. Let’s boogie,” Morgan says as she opens the front door. I growl behind her, but I have no choice but to follow along. When we get to my jeep she holds out her hand. I stare at it and then at her.

  “What?’ I ask her.

  “Your keys.”

  “My what? No. No way are you driving my jeep,” I tell her. I pull my keys closer to keep them safe.

  “Uhhh, hello, yes I am,” she replies. “How else do you expect to get to the secret location?” She asks me like I’m the crazy one here.

  “Here’s a thought, you tell me where we are going and then I drive us there and I don’t shove you out of the car while the vehicle is in motion. Sounds good to me,” I say with a nod.

  “Wow, you are so grumpy when you wake up from a nap,” she observes. “Here’s a different thought, you can stand here all night wondering what surprise your loving friend Morgan had cooked up for you after she leaves you in the cold?” I’m this close to stomping my feet in frustration. No one drives my jeep. Accept maybe Emma, but she’s special. I raise my eyes to the sky and finally hand over the keys. “You made a wise choice.”

  She wants me to kick her. I get into the passenger seat and watch her adjust my mirrors and chair before finally turning the key into the ignition. She gives me a wicked smile and I click my seat belt into place. I hold onto the seat for the entire drive, even though, I admit, it wasn’t that bad. Not that I relaxed and thought we weren’t about to die the whole time. But when we pull into Giorgio’s, I’m even more confused.

  “We’re getting dinner? That’s the big secret?” I ask her, but she doesn’t reply. She gets out and closes the driver’s door so I hop out, too. She hands me my keys back and puts her hand on my shoulders and looks me square in the eye.

  “No, we are not getting dinner,” she responds. “Emma’s waiting for you inside. Go on.” She pushes off my shoulders and steps out of the way. I start for the door but realize she’s not coming with me.

  “Aren’t you coming?” I ask her over my shoulder. She shakes her head. “Wait, then how are you getting back home?” She smiles.

  “Don’t worry about me, I got it covered,” she says. Morgan jabs her thumb to the right and I look over and see Jack. He waggles his fingers at me but I just send him a puzzled look. I start to say something to Morgan but she’s already halfway across the parking lot. I shake my head and walk to the entrance of the restaurant. Towards Emma.

  Before I pull on the handle I notice the sign in the window that says Closed for Private Party. I hesitate for a second, hoping I don’t interrupt the party. Is Emma working the party? I know she has the work ethic of a mule, but with a broken hand? When I step inside, I notice that all of the lights on the right side of the restaurant are off and the ones on left are dimmed to near dark but every table on the left side has a warm glow from the little lanterns. I don’t know how but there are white stars all over the ceiling. It looks as if they are light projected up there and my perplexity escalates. I look around for Emma and I find her watching me from the kitchen doorway. My heart jumpstarts and thought escapes me. Her hair falls in loose waves behind her and she’s wearing spaghetti strap white dress. As she gets closer, I can see the sparkle in her. It’s mesmerizing.

  “Hi,” I whisper breathlessly. She pauses before me.

  “Hi back,” she whispers in return. “
You look amazing.”

  “You look beautiful in that dress,” I manage to get out. “I’m having trouble forming thoughts. What exactly is going on? There’s some kind of secret happening.”

  “Come on, I’ll show you,” Emma answers. She leads me by the hand to the center of the lit side. There’s a table for two set up. There are four plates on the table, all covered with silver lids. A bottle of white wine is resting on ice and two delicately stemmed glasses are next to it. She pulls out a chair and has me sit in it. When she takes her place across from me, she takes a deep breath. She looks a little bit nervous. I peek under the smaller of the lids and it takes a second but I recognize it. It’s crostata di limone, the dessert that she picked for me the day I met her. “Hey, no peeking,” she tells me. I let the lid go, a big grin threatening to take over my face. To suppress it, I reach for the wine and pour some into our glasses. I only pour her enough for two sips though, because she’s still taking her prescription for a few more days. She notices and smiles at me

  “You took me to the sea recently so I thought it might nice if I brought the stars to you,” she tells me, looking up at the ceiling. There are hundreds of glowing stars and they reflect off the metal lids. It’s a really beautiful effect.

  “You’re sweet, but it’s your birthday. I thought we were going to order in and watch movies,” I remind her.

  “I know, but I had something important to tell you and it kind of needed a grand gesture,” Emma says. Important? Good or bad?

  “Okay, I’m listening,” I tell her. She takes a deep breath and adjusts herself in her seat. She places her hand on mine.

  “I’ve never known anyone like you,” she begins. “From the start, you blew me away with your strength, your generosity, your beauty. But as I’ve grown to know you, I’ve also learned a lot about myself. I still have such a long way to go, with healing inside and out. But you’ve never left my side. You told me you loved me and I spent so much time trying to convince you that you can’t, that I never stopped to understand what I felt for you.” Her gaze falls down to the table in front of her and my heart is ready to beat right out of my chest. When her blue eyes meet mine again, I can see right into her soul. All of her walls are down and I can see everything.