K. Robinson - Twisted Ties

Bridge? Water? I tried to force my memories to appear, but still nothing came to me.

“I don’t remember the bridge,” I whispered.

“What do you remember?” he asked softly.

“Water, first. Please.”

His eyes widened. “Of course. I’m an idiot. Let me find the nurse.”

He was gone a split second later. Before I could even process the fact that he had disappeared, he was back. A woman appeared with him, carrying a pitcher. She smiled down at me.

“Emma, my name is Adrienne. How are you feeling?”

“I need water.”

“Of course. I’m sure your throat feels raw.”

I nodded as I watched her pick up a small cup from the table and then pour water into it. She pushed the button on my bed, so I was almost in a sitting position. I opened my mouth and sucked the water through a straw. I’d never felt something so amazing in my entire life. When the cup was empty, she poured more water and held the cup as I drank.

My throat still hurt, but it was bearable now. “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. How do you feel?”

“I hurt everywhere, but it’s not as bad as it was when I went to sleep.”

“You had several injuries when you came in, so we have an IV in with pain medication to help you.”

“What did she do to me?” I asked. I was terrified of what I didn’t remember.

The nurse frowned. “What do you remember, Emma?”

“A chair and a…a knife. She cut me. I remember her hitting me when she came to Jesse’s house and then later when I pushed her down the stairs.”

The nurse’s eyes widened.

“I was trying to get away. I didn’t mean to hurt her.”

“You were trying to protect yourself. Given your condition, it’s obvious that she deserved it.” She smiled. “That’s off the record, of course.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you remember anything else?” Jesse asked from beside me.

I struggled to see through the fog that clouded my thoughts. I needed to remember. I needed to know what else she’d done. She’d put me in a car trunk. I recalled the movement of the car as it drove over potholes. I remembered cold and darkness.

“My mouth was covered, so I couldn’t scream. I remember the trunk of a car, but then I can’t recall anything else.”

“Take your time, Emma. You went through a lot,” Jesse said as he took my hand in his.

I looked down as he joined our fingers together. I closed my eyes as I tried to remember the source of the coldness I’d felt.

“You were there. You tried to help me.”

He nodded. “I was.”

“Andy, too. She made me get out of the car even though it hurt. It hurt so much,” I whimpered as I remembered the pain. “My shoulder took most of the impact when she dropped me to the ground. We were on a bridge. She pushed me to the edge when she saw you and Andy. You tried to reason with her, but she wouldn’t let me go. You ran toward me, but she pushed me over before you could get to us in time. The water was so cold. I don’t remember anything after that.”

Jesse lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it. “I went in after you, but I couldn’t find you. I thought I was too late. Ally fell in, too, and Andy tried to save her, but he couldn’t find her. When I finally found you, you weren’t breathing. I almost lost you, Emma. I almost lost you.”

Tears ran down my cheeks as I stared up at him. We’d almost lost each other. Why had Ally done these things to me? Why had she hurt me so much? I remembered the cuts on my face. Unable to stop myself, I turned away from Jesse.

“Emma? What’s wrong?”

“My face,” I whispered. “She cut me. I must look horrible.”

He cupped my face and gently turned my head. “The cuts on your face were a lot shallower than the other ones. You still have black eyes, but the cuts have healed a lot while you’ve been asleep.”

“I’ll have scars.”

I wasn’t a particularly vain person, but the cuts bothered me. For the rest of my life, I’d see them every single time I looked in the mirror. They would be a reminder to both Jesse and me of what she’d done to me.

“No, you won’t, and even if you did, it wouldn’t matter. I love you, Emma. Nothing could change that, especially not something as superficial as scars.”

“I don’t want to remember.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. You’ve been through so much, and you deserve to forget.”

“Emma! Oh, thank God!”

I looked up to see my mother rushing into the room. She pushed the nurse aside, and then she hugged me gently.

“Mom? What are you doing here?” I asked.

She was the last person I’d expected to see here.

“Jesse called me. He called your father, too. We’ve been here since they brought you in. You terrified us, Emma. We thought you’d never wake up.”

“Where’s Daddy?”

“He had to make a phone call, but he’ll be back soon. I’m so glad you’re awake.”

“I’m sorry for what I said on the phone.”

“Don’t even think about that. I want you to concentrate on getting better.”

I couldn’t even begin to process the fact that my mom was here, and she was worried about me. She never worried about me. She’d barely noticed me most days.

“Why are you here?”

She gave me a puzzled look. “Why wouldn’t I be here? You’re my baby, Emma.”

“I didn’t think you’d care.” It hurt to say it, but it was true.

She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them to look at me. “I’ve messed up a lot when it comes to you, Emma. Jesse made sure to point that out to me when I showed up. I love you. I’m sorry if I made you feel like I didn’t. I’m just…I’m not good with feelings. I drove your father away first and then you.”

“You hurt me.”

“I know, and I’m sorry, Emma. I will do everything in my power to make it up to you. You mean the world to me. I’ve missed you so much since you left. I just couldn’t bring myself to beg you to come back after I threatened you. I never expected you to be strong enough to leave.”

“I am strong, stronger than I thought.”

She smiled. “You are. You’re stronger than anyone realized. Jesse told me everything that happened, both before he left California and then over the past few weeks. I’m sorry that I made you think you couldn’t talk to me about the things happening in your life.”

“You never wanted to listen. I didn’t tell you about Jesse because I knew you’d push him away. He wouldn’t be good enough for you.”

She looked over at Jesse. “I admit that I would have before. Seeing you in this bed and knowing he’s the reason you’re here and not at the bottom of a river made me realize that I owe this young man a lot. You’re an adult now, Emma, and I couldn’t keep you two apart even if I tried. I don’t want to though. I’ve watched him, and I know that he loves you.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

She smiled down at me. “You’re welcome.”

It was a start. My mom and I still had a long way to go, but we might be able to have something close to a normal relationship one day. It would take more than one apology to forget everything that she’d done to me. But if Ally had accomplished anything, it was to show me just how unpredictable and short life was. I had to let go of the hate I felt for my mother and start over. I couldn’t spend my whole life hating her.

The past two weeks had been pure hell. I’d sat helplessly as I watched Emma lay unconscious in her hospital bed. I’d never felt so worthless in my life. I would have given anything to see her open her eyes.

I’d only left to shower and shave. Andy would bring me food every morning and evening when he came in to check on her. I’d even slept in the damn chair in her room, so I would be there when she woke up. I had felt terrified that she’d wake up alone and scared. I never wanted to leave her alone again.

I’d had words with her mother when she arrived. I hadn’t wanted to call her, but I’d known it was the right thing to do. Her number wasn’t in Emma’s phone, so I had called Lucy to get it. Of course, Lucy had freaked out the minute I explained why I needed it. She’d wanted to come out, but she couldn’t due to her classes. I’d promised to call her as soon as anything changed.

Her mom had been cold to me at first when I called her. It had been obvious that she’d felt like I was wasting her time. Once I’d told her about Emma, her attitude had changed. She’d gone from cold bitch to terrified mother in two seconds flat. I hadn’t expected that reaction from her. She had shown up a few hours later, crying and holding Emma’s hand.

I couldn’t help but snap when I had seen her reaction. Why did Emma have to almost die to get that kind of attention from her own mother? I’d called Emma’s mother out on her pathetic attempts at parenting. There had been a lot of shouting. Emma’s dad had walked in right in the middle of it. The look on her mom’s face when he’d strolled over to me and hugged me was priceless. Up until that point, her mom hadn’t even bothered to ask who the hell I was. All she knew was my name and that I was one of Emma’s friends. When her dad had explained that I’d been with Emma for years, her mother had been speechless. She’d finally managed to thank me for what I’d done, but we were still uneasy around each other.

As far as I was concerned, two weeks of good parenting didn’t make up for nineteen years of nothing. She still had a long way to go in my opinion. I was just glad that she’d actually shown up. Emma was going to need a lot of support when she woke up.

I’d watched each day as the bruises and cuts slowly started to heal. Once I had calmed down enough to see the extent of Emma’s injuries, I wanted to kill Ally all over again. She’d tortured Emma. Ally had beaten Emma and cut her over and over again in less than twenty-four hours. I didn’t even want to think about what Ally might have done if she’d had more time. I didn’t want to think about watching her push Emma over the side of the bridge. I didn’t want to think about Ally ever again. I didn’t want to think period.