by Mj Fields
Emma walked into the hall and responded to several text messages.
���I���m done,��� Maddox whispered loudly.
Brody sat up, ���You���re awake?���
���Yes,��� Maddox smiled, ���Mom���s going to sneak in fast food.���
���That was a secret,��� Emma smiled as she walked in, ���But first I have to take care of pee.���
���Thanks Mom,��� Maddox laughed.
Brody looked at Emma sadly, ���Don���t pout Brody, I ordered you some too.���
���Thanks Emma,��� Brody smiled and looked down.
���How are you feeling?��� Emma asked.
���Been better and worse so all is well, right Maddox?��� Brody looked at him.
���All is definitely well,��� Maddox smiled.
Clive walked in with the food and handed it to Emma, ���This will definitely help with the constipation caused by any medications they get.���
Emma laughed, and Clive laughed too.
Emma kissed Maddox and Brody, ���I���ll see you two later alright.���
���Where are you going, Em?��� Brody asked between bites.
Emma smiled and raised her eyebrows, ���Home.���
���Why?��� Brody asked.
Emma looked at him and whispered in his ear, ���You wanted me to leave Brody, and I am.���
Emma kissed him quickly and turned to Maddox, ���I will charge your phone and bring it back. Love you both and see you soon. Clive, the keys please.���
���You���re driving?��� Brody cringed.
���Yes,��� Emma grabbed the keys and left.
CHAPTER NINE
���It���s good isn���t it?��� Maddox asked Brody.
���I���m just not hungry,��� Brody tried to smile.
���She���s going to be okay Dad. This is over now,��� Maddox smiled. ���When she brings the phone, I���ll let you listen to the conversation. Rebecca was behind it all.��� Maddox said and took his last bite.
���I���m very proud of you; I just wish you had told me, Maddox. You could���ve died���you all could have died.��� Brody let out a slow long breath.
���She was paying Banks; she made sure you were set up. I���m sure he made sure you were hurt, you could have died too, but we are all okay.��� Maddox looked at him.
���Yes we are. Clive please make sure she made it home, call her now please,��� Brody ordered.
Brody was angry. He was trying to hide it from Maddox. He had been through enough, and Brody wanted to make sure he didn���t feel it was his fault.
���She is home and fine,��� Clive said as he walked in the room.
���Alright Maddox, now I am HUNGRY,��� Brody smiled. ���Don���t tell London about this.���
���I won���t,��� Maddox laughed and took the half Brody handed him.
* * *
Emma laid in bed watching the clock, but she couldn���t sleep. She needed to talk to Eli to see if the charges had been dropped. She needed to speak to the doctors to find out when Brody and Maddox could come home.
Emma sat up and made a list of things she needed to get done. Including contacting the school to set up testing for Maddox to let them know where he should be placed when he started school. She looked at the calendar and remembered this was normally the week she took London on vacation. It would also mark two years that she had known Brody. Emma sat back and took a deep breath and exhaled. She looked out the window, and the sun was finally peeking over the horizon, which also reminded her of Brody and sex, and then Brody and no sex.
Emma walked down the hall and stripped Maddox���s bed to wash the sheets and bedding. She folded the clothes that were in the dryer and put them away and went downstairs and cut up fruit.
Maddox���s phone was on the island, and she played the voice recording over and over again. Emma looked out the window to where she had shot and killed another human being, Brody���s sister.
Emma walked out the door with a bucket of water and bleach and searched until she found what she knew was blood. Clive and Henry had done a good job cleaning up; the ground was still damp and soft.
Emma sat the bucket down and went into the garage and found a hoe. She dragged the hoe lightly across the spot where Rebecca had died. As the sun shown brighter in the early morning she saw the outline of her body. Emma dug violently at the ground until she heard a voice from behind her. She picked up the bleach water and dumped it and continued to dig.
Henry grabbed her and held her as she cried, ���Princess, I���m so sorry.���
Emma clung to him and sobbed as he rubbed her back.
���It���s going to be okay now, you had no choice. You���re so strong Emma������ Henry���s soothing words continued as she cried.
���I need a tissue,��� Emma pulled away and wiped her nose on her sleeve.
She knelt in the dirt and mud mixture, ���Sorry, I���m so sorry.���
���Emma, your husband is on the phone. You need a tissue, a shower, and some sleep. Your daughter���s are still asleep, but you need some time to pull it together������ Henry stopped when she did not respond. ���Emma, the telephone is for you.��� Henry pulled her up.
���Daddy are they okay?��� She asked in a weak whisper.
���Yes, he just������ Henry stopped.
���Tell him I���ll call him back.��� Emma walked to the garage with the hoe and bucket.
���Brody she���ll call you back,��� Henry said and hung up the phone.
Henry followed her into the house and ran bathwater in the master bathroom.
���Thank you,��� Emma said looking through him.
���I���ll give you some time Princess.��� Henry kissed her head and shut the door behind him.
Emma stood at the sink and scrubbed her nails and looked up at her dirty reflection in the mirror. She took a deep breath.
Emma lay in the bathtub soaking and concentrating on breathing. The water was brown when she stood and stepped into the shower and washed her hair, shaved her legs, and stepped out.
Emma sprayed the tub clean and stood at the mirror again. She opened the drawer and grabbed the scissors and set them on the counter. She combed her hair, put it in a ponytail. Emma pulled her hair up and cut three inches off.
���Emma what are you doing?��� Caroline asked as she walked into the bathroom.
���Cutting my hair,��� Emma said and brushed it out.
She pulled it back into a ponytail and lifted it again and picked up the scissors.
���Emma stop,��� Caroline took her hand.
���I haven���t had a hair cut in a long time.��� Emma looked at her mother.
���Then we���ll go get one Emma,��� Caroline hugged her.
���I can���t go out Mom, not after what I have done,��� Emma whispered.
���Emma you protected Maddox and the rest of us,��� Caroline���s eyes grew damp. ���You had no choice.���
���Fine, but I want to cut my hair. That���s a choice I can make,��� Emma said and cut two more inches.
���Okay now sit, and I will fix it.��� Caroline took the scissors.
���I want highlights, Mom can you go to the store, I want to do it now������ Emma looked up still appearing to be in a daze.
���Emma, you should call Brody. He has good news.��� Caroline hugged her.
���He hates me Mom,��� Emma swallowed hard. ���He asked me to leave last night.���
���He doesn���t hate you Emma.��� Caroline hugged her tighter.
���He hates me,��� Emma whispered and began to cry.
���What color would you like?��� Caroline asked wiping her eyes.
Emma looked down. ���I have no idea.���
���Okay Emma, so you wait so that we don���t make an even bigger mess.��� Caroline looked at Emma���s hair and shook her head.
Emma watched her try to figure out what to do with it. She blinked her eyes and let out a breath. ���Is it a mess Mom?���
���Well���yes,��� Caroline laughed. Emma smiled, ���Then could you braid it?���
���I can try, but you just chopped five inches off your hair Emma,��� Caroline smiled and let out a breath.
���Okay ��� I can put it in a ponytail,��� Emma started to stand.
���Oh hell no,��� Caroline pushed her down.
Emma laughed, ���I cut my hair.���
���Yes and the more I look at it you actually did a good job layering it, was that what you were trying to do?��� Caroline asked.
���No,��� Emma smiled.
���Okay I���m going to French braid it to the side��� that should hide some of the���imperfections. I���ll call Carlos, and he���ll be here tonight. Don���t do that again Emma, you have beautiful hair.��� Caroline worked hard and tried to make it look presentable.
���Okay I���ll do London���s the same, get dressed Emma. Pull that strength you���ve had for months out of wherever it went and get ready. The girls are eating, and we need to go to the hospital.��� Caroline kissed her and walked out.
* * *
They all walked into the hospital room. London was aware that Brody and Maddox had been hurt. Henry had talked to Brody and told him that Emma didn���t want her to know anything about Rebecca until everyone was under the same roof again.
London walked quickly up to Brody and kissed him. ���You���ll have to give it to me straight later, alright Daddio?���
Brody kissed her, ���Sure thing London.���
Emma sat next to Maddox. He told her what the doctors had said. That as long as he didn���t lift anything he would be released at the same time as Brody, the next day. She hugged him and kissed him.
���That is perfect,��� Emma smiled at him.
Caroline handed Lexington to Brody. He held her and chatted with her as she tried to pull out his IV, and was fascinated by all the machines and lights.
The room fell quiet, ���Hey Em?���
���Hey Brody,��� Emma waved.
���Take me for a walk?��� Brody asked.
���I���ll talk to the doctor to make sure it���s alright.��� Emma started for the door.
���I have a wheelchair,��� Brody said loudly, stopping her.
Emma turned around and walked back. She put the chair in front of the bed, and he sat in it and wheeled it back and turned around. Emma took the handles and walked to the door. ���Clive, you should take off, here are the keys.���
���Thank you,��� Clive eyes showed concern.
���There is a small waiting room up here on the left Em. I would like to go in and chat with you,��� Brody looked up at her.
Emma held the door open as he wheeled himself in. Brody stood, walked to the couch, and sat.
���Sit Emma.��� Brody patted the spot next to him.
Emma hesitated for a minute and sat.
���Em are you okay?��� Brody whispered and took her hand.
���Yes I am.��� Her eyes stayed fixed on the tiled floor.
���I heard you this morning, early this morning. I talked to your father, Emma. Please don���t shut me out.��� Brody tried to hug her.
Emma scowled and sat back. ���You hate me.���
���Emma we went through this earlier and you know������ Brody began.
���And you asked that I go home, not stay here, not even a call. Clive called for you. I understand completely how you feel. I can promise you I���m angry at myself. I killed her Brody, I shot her, I emptied the gun, and I couldn���t stop!��� Emma yelled, ���I just kept shooting. I wanted her dead, a human being, and your sister!���
There was a knock at the door.
Dr. Green walked in, ���Sorry to interrupt, is everything alright?���
Brody looked up, ���It will be.���
���Tomorrow morning we can discharge you both. I���ll be stopping by to check you out for a couple days, and if everything is alright Maddox can start school on time,��� Dr. Green smiled.
Emma stood and hugged her. ���Thank you, for everything.���
Dr. Green returned her hug, smiled, and left them alone.
Emma grabbed the wheel chair. ���You ready?���
���No, Emma and neither are you, sit please.��� Brody closed his eyes.
���I don���t want to talk about it,��� Emma looked up at the fluorescent lights.
���Sit anyway,��� Brody insisted.
���I don���t want to. I want to get back to the kids,��� Emma said softly.
���I���m sorry if I hurt you Emma.��� Brody stood and winced.
Emma looked at him. ���We can do this a different time, Brody. You should sit and let me take you back.���
���No! Damn it Em, I was fucked up on pain meds. I was stabbed and locked up and then my entire family could have died! Em, you almost died! I would have shot the bitch until she looked like fucking Swiss cheese Em, but I couldn���t protect MY FUCKING FAMILY! My wife had to fucking do it! The person I promised a happy life, I let you down, again! And then there���s this fucking train wreck,��� he pointed to his lower half. ���What happens Em, if I can���t make you������
���Brody shh, please. This has nothing to do with sex if that doesn���t work any������ Emma sat next to him.
���Our life has a lot to do with sex Em. You even came in here with fuck me hair today, all fucking tied up������ Brody snapped.
���It���s a French braid Brody ��� you ass, it���s not ���fuck me��� hair. What the hell is������ Emma stopped when she heard a knock.
���Sorry to interrupt again Brody and Emma. We need to talk about what���s going on with your wound.��� Dr. Green sat down. ���So Brody has some stitches that will take about a week to heal properly, it’s very important that well, it is allowed time to heal.���
���Sorry Doctor but if this is about my lovely videos������ Brody was angry.
���Well not really, it���s more about what you were saying in recovery and that it could lead to possibly popping a stitch. I���m sure that you both hope that everything heals as quickly as possible. You also need to let us know when your sensation returns. Alright I think that���s it, oh one more thing, you should try to keep it down in here,��� Dr. Green walked out.
���What could I have possibly said in recovery?��� Brody snapped.
Emma looked down avoiding eye contact.
���Okay where were we?��� Brody asked, ���Oh yes, fuck me hair.���
���I don���t want to talk about it, we should get back.��� Emma stood.
���No! Damn it Emma,��� Brody stood to grab her. ���Fuck Em.���
&n
bsp; He sat down quickly and clenched his jaw.
���Brody see you can���t get all upset okay?��� Emma knelt down.
���My kid got fucking shot, my wife went all bad ass, and I got stabbed particularly close to my fucking manhood Em. That���s all I have left because you really don���t need my pathetic ass for anything else and you come here after���saving the fucking world. Having some sort of psychotic breakdown that I wasn���t able to help you through. And you won���t even talk to me about it, with two beautiful little angels making Maddox smile like he���s meeting the fucking Queen with FUCK ME HAIR, EM!��� Brody snapped.
���I cut my hair; it���s braided because it���s as much of a mess as I am. It���s not fuck me hair Brody. Can we go back now please?��� Tears began to fall as she looked at the floor.
Brody looked at her completely dumfounded for a moment. He pulled her towards him and hugged her.
���You cut your hair?��� Brody whispered as he wiped her tears.
���Yes, and I dug a really big hole in our yard. I bleached mud, which makes no sense anymore, but it did then, and I cut my hair off,��� Emma���s lip quivered. ���I���m so tired, I haven���t slept and you hate me, and I���m just…so tired.���
Brody hugged her tighter, ���I love you Emma.���
���You don���t have to.��� Emma wrapped her arms around him and cried, ���I���m sorry I killed your sister.���
���My love for you isn���t driven by circumstance or choice Emma. I need it like I need the sun.��� Brody kissed her softly, ���I need you in order to survive.���
���I love you,��� Emma said quietly.
Brody started unbraiding her hair. ���Brody don���t.���
���I want to see Emma,��� Brody continued.
He ran his hands through it and tilted her chin up. ���You look beautiful Emma.���
