by Cal, Sarah
Because of all the worrying, Emma barely got any sleep again, but she was up earlier than usual, and she skipped her morning shower to leave the bedroom and go prepare something for breakfast. She was earlier than even Harry, because she couldn’t hear anyone else moving around. But then, when she sat down to eat, all she could think about was that boy and how he’d looked before running away.
She couldn’t let food go to waste, though. And she would need the energy for the rest of the day. She forced the food down, feeling restless and somewhat guilty the entire time. If the boy didn’t show up... with how thin he had looked, she wondered just how long he would survive without a meal.
Which brought her back to her current distress, whether or not to go deeper into the woods and look for the boy, because she couldn’t just wait at the edge of the fields for him to show up this time, not for long, anyway.
Like he could read her thoughts, or maybe her anxious expression, Harry asked about him.
“Have you seen any sign of the boy recently?”
Emma grimaced. She’d have him in the house if she’d seen him again, somehow. “I haven’t seen him since Merry scared him off.”
“Then go look for him,” Harry advised.
Emma stopped walking, turning to him in confusion. “Wait, really?”
She had thought he would tell her to wait. He knew how skittish the boy was, as she did, and he’d been the one to tell her before that chasing after the boy would only make him run. Now he was giving her permission to go after him?
“It’s probably for the best right now. If your sister really scared him, he might be holed up somewhere by now in fright. I don’t think he’s come back for food recently, at least, not here.” Then he turned a knowing look her way. “And besides, you would never forgive yourself if you missed the chance and he never came back, right? I regret the lost time with my daughter.”
As he said it, there was the screech of tires. There was a battered old car heading into Harry’s driveway. Emma was immediately alert, but Harry held out a hand to her.
“You can relax—I know who the car belongs to.”
Harry ran for the car, and all Emma could do was watch in surprise. He’d said he didn’t know anyone in the area and didn’t get visits at all, even before the EMP strike. She watched as Harry came to a stop beside the car, staring at the young woman inside.
She got out of the car, tears staining her face. She ran for Harry and threw her arms around him, sobbing and saying, over and over;
“I thought I might never see you again!”
Emma came to the realization that the woman was Harry’s daughter. She must be, with how familiar they were with each other. Harry was hugging her back fiercely with a hand clenched in her hair, and though she couldn’t see his face, Emma could almost picture the look on his face.
Satisfied, now that she knew it wasn’t an enemy, she went near them. The woman pulled away from Harry and wiped at her face, her eyes landing on Emma.
“Dad, who’s this? What’s going on?”
Emma stopped a few feet away so she wouldn’t interfere with their reunion. They probably didn’t need her hanging around, but she stayed anyway. Besides, if his daughter would be staying with them, they would come to know each other soon enough.
“Things have changed since the EMP,” Harry said. “A lot of people have been stealing from my crops, and it’s simply too much for me to deal with alone. I met Emma’s group not that long ago, and they needed a place to stay, so they’re here to help.”
The daughter frowned at Emma with suspicion clear in her eyes. But then she shot her dad a look and noticed how open and trusting he was, and she softened slightly, clearly, she trusted her dad and his opinion.
She extended a hand for Emma to shake and introduces herself, “Hi, my name’s Anabelle.”
“I’m glad you came,” Emma said in answer as she shook the hand held out to her. “Harry missed you very much.”
At least this way, he’d experienced something he’d wanted for a long time, as well. Emma felt happy for him, truly, to have his own daughter back.
She was a little surprised this woman had made it all this way, along and with a car, and it made Emma wonder where she’d lived before everything went down, and what happened to her along the way. Her face, beneath her drying tears, was hardened, as were her eyes. Harry hadn’t seemed to notice, but Emma couldn’t miss it, because she assumed the same look was mirrored in herself.
Harry was grinning as he said, “We should all go inside and get a cup of tea.”
Chapter Seventeen:
They went inside the house, and Harry was insistent on getting Mercy something.
“I’m fine, dad,” she tried to protest, but he shook his head stubbornly.
“No. This is your first time back, and I don’t plan on taking it lightly. Please, have a seat, I’ll be back soon.”
It was rare that Emma saw him act so excitable, so she could only stand by and watch. The time he had showed off his crops came close, but it was nowhere near this level. But she could definitely see that he was happy, and she felt happy for him.
Her eyes moved curiously to Brianna, the prodigal daughter. Well, one of his children anyway, but from what Emma had told her, she was probably the one he had wished he could see the most, so he could apologize to her.
Technically, Emma still had to be out on patrol. She was worried about the boy and had been going out pretty much every day since Merry scared him off hoping to catch sight of him. But this was important to Harry, so she didn’t remind him that he needed to be outside, as well.
While Harry was out of the room, Emma and Mercy sat down together in the living room, the other woman looking around the house before her eyes fell on Emma again.
“I haven’t seen my father so happy since my mother died, you know,” she commented.
Emma wasn’t sure if the other woman was trying to make conversation, or accuse her of something. She had obviously expected to find her father alone, yet to find Emma there with him, and Emma carrying a gun, she couldn’t imagine what the other woman thought. And she hadn't even seen the rest of the group yet. Emma wondered how that would go over, since none of them seemed to be inside, or near the house. Her sister was either outside trying to help, or locked up in her room, Emma didn’t really care which.
“It’s not a surprise he’s so happy,” she finally said, her voice a little quiet, not sure if she was supposed to be talking back.
But when Mercy turned back to her, it didn’t seem like she was planning some interrogation. If anything, she looked at Emma with curiosity. And, Emma thought she could detect some insecurity in the woman’s eyes that surprised her.
Did she really think her father wouldn’t want to see her? Emma didn’t know what went on between them, exactly. The little Harry had told her only moments ago had been enough to paint a picture, but not an entirely clear one.
She didn’t understand how an argument could have gotten so out of hand that she didn’t want to be around her father anymore. In Emma’s family, arguments could usually be worked out. Well, aside from the one between her mother and grandmothers, that always seemed to run hot and cold. Though even then, it didn’t stop Emma’s mom from letting the siblings getting to know their grandmother, and Janice had visited them plenty of times as they grew up.
Emma didn’t know what she could say, or if she should say anything at all. She was definitely curious, though this was so obviously none of her business. She should get up and go do what she was supposed to be doing, patrolling in case they got any other visitors, but the look in Mercy’s eyes kept her where she was.
“It’s probably because he really did miss you.” Emma bit her lip, not wanting to interfere in this family reunion, but Harry had left them alone together so he probably wouldn’t mind them talking. “He’s told us a lot about his children, though he didn’t tell me about you specifically until literally seconds before you drove your car up. And it w
as about how he regretted missing time with you. Of course he’d be happy to have you back after that, right?”
She smiled and looked down at her lap with a sigh. “He was always a good dad, and I wish I’d listened to him instead of running off with a boy.”
Emma could tell by her voice, and the clench of her hands, even though her face was still ducked down, that there was a story there.
“Where’s your boyfriend?” she asked, not expecting something positive.
“He’s long gone,” she answered, sounding bitter. “Along with everything I own.”
Ah.
Then she sighed again and looked up at Emma with a desperate look. “I’ve wanted to come to my dad for years, but I thought he wouldn’t want to see me after my betrayal. After the EMP, I realized I couldn’t even phone him if I wanted to. It made my decision for me—I had to come to him and see if he’s okay.”
Harry returned then, unintentionally interrupting their conversation. He had a cup of tea that he put on the table in front of his daughter and ruffled her hair, still looking stupidly happy.
“Look at how beautiful you are,” he commented, part proud, part praise. “You look so much like your mother did at your age, you know? She would have loved to see you...” he sighed, sadness taking over his face for a second, but it was gone almost immediately. “Well, you’re here now and that’s all that matters.”
Mercy blushed, but took the comment, smiling tentatively at her father. But then the expression crumpled, and she looked like she could cry again.
“I am really sorry, dad,” she started to apologize. “For my long absence, for not listening to you before. For letting my stupid pride keep me away from you, until it was almost too late.”
But Harry just waved her words away. “We haves so much wasted time already—I don’t want to waste more on apologies I’ve already accepted. You must have had your reasons for not coming back, but I won’t hear them. All that matters, Brianna, is that you’re here.”
Mercy started crying again, and Emma thought it was meant to be a private moment between them when her father pulled her into a hug. Besides, she couldn’t just stay there any longer. Seeing them together, she was happy for them, but it still hurt when she remembered what she lacked.
Merry was the only family she had left, though she did consider Chase her family. But her parents, her grandmother, were all people lost to her. And Merry...
Her sister was problematic. Emma had been mad at her again for what she did, and they hadn’t talked much in the past few days. But watching Harry reconcile with his daughter after who knew how long, part of her wanted to go find Merry and apologize, then try to talk. Only, a bigger part of her—her pride—wouldn’t let her.
She smiled, a little bitterly. Mercy was a lot like her wasn’t she? Only she finally gave in to come and see her father. Emma knew she would never be the one to make that leap. Even Janice had done it, picking them up because she felt regret for the situation with her daughter that she hadn't managed to resolve before her death, then tried to talk to Merry when she couldn’t take the silence between them anymore, even though Merry kept rebuffing her. But Emma didn’t think she was that strong.
In that one thing, though, Mercy was lucky. She didn’t waste time, and she had the best dad. He hadn't kept a grudge at all, and Emma didn’t think that would change once she explained to him what happened with the boyfriend she ran off with. He’d probably be mad on her behalf and insist on coddling her some more.
He was a good father, and in a lot of ways, reminded her of her own. She sighed, feeling unrest in her heart.
But then she bumped into Merry, who had been standing outside the living room, eavesdropping on their conversation by the look that overtook her face.
She hadn't expected to come into contact with her sister so soon, and with them relatively alone. After what she’d just seen between Harry and his daughter, and the thoughts going through her mind, Emma almost softened her stance, before she firmed it. Merry had definitely been in the wrong, and it wasn’t helped with the fact that she had been eavesdropping on a private conversation. While Emma had been there herself, she hadn't exactly hidden the fact. Which made her wonder why her sister would.
Emma froze, not sure what to say to her sister. She should probably scold her for what she’d done, but after the display she’d just watched, her throat tightened and wouldn’t let words out.
Then she noticed Merry was crying.
Emma was instantly panicked. There were few instances where Merry cried, and besides when their grandmother died, it almost always had to do with a night mare. Her hands fluttered over her sister, looking her over to see if she was hurt anywhere. She didn’t even think about being angry anymore, because her instinctive response was to make sure her sister was fine.
“Merry, are you ok?”
Sound from the living room behind her reminded her where they were, and she took her sister’s elbow and walked her some steps away so they wouldn’t interfere with the father daughter reunion. Merry’s body shook with her near silent crying, and Emma had the urge to pull her sister into a hug.
Merry was the older sister, she was taller than Emma, though thinner, but the line had always been blurred between eldest and youngest, after the accident that changed their lives. Because her sister couldn’t cope, she had taken the big sister role plenty of times.
This time, though, she thought Merry needed to cry herself out. Emma wouldn’t allow it for herself, but if crying helped Merry in some way, then she was willing to encourage it. She patted her sister’s back, rubbing in a circular rhythm as she tried to offer comfort to her sister’s unknown distress.
“I’m fine, jut,” she hiccupped, wiping her eyes as she tried to get a hold of herself. “I know listening in like that was rude, but... I didn’t want to interrupt, and then I heard what they were saying.” She looked at Emma, through eyes that were still leaking tears and full of misery. “Hearing it just... made me miss our parents and Janice.”
Emma’s panic subsided, but it was replaced by sadness. Of course Merry would be thinking about it as well, she probably thought more about it than Emma did. She was the one that still had memories of the three of them dying, and while Emma felt guilty about their grandmother’s death still, Janice died taking a bullet for Merry.
Emma had thought briefly of them, too, and it hurt, but probably not to the extent that it did Merry with the added mental trauma that Emma had been lucky to evade in at least one of those instances. And she realized she had been doing it again, thinking selfishly instead of for her sister. Even if she was mad at Merry, it was too cold to just ignore her sister when she was obviously going through her own issues.
Instead of treating Merry like a child and calling her worries tantrums, Emma should have tried to talk her sister into her way of thinking.
“I understand,” Emma whispered, pulling her sister into a fierce hug, and Merry clung onto her. “I was thinking of them, too. But it’s a private moment for the both of them, so we shouldn’t interfere with that. And you never have think that you’re alone, okay? You still have me, and I’ve already promised that I’m not going anywhere.”
Emma comforted her sister, murmuring soothing words and telling her all about how she could never forget her big sis, carding fingers gently through her hair, working through the tangles. Finally, Merry gave a final sniffle and pulled away, her face looking red and splotchy when she let Emma see. And yet, Emma thought it was the healthiest her sister had looked in a while. She was usually too pale.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized, and Emma knew what it was for.
She smiled. “You know, if you want to rebuild your life and family, you should open up your heart to that little boy in the forest. Did I tell you Chase wants to be his guardian?”
Her eyes widened. “Then...”
“He didn’t say so in so many words, but we already sleep in in the same room. Even back home, we’ve been sleeping in the s
ame room since the EMP attack. So I think we’ll be raising him together. You can be a part of that if you want to, you know. I would never just shut you out.”
Merry’s eyes started watering again. “But after what I did, would he even still be there? You said he was skittish, if you haven’t seen him yet, he might have left, you know?”
“Or gotten lost,” Emma pointed out. “I don’t know how long he’s been out there, but probably not long enough to know those woods so well that he couldn’t get lost in them. He’s out there alone, Merry. His parents are dead, and it was recent.”
Her eyes widened. “He...”
Emma nodded, knowing what she wanted to say. With how the world currently was, with so much violence around, just about anyone would jump to the same conclusion.”
“Yeah, Merry, he’s like us. He’s an orphan, and he probably had to watch his parents die, violently, and it must have been weighing on him. It’s a wonder he’s managed on his own.”
Then Emma saw it, the guilt growing in her sister’s expression. While she didn’t want to hurt Merry further, she needed to realize what she did wrong and not try it again. When they came across the boy again, Emma wasn’t going to tolerate Merry scaring him off again.
“If he’s lost in the woods...”
“Then we’ll look for him,” Emma finished. “Just you and me. Please Merry? We can go right now and see if we can find him. It’s been a few days, maybe he’s relaxed enough to get near again. And Harry already said I could go look for him.
After some persuasion, Merry agreed, her face resolute as she said, “We should go and look for him.”
Chapter Eighteen:
With the two of them reconciled and more or less on the same side now, Emma made quick plans.
