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“Why are you telling me all this?”
Isn’t this something she should be telling Blue? It would ease her worry about mental illness and answer so many questions that have been terrifying her for too damn long.
“I’m telling my daughter… Through you. You’ll do what’s right and pass my message along.”
“Why me? Why not just tell—“
“Amélie will ask too many questions. The monsters never got to her and there are just some things I never want her to know. But you’re not asking those questions, are you?”
Get up…
You’re as worthless as your gold digger of a mother…
Earn your keep, boys…
My heart stutters in my chest, that keen blue gaze of hers holding me prisoner.
“You don’t have to ask. Because you already know. The same monsters got to you, too. That’s where the scars are from. Am I wrong?”
I shake my head and swallow hard.
My words are lost again.
Emma nods.
“That’s what I thought. The details aren’t important to you, but they will be to Amélie because she’s never been through it. If I told her the truth, she’d fight right along beside me, and I don’t want my daughter to have to fight my battles. Those are mine. I’m her mother, and my job is to protect her. Not the other way around.”
It’s my job to protect her not, too. Emma isn’t wrong about Blue. When she cares about someone, she’ll run into any battle right alongside them. It’s why I haven’t told her the worst of my secrets.
Emma tilts her head and smiles.
“It’s different for a husband and wife, though. Or two people who love each other. If you let Amélie fight with you, she’ll let you fight with her. I know that much about my daughter. It’s not easy for her to trust, but when a person proves that they’re worthy, she’ll give them everything she has in this world.”
I swear this woman is reading my mind. The conversation is surreal. Every question I have being answered without me having to ask. Is this what it’s like to have a mother who loves you?
Is this what I missed out on my entire life?
It makes me think of Ezra and the other guys. All of us came from screwed up families, and we cling to each other because of it. There isn’t a battle fought where all of us aren’t willing to jump into the fray and do whatever it takes to protect each other.
Emma sighs, her shoulders deflating a touch. “Just tell me you’ll protect her from now on. That my job is done, and I can rest knowing she’s safe.”
For once in my life, the words I need aren’t difficult to find.
“I promise you that you have nothing to worry about when it comes to her. I’ll never let anyone hurt her.”
Emma smiles. “That’s good. You’re a good man.”
One question does come to mind, though, so when she attempts to pull her hands away, I cling on, hopeful that the contact will keep her talking just a moment longer.
“Why have you never hugged Amélie?”
I don’t mean it as an insult or a condemnation. I’m genuinely curious how a mother who loves her daughter so much has denied her something as simple as a hug.
A sad look washes across Emma’s face.
Glancing out the window before she answers, she attempts a weak smile before saying, “It’s not that I’ve never tried. Amélie pulls away when I get too close to her. And I’ve never taken offense to it. Like I said, I know her. I think with her, it’s just that she has to trust someone fully before she’ll allow something as simple as a kiss or a hug. I frighten Amélie, but maybe someday, she’ll stop being so scared when she looks at me.”
Emma is just finishing the sentence when Kane walks into the room. He opens a bottom cabinet, then pots and pans cling together as he starts cooking breakfast.
