Dear Emmett

Chapter Twenty Five - [The Morning Before.]

There was a long, drawn out silence in the kitchen after he left.

At first, there was an anger that bubbled up in my stomach that he walked away from me. He had gotten that upset. But the more I thought about it, the more that I realized that he had every right to be mad at me.

I had gone into that house, knowing what Kira's father was capable of. Knowing that he was an alcoholic who abused his only child. His defenseless child. If Kira's father got that angry over whatever small mistakes a child made, how angry would he be if he found out I had been brought into their home?

What would have have done to me if he'd found me in his house? What would have happened to...my baby? I swallowed hard, the guilt washing over me. There was nothing wrong with helping Kira. I didn't feel guilty for that, but I should not have walked into that house alone. I should have called Emmett or called the police or done something other than impulsively walk into the house.

I knew that Emmett shouldn't have raised his voice at me. There were other ways to express anger than that. And he did have a right to be angry. We both had things to apologize for. We both should have made other choices, and that made my anger dissolve.

Leaving my dinner and his untouched on the table, I got up from the table and followed the path that he had taken upstairs. Emmett was sitting on the opposite edge of the bed, with his back to me so he didn't see me approach him. He was looking out of the window.

Sighing, I walked around the bed and sat down next to him. For a while, neither of us said a word. We just sat there. Even in the wake of the argument, his presence - he was just a few inches away from me - made my heart race.

"I'm sorry," I said honestly.

"You don't-" Emmett began, but I cut him off.

"No, yes I do," I interrupted gently. "I'm not going to apologize for helping Kira. I'm glad I did. But you're right, I should not have gone into that house alone. I should have found a different way. I put my baby and I in danger, and that wasn't smart."

For a moment, I thought that he might not say anything. But just when I was about to speak again, he reached over and grabbed my hand. I felt my stomach somersault as he brought it up to his mouth and kissed it. Before he spoke, he held my hand in his lap.

"You are generous and kind hearted and I love that about you. I think that made you want to help Kira more than you thought about what might have happened. While I wish that you would have asked me to help, I shouldn't have gotten so worked up about it so quickly. I'm sorry."

I leaned over, putting my head on his shoulder.

"You just got scared, Emmett. I understand that. You did the same thing I did. You reacted on one of your basic personality traits - being protective - just like I acted on being kind hearted. We just both acted before we thought."

He smiled then, reaching over with his free hand and pushing some bangs out of my face and tucking it behind my ear. He kissed the top of my head.

"Let's just both be more careful."

"I promise not to go back to her house alone," I said.

"Enough of that talk," He said, getting to his feet and pulling me to mine. "Let's go finish our dinner, baby. My mama said we still need to fatten you up."

My boyfriend and I walked downstairs together, all hard feelings forgotten. We ate our dinner with a round of happy chatter and watched a movie together in the living room.

"Has your mama tried to talk to you?" He asked.

"No, and I'm glad for that. I'm done worrying about her. About what she thinks about everything, about why she's not texting me and especially about why she's choosing Chris over me. It's just not worth it."

"I'm glad, Charlotte. You're right. She isn't worth it. I can understand her wanting you to make different choices than what you're making, but she doesn't have a right to try to shove her opinion down your throat."

"Thank you," I said, leaning over to kiss him.

The last few days of staying with Emmett went smoothly. I was itching for Aunt Lauren to get back, wanting to talk to her about Kira. Emmett did not say that I could not help her; only to not go to her house.

I knew that he wouldn't prevent me from helping her, especially when such a little girl was in danger. He was not being controlling, nor was Emmett a possessive man. He was just trying to protect me, and me springing what happened to him was a shock. He was surprised, and reacted according to that surprise.

But what happened when I told Emmett no longer mattered. We both talked about it, apologized for our individual actions and decided to move on.

Emmett dropped me off on Sunday evening, and Aunt Lauren was waiting on the porch for me. I kissed him goodbye, grabbed my bag and ran - as best I could - toward my aunt. Unlike when I saw my mother, I was excited to see her.

I hugged her hard as I listened to Emmett's truck drive away.

"How was your week?" I asked.

"Long. I had fun, but I missed you. I missed my home and my regular job."

We walked inside, chatting about what we had each done on our week apart. After chatting heartily for a while sitting at the kitchen table - her drinking a beer, me having some sweet tea - I brought up the subject of Kira.

I told her what had happened, and she wasn't happy about me going into the house alone either. I told her what Kira had told me and what I had done for her, and also included the aftermath as well.

"I am going to watch Kira's father very closely. We've all had our suspicions before, but never any solid proof. We can never get that little girl to talk. She openly told you - and invited you into her home - which makes that legal evidence. When I go back to work tomorrow, I will grab a statement report so you can write it down and sign it. Is that okay?"

"Of course, of course."

"Good. I wouldn't make you do anything you don't want to do. After that, we'll watch him very closely. If he steps one toe out of line or if I see anything wrong with Kira, he will be brought in. There is a very good couple in town that has been dying to adopt."

"Thank you," I said.

So we began the wait.

Aunt Lauren began to wait for Kira's father to do something so that they could pick him up. I waited for Kira to call me or for me to see her hurt in someway.

But we got nothing.

Kira's father seemed to be on his best behavior. Or at least, slightly better than his normal behavior. Whenever I saw Kira in public, she did not seem hurt nor did she seem like she was starving. (I discreetly had found out from the fruit stand owner that his fruits stopped disappearing.)

Three weeks after the I returned from Emmett's house, I woke up that morning feeling both confused and forgetful. I had something to do, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was.

For a few minutes, as I sat on the edge of my bed, I tried to think of what was happening today. What was so important about today. Putting my hands on my expansive belly, I stood up and walked to the calendar.

It was Wednesday, August 24th. I was exactly five months pregnant, and it was the date of my next doctors appointment.

Today, I would find out the sex of my baby.

Author's Note: Wow...Wow, wow, WOW.

Some of you seriously turned on Emmett SO freakin' quickly. He got called possessive, controlling, verbally abusive, an asshole, etc, etc for just this one argument. I am honestly disappointed some of you jumped ship so quickly on him for this. Give the guy a break, will you? His girlfriend, who is pregnant with his baby, went into the house of an abusive drunk alone. Anything could have happened to her, and the baby. All this information was sprung on him rather quickly. He was surprised, and reacted to being surprised. I had thought that some people would have thought about that before they jumped down his throat so quickly.

But I suppose I know his heart and his personality and where the story is going, so I know this because I'm the author. So I will give you guys that because you have no idea what's going to happen when I do.