Untethered

1 | A Storm Inside

Rain pounded heavily outside the house, each drop creating a cacophony of noise that resembled the drum section of a large orchestra. It poured onto the tall sugar maple outside the front window, and dribbled back off again, spattering through the leaves and down onto the ground beneath. Water battered against the roof and windows. The sound of it all together created its own thunderous symphony.

Drip... drip... drip... the fat drops falling relentlessly echoed inside Emma Martello's head; a steady, deep thrum which soothed the ache in her heart slightly. She fiddled with the pearls around her neck and leaned her cheek against the cool glass of the large bay window, mesmerized by the patterns, the rivulets created as they streamed down the pane. It was a perfect reflection of her mood; no thunder, no lightning, no raging winds, just a relentless downpour. It was the kind of deluge that would wash everything away given enough time. Reflecting her mood, the sky offered little light or differentiation; it was a solid ceiling of dark grey that seemed to suck all of the light from inside the house.

She had been sitting like this for the duration of the wake. Watching the rain, and ignoring the other mourners filling the house. She didn't want any more sympathetic glances, or low toned words of comfort that weren't actually comforting.

If one more person tells me they're sorry...

The deep baritone of her brother's voice drifting through the room, was what finally caught her attention. He had just come in the door, his wide frame practically having to turn sideways to enter the house. She watched as he shucked off his jacket, after greeting a few distant relations, and then started lumbering toward where she was still perched on the window seat.

Evan, at thirty-one, was only older than her by three years. He was serious and brooding, even as a kid; a result of being the oldest, and growing up too fast. To Emma's dismay, though he adored her, he still treated her like his baby sister, rather than a grown woman. Though sharing a deep bond, their relationship was tumultuous. Still, he was all she had left now. As that thought crept through her mind, a fresh wave of tears pricked at the back of her eyes, threatening to fall. Evan arrived at her side just as they filled; one blink and they would pour down her face.

"Oh, Emmy... I'm so sorry, sis." Her brother's warm brown eyes were filled with compassion as he pulled her up into a tight embrace.

Evan Martello was average height, standing at 5'10, dwarfing Emma's 5-foot frame. He resembled a tank, or maybe a grizzly bear with slightly less hair, making the contrast between them even more stark. Most people assumed he worked on an oil rig, or as a miner, or lumberjack. They were always shocked when they found out that he was a partner in an ad company, which specialized in website design for outdoors and sporting goods companies.

Stroking her thick, curly hair with a gentleness that belied his rough-looking hands, he soothed her in low, murmuring tones, sharing in her misery. As her sobs subsided, he deliberated as to how he was going to drop this bit of news on her.

She is not going to be happy about this... Scratch that—she's going to go fucking ballistic.

Pulling her down to sit on the bench next to him, he kept his arm around her and steeled himself.

"Emmy..." his voice trailed off before he took a deep breath and continued, "Mom is coming; she refused to stay away."

She froze next to him and his spine stiffened as he felt it, bracing for the impending storm. When he and Em went to live with their grandparents after their father died, he was seven, just old enough to have some good memories of his mom. Emma was only four at the time. In 28 years, all the memories she had of her mom, embodied some form of disappointment and hurt.