A Season of Firsts

Chapter 35, Part 1 - Love Your Enemies

Half an hour before December 31st

EMMA

I stand in the doorway of the hospital ward, a blanket wrapped around me and Aiden by my side. I rest my head against his shoulder as we both take in the image of an unconscious Blaze on the starch white hospital bed.

"I shouldn't be," I whisper, "but I'm glad he lived."

"Me too," Aiden replies. "I think he would have had more power over you if he had died."

I think I understand what he's saying. If Blaze had died tonight, his death would have haunted me forever, worse than the memories I already carry around with me.

My parents and Cleo and Daniel are waiting for us in Doctor Roberts' office. I don't know why, but I felt I had to see Blaze like this. Asleep and weak. Maybe because I wanted some sort of satisfaction in seeing that he finally knows how it feels to be unable to defend oneself. But now that I'm here, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest and his sunken, pallid face, I don't feel satisfied. I just feel sad.
He will never walk again; Doctor Roberts had told us. And I don't feel triumphant about it at all, as I would have expected to just a few days ago.

I shake my head slightly at myself. My eyes wander to the clock on the hospital room's wall. It reads half past eleven, pm.

"We should go," I tell Aiden.

He doesn't talk, just slings an arm around my shoulder and leads me to the doctor's office.
I thought leaving Blaze and the smell of the ward he was in would mean leaving the sorrow I feel, but I find I was wrong.

Don't cry, I will myself. You're just tired, that's all.

Aiden opens the door to the office and we walk in. Immediately everyone stands up. Dad walks over to us and envelopes me in a hug, whispering something I can't quite hear into my hair. Mom looks ready to cry, and I know why. They were the ones who insisted that we be hospitable to Blaze, that we forgive him. That I forgive him. But they don't have to feel guilt, I don't blame them one bit.
I blame their religion.
They wouldn't have let him near me if they hadn't been brainwashed into 'loving their enemies' by the bible.

Love your enemies. Who ever heard of such a stupid idea? Just look where it gets you.

Behind my parents, Cleo and Daniel stand side by side, and I smile across dad's shoulders at them. They would make a lovely couple. Maybe one day...

"I'm so glad you're safe." Mom joins the hug.

"Me too," Aiden speaks from behind me.

Me three, I think.

"We should get home," dad says.

"Yeah. I think everyone is exhausted," Aiden agrees.

I turn to him and give him a smile. "Thank you. For everything." I hug him with all the energy I have left.

"Anytime, blondie," he murmurs to me, his breath warm on my neck and his arms strong around me.

We say our goodbyes to each other and the doctor before splitting up. Daniel drives his bike and Aiden takes his car.

The trip back home is silent, but not in a bad way. Everyone is tired. Cleo and I sit in the back, and my parents are in the front. Halfway there, Cleo falls asleep, leaning against me. I rest my head on her own dark haired one and soon welcome the dark oblivion of sleep as well.

~ ~ ~

December 31st

"I don't know, Aiden," mom looks at me, biting her lip in worry. "She's still recovering. It's only been a night, after all."

"Mom, I can decide for myself, you know." I let out a dramatic sigh.

Aiden arrived at our door at two in the afternoon. I was the one to open the door and the softness I had seen in his eyes when I looked up at him made me feel I would melt.
But along with the tenderness I saw in his face, there was something else. Regret? Fear? Sadness? Or a mix of all three of those?
I don't know, but I have to find out.
When he asked me to go for a walk with him, I had grabbed my coat and was on my way out- then mom found us. Now here she stands, putting up a stubborn fight. She's a lot like Cleo. Or maybe I should say Cleo is a lot like her.

"Mom, I'm fine," I insist. "The worst damage that has been done is this." I point to the bruise on my face, indicating what I mean.

"And I need to talk to Emma about something, if it's alright, Mrs. Ray- I mean, Marlene." Aiden smiles sweetly at my mom.

Aha, so he does have something on his mind.

Mom relents. "Okay, just a walk. And it can't be a very long one, alright?"

Aiden and I both nod.

I shrug on my coat and link my arm with his as we walk out the door.
Home isn't very far from the very centre of Stowe, so it doesn't take us long to be amongst the stores and cafes and little bookshops. We stroll away from the house and further into town along the pavements, watching busy people get on with their busy lives. Aiden doesn't speak for a long time, but he whistles now and then. I wonder when he's going to say what he wants to say. I hang on his arm, matching my pace with his.
We stop to cross the street, following our noses to the wonderful smell of the bakery on the opposite side. Once we're inside, I order a glazed lemon poppy seed doughnut and Aiden orders a cinnamon bun.

We sit at the table in the bakery, eating our food contentedly. But halfway through my doughnut, the silence finally gets to me. "Aiden, what was that about needing to talk to me?"

Ideas flash through my mind. A promise ring, maybe. Asking me to the New Year school dance, perhaps. Talking to me about what happened yesterday, could be.

Aiden swallows before he answers. "Um, yeah, that. Emma, I need tell you this very bluntly. Is it okay if I...give it to you straight, no sugar coating?"

This doesn't sound good. But I want him to always be able to tell me everything, and I'm not one to want any sugar coating, so I nod.

"Emma." His blue eyes glint with seriousness as he puts down his bun. "I want you to know that I am a Christian."

I blink at him. And then I laugh. I laugh and laugh and take another bite of my doughnut to stop myself from making a scene with my laughter.

He looks at me, concern filling his face. "It's not a joke," he says, solemnly.

His brows are furrowed and his mouth is pulled tight. I realize he means it. And I almost choke on the mouthful of doughnut I was chewing.

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Author's note: Sorry for the short update. You'll just have to hang on till the next part of this chapter. :) In the meanwhile, please comment, vote, and all that jazz.

And thank you for reading!