In The Depths Of Her Soul

Chapter Twenty-Two

The repetitious beating, drums continuously in her mind and she's sure it's no longer a dream. She groans and rolls over in bed wondering, what the hell could be causing that much ruckus in the middle of the night? And of course, the pounding doesn't quit, forcing her eyes to pop wide open.

She growls to nobody but herself and angrily throws the duvet from her body. There's a cold shock that sweeps over her body, but that infuriating banging won't desist and so she ignores the bitter air. She climbs out of bed, stomping like a petulant child to follow the racket that is rapidly growing louder.

When she arrives at the destination, she stands on her tippy-toes and peers out of the distorted glass. And just like that, the anger vanishes, and her heart collides painfully against her sternum because of the mother and son standing so frightened on her doorstep.

She frantically fumbles to unlock the deadbolt and the doorknob while her body breaks out into a full- blown panic. She jerks open the door with her jaw already coming unhinged at the sight before her.

"Emma," she gasps from the shock of her friend on her doorstep in the middle of the night, but truthfully, it's from the blonde's disheartening appearance.

One slumped shoulder rises to shrug carelessly, but Emma's lips never move to say one word, so Regina reaches forward with one arm and pulls Henry across the threshold. The little boy doesn't hesitate as he shuffles forward and wraps his arms around her waist. He seems dazed, confused and she wonders if Emma even mentioned what was happening right now for them to be rushing to her house in the middle of the night.

Emma steps inside, following her son and drops her bag onto the floor before she moves quickly to shut the door behind her. She spins around rather abruptly and locks everything up tight like she's utterly paranoid. Regina observes carefully how her friend exhales loudly after all the locks are securely in place.

And that's the moment Emma's body gives in to her trauma and the woman crumbles to her feet, but Henry's locked so tightly around Regina's waist, so she is unable to catch her friend. Emma slumps against the door and it shatters Regina's heart how she curls into the fetal position.

"Emma," she calls out in a frenzy as Henry untangles himself from her embrace when he notices his mother's current state.

They both drop to their knees and Regina takes this opportunity to assess every inch of this woman's body.

The first battle wound that screams for attention is the black eye painting her pale flesh like a raccoon around her eyes. Her cheekbone is puffy and the sight of it makes Regina want to lightly skim the wounded area, but the bruise looks awfully tender, so she refrains. Brown eyes drift a little further down to the base of her neck, where there are faint fingerprints slowly making their appearance, confirming this man's vile act upon her dear friend.

The rest of Emma's body is covered well, with a baggy sweatshirt and yoga pants, most likely hiding away all the terrible things that worthless man has been doing for the past two weeks. With a shaky hand, she sweeps her fingers through golden, tangled locks and listens carefully to her deep breaths.

"Emma, I'm going to call Ruby to come over, okay?" She softly whispers for comfort, but a quivering hand flies out between them and latches onto her wrist.

"No, please Regina, I don't want anyone to know about this," her voice barely croaks out as a fresh new set of tears fill those bloodshot eyes.

"I know, dear, but I have to. She needs to watch the children because I need to take you to the hospital," she strictly declares, but this stubborn woman is already shaking her head.