AN: Well, readers, the day has finally arrived: the start of the conclusion to the Boho Kids arc. I feel the need to warn everyone now that, if this story progresses the way it's mapped out in my mind, it will be a rather depressing and dark story up until the end, so I'm going to do my best to make this story even bigger than Sunsets and Sunrises was. And so, I present the last story in the series. Please enjoy.
A widely smiling Emily stepped off the elevator, carrying the paper shopping bag in her cane-free hand. She'd had an eventful all-day outing at the mall with Maureen and Joanne, and had even managed to find a boxed collection of classic but hard-to-find movies that Mark often said had first inspired him to become a filmmaker. She couldn't wait to surprise him with it.
As she opened the door to the Condo, however, the smile quickly disappeared from her face. Something was wrong. She could sense it. An eerie feeling filled the entire room, almost like the unnatural calm that preceded a terrible storm, and not just because no lights were on in the apartment.
"Hello?" Emily called out to the dark, empty room. "Is anybody home?" When no one replied, she reached out to turn on the light, only to find the switch wasn't working. She was really starting to get worried now.
"Mark, are you there?" Emily tried again to get some response from her family. "Rodolfo? Zack? Lucia? Penny? Is anyone there?" When her only answer was silence once again, she stumbled over to the kitchenette. Rummaging around the junk drawer, her hand soon closed on the flashlight that was stored there for blackouts. Casting the light around the Condo, she finally noticed the lamp had fallen to the floor. Under the assumption that Maya, the family cat, had knocked it over, she moved toward the fallen lamp to set it upright again, but as she moved across the floor, she suddenly became aware that she was stepping in some sort of puddle, creating a faint splashing sound with each footstep. When she shone the flashlight down at the puddle, a sick feeling immediately hit her when she took note of the fact that the puddle was a dull red color. It was blood. Starting to tremble, Emily followed the trail of blood with her eyes to the corner of the room. There, staring back at her with sightless eyes, were Rodolfo and Zack, their bodies completely covered with fresh blood.
A strangled cry escaped from Emily's throat as she stumbled backwards. As she did so, she tripped over something that was lying on the floor. When she turned the flashlight onto the thing she'd tripped over, her anguish increased tenfold upon seeing it was Mark, spread-eagled on the ground. A small red pool was circling his head, made from the now-ceased flow of blood protruding from the hole in his forehead.
"No," Emily moaned, reaching out a shaking hand to lightly touch his cheek, which was even paler then usual. He was stone-cold to the touch. "No! No, Mark!" Emily could feel her voice start to break as the uninhibited tears spilled down her cheeks. This couldn't be happening. Mark, Zack, Rodolfo; three of the most important people in her life. They couldn't be….
At that very moment, Emily heard the sound of someone laughing behind her, and her body immediately stiffened. She knew that laugh, but it was just not possible. He was in jail. He was out of the picture, and her life, and had been for years. There was no way he could really be here now. Still, Emily shook in foreboding as she slowly got to her feet and turned around, shining the flashlight at the face of the person standing behind her. As a result, she found herself staring back into a pair of cruel blue-grey eyes, a jagged scar below the right one.
"Kingpin," Emily gaped in horror at the former leader of the once infamous Rat Fang Gang, the group that had nearly destroyed her entire life as a child. Kingpin smiled cruelly at Emily, who was rooted to the spot. The complete and utter shock at seeing her lifelong enemy in front of her after all this time prevented her from noticing the gun that was being pointed at her heart until Kingpin pulled the trigger.
Within her bedroom, Emily sat up in bed rapidly, letting out a sudden scream as she woke up. Breathing heavily, her eyes darted around the dark room. The nightmare she'd just experienced had worked her up so much, it took a moment for her to realize where she was. Even then, she continued shaking, so when she felt a movement beside her, she gave a panicked jump, turning with wide eyes. She managed to relax, but only just a little, when she saw it was only Mark, who had been woken up by her scream and was now looking at her in concern.
"Emily?" Mark whispered, gently touching her shoulder. "Are you all right?" At Mark's touch, Emily couldn't stop her sudden jump, but she did everything she could to keep her voice calm and level.
"It's nothing, Mark," she insisted. "Just go back to sleep." Mark let out a soft sigh before he replied. Who was she trying to fool, anyway?
"It's not nothing, Emily. You had that dream again, didn't you?"
"So what if I did?" Emily's remaining terror from her nightmare made her response harsher then she'd intended. "It's just a dream. It's nothing."
"Don't give me that," Mark instructed, moving closer to hug her from behind. "Emily, you've been having that same dream almost every night this month, and it always has you waking up, screaming." When Emily didn't reply, Mark shifted slightly so he'd be in a better position to cradle her gently. "Emily, listen to me, okay? You know Kingpin's gone for good. He's in a high-security prison, under twenty-four hour surveillance. He can't come after you anymore."
"Don't you think I know that? I know he's out of the picture. But that's not stopping the nightmares. What if…? Maybe I've just loosing my mind."
"Don't say that," Mark instructed, rubbing her arms in comfort. "You're not going crazy. That could never happen."
Despite his assurances, Mark was still worried about her. To have the same dream practically night-after-night; it was getting to the point when he was considering taking her to see Dr. Jordan, but this wasn't the best time to suggest it. Instead, he pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "Emily, you trust me, right?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course, I do. I trust you with my life, Mark."
"Then believe me when I say that I'm not going to let anything, or anyone, hurt you." Emily was about to argue, pointing out that he might not be able to do so if there was a gun-wielding Kingpin involved, but thought better of it. Instead, she allowed herself to lean back against Mark, letting him hold her closer. For a long time, the two of them were unmoving, apart from an occasional tremble from Emily, which was always followed by Mark tightening his arms around her. After what seemed like forever, Emily finally trusted herself to speak again.
"Thank you," she whispered, laying a hand over Mark's.
"I'm always going to be here for you, Emily," Mark promised. "Don't you ever doubt that."
"I know," Emily nodded, letting out a weary breath. "I…just want you to hold me tonight, okay?"
"Always, Cricket," Mark spoke tenderly, fulfilling her wish as they settled back into bed and immediately adjusting their positions to spoon her body to his. "I love you," he spoke into her ear. In spite of the fact that she was still shaken from the nightmare she'd had, Emily couldn't stop the tiny smile that formed at those words.
"I love you, too," she replied as she closed her eyes, trying to focus only on Mark's closeness, and the fact that she could clearly detect the familiar smell that always seemed to emit from him; the smell of bicycle lubricant mixed with the generic brand of soap he always used. Even back in the old days, when she and Mark had been nothing more then good friends, that particular scent always managed to comfort her. It wasn't much longer before Emily had calmed down enough to go back to sleep again. Even then, Mark lay awake for a bit longer.
No matter how much he tried to calm her worries, he couldn't do the same for his own. The truth was he was very worried about her. Her dreams were getting progressively worse every time she had them. What's more, he had no idea what had triggered them. No one had even so much as mentioned Kingpin in years. His name had always been virtually forbidden among the Bohemian family since his arrest eighteen years ago. Because of this, Mark was at a loss as to why Emily would be suddenly thinking about him now. The thing that made it even worse for him to take was Emily's reactions to her recurring nightmare. Ever since they'd started, she'd become extremely jumpy, reacting in fear to every sudden noise, and couldn't concentrate on anything.
For the second time that night, Mark seriously considered going to Dr. Jordan to see what he had to say about the issue. The problem was he couldn't bring himself to suggest it to Emily, especially after he'd insisted that there was nothing wrong with her. Even so, he was no longer able to think of an alternative solution. Perhaps, if he got the girls involved, particularly Maureen, there might be a way Emily would go down to see the doctor without Mark needing to contradict his assurances to her. After all, there was no chance that Maureen would be unable to hound Emily into seeking help if she believed her friend needed it badly. Before slipping off to sleep, Mark made himself a silent promise that he'd go talk to Maureen and Joanne in the morning, and from there, hope for the best.