Norman had been admitted into White Pine Bay Hospital. He had collapsed and suffered a seizure, and when he was seizing, he bit his tongue. Blood was everywhere. Norma didn't take it well. She hasn't left his side.
He's awake now. He is doing fine. It's hard for him to talk but he grabbed my hand and held onto it for a while. It breaks my heart to see him like this. I've been crying every night since the incident.
Not only was I worried about Norman, I was worried about my safety. What if that crazy guy came back into my room and tried to kill me? I took a puff of my inhaler. I was home, in my bed, listening to Marina and the Diamonds when suddenly there was a knock on my door.
"Come in!" I said.
"Hey, Emma." It was Dylan.
"Dylan! Hey, what are you doing here?"
"I came to check on you. I know things have been tough recently. I wanted to come and keep you company."
Thank God my dad was out of town. He would be back tomorrow. He had hit me again once I got home, blaming me for Norman's fall. I had a black and blue wrist from him grabbing me so tightly so that he could slap me.
"Emma, why is your wrist all bruised?"
"Oh, I just slammed it in my car door. The damn oxygen tank fucks me up sometimes" I hated lying to him. But I had to. I guess I didn't want to face the humiliation of being victim to my father for all these years. Dylan looked at me questioningly.
"So how have you been?" I changed the topic quickly.
"I've been worn out. My job really takes it out of me sometimes. You know, dealing with pot. It's quite dangerous most of the time."
"Well Dylan, why do you continue doing it?"
"It pays good money. I need the money to live on my own. I have a cabin up in the woods. Wanna come see it?"
"Now?" I asked.
"Sure. Why not?"
"Okay!" I was excited. I'd never been to his house before. We got into his truck and headed towards his cabin. It was about fifteen minutes away. When we got there, it was a beautiful sight. The cabin positioned right in front of a lake upon many acres of land.
"Dylan, this is exquisite. I'm so jealous. I wish I could live here with you." I said without thinking.
"Why don't you? I have an extra bed upstairs. Right next to my room." He motioned to the house. "Let's go in. I'll show you."
We walked into his house. It was beautiful. Everything was made of wood. There was such a cozy feeling to it.
"Dylan this is amazing!" He walked over to turn on the gas fireplace.
"Thanks, Emma." He smiled a smile that made me weak. I stumbled a bit. "Whoa... Are you okay?" He asked, concerned.
"Yeah! Just a bit dizzy." I responded.
"Let's get you up to bed then. I'll show you what could be your room if you decide to stay here with me." My heart fluttered. Oh, what I'd give to stay here with him. I'd have to go through my dad first.
He led me up the stairs to a room that had wooden walls and a TV sitting upon a dresser. The bed was what really caught my eye, though. It was a mahogany king bed with red sheets. It was amazing!
"Wow... This place is ridiculous. How do you live here alone? I'd be bringing girls home with me every night!" I said, laughing.
"I have only been wanting to bring one home with me since I met her." He said.
"Who is it?" I asked.
"You." He said, embracing me in a hug. I pulled away, looking at him with regret because of what I was about to do. Dylan brought his hand up to my face and gently caressed my cheek. He started to lean in. I wanted him to kiss me, but I wasn't about to cheat on Norman. I turned away from him.
"Dylan we can't. I'm with Norman. I don't cheat. I just don't think it's right. But I do want you to kiss me, I truly do. I'll break up with Norman, but you have to give me time. I need to make sure he's all better before I go breaking his heart."
"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. Forgive me."
"No, no. It's fine. Sometimes we just get caught up in the moment. I've done it plenty of times. That is why I stumbled, you know? Your smile made me weak. I can barely handle myself in front of you. I yearn for your contact with my skin and for your lips to graze mine but we can't yet. We just can't."
"Emma, its fine. You don't have to explain. I completely get it. I just get scared that Norman might hurt you one of these days. It's really terrifying. I just wish I was with you 24/7 so that I could make sure you're safe. And I know that probably sounds really disturbing but it's the truth. I need you to be safe. I don't really know what I'd do without you. I wake up every morning with you on my mind and how alive and bright you are in this world. I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to wake up and think that. I don't want to wake up with an aching heart, wishing that at some point I could at least hold you."
"I can certainly understand that. Sometimes I get scared, too. About my safety, I mean. I can't control Norman when he's having his blackout's. No one can. I don't know how your mom deals with it. I feel deeply for her. I just wish there was something I could do to be able to help your family out. But then again, both of us don't really belong in their circle. So why not make our own? We could call ourselves Dylemma!"
We both started laughing and hugged each other once again.
