Emilie didn't know it but today, January 4th, would be one of the best days of her life.
They drove in silence to the neighborhood where Emilie and her parents were going to live before their untimely death. She only remembered the address because it was Ravine Dr and she thought it was funny that it was so close to their last names, Ravin. She didn't remember the house but was sure she would when she saw it again. It was like the 'I know their face but not their name' kind of thing.
Jack was antsy. This whole had thrown him for a loop with seeing Emilie's aunt and hearing Emilie talk like that to her. He was shocked and then like that she forgave her and they left. He was confused then. And then when he asked her explanation had been about him. That was when he complete and utter love and adoration came out in him. If he didn't love Emilie Ravin before today, he certainly did now.
Now they were headed to a house that Emilie had maybe seen once in her lifetime and neither knew why they were going there or what would be there. He would be really happy when he could curl up in bed and make love to Emilie like he had been wanting to do since they were on the side of the road.
Another thing looming on the horizon was a simple call. Both hadn't checked their messages for almost 4 days and they knew their inbox would be full. He didn't feel bad for ignoring them but Emilie was torn. She didn't want to keep Angel and Paisley out of the loop. Hell, for all they knew Jack and Em were dead or kidnapped. But Jack had a feeling Paisley or someone would be getting a phone call or text later this afternoon.
"Why do you think she gave us this address?" Jack asked as Emilie drove. Her tiny shoulders moved up and then back down.
"Not sure, Jackie. Maybe there is some stuff of my parents that's there. I don't know." she sighed and turned left into a nice sub-division. Jack looked around at the huge houses and frowned.
"You had a nice childhood with them didn't you?" he asked and kept looking at the houses as they passed by. Emilie saw the look on his face and frowned with him.
"I know what you're thinking and you need to quit." she demanded and he turned to look at her. "We had money, yes. Abi had money, yes."
"And now you don't. For so long you lived at our house, which is now all shot up." he sighed and Emilie reached over to squeeze his hand. "It's like you downgraded."
"I did no such thing. I have my own apartment and it's nice." she defended. "Plus, I don't think a life with you is a down grade, Jack. I don't need all the money in the world or a big house. I need you and that's it."
"But would you like a big, nice house and money to spare?" he asked and she smiled.
"Who doesn't? But I don't need money to make me happy. Hell, I bet half of these families that live out here are unhappy. They use their money and flashy things to distract people from looking at what's really there behind those fake ass smiles." she told him and he chuckled.
"Oh, I love you." he grinned and she patted his thigh.
"I love you too but don't ever think like that Jack." she pleaded and he nodded.
"I promise." he said. "I also promise that one day we'll have one of these big houses and money to spare and ya know what?" he asked with a smile.
"What?" she giggled.
"We'll be happy unlike these people. We'll show them what real love is." he vowed and leaned over to kiss her quickly.
"I'll hold you to that." she smiled and slowed down to make a turn onto Ravine Dr. Jack felt the tension as they slowly drove down the street. Emilie was looking for the house and Jack was looking for the house number. She spotted a dark red bricked house and pulled parked by the sidewalk. "Is this it?" she asked Jack without looking from the house. He check the mailbox number with the one her Aunt gave him and nodded.
"Yeah. I guess you remember it?" he asked and she nodded slowly.
"Only a little though." she whispered and finally looked over at him. "No car."
"Might be in the garage?" he suggested and she pursed her lips. "Wanna go knock?" he asked and she nodded. They got out of the car and Jack walked over to Emilie on the sidewalk.
"What do I say? What if I don't know them?" she asked, getting nervous again. Jack chuckled and rubbed her shoulders.
"It's okay. We'll ask them if they know your aunt." he told her and she relaxed. Emilie took a deep breath before walking froward to the house. Her foot barely touched the grass when a she heard a dog's bark. She had just enough time to realize that it was a dog before it crashed into her legs and sent her crashing down to the ground. Jack was cursing the dog and rushed to kneel down next to Emilie.
"So sorry!" a girl yelled and ran past them to catch the dog.
"Babe, you okay?" Jack asked and Emilie groaned, putting a hand to her head and looking at her elbow.
"Owwie." she whimpered and held her elbow to him. There was a hole in her long sleeved shirt and he could see the blood seeping through it.
"I am so sorry. He just took off. He never does that. Is she okay?" a man asked from behind Jack. Emilie's head was in Jack's lap and couldn't see the guy so Jack looked up and shook his head.
"She's bleeding and-" he paused. The man standing above him looked familiar. Not the familiar because you've met this but the familiar that you've seen them before. He had short dirty blonde hair and blue eyes.
Then is hit him.
"And what?" the guy asked and Jack looked down at Emilie. She still had her eyes squeezed shut and was saying ouch over and over again. Jack nudge her a little and started to push her up.
"Wait, no. Don't push her up. She might have a concussion." the guy stopped him and Jack's heart beat faster as he walked around to see Emilie better. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and kneeled down to her.
"Can you look up at me miss?" he asked and Jack nearly died when he saw Emilie pick her head up and look at the blond guy.
In that one look the world stopped for a split second. There was no sound except the deafening silence. There was no movement except for the shard in take of breath from two people.
"Emilie?" the guy croaked, tears filling his eyes and the pen dropped form his hand. Emilie's hand dropped from her head and to her heart, where it was beating faster than ever.
"Richie?" she whispered and her tears fell freely when he nodded his head. Jack let his arms drop to his sides and in an instant Emilie flung herself into her brothers arms. Jack couldn't fight the mist in his eyes and he sat back on his behind and watched as they hugged one another and cried.
Jack felt something cold on the back of his neck and turned to see the dog that had knocked Emilie over and the girl. She was staring at Richie and Emilie oddly and then looked down at him.
"Umm what did I miss?" she asked and he grinned up at her.
"That's Emilie." Jack said and she slapped her hand over her mouth. He saw the tears springing to her eyes.
"Oh my lord, are you serious?" she asked and sat down next to him.
"Yeah. I'm Jack, Em's boyfriend." he introduced and held his hand out. She took it smiling.
"I'm Kris. I'm Richie's fiancée." she smiled and the both looked back over at Emilie and Richie.
Emilie couldn't piece together a complete thought in her head. She had so much she wanted to say to the guy she was wrapped up in but every time she thought about pulling back and talking to him, she cried more. She didn't want to let him go. And Richie wasn't planning on letting go either.
After a few minutes they reluctantly pulled apart but Richie held her at arms length. She looked almost the same but grown up. Her hair was dyed brown but everything was still his little sister. Her blue eyes, her tiny nose and rosy cheeks. He hugged her again and she giggled the same laugh she always had.
"God, I missed you." she cried and buried her face in his jacket. She knew it was him that she was looking at. His voice was deeper and matured but he looked like he always did. Actually, he looked like their father without the grey hairs he had before he passed.
"I missed you too, Em. God, I missed you so much!" he cried and smoother her hair down. He looked over her shoulder to see Kris and a messy haired guy sitting on the ground grinning like fools. "Who's he?" he asked and Emilie burst out laughing.
"We've been back together for a whole 5 minutes and you're pulling the big brother card?" she asked and turned to see Jack's wide eyes.
"Hey, I'm the big brother so I get to use it whenever." Richie protested and Emilie laughed.
"Well, how about you do it later. It seems your mutt has already bloodied your sister." Kris smiled and got to her feet. Jack did the same and went over to help Emilie stand up. Richie's hand shot out into Jack's chest and Jacks topped. Emilie giggled as Richie help her to her feet and brushed past Jack without another glance.
"He's just trying to show off." Kris assured him and Jack sighed.
I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She was gorgeous. She always was. She was always one to turns heads even when she was younger. She would walk in the school and people would gush over how cute she was. Hell, I showed her off to my class as my show and tell project when I was in 1st grade. I thought she was perfect for the project. The teacher asked us to bring in something that we loved and cherished that week...so I brought Emilie.
I always wondered if she was still the head turner over these years. I wondered what she was like in high school and if she was popular or not. I wondered about every detail about her. How long her hair was, how tall she had gotten. For years and even to today while I was walking to dog, I thought about her and if I'd ever see her again.
"So Em, how long have you know Jack?" I asked as I cleaned the scratch on her arm. Bandit did a number on her.
"Almost two years." she smiled and looked over at Jack. He was a tall guy, that's for sure. He had the most unruly hair I'd ever seen though. He also had one hell of a deep voice. I guess chicks dug that.
"How old is Jack?" I asked and Kris glared at me.
"He's right here, ya know?" she scolded and I nodded my head.
"I know." I answered and looked at Jack. "So, Jack, how old are you?"
"I'll be 24 in March." he answered and I raised a brow.
"Em, you're what 19?" I asked and she glared at me.
"I'll be 20 a few months after him." she said and I huffed.
"That's one hell of an age difference. When did you get together?" I asked and they looked at one another.
"Officially only since November but it was a long time coming." Emilie spoke first and Jack nodded. I looked at my little sister and she smiled. "Jack helped me a lot when Abigail died. Him, his brothers and his mom were my saviors when I needed them the most." she explained and I put a band aide on her elbow.
"Would you two stay for dinner?" Kris asked, standing up.
"Sure." Jack nodded.
"Well, I need a few things from the store." Kris paused and Jack stood up, obviously taking her hint.
"I'll help." he offered and he walked over to kiss Emilie on the forehead. "I'll be back soon. Don't talk trash." he warned and Emilie smiled. I waited for them to leave before talking again.
"Well, at least he's not an idiot." I chided and Emilie smacked my arm. I chuckled and looked over at her. "Who's Abigail?" I asked and she sighed deeply.
"Why don't we take this to the living room?" she suggested and I nodded.
I had a feeling this wasn't going to be a good conversation.
The silence was almost unbearable as we entered and got seated in the living room. I knew he wasn't going to like this story.
"Abigail was my mother, Richie." I told him and he frowned. "Not my real one but she was. When I was taken away, no one wanted to adopt me. I was bounced from foster family to foster family all over Massachusetts. Abi came when I was 12 and adopted me. I was with her until right before my 18th birthday. She took care of me, she loved me and she was everything that I know mom would have been. She was a good woman."
"What happened?" he asked slowly.
"We were in a car accident and she didn't make it. We were going to dinner because I had just gotten my license." I told him with a sad smile. "I tried to save her but she was gone."
"I'm sorry, Em." he whispered and I could hear the tears in his voice.
"I was in the hospital and they were going to put me back in foster care but Jack's mother showed up, Evelyn." I smiled and he looked over at me. "She took me home and that's where I met Jack and his brothers. I lived with her until I moved out in August."
"You've lived with your boyfriend?" he asked, looking a little peeved. I laughed and shook my head.
"No, Jack left. All except Jerry left actually. Angel went to war right after my birthday. Bobby went somewhere and Jack moved to LA." I explained trying to hold back my tears. That time was still a sore subject for me. "They all came back when Evelyn was murdered." Richie's head shot to me and his mouth was open.
"What?" he whispered.
"She was killed a few days before Thanksgiving. We went to the store to get the turkey and it was robbed." I told him and he gaped at me.
"You were there?" he asked and I nodded. "God, Em, I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. It brought everyone back together in the end. And I was able to repay Jack." I smiled.
"Repay him for what?" he asked.
"Everything. He was my only shelter after Abi died. He helped me so much, Richie, and I got to help him out in return. He was there when I needed someone the most and, even though it meant loosing Evelyn, I got to do the same for him." I smiled and Richie gripped my hand.
"You're making it real hard for me to hate him, ya know?" he joked and I laughed.
"Good because we don't need any more trouble!" I giggled. "We've been through enough." Richie sighed and shook his head with a smirk.
"Alright, I get it." he said.
"So how have you been? What have you been up to? Tell me, tell me." I grinned and he chuckled.
"Well, I'm almost done with med-school." he smiled and I clapped my hands. "Thanks. I'm going to be a pediatrician. Hence, my handy band aide skills." he joked and pointed to my arm.
He told me about high school and how he graduated early and I told him about my homeschooling and about me going to college also. He told me about Kris how they met in high school and have been together ever since. He grinned like a fool when he told me they were getting married in July and invited me, Jack and Jack's family to come alone. He told me about his falling out with our Aunt and I told him about our road trip and our visit to her.
We talked about everything under the moon and barely noticed Jack and Kris walking by and going into the kitchen. It was then that I told him Jack could cook. He was happy about that saying that he didn't want me doing all the housework.
I think I was slowly getting him to like Jack.