Chapter 18 – Emmett – Flashpoint

Dear Emmett, We haven't heard from you very recently, and your last letter sounded as though there was something bothering you. Do you have something you want to talk about? We know things can be difficult for a young man away from his family for the first time and we hope you know that we are still here for you if ever you should need us. Take care of yourself and do what you know is right and you will be all right. Love always, your mother and father.

Dear Emmett, come home! Your job is too long and I miss you too much! The Emmett kitten climbed a tree and got stuck on the roof and Will had to climb up and get him down! Stephen fell down on an ants' nest and got bit all up! Tell Mrs Rosalie that Rosie is my favourite doll in all of the world and Mama knitted her a new dress and I made a bonnet from a handkerchief! Love from Elizabeth!

I read Ma and Pa's letter and sighed, and then read Elizabeth's letter and chuckled to myself. She'd discovered punctuation, but seemed a little too fond of exclamation marks.

"News from home?" It was Rosalie, trailing listlessly into the kitchen where I was reading my letters and eating my supper. She came and sat opposite me at the table, and Miss Ellen hurried over to her.

"Are you hungry ma'am? I could do you something to eat, anything you'd like. There's still some supper left over, and there's an apple pie if Emmett didn't eat the last of it."

Rosalie gave a faint smile. "Just a cup of tea please."

I couldn't help looking at her in concern. She was dressed and made up and her hair done as carefully as ever, but in the days since she'd come home from the hospital she seemed to have lost her spark. Even from the garden I had heard more than one screaming match between her and Royce, but the rest of the time she drifted restlessly throughout the house, her face pale and her eyes ringed with shadows.

"I got a letter from Elizabeth, if you'd like to read it," I offered, anxious to cheer her up. "She's learned about punctuation now."

It was good to see Rosalie laugh as she read the ink-blotted letter. "She's so sweet; I'm glad she liked the doll. And they named a kitten Emmett?" She giggled.

I grinned at her. "There were four, so they named them after all of us who've left. John, Henry, Patrick and Emmett. I'm the grey stripy one."

Rosalie was laughing properly now, and it was beautiful to see her face light up. "I always wanted a kitten, but Mother hates animals in the house."

It was Miss Ellen's night off and I knew she'd made plans with a friend to go to the cinema, but she hovered a little uncertainly by the table. "Are you sure I can't get you anything ma'am?"

"I'm really fine," Rosalie told her. "Go and enjoy your night off."

Miss Ellen left after that, and Rosalie and I were alone. I finished the sausages and vegetables I'd had for my dinner and shared out the apple pie, pouring a generous serving of thick cream over the top.

"This is good." Rosalie scooped up a heaping spoonful.

"It's not as good as my Ma's, but it'll do nicely," I said cheerfully, adding a moment later, "You should eat more."

Rosalie made a face at me. "I haven't been very hungry."

"But with the baby you have to eat," I said reasonably. "You have to take care of yourself."

"I suppose I do," Rosalie muttered viciously, "Since no one else is going to do it for me."

There was a long and uncomfortable silence, before Rosalie licked the last of the cream off her spoon and sighed. "I'm sorry. It's not your problem."

I swallowed some more pie. "I'm sorry for it though," I said frankly. "Whatever it is, I don't like to see you sad."

Of course I knew what it was. Miss Ellen and I both knew about the other woman that had been here, and the women that Royce continued to be seen with around town. But I didn't want to embarrass Rosalie by speaking of it.

Rosalie stood up and walked restlessly around the kitchen. "I've just made such a mess of things," she muttered.

I took the dirty bowls to the sink and then looked across at Rosalie. I couldn't resist saying something then, the judgement clear in my voice. "I don't think it's you who's made a mess of things."

"Oh Emmett, I wish…" Rosalie's voice trailed away and she looked at me, her big violet eyes filled with so much hurt and sadness that I could do nothing but cross the room to her and take her into my arms.

She used my name. For the first time ever, she called me by my name.

I was only going to hug her. It was all I would have done…she was married, she wasn't mine, and I wouldn't have compromised her by doing anything more than a simple, innocent embrace meant to comfort her.

Her husband didn't see it that way.

I didn't hear him come in. I didn't hear him at all. All I heard was Rosalie's scream and the sound Royce's fist made smashing into the side of my head.

The hit had come out of nowhere and I fell hard, instinctively shielding my face as I skidded away and then scrambling to my feet. Rosalie screamed again, "Royce, don't!" and I saw the way she seized his arm and was carelessly pushed away.

"Get the hell out," Royce snarled at me. "You no-good piece of shit, take your things and get out of my house. I don't ever want to see your fucking face again."

I took a step towards him, my fists bunched and ready. I was furious, my vision blurred, all my rage focussed on my hands and my desire to use them to hurt him. I wanted to feel my fists on his face, feel bruising flesh and hard bone underneath them and know I was causing him pain, to make up for what he'd done to Rosalie.

Rosalie.

I looked to her for a second, but it was enough. Her face was stricken, her eyes huge as she sought my eyes and shook her head. "Don't Emmett. Don't make it worse. Just go…please." It was almost a whisper, but I heard it and I would do anything she asked.

I turned my back on the both of them, and left.

"Fuck!" Getting back to my room I swore and slapped my hand hard against the doorframe. "Fucking…fuck…fucking bastard!" I kicked the chair and sent it skidding across the room, the clothes I had tossed over the back of it falling to the floor.

Standing still I pressed my knuckles together hard, and took some deep breaths. I knew I had to calm down, but every time I thought of Rosalie's unhappiness and Royce's heartless treatment of her, as well as what he'd said to me the rage began to mount again.

Agitatedly I ran a hand through my hair, wincing slightly when I came to the tender spot where Royce had hit me. I wished I'd hit him back, but I hadn't wanted to make anything worse for Rosalie.

Rosalie.

I felt the anger drain away as I pictured her, and realised what all this meant. I'd been fired, I'd be going home to my family, and I'd never see her again.

Oh, Rosalie, oh no, oh baby, no…

Numbly I began to shove my clothes in my old duffel bag, careless of crumples and creases. What did any of that matter? I threw in the bundle of letters I'd kept and reread so often, the knife and half-whittled animals.

It was then I heard a noise in the garage. I swung around, my body braced defensively, and saw Royce glaring at me.

"I'm going out," he said flatly. "And when I get back I want you gone. Understood?"

I stared at him stonily. "I'm going. And just so you know, nothing ever happened with me and Rosalie…not that you deserve a woman like her, you arrogant asshole."

"Fuck you." Royce disappeared, and a moment later I heard the roar of the car as he took off.

I took another deep breath and began throwing the last few things into my bag. Holy Christ, I hated him! But there was nothing I could do, nothing at all…

"Emmett."

I almost thought I was hearing things, when the whisper reached my ears. Surely it couldn't be…but I turned around and found Rosalie leaning against the doorjamb, pale and sweating, and all my other emotions were lost in a wave of love and concern.

"Sweet mother of mercy, what did he do to you?" I was at her side in an instant, examining the bright red, swollen half of her face that was already beginning to turn purple and darken into bruises, all down one side of her face. "Oh Rosa-girl, no…"

Rosalie held out an arm, pressing it against my chest to hold me away from her. "You have to take me with you."

I stopped and stared at her helplessly. "Take you…home with me? To Tennessee?"

"I can't stay here," Rosalie spoke through clenched teeth. "I can't live like this any more…please Emmett, please take me with you." For a moment her rigid composure broke and I saw the vulnerability beneath.

"Okay," I said recklessly, making up my mind in an instant. "I'll take you with me."

"Oh, thank you…" Rosalie's pale face went even whiter and she swayed and pressed her face against the doorframe.

"Rosalie, what…oh shit." Only then did I see her arm, with its grossly deformed elbow joint. "We need to take you to the hospital."

Rosalie made some dissenting noises, but was in too much pain to argue. I threw my coat over her shoulders to keep her warm and then I went to the outbuilding where I kept my old car. My prayers were answered when it actually started without too much trouble, and helping Rosalie in to the front seat I drove it as slowly and smoothly to the hospital as I could.

By the time we got there Rosalie was shivering, despite the coat, and I thought maybe she was going into shock. Her face was looking bad, and I felt a sick dread when I looked at her round belly and thought about the baby, caught up in this. If he'd hurt Rosalie's baby…

"I'm not going in." Rosalie's teeth were chattering. "Someone I know might see me. No one can know that Royce did this."

Rather than argue, I bolted from the car and inside the hospital. I didn't have any plan, but luck was on my side and one of the first people I saw was Dr Cullen who, to my surprise, remembered who I was.

"Mr McCarty? You work for the Kings, correct? How can I help you?"

"It's not me," I said. His presence was soothing, and I felt myself beginning to calm, my breath coming in slower and deeper. "It's Rosalie…she's out in the car."

"The baby?" Dr Cullen said sharply.

"No," I shook my head. "He…that fucker hurt her bad, doc. She doesn't want anyone she knows to see her, but he's broken her arm or something and there's a lot bruising on her face."

A look of furious rage crossed Dr Cullen's face, so quickly I wasn't even sure I'd seen it when he looked back at me with his usual serenity. "There's a side door she can use. I'll need to examine her immediately."

I led him to the car, where Rosalie was leaning forward over her belly, clutching the deformed looking arm close to her body and breathing in shallow pants.

"Hello Rosalie, how about we take you inside and get you fixed up?" Dr Cullen's voice was soft and soothing. "That looks very painful."

"The baby…" Rosalie's voice was a thin thread of pain, and tears began running down her cheeks. "Please make sure the baby is okay."

"What happened? Were there any blows or knocks to your belly?" Dr Cullen leaned into the car and gently scooped Rosalie up in his arms. I followed silently beside him.

"No," Rosalie whispered. "He hit me in the face and on my arms, and when I tried to get away he pushed me, and I fell. That's when I hurt my arm."

I opened the door Dr Cullen indicated and he carried Rosalie inside and into an examining cubicle. A nurse, looking curious, came in and asked Dr Cullen what she could do.

"Find me the fetoscope please," Dr Cullen said absently. He had Rosalie on an examination bench and was gently palpating her arm. "Rosalie, you've dislocated your elbow. We'll need to pop the bones back into place, but that will be straightforward once we've got some morphine to help with the pain." His fingers probed the bruising on her face and head, and she jerked away from his touch. "These are painful, but will heal without intervention. Now, there's nothing else? He didn't hurt you anywhere else? Don't shield him Rosalie, I need to know."

Rosalie shook her head, her eyes still glimmering with tears. "No."

"That's good then."

The nurse came back and she and Dr Cullen began preparing the syringe of painkilling drugs for Rosalie. Dr Cullen injected her into her arm, and in only a few moments Rosalie began to relax as the pain faded.

"Thank you," she murmured.

"Good girl." Dr Cullen patted her shoulder and then looked at me. "McCarty…"

"Emmett."

"Emmett. Do you think you could help me here? It's a simple job, but it's a two person one and you look strong. The sooner it's done the better. I need you to hold her arm while I manipulate the joint back in to place."

I stood close by the side of the bed, holding Rosalie's arm as carefully as I could to avoid the bruises while Dr Cullen worked on her. Rosalie turned her head to the side and pressed it into the pillow to muffle her screams- the morphine might have eased the pain but it hadn't eliminated it. I was relieved when Dr Cullen had Rosalie's arm looking normal again, and he laid it carefully across her chest.

"I'll splint that and get you a sling," he told her. "You'll need to keep it still for a few days, and then begin gentle movements and it should heal well. It was a simple dislocation and we got it back into place fairly quickly, which will have helped minimise swelling and bruising. Now, I want to check on that baby."

I was incredibly embarrassed when Dr Cullen pulled Rosalie's dress up to bare her belly. I would have left, but she reached out her good arm and grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly. I saw the fear in her eyes and stood quietly, trying not to look at her long, stockinged legs and lace panties as Dr Cullen placed the metal fetoscope against her belly and began moving it around.

"And…there we go," he murmured, his fingers beginning to tap out the rhythm of a baby heartbeat against Rosalie's hip. "Strong and steady as ever." He raised his face and looked at Rosalie sternly. "But Rosalie, you have been incredibly lucky. You fell with enough force to dislocate your elbow…if you had fallen on your stomach that could have been disastrous for the baby. We must try and work out a plan to keep you safe."

"I'm leaving." Rosalie struggled to push down her dress and sit up, but Dr Cullen put a light hand on her shoulder to keep her lying down. "I'm leaving Royce."

"Do you have somewhere to go?" Dr Cullen's voice was soft with compassion. "Because I might be able to help…"

"I have somewhere to go." Rosalie flashed an uncertain glance at me. "Somewhere far away, where he'll never ever find me."