A/N-I'm so sorry it's been longer than two weeks, but this is a monstrous chapter! Thank you to those who have followed this story! One more chapter and this will be complete! I plan on opening another poll on whether Amanda and Emily should switch back names, and that will end on April 21 with the last chapter ending no later than April 27. The poll about the sequel will end on May 01.
The awesome, kick-butt cover is made by DDLJ! Thank you so much for advising me on this chapter!
WARNING: EMILY'S TESTIMONY GOES INTO SOME GRAPHIC DETAILS OF WHEN SHE WAS HELD CAPTIVE! ANOTHER SCENE HAS MILD SEXUAL CONTENT!
Disclaimer: Same as always: I don't own the show or the characters from the show. All mistakes are mine and this does come from my imagination. I don't profit from this. I also have very little knowledge of law, medicine and psychiatry and how certain situations are handled. I know that events like this wouldn't unfold like this, but in fiction, anything can happen. Disassociation disorders and mental illness are nothing to joke about. Please don't take these matters lightly.
Third POV:
Dwayne knows he was a guilty man. He already pleads guilty to all accounts not involving Emily.
He knows jury won't find him not guilty, but that isn't the point of his trial.
He wants to see Emily squirm; he wants to see Emily break. He thinks he's going to see the Emily he broke in his punishment den.
He doesn't realize he's going to see the Emily that won't hesitate to crush his windpipe.
Emily tugs at her long-sleeved blouse, trying to get as much coverage as she can from the cold air-conditioning and the prying eyes as she, Nolan, and Aiden enter the court room. Today, everything Emily faced for seven years will be aired out to the public, and she needs to brace herself for everything that is going to follow; some things they will mention Nolan didn't know about. Emily taps her foot against the floor, once she's seated between Nolan and Aiden. Nolan takes her hand and rubs small circles on the top of her hand to try and calm her down. Aiden crosses his arms while he observes Mr. Goodman shuffle papers around. He doesn't like his posture, his demeanor, and he doesn't like how this man is supposed to defend the creature that hurt Emily. Emily almost runs out of the court room when Dwayne is brought in and has that menacing grin plastered from ear to ear. He is seated by Mr. Goodman and Emily stares straight at the court room wall ahead of her, feeling Dwayne look her over from across the room; she will not break in front of him. When Judge Tate enters, they stand and then retake their seats as Mr. Montgomery walks to the front of the room.
Mr. Montgomery begins, showing his evidence after opening statements are made. First, he plays parts of the videos of Dwayne beating, waterboarding, mock-executing and violating Emily. Emily wants to hide herself as she hears her own screams for mercy and begging for him to kill her, but she knows she mustn't react in an incriminating manner. Nolan can hardly stomach watching Emily be tortured, and when he looks at Emily, he can see her distancing herself from the situation. Then Mr. Montgomery presents Emily's sexual assault nurse examination report, along with her medical records when she was . He also brings in the incriminating statements from his cohorts. Mr. Goodman brings the evidence that Dwayne is a playwright, and he and Emily were rehearsing scenes he had written, even providing manuscripts of these "scripts". He asserts Emily liked being "roughed-up" by Dwayne during these scenes, and it takes all of Nolan and Aiden to jump up and denounce his claims. He defends Dwayne from the statements of Sander, Willis, and Martina by bringing up that were given a less harsh sentence if they confessed to these crimes, and it's possible they feared losing in court. Finally, Mr. Montgomery calls up Nolan and Aiden, both adding nails to Dwayne's figurative coffin, and then Emily.
"Emily, what happened the night you disappeared?" Mr. Montgomery gently asks.
"Nolan and I had a small argument, so I went for a walk to clear my head, then Dwayne approached me and I fell unconscious from what I later learned was chloroform."
"What happened once you became conscious?"
Emily interlaces her fingers and swallows, "I was locked in a dark room, chained by the ankles to a bed, and I was…" She looks at him with pleading eyes and he curtly nods, "stripped of my clothes. He opened the door and unchained me. I tried to find out what he was going to do, and at first he was too nice, and then he turned cruel. He began by telling me he was going to take care of me, and then he I wouldn't see him for the rest of the day; if I did, he would send Alex, Willis or Sander beat me until I was unconscious. Martina would bring me a bowl of soup and a glass of water every day, but she would make rude comments on how I ate. I saw them execute a man they claimed to be Nolan, and I thought that would be the most painful experience I would have to face. Quickly, Dwayne became more violent and let his brothers continue. Then, he began to…" Emily inhales and breathes out, "sexually assault me. It began once every couple of days, and then it was an everyday thing, and it escalated, and I wanted nothing more than to find a way out. When we were moving locations, I managed to get away and I almost made it to a city, but I was caught." Emily takes a shaky breath and can see Dwayne lean back in his chair, his perverted grin growing; he was enjoying this and Emily won't let him win, "He locked me away for a week without any access to food or water, and every day he would come into that room assault me, degrade me; they once mock-executed me by holding a gun to temple, and when it clicked, they all laughed when I dropped to the floor crying. Soon, I discovered I was pregnant." Emily stops to try and calm herself down; she cannot panic, she needs to finish this so she can go home.
"Emily, can you continue?" Mr. Montgomery asks, internally debating whether to call a five minute recess for Emily's sanity.
"It seems like it was a miracle that I hadn't miscarried with the stress and physical mistreatment I faced, but the pregnancy saved me. They all backed off and I was allowed to go upstairs and away from the moldy basement. I did house work and tasks for my meals, and on July tenth, I spent thirteen hours in labor to hold my daughter. After I healed, I knew they would pick up where they left off, and I didn't want to risk my baby's life, so I ran. I didn't make it as far, and there was punishment: they taunted me with her, from holding her over a tub of boiling water to threatening to throw her down the stairs. As she got older, they separated us for long periods of time. I was mock-executed in the same manner when she escaped, blaming me for my daughter's defiance. Not long after," Emily almost chokes, and reminds herself Arrayah is alive and well, "they told me my daughter was dead. It was… what broke me. We moved one more time, and Dwayne seemed more determined to end everything. He shattered my shin," Emily knows she's almost done, and powers through, "carved my other leg like a Thanksgiving turkey, and then tied me up to bleed to death."
"Is that all, Emily?" Mr. Montgomery is still uncomfortable with the details of Emily's situation for seven years. Now she'll be relentlessly be cross-examined by Mr. Goodman.
Emily quickly mulls over her answer; no, there is still more, every time she thought she was going to die, the anguishing pain of being used as a sparring dummy and raped cannot be put into any language, nor can the thought of your child and loved one is dead, "Yes, that is all I can recall." Mr. Montgomery thanks her and returns to his desk, but Emily can only focus on Mr. Goodman standing up and Dwayne whispering something in his ear. Emily shifts in her seat as she sees Dwayne lean back with his arms crossed but thumbs peeking out, and that plotting grin eating its way into her confidence.
"Ms. Thorne, how're you doing?" Mr. Goodman asks in a false-carrying manner. Mr. Montgomery stands up and yells some objection Emily didn't catch, but Judge Tate allows the question.
"I am doing better, Mr. Goodman." Emily answers cautiously.
"Ms. Thorne, when you and Mr. Ross were arguing, you had already slept together, correct?" Emily feels foolish over blushing over this, and when Mr. Montgomery objects and accuses him of a leading question and Judge Tate overrules him again.
"Yes."
"Weren't you reportedly in a public relationship with Daniel Grayson during this time?" Mr. Goodman paces in front of her with his arms behind his back.
"We had a small falling out and it didn't go public." Emily had anticipated this question and had gone over her answers with Mr. Montgomery and Nolan.
"Such a high profile couple, and this didn't come out?" Mr. Goodman gives her sideways smile like he's caught her.
"We had several breaks in our relationship, like most couples." Emily controls her tone of voice, so she doesn't sound hostile.
"Objection: what does this have to do with the case at hand? My client's dating life if her business." Mr. Montgomery argues.
"I'm just trying to show that Ms. Thorne may not be totally honest about some things! The jury didn't know this!" Mr. Goodman butts in before Judge Tate can give her decision.
"Sustained, Mr. Montgomery. Mr. Goodman, if you don't have any more questions pertaining to the case, please sit down."
"A couple more questions, your Honor." Mr. Goodman receives a nod from the elderly judge, "Ms. Thorne, you called it a miracle you didn't miscarry your daughter." He sees the fire light in Emily's eyes at the mention of her beloved child, "Couldn't one assume that you possibly weren't physically assaulted by my client, and you only made these claims up to make you seem like a victim so you wouldn't be tied to the drug and fire arm trafficking my client is guilty of?"
"I wouldn't think so; there is evidence that shows otherwise." Emily calmly responds.
"You've had a history of liking, in layman's terms, 'bad boys', Emily. Are you sure you didn't enjoy one moment?" Mr. Goodman taunts and Emily nearly implodes on her urge to scream at him. Judge Tate cuts him off before Mr. Montgomery can stand and orders that not to be considered in the deliberation. Mr. Goodman ends his cross-examination on Emily stiffly walks back to her seat behind her attorney. Nolan throws a reassuring arm over her, but he knows it's too late to bring Emily out of the dark corners of her mind. To their surprise, Detective Green is called up to the stand next, as a witness to Arrayah's state of mind when she was found and being on the raid that found Emily. Mr. Goodman doesn't even attempt to chew up Detective Green, and court is adjourned for the evening. Judge Tate gives the date of the next hearing and Nolan is the first to stand when everyone is dismissed. He watches coldly with a guarding stance over Emily as Dwayne is escorted to the door that leads to the van that transported him.
"Emily, are you ready to go home?" He gently asks as he grabs their coats. He doesn't get an immediate response, and damns dissociation to every undesirable place he can think of. It takes so long to get Emily out of the place she's stuck in, and she's in a funk for a few days after.
He has her standing up and sluggishly walking out of the court room "Emily, we need to get home; Ray is going to miss us."
Emily's eyes begin to refocus and she blinks a few times before she speaks up, "What about Arrayah?"
"She's probably ready to see us; are you ready to go home? We can order take out in the cab and it should meet us when we arrive at the apartment." Nolan helps her with her coat and dismisses Aiden's worried glance. He leads Emily out with a small hand on her back into the chillier New York evening.
"That sounds great! Aiden, would you like to join us, or would Miko want you tonight?" Emily turns to him as Nolan waves down a cab.
"Miko is in Germany right now, but I would love to join you all for dinner." Aiden states, while throwing a quick concerned glance at Nolan. Nolan nods as he helps Emily into the cab. Emily leans against him the whole ride. True to his word, they meet the delivery boy outside the building when their cab pulls up. Nolan pays the teenage boy and they make their way to his and Emily's apartment. They enter to find Amanda and Charlotte dozing on the couch as the children are engrossed in a colorful cartoon movie. The awake adults snicker and announce their presence. Arrayah is the first to run up to them, giving them each a hug, with Andy and Carl following to investigate the aroma coming from the bags they are holding.
"Why are the babysitters sleeping?" Nolan questions, exaggerating the volume of his voice. His plan works as Amanda sits straight up and causes Charlotte to roll of the couch.
"When did you guys get home?" Amanda hurries over to them, with Charlotte sitting up on the floor and rubbing her eyes.
"We just got in; it looks like you guys had an eventful evening." Aiden notices toys and board games scattered around the living room.
"We did! We went to the park before it got too cold, and these kids ran me and Char to death. Then we came home and played every board game imaginable, made grilled cheese, and during the movie, we must've dozed off." Amanda explains as she helps Emily with the bags filled with their dinner.
"Well, we have a plethora of cheeseburgers and chicken tenders. I hope your boys can squeeze something in." Nolan announces, knowing very well that Andy and Carl will eat anything placed in front of them.
"I think they could take in a few nibbles." Charlotte eggs on, fully awake and off the floor now.
The adults chatter and dish out the greasy food as the children stand off to the side.
"What does a-ple-fora mean?" Carl whispers to his companions.
"I don't know. Maybe it's a type of cheese-burger!" Andy decides and they turn to Arrayah for an answer, in which she only shrugs; her Daddy uses lots of big words all the time, and she's lost count on all the times she's tried to keep up. The group chows down, with the boys picking off their mother's plates after they finish their own. Amanda and Charlotte leave after everything is cleaned up; they wouldn't make the drive back home tonight, so they are staying in Charlotte's apartment. Emily and Nolan thank them for taking care of Arrayah, and Aiden is soon to follow. They get ready for bed, and as Emily is helping Arrayah with her pajamas, Nolan explains the episode Emily had to Aiden through an email. Once Arrayah is settled in, it's just Emily and Nolan in the living room, cuddled in front of the gas fireplace.
"You had a disassociation episode after court, and Aiden saw it." Nolan whispers to her, pulling her close. He knows today was draining on everyone, but it really got to Emily.
"Figures; did you tell him?" Emily looks up at him and he can see Emily breaking down and building her walls.
"I explained it to him when he left, so he wouldn't think..." He begins and starts to pull her closer, but Emily pushes away to keep a good distance.
"I'm just some crazy who can't stay in reality for ten minutes?" Emily finishes, beginning the funk Nolan fears.
"You are not crazy, Emily. You faced a pretty big trauma for seven years, and then had to reface it all today; it's normal to develop a disassociation disorder." He reasons out and reaches out to hold her hands. He can see the inner battle she's facing, and he hates he can only stand by to watch her make a casualty of herself in her own war.
"Emily, I promise, I'm here for you if you ever want to talk." Emily leans into his shoulder and heaves a shaky breath.
"I just want this all to end so we can live a normal life. I don't want Arrayah to be scared of him coming after her; I don't want you to have to deal with all of," Emily takes her hand and makes a gesture to everything, "this; I don't want to deal with everything I'm going to have to deal with for the rest of my life. Nolan, I'm just done!" Nolan is stunned as Emily begins to silently cry into his shoulder. He is not prepared to console this part of Emily. He allows her to cry it out, and when she's exhausted herself, he carries her to bed where he lays her by a sleeping Arrayah and he scrambles to the other side. He gets as close to his family as he can and shelters them with his arms, hoping to keep out any nightmares that wish to invade their sanctuary.
A few days later, Emily and Nolan go to her check-up without Arrayah. It is one of those check-ups that they felt she didn't need to hear. When the big questions is asked, the doctor orders a physical and mental assessment of Emily, and when all is said and done, she gives them the green light, as long as they were careful and communicate. One can imagine the joy the couple felt as they race home to pick up where they left off seven years ago.
Emily is skittish when they start going farther than kissing. She shies away, and Nolan reassures her, that it was okay for them to stop. With the offer in the air, they just lay there, with Nolan stroking her arms and hair, with Emily calming herself against his chest. They go slow: after each article is removed, Nolan would allow her to breathe, regain her footing, and initiate the next step; he doesn't want to ruin this experience for Emily. She almost backed out, and Nolan told her she had nothing to prove to him, and they all the time in the world to do this. Before they enter the realm of no going back, Nolan holds her again, hearing her shaky breaths and seeing her panic almost made him stop, but Emily tells him she wanted this, she needs to feel normal. As she lets the panic subside, Nolan allows his mind to wander for a second; it makes his stomach churn at what they did to his precious Emily to cause her this much fear in something she used to use to her advantage. He kisses every scar, from her wrists that were left with faint rope-burn scars to the ones on her shoulders, to her face he could just stare at to make up for the lost time he didn't see her. The gentleness, patience, and the control Nolan relinquishes to her gave her the strength to continue. They take it slow and become re-familiar with each other.
Four hours later, they are picking up their sweet daughter, polished and apologizing for being an hour late, claiming some work had to be done at the house before Arrayah could come home. Charlotte isn't a fool, and gives a small wink and nod to her older sister as their children chat about their day at the Boardwalk and a children's art museum. Charlotte even offers to watch Arrayah for the whole weekend and there was no hiding the blush that rose to the apples of Emily's cheeks and the tips of Nolan's ears. They try to back pedal, but the two pleading children and a younger sister with a satisfied smirk did them in. On their way home, Emily suspects that Charlotte may have coerced the children into begging for a sleep-over before they came to pick Arrayah up.
In between court dates they were requested to attend by Mr. Montgomery, Nolan ends his lease for his apartment, and then starts a new one for an apartment with two bedrooms. With his new software about to be released, Nolan goes to the office to manage his employs, but returns home as quickly as he can to be with his girls. With Nolan working, and Arrayah catching up on her school work, Emily uses interior decorating as an escape for her anxiety. The day before verdict, the jury has taken a lengthy amount of time on this decision, Nolan is at the office for a few extra hours, and when he comes home, he finds Arrayah coloring with noise-canceling headphones on, while seated at the kitchen island. He taps the counter and she meets her father's worried glance with a look of annoyance.
"What's wrong?" He places his bag on the counter and takes a seat next to his daughter.
Arrayah sighs and takes off her headphones, "Mommy is cleaning and organizing, but it's worse." Emily had recruited her for moving small things around and helping her decorate their bedroom, again. Arrayah thought it was going to be fun, but her mother's meticulousness, had driven her up the wall. She slipped out while her mother paced and vented to no one that the balance was off, and that's how she ended up with her father's noise canceling headphones and a coloring book about flowers.
"Let me go talk to her." Nolan ruffles his daughter's fluff of hair and glides to his new bedroom.
"Good luck!" Arrayah calls after him and slides the headphones back onto her ears.
Nolan knocks on the door and enters when there is no response. He opens the door to find the room in disarray: home-décor magazine pages have surrendered to being folded and tossed haphazardly anywhere there's an open space, color swatches litter the ground, the comforter and sheets are hanging limply over the foot-board, and pictures Emily just hung last night are now leaning casually against the baseboards.
"Hey Em, what's wrong?" Nolan cautiously asks, stepping over a discarded pillow. When he left this morning, this room has some form of order, and just needed a coat of paint; now he's not sure if he's stepped into the right room.
"Everything is all wrong! The color, the pillows, everything is wrong!" She rasps out. He notices her cheeks are blotchy and seem a dewy.
Nolan weighs all options to try and find the right response that won't set her off even farther, "Emily… Darling," He chuckles lightly, feeling like he's going to suffocate under the new pressure of calming his Emily down.
"See! The unflowy-ness of the room his messing with your speech," Emily declares triumphantly, wiping at a stray tear that escaped the corner of her eye, "but I don't know how to fix it!"
Nolan decides not to correct Emily's word choice, "Emily, it's just a room; it's just a place for us to stay when we're in the city." Nolan reassures her, taking a step closer to physically comfort her.
"It may be just a room, but it needs to flow. Without the flow," Emily sighs, releasing the tension in her body, "everything falls apart." She sinks down to the ground, feeling defeated that she cannot even control the way a room looks.
Nolan gets on the floor with her and throws a comforting arm over her upper body, pulling her closer to him, "Do you want to tell me what this is all about or do you want me to speculate?"
"I don't want tomorrow to come. I have no control of what the jury thinks, I have no control over what happens. They've taken too long! What if they found something wrong with our testimonies? I don't know what to tell her if the monster is allowed to walk on those charges! He won't be in for long with what he's plead guilty to! Do you see how she is now? I can't have that ripped away from her!" Emily hides her face in her hands, and for the third time that day, she lets herself cry out the frustration.
Nolan recalls what the psychiatrist mentioned at one of Emily's recent visits, that she may have some slight control issues, stemming from having no control for seven years, to drastically regaining full power of her life, and he must handle these new feelings with care, "Emily, look at me." He pulls her chin up gently and his heart breaks to see her brown eyes looking like a deflated balloon, "I spoke with the attorney, and he thinks our case was stronger than his. He had very little evidence to support himself, and even though you feel like you got flustered on the stand, even a blind man could see how nervous Dwayne made you." He kisses her temple, but Emily is not satisfied.
"But what would we do if he's found not guilty and he's out whenever those charges are up?"
"Then we pack up and move somewhere far away and tropical." Nolan retorts, finality in his voice and a light smile on his lips.
Emily rolls her eyes and wipes at her nose, "Realistically, Nolan."
"We file a restraining order and get our concealed carrier's license." Emily is surprised by nonchalance he has over the plan.
"Are you serious?" She recalls Nolan at the firing range all those years ago; the fear Emily felt to watch him wildly aim at the target and the fear Nolan had for having a loaded weapon in his hands didn't match up to the fear the instructor had that Nolan may do harm to someone or his property.
"If it keeps you and Ray safe, I'm up to anything." Nolan shrugs, as if it was another normal conversation.
"Thank you." Emily leans her head against his shoulder, "How mad is Arrayah at me?" Emily feels the guilt wash over her as she remembers how she basically ran off her poor daughter.
"Oh, she may only make you take her to get ice-cream and treats from the bakery five times this week." Nolan jokes, knowing Arrayah wouldn't hold anything over Emily.
Emily nods, not catching onto Nolan's humor, "We can go after dinner."
Nolan shakes his head and stands up, bringing Emily up with him, "Emily, I think as long as you aren't mean to her, she's never going to hold a grudge against you." He wraps his arms around her waist and leads her out of the bedroom, all without tripping over anything. He leads her into the kitchen where Arrayah hasn't budged and doesn't look up from shading the Lilac she's been focusing on since separating herself from Emily. Arrayah notices her parents sit across from her, so she cautiously takes off the headphones; she'll find a way to get out of decorating.
"Arrayah, I'm sorry for going crazy in there. Will you forgive me?" Emily looks pleadingly over at Arrayah, who can't figure out why her Mommy looks so sad.
"Mommy, I'm not mad at you, I got…" Arrayah tries to find the right word to describe how she felt, "aggr'vated that nothing was perfect."
Emily almost chuckles at her daughter's choice in words, "Mommy was too."
After dinner is devoured and the plates are left in the sink to soak, Emily and Nolan surprise Arrayah with a trip to the ice-cream parlor half a block away from their apartment. When they return home, Nolan finishes the dishes while Emily helps Arrayah get ready for bed. She tucks her in and retrieves the book from the top of the dresser; soon, Emily decides, she'll help Arrayah organize her room.
"Mommy?" Arrayah's small voice breaks her of her train of thought.
"Yes, Ray-bear?" Emily sits beside Arrayah and holds the opens the book to where they left off.
"Tomorrow's the day, isn't it?" Arrayah looks up at her mother, hope filling her blue eyes.
"Yes, it is." Emily sighs; she should've focused more on Arrayah today instead of trying to distract herself from tomorrow.
"He's gonna be put away forever, so we can live happily ever after, right?" Arrayah snuggles closer to Emily, wanting to be closer to her Mommy fearing tomorrow's decision.
"I hope so, Ray." Emily leans down and kisses her forehead and wraps her free arm around her, bringing her even closer and lays the book in the middle of them. Emily begins the chapter and feels Arrayah relax next to her.
"Mommy, can I sleep in your bed tonight?" Arrayah yawns after they finish a chapter in the novel. Emily nods and picks her and carries her into the master bedroom, where Nolan was working on picking up a few things Emily slung around.
"Nolan, we may have a guest for tonight." Emily quietly informs him, noticing that Arrayah is already nodding off. When Nolan looks up at her, she can feel the compassion he has for her and their child. He smiles and pulls the blankets back for them. Emily lays Arrayah in the middle of the bed while she gets on one side of the bed. Nolan retrieves Arrayah's nightlight and plugs it out just outside their door. He slides next to Arrayah and takes Emily's hand and places it over their dozing child.
The next morning, after breakfast, Amanda shows up with the boys. Emily is already ready to show up and face the decision. Nolan tries convincing her to lounge in sweats until a couple of hours before they have to show up; he knows his suggestion fell upon deaf ears since once Emily sets her mind to something, it takes something big to stop her. Finally, Nolan trades his sweat pants for "grown-up clothes" and they kiss and hug Arrayah goodbye, then thank Amanda again for watching her. They catch a cab to the court house and meet a pacing Aiden near the great columns supporting the structure. The trio walks inside and take their seats in the behind Mr. Montgomery.
"How're you holding up?" He directs his warm smile at Emily. Emily kindly returns the older gentleman's grin, "I've been on edge."
"That's an understatement." Nolan clarifies cheekily, trying to ease everyone's nerves. Emily shoots him a dirty look, but he can see the playful gleam in her eyes. They chat quietly until the judge enters. Emily takes Nolan's hand and almost feels his heart stop as the judge asks the foreman to announce the jury's findings. With each time the foreman announces "guilty" to the audience, Nolan can feel Emily quiver. When Judge Tate dismisses the jury, Nolan turns to find Emily hunched over, breathing heavily between her knees. He crouches next to her and rubs her back.
"Dwayne is going away for a long time, Ems; he's never going to see the light of day." Nolan reassures her.
"I know, it's… just hard to believe." Emily exhales heavily, "Arrayah is going to be thrilled." He sees Emily lift her head and smile at him, "It's all over."
Emily, Nolan, and Arrayah are given permission to go Dwayne's house one last time. It was cleared of being a crime scene, and is to be sold to pay the debts Dwayne and his posse had collected, so they were going to see if there were any pictures or some of Arrayah's toys that she wanted to keep. They pull up to the lot with a gravel driveway and a metal roof. On the outside, it's a cute little house on the shore no one would think twice about renting for the summer with their family, but what happened on the inside made it just as appealing as a small shack in the middle of the woods where animals were slaughtered. Nolan helps Arrayah out of the car, and he starts to think her winter coat may be too thick for the beginning of spring. The snow has started melting and the grass isn't as nearly brown and dead looking.
They ascend the porch stairs and Emily almost anchors herself to the first step; this is the first time she has entered the house on her own terms. She isn't being dragged, she isn't in pain, and she doesn't fear for her daughter's life. She takes the key Sonya loaned her and forces her wrist to cooperate and unlock the door. Once she hears the click of the door, she pushes it open and steps into the foyer. Once her little family is in, she follows Arrayah to where her room was while Nolan examines the house his family was kept.
Arrayah's room is a typical little girl's room. It was her safe haven where she could go and not feel like a target. Her walls are a soft pink, the same pink Dwayne himself painted when she was born. The toys she had are against the walls so nothing was in anyone's way. She gravitates toward her bed first, a small, plastic, purple four post bed has crinkled Disney Princess sheets and a little quilted baby blanket on it.
"Mommy, can we take this, and the baby deer?" Arrayah picks up the blanket and fawn. Emily smiles and nods and helps Arrayah fold the blanket and set the fawn lovingly onto of it. When Emily had been allowed upstairs, she was directed by Dwayne to mend his clothes and do house work, and after a while, when she got good with a sewing machine, Emily managed to ask him for fabric to make their baby a quilt. Dwayne spent a few days pondering it, but finally relented, but Emily had to do it when she wasn't busy doing her other work. After he saw Emily working harder than she had before, he bought her fabric with a print of a cartoon baby bunny with butterflies and flowers against a soft cream background, and a plain cream panel for the back. It actually surprised Emily when he got her all the supplies she needed for this project. She abided by his rules, since he actually got her the supplies and didn't want to endanger the life of her baby by making him mad. He let Emily make the quilt because he thought it was an appropriate task for a mother, and he saw it as her conforming and becoming submissive to him; Why else would the big bad revengite begin such a feminine task? She worked when everyone was passed out from the alcohol, or were too busy to notice the machine running. By the end, she had figured out how to sew the two panels together with a ruffled edge. She was rather proud of herself by going on vague memories of her days in Europe and her roommate was a big quilter and would always chat at Emily about quilting, even though that Emily had only been focused on making herself better, stronger, and smarter than her targets.
Arrayah goes around the room and picks up smaller toys and stuffed animals and adds them to her pile. She also adds a few of her decorations, like the snow globe she bought at the Winter Fair her kindergarten year and gave it to Emily for Christmas, only for Emily to tell her to put it in her room for safe keeping. When Arrayah is satisfied with what she has collected, she helps Emily carry it down and put it in the car. When they go in, Arrayah shows Emily where Dwayne kept all of her pictures and school crafts she's made. Dwayne isn't much of a human, and Emily would love to see awful things happen to him, but to his credit, he managed to preserve every little craft and drawing, her school pictures, yearbooks, along with a little notebook of Arrayah's milestones with a coordinated picture and date. In the very same boxes were packets of pictures of Arrayah with dates written on the back: Arrayah running along the coast line, building sand castles, her little chubby cheeks full of marshmallows, and they just went on, from her birth to almost when she escaped. Emily is putting back the pictures she was leafing through when one falls out. She picks it up and smiles at it. Arrayah was maybe two in the picture, and she had her forehead against Emily's and Emily is leaning into her, and if you didn't know their situation, one would appreciate the enchanting moment between a mother and her child. She has one hand on the back of Arrayah's head and the other is supporting her back. Emily's profile is actually clean without any visible bruises or distress; her features are relaxed and happy. Emily smiles at Arrayah's pink, chubby pink cheeks and small fat arms. Emily is amazed at how that little baby is this strong little girl Emily gets to witness grow every day. Emily starts to wonder where Nolan is when they begin stacking the picture boxes by the door. Emily has Arrayah go check her old room one more time while she goes to look for Nolan. She finds him staring blankly at the Mouth of Hell (as she called it when she was lead down its splintered stairs) and approaches him from behind.
"Is this where you were?" He mumbles, hands in the pockets of his bright green pants.
"For a while, yes. Nolan," She throws her arms around his neck and places her lips by his ear, "It doesn't matter anymore; as you said, he's never going to see the light of day." She places a tender kiss on his cheek and he turns around and pulls her close.
"I know, Ems, I just wish I had been there for you, Emily." He whimpers in a brittle voice. It's the first real time he's allowing himself to show his emotions to her.
"Nolan," She makes him look at her in the eye, "there was nothing you could do. Please don't blame yourself for that night; we both shouldn't have acted so quickly."
"This is going to take some time, isn't it?" Nolan's voice cracks a little as he pulls Emily closer to remind himself she is still here, she is alive. Seeing the physical place Emily was found at finally made it all so real to him.
"I think so," Emily sighs, "You're more than welcome to join me and the psychiatrist."
"I may take you up on that." They hear Arrayah's footsteps down the stairs and they decide to move away from the black hole that was hidden behind a faux-wall panel.
"Mommy, we have everything!" Arrayah calls and finds her parents entering the living room, "You found Daddy!" She throws her small arm around him and he picks her up, enjoying the comfort his little girl brings him; he's not sure how he can repay her for keeping her mother alive. He places her back on the ground and picks up the stacks of boxes by the door.
"Ready to go to the beach house?" He asks, knowing full well her answer. After loading the trunk, the small family piles into the car begin the drive to their favorite place.
As for the fate of the Grayson family, it's pretty grim. Conrad suffered a stroke when he was arrested and was lucky to survive, or as he was told; unfortunately, he is stuck in a vegetative state, unable to do the most basic task or enact any deed he wishes; he joins his father three months after being placed in a nursing home. Victoria initially plead guilty, but changed her plea when she discovered she had a cancerous tumor placed delicately on her Aortic Valve, with no one willing to risk surgery to remove it. She accepted her fate and knew she wouldn't live to stand trial, and she was on ringing Death's doorbell and was waiting for him to answer. Daniel plead guilty to the charges, to receive a lesser sentence; he may even get out before he's forty.
With the new evidence processed, the whole David Clark trial is reevaluated and his name is cleared of all charges with many of the witnesses from the first case are charged with perjury.
A/N- Again, thank you again for sticking with this for so long! Don't forget to vote!