Mitch.
Callie.
Their baby was four months old.
D.O.B.
“What in the hell do you want?” Callie Bradley snapped as she stared back at Emily through the open door on the front porch of Mitch’s townhouse. “You’ve got a lot of nerve to just show up here,” Callie added as her red, puffy eyes stared back at Emily, her long, blonde hair tied back in a messy bun.
“You think I enjoy this, Callie? Do you really think I wanted all of this to happen?” Emily asked.
“The entire town is talking about the bullshit that you fed the cops. Mitch never would have done those things to Blair and you know it,” Callie growled.
“You don’t even know the man you married.” Emily sighed, her body shivering in disgust. “You didn’t see the photos. You didn’t see what he did to my daughter. If anything, I did you a favor. Imagine if one day, you woke up, and you discovered he was doing the same thing to your child, to his own daughter.”
“Why the hell are you here?”
“I’m here because I need to talk to you. This isn’t about Mitch and this isn’t about us. This is about Blair,” Emily said.
“What about Blair? Still on that bullshit that she’s missing? You still think someone took her? When the hell are you going to step into the light and see that you smothered that girl, Emily? You practically drove her away.”
“Do you know something?”
“No, I’m just stating facts,” Callie said as she rested her shoulder against the open front door. “You were so busy being her best friend that you forgot to be her mother. Mitch told me all about you, and then some. How are your meetings going, by the way? He said you quit, gave up.”
“That’s none of your goddamn business,” Emily snarled, stepping toward Callie.
“It is when you’re on my fucking doorstep.”
“Blair had a baby,” Emily spat out. “Did you know?” Emily asked. She was done playing games. She didn’t have time to stand here and entertain Callie. She needed to know the truth.
“And she didn’t tell you? I’m stunned.” Callie smirked, crossing her arms over her breasts.
“Did you know?”
“God no,” Callie said. “Mitch would have killed her. I know they had their ups and downs, but he cared about her a lot. He wouldn’t want her to ruin her life like that.”
“She had the baby in September. That would make her about four months, now. How old is Lexi?”
“What the hell are you getting at?”
“I’m just trying to figure out what the hell is going on. If you know something, you need to tell me. NOW,” Emily demanded.
“Are you saying you think that Lexi, my daughter, is really Blair’s?” Callie smirked.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“God, and I thought Mitch was exaggerating just how crazy you were. You need to check your meds, Emily,” Callie said as she stepped back, closing the door. Emily’s hand shot up as her palm slammed against the cold wooden surface, stopping it in front of her. Callie’s red eyes narrowed on Emily from behind the cracked door.
“You’d do anything for Lexi, wouldn’t you?” Emily asked, tears flooding her eyes.
“Of course. What mother wouldn’t?”
“Then dig really deep down into that cold heart of yours, and try to understand where I’m coming from, Callie,” Emily said, her voice trembling. “Just tell me the truth.”
“We recorded the birth. Would you like to watch it?” Callie smirked, rolling her eyes.
“You’re damn right, I would.”
***
Emily stared back at Hank who sat beside her on the couch in the center of her living room. The sonogram trembled in his calloused hands as his eyes lifted, settling on Emily beside him, her legs hugged to her chest.
“I can’t even believe this,” Hank said, shaking his head as he leaned forward and grabbed the beer bottle from the coffee table in front of the sofa.
“How do you think I feel? How could she hide this from me? How could she lie about everything, Hank?”
“So, what did Callie say?” Hank asked, taking a long sip from the cold beer in his hand.
“It’s not Lexi; it’s not her baby. She thinks I’m crazy, like everyone else. Just like you do right now,” Emily said, staring down into her lap.
“I don’t think you’re crazy. I just think you need to take a break from this, Em,” Hank said as he sat up, setting his beer back on the table. Emily turned from him, staring back at the black TV screen as he draped his arm around her. “You’re getting so caught up in all of this and I don’t want to see you slip. You spend all day digging for answers that you just might not ever get. I know she’s your daughter and I know you want to find out what happened. But you need to give yourself some time. You need to take care of yourself.”
“You say that like it’s so damn easy. You say that like I can just turn it off, the feeling in my stomach that’s constantly twisting inside of me. I don’t expect
