He ran his family like a well-oiled military machine. And if you slipped, if you didn’t listen, you got the belt, or the punches or the kicks. He was a bastard, a wife-beater, and a pill-popping maniac. So, when Mitch finally came clean about his father’s twisted ways in their sophomore year at Basler, their relationship blossomed.
It was no longer about the sex or the good times they had. It was the fact they shared the same skeletons they desperately fought to keep in their respective closets. They were both victims. But they were also both survivors.
“Then don’t let it. Just give her time, Mitch,” Emily said as she reached across the table and grabbed Mitch’s trembling hand. “You know she loves you. You know that, despite all the differences, she’s still your daughter and you’ll always be her father.”
“I’m just scared,” Mitch said, squeezing Emily’s hand. “I don’t want to lose her.”
“You won’t,” Emily said, shaking her head as she fought back tears. “She’ll come around. You just have to give her time. Call her again and leave a message. Tell her how much you love her and how much you miss her. Tell her you’re sorry, even if you’re not. Even if that’s the hardest thing in the entire world to say out loud, it’ll be the most meaningful thing to her. She knows you love her, and you know she loves you. Sometimes, you just have to swallow your pride and jump.”
“When did you get so smart?” Mitch smirked, smiling.
“I’m a mother. It comes naturally.” Emily snickered as Mitch laughed, his hand squeezing Emily’s tighter and tighter.
innocent
The bottom of Emily’s white sneakers slammed on the wet, slick pavement of the parking lot in front of the Green Springs Apartment complex as she turned, slamming the door of her vehicle beside her. Emily glanced up at the gray morning sky as she watched the clouds roll above, twisting and turning against the sun’s bright rays hidden beneath their twirling white clusters. Emily felt the soft drizzle blanket her warm cheeks as she marched forward, tugging the straps of her red peacoat around her waist. Blair had never sent her the pictures of Greece or returned any of her calls last night. Emily had tossed and turned all night, the sheets tangling around her restless legs like a set of vines dragging her deeper and deeper into a sleepless void. Something inside of her felt unsettled. It was as if every sense inside of her was turning against her body, sending secret signals that something wasn’t right. She couldn’t turn it off. No matter how many positions she tried or how many times she closed her eyes, counting sheep. This distressing silence wasn’t like Blair, plain and simple.
Emily stepped up on the concrete walkway and sped forward, eying the entrance to the building ahead. She glanced back, her eyes scanning the parking lot to see Blair’s silver Jeep, still parked in her normal spot, two spaces from the handicap spot. Emily reached forward and tugged the silver handle of the glass door open and stepped inside. The warm heat pressed against her rosy, cold cheeks as she stepped into the entrance hall and made her way toward the metal elevator doors ahead. Emily reached forward, pressing her pointer finger firmly against the elevator button. The metal doors parted in front of Emily as she stepped forward, making her way inside the tiny elevator. Emily reached forward, pressing the glowing level four button.
Was she doing too much? What if this was Blair’s way of saying she needed space? She never wanted to crowd her daughter. She never wanted to make her feel like she was drowning, smothering in her mother’s hands that always held on her just a little too tight. But Blair would tell her. She would have been honest. She would have picked up the phone and told her she needed some time. But there was nothing. Not a text response. Not a phone call. It just didn’t make sense. She had been gone for a year. The last thing she probably wanted right now was space. At least, that’s what Emily prayed for. The elevator doors parted open before Emily as she raced forward, making her way down the hallway as the bottoms of her sneakers sped along the stained, red hallway carpet. Emily’s tongue stuck firmly to the roof of her parched mouth as she rushed around the corner of the hallway, her eyes locked on the black door at the end of the hallway.
4B.
She had to be inside.
She had to be here.
Emily stepped up to the door and tapped her knuckles against the cold, hard, wooden surface three times. Emily swallowed as she glanced at the hideous carpet, the fluorescent light above shimmering down on her like a ray of heaven’s blinding light. But there was no answer. The silence rang through Emily’s ears as she quickly reached forward and grabbed the golden doorknob tightly and turned. Emily slowly stepped forward as the door creaked open, her sweaty hand still wrapped around the handle as she gazed into the living room inside.
“Blair?” Emily called out as she stepped inside, shutting the apartment door firmly behind her. “Blair, are you here?” Emily asked as she eyed the burning candle on the black coffee table, the sweet smell
