Welcome To The Family

Emme

Gabe was standing behind me as I cooked breakfast. He rested his head on my shoulder and his hands were over my belly. Jared had his teddy bear in his hands and was playing in the living room. Gabe chuckled as he listened to Jared talk to himself. He smiled before kissing my cheek.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

He patted my stomach. I was so worried about Taylor's girl that I have not put much thought into me being pregnant. I placed one of my hands over his hand on my stomach.

"I'm not nearly as sick this time," I said.

I had waves of nausea throughout the day, but it was nothing that I could not handle. Luckily, Jenny would let me lie down and take care of Jared for me. I wasn't stuck in bed like I was being pregnant with Bonnie and Jared.

"I'm glad to hear that," he said. "Today may be difficult. I want you to be prepared for that."

"Okay," I said.

"Emme is going to be really upset because this is all new to her," he said. "You need to help show her that this is where she belongs. She is going to say a lot of bad things about the family. I trust that you won't believe her."

"Of course not," I said. "I love you."

"Good girl."

We ate breakfast together before heading over to Noah's house. They were finishing eating when we came through the front door. Noah was at the table with Dylan and Jenny. I carried Jared into the kitchen. Noah waved his hand and motioned for me to pass Jared over to him. I noticed that neither Taylor or Emme were downstairs.

"How is everything here?" Gabe asked.

"A bit of screaming," Noah said. "Enough to make it difficult to sleep."

"I'm sure glad that we moved out," Gabe joked. "We slept great."

"Then you can work twice as hard today."

Jenny chuckled as she stood and gathered the empty plates on the table. I helped her bring them over to the sink. Noah stood up with Jared in his arms. Jared had his teddy bear still clutched in his hands and his thumb in his mouth. He kissed Jared's temple before setting him down in the chair with the booster seat that he sat at every night.

"Let's get out there, boys," Noah said. "And this is for you, Jenny."

Noah pulled out a walkie-talkie. It reminded me of when I would try to steal it off of Jenny. I wondered if Emme would try the same thing. At least this time we outnumbered her.

Jenny took the radio and shoved it into her back pocket.

Gabe and Dylan followed Noah out the back door. I grabbed the wooden blocks from the living room and set them down in front of Jared. He grabbed them with his small fingers and tried to stack them. I went over to the sink and helped Jenny wash the dishes.

Neither of us said a word as I washed the dishes and Jenny dried them. When we heard movement upstairs, we paused to look at each other. We resumed cleaning. I looked over my shoulder when the stairs creaked.

Taylor was holding Emme's arm and pulling her down the stairs. Emme's eyes were bright red and her face was pale. She was holding her head with her hand. Her short curls were pulled back into a ponytail. She had on one of the old dresses I used to wear. I recognized it by the rip at the bottom of the hem.

Taylor pulled her through the kitchen and into the dining room. He pulled out a chair and pushed Emme down. She kept her head down as Taylor walked over to us.

"Mom, can you make Emme breakfast?" he asked. "Make sure that she eats it all."

"Of course, sweetheart," Jenny said.

Taylor went back over to Emme. He put his hands on her shoulders and leaned over to whisper something in her ear. Emme shuddered, crossed her arms and rubbed the bare skin of her arms. He kissed her cheek and stood straight. He did not say a word to us as he walked out the door.

I heard the sound of the lock turning. It had been a long time since I heard that noise.

Emme let out a deep breath. I watched her as she lifted her head and looked at Jared. Her brows furrowed together and her lips parted. Jared's eyes were wide as he watched Emme. He had never seen anyone outside of the family. I finished washing the last plate, dried my hands on a dishtowel and walked over to Emme.

"I'm Lindsay," I said, holding out my hand.

Emme looked up at me before staring back at the table. She shook her head. I could hear her sniffle. Jenny put her hand on my shoulder. I pulled my hand back.

"My name is Jenny," she said. "I am Taylor's mother."

Emme looked back up at us. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. My chest tightened and I chewed on my lip.

"Please," Emme said. "Please, let me go."

"There's nowhere to go," Jenny said. "This is where you belong."

"I don't want to die here."

"Die?" Jenny pulled out a chair beside Emme. She put her hand on Emme's shoulder. "Do you think we are going to kill you?"

Emme nodded. My teeth were digging so hard into my bottom lip that I could taste blood. My hands went over my stomach as nausea rushed through my body. I had no idea how Emme would react to our traditions. They shocked me when Gabe first told me.

"Honey, we are not going to kill you," Jenny said. "You are part of this family."

"I want to go home," Emme said.

"You are home."

Emme wiped the tears off of her face. She sobbed harder, taking in short and sharp breaths. Jenny rubbed Emme's back to try and comfort her.

"Look at Lindsay," Jenny said.

Emme lifted her head. I tried my best to smile.

"Lindsay was brought into our family over four years ago," Jenny said. "She was just as scared as you. Now, she loves it here because we love her. She is now pregnant with my second grandchild."

I rubbed my belly. Jared was sucking on his thumb as he watched his grandmother and Emme.

"I can't be pregnant," Emme said. "I can't have his baby."

"You will one day," Jenny said. "You'll have beautiful boys."

Emme squeezed her eyes shut. Jenny stood and walked over to the kitchen. She put the remaining scrambled eggs on a plate and set it down in front of Emme. I stayed frozen in place as I watched Jenny.

"You need to eat," Jenny said. "It will keep you healthy."

"I'm not hungry," Emme said.

"You need to eat. Taylor wants you to."

"Fuck Taylor."

Jenny let out a deep breath and closed her eyes. I rarely saw her angry, but I could see now that she was pissed.

"No swearing," she said. "It's a rule in this house."

"Fuck your rules," Emme said. "I need to get out of this hellhole."

Jenny balled her hands into fists at her side.

"You're all fucking monsters," Emme said.

Jenny scowled. She trembled with rage.

"You can all eat shit and go to hell," Emme said.

Jenny opened her mouth to speak, but I stepped toward her. My movement surprised her and she didn't speak. I put my hand on her shoulder and shook my head. Emme needed to trust us and us getting angry at her would not help.

"Taylor will punish her," I whispered so that Emme could not hear.

Jenny nodded and I watched the tension leave her body. She picked Jared up and smiled. She leaned in closer to me.

"You try talking to her," Jenny said.

"I will," I said.

Jenny stepped away and into the living room. I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans before pulling out the chair next to Emme and sitting down.