Burning Ember

Chapter 14-Hale

Sitting comfortably with my boots kicked up on the coffee table, I watched the monitor as Ember retrieved the package I sent. She was getting braver. That much I had seen when she kneed me in the balls, but there was still work to be done. Ember was never going to heal unless she looked her demons dead in the eye. Healing for me had been a little different, but my traumas were just that—different. She needed this though, even if it hurt me to put her through it.

Spencer barged in through the front door with his backpack slung over one shoulder, and I already knew what he was going to say. "What the fuck was that about?" he demanded as he slammed the door behind him. When I asked him to help, I hadn't necessarily explained everything.

"I'm sorry, but I needed your help," I told him as I rolled my neck and dropped my boots to the floor.

"You're watching her now?" he huffed as he threw his hand out toward the monitor.

"Like it's any different than what you do," I countered, my patience with him and this tone he insisted on using with me was already wearing thin.

"No, that's not like what I do. I use surveillance cameras to help you take out the fucking trash, not stalk traumatized women."

Stepping dangerously close to him, I said, "I am not stalking her. I put those there to protect her."

"Really? Then tell me what that bullshit last night was about or I swear I'll tell her," Spencer threatened. My fists clenched, and I pulled in a deep breath before I let it go.

"I'll tell you, but you're not going to do a damn thing, and you're definitely not saying shit to Ember." I backed up, reaching to grab two beers from the counter, handing him one. "Here, sit and I'll explain."

So, I explained. "Ember barely leaves the house. She's only gone out a handful of times and she's noticeably on edge when she does. She's paranoid to the point where she even accused me of spying for Gabriel. That piece of shit, like I would ever do that. I know what I'm doing seems . . . unconventional."

"To say the least," Spencer retorted as he sat and crossed his arms.

"But it is helping her. After the first time," I began as he interrupted again.

"The first time? How many times have you done this shit?"

"Will you just shut the fuck up and listen?" I rolled my eyes and took a few steadying breaths before continuing. "I have only done this twice, and it was for her own good. She doesn't have time to slowly heal herself. Weeks—maybe before Gabriel realizes and finds out where she actually is, and she is too messed up to face him down. I have pushed her, and challenged her, forced her to look at the situation differently. Ember isn't the type to sit there and let you tell her what she needs to do, she would never listen. She has to be shown." Spencer stared at me like he had never seen me before. But he didn't know Ember like I did.

"I just don't get it. You made me stand out there for fucking hours, and for what? So, she doesn't find out what you did?" He shook his head before he added, "You know I'd do anything for you man, but I gotta draw the line. I didn't feel right about that shit for a single second, and I don't think this is healthy for you either. I know that what happened with Scilla—"

"Don't. We're not talking about her. This is not about her." Anger gripped tight in my chest as I bordered the edge of my control on it.

With a sigh he said, "You can't control everything and think it's helping. It's not humanly possible, and this is wrong. Think of how she would react if she does find out. Do you think it will go in your favor? Think about her."

"I am thinking about her," I lashed out, standing swiftly from my seat.

Spencer put his hands up in defeat, as he said, "Look, do what you want, but I'm not playing this game with you. You're on your own with that one, but don't complain to me when it bites you in the ass. Anything else, and you know I'm there, but that's my line." He stood and reached into his bag. Pulling out the mask, he tossed it onto the coffee table and walked out.

Running my hands roughly through my hair and I shut my eyes and focused on breathing. The mask stared back at me as I paced the floor. I grabbed it and shoved it into the desk drawer and shut off the monitor. I wasn't crazy. I knew the boundaries that I was pushing, but Ember was worth it. If I had to do it again, knowing that if something happens and I'm not there in time . . . She would stand a chance. And for that, I would do it again.

We found out early on what Gabriel was capable of. His own twisted behavior likely stemming from his abandonment issues due to mommy leaving. Couldn't hardly blame mommy when his father was an abusive bastard himself. The whole nature verses nurture debate could come into play, but either way, he was an abuser all the same. Spencer dug pretty deep on him, and we found that Ember wasn't his first wife. She was his third.

The first wife, after only a year of marriage, was beaten to a pulp and left in a hospital. He was freshly twenty when he married her. The photos from the report were horrifying. She looked as if she had been in a car wreck, and she was too afraid to speak out. His second wife drowned in their pool. The only way he got out of that one despite the bruising that was on her, was an alibi that was more than likely bullshit, and a fake ass story about how she had fallen down the stairs a week prior to explain away the bruises.

How Ember had survived for five years was beyond me, but it was a testament to her strength. The days were melting away and she had to be ready, because the only way she was going to be able to move past this, was to face it.