Colliding Hearts #Wattys2017

Chapter 33- Emerson's Return

"I liked painting, there was a studio in school that was always open, and you could paint all night if you wanted. I really liked free-sketching too, do you know what that is? It's where you get your sketchbook or a piece of paper and begin sketching without any idea, you just draw and draw and when you get tired you look at what you've done. It's really just drawing without a topic; I like free painting as well." Emerson spoke as she wadded up the twentieth fun sized snickers bar wrapper and tossed it out the window.

She pulled out another and opened it as she began eating, glancing at Jocelyn who sat next to her in the back of the cab. They had arrived back in Brooklyn and had taken a cab to the Institute that was after Jocelyn had bought Emerson a bag full of candy.

The pair had talked nonstop, something that seemed to be out of character for Emerson but Jocelyn found herself wondering if perhaps her being silent was the unusual behavior of her. There seemed like there were many sides of Emerson and Jocelyn wondered which side was the real side.

"I use to paint when I was pregnant with you and Clary, I stopped though." Jocelyn replied as she watched Emerson.

She had told Emerson all about her childhood and what it was like raising her first son and Clary. She even went so far as to tell her things about her past she had yet to tell Clary, especially about their brother Jonathan. Emerson had seemed to enjoy hearing her talk.

She had even asked thousands of questions to further the conversation. It seemed like the girl who didn't want to have long conversations or as questions was gone and in her place was a thoughtful and curious girl; Jocelyn was finding she enjoyed the curious girl who hung to every word and asked a lot of questions.

"Mom tried painting once, I remember Magnus talked her into painting with us but she ended up tripping and destroying the painting. Another time she tried to paint a dog but it looked like a gray blob." Emerson spoke with a mouthful of food.

"That does sound like Tessa, there was one time, when we were living together while I was pregnant, that I was painting the nursery and she wanted to help, but with her poor luck she ended up tripping and the can of open paint she was carrying splattered all over the floor, the wall, and the cribs. It was a mess," Jocelyn recalled as she laughed at the memory. Emerson grinned as she tossed away another candy wrapper but didn't get another piece of candy; instead she shifted and turned to stare at Jocelyn.

"Mom was really clumsy wasn't she?" Emerson joked as she was happy to talk about her mother to someone.

Though she had elected to forget the death of her mother and accept Jocelyn as her birth mother, it was still nice to hear about her, to know that Tessa had lived and meant something to others, to know she had been as important as Emerson always believed her to have been.

It helped Jocelyn as well, she had yet to grieve the loss of her old friend but standing in the field and releasing the paper lanterns and talking about her with Emerson helped more than Jocelyn had thought. She had even stopped feeling the sting of pain when she heard Emerson call Tessa mom.

The cab jerked to a stop and without speaking Emerson threw open the door and climbed out, carrying the bag of candy with her as Jocelyn paid the cabby. Jocelyn climbed out and stood next to Emerson as they stared up at the Institute as the cab drove off. Jocelyn was worried about confronting her husband and oldest daughter as well as the others. She knew what she had done was wrong but in the end it had brought her and Emerson closer and for that she was thankful.

Emerson however was curious as she lifted her arm and stared at her mark. It hadn't stung at all while she was gone, in fact after speaking with Rhamiel she wouldn't even know it was there until she looked down when showering or getting dressed. It appeared to be just a normal mark now but still she felt the connection and meaning it held; even if she didn't physically feel it.