The Perfect Family

Control

James arrived back to America at around nine in the morning, and drove as fast as he could to reach his ex-wife's house, all the while thinking about how much he loved her.  She was the best thing to ever happen to him, and he made the mistake of leaving her while she was still recovering from the trauma brought on her by that psychotic creep.

The guilt of not being able to save her from him has haunted him for years.  If only he would have killed Vincent Graves the night he broke into their home and took Cora away, they would have never had to endure the pain that he inflicted on them. 

Why did he allow that bastard to hurt them?  He'd failed as a husband and father, and that killed him from within every single day of his life. 

Perhaps that was why he left Emily.  He was far too ashamed of himself to face her every day.

Tears soaked the top of his steering wheel.  Things would be different from now on!  He would show Emily how much he cared for her.  Even if she didn't want him back, he would make sure that he was a good friend to her.  He would do everything in his power to make sure she and Cora were happy and safe, and if he had to do it from afar, it was okay.

His cellphone vibrated from his cup holder, and the caller was his boss. Though he really wasn't in the mood for distractions, he answered. "Hello."

"Hello, Reed-San. Has your plane landed yet?"

"Hai, kiite kurete arigatō."

"Yoi, yoi. Well, I'll let you go. Please, let me know as soon as you find out about your lovely daughter."

"Yes, Tanaka-San. I certainly will."

They disconnected the call.

James turned all of his focus back on to the bright road ahead, his mind wandering back to his family.

His stomach ached at the thought of his daughter being in danger, and the fact that Hope was not answering his phone calls did not help matters.

She was supposed to let him know how everything was going as soon as she reached Rockport, and that should have been over three hours ago. Why in the hell was she ignoring his phone calls? Did she not understand how worried he was about his family?

Of course she understood. She wouldn't make him worry for this long. Something was terribly wrong.

"Oh, God..." He moaned, trying to shake away the pain in his chest. "Please, let Cora be alright."

That's how he spent the rest of his drive, praying that his family was alright.  When he reached the outskirts of Rockport, he decided to try and give Emily a phone call.  She was probably at work, but he could at least leave her a voice mail.

He dialed the number.  No one answered and the voice mail box picked up.  'Hey, this is Emily.  I'm sorry I can't answer the phone right now.  I'm either grading papers or eating a pint of ice cream and watching tv.  Either way, I'll call you back.'

James smiled with trembling lips.  "Hey, you.  I just wanted to call and see if there was any news on Cora, and did Hope make it over there?  She was supposed to be there a few hours ago.  I'm sure you're at work right now, but I'll be at your house in a few minutes.  Love you, sweetheart.  I'll see you soon."

He was driving by the high school when he hung up the phone, imagining Emily in there teaching her students about a boring subject that she found fascinating. That was just another thing he loved so much about her. She found the good in everything.

Five more minutes passed before he reached their house, and he was surprised to see several vehicles sitting outside. One of them belonged to Hope, one to Emily, and the other he did not recognize.