Emily, Come Home

Twelve

The days passed by. There was very little change. He still kept the door locked at night. I still wasn't allowed to go home. He did get me some of my favorite books to read, and he did give me some music to listen to. I could see that he was trying so hard, but I wanted nothing more than to go home.

I was sitting on the bed, listening to an old classic rock album when I heard the lock click as the knob turned. He peeked through the doorway and smiled.

"Good, you're awake," he said as he came into the room. He held out his hand for me to take, but I just stared at him warily. "I made something for you." His hand remained outstretched for me to take, so I did cautiously. He led me down a small hallway to the kitchen.

"What is this?" I asked as I stared in awe at the amount of food he had prepared. He squeezed my hand gently.

"Well, breakfast foods were always your preferred dishes. So, I took the liberty of making some of your favorites," he explained excitedly. He pulled out a chair for me. "I even made blackberry crepes."

"Gerard, I don't really know what to say," I admitted as I sat down. He pulled my hair back gently before walking over to the counter. He grabbed a plate and piled food onto it. I watched as he moved gracefully throughout the kitchen, grabbing the glasses and a pitcher of orange juice.

"Here you go," he grinned as he sat the plate before me. He poured the juice into the glass and handed it to me. I took a sip, and he giggled as my face puckered. He bounced back over to the counter and fixed his own plate before sitting in the chair across from me.

"Thank you," I smiled sincerely. I couldn't remember the last time I had someone go through so much trouble for me. He nodded as he took a bite.

"It's no problem. It's literally the least I could do. I just wanted to let you know that I remembered." I took a bite of the crepe and moaned to myself.

"And to remind me that you are one hell of a cook. This is so good," I complimented. He smirked at me before taking a drink.

"I'm glad that my culinary skills didn't suffer too badly."

"They definitely didn't. I can't recall the last time I had this. I think it was..." I trailed off as I remembered.

"The day we lost the baby," he finished calmly. I nodded nervously, but he reached across the table and rested his hand on top of mine. "Em, I'm better... I can talk about things like that. It's still very heartbreaking that it happened, but it wasn't the right time."

"I guess not," I agreed hesitantly. He pulled his hand back and continued eating. I could hear that he was speaking, but my mind was elsewhere.

Maybe he really was better. I mean, except for the one time he slapped me, he has shown no sign of losing his self-control. Could he have changed? In the moment, it felt just like the early days of our relationship. I didn't feel like I was in any danger.

Maybe I could play along. If he really thought that we could get back together, he might let me out of the house. I could run and get help. It's been at least a week, and there's no one to notice that I'm missing. If I could gain his trust, it might buy me my escape.

"Em?"

"Yeah?" I asked, realizing that he had been talking to me.

"What do you think?"

"Sorry, I got lost in thought. I didn't hear what you said."

"What are you thinking about, love?"

"Remember that night at the apartment when I got the flu, and you refused to leave my side? You called out of work to stay with me. We just laid on the couch and watched old movies all day. We watched the one with the pirate, who actually turned out to be the guy at the beginning who was in love with the princess..."

"The Princess Bride. I remember," he laughed warmly. "It's one of my favorites, actually."

"Do you still have it? I saw the movies in the other room. I was just wondering..."

"Well, that's not actually my collection, but it might be in there. We can look."

"Oh, okay." I poked at my food, taking small bites here and there.

"If you don't mind me asking, what brought that up?"

"I don't know," I sighed. "I was just thinking about the old days. I miss 'em, you know? Just us, nothing better to do than lay around all day and watch movies. I just miss that, I guess." His eyes lit up, and he smiled lovingly.

"Well, let's go see what there is. Surely, there's something that we can watch."

"Really?" He stood up and took my hand, leading me into the other room. We stopped at the shelf that contained all the DVDs, and he rifled through them, searching for something to watch. He seemingly found one, and as he pulled it out, he smiled at me.

"I know what we are watching first," he declared cheerfully. As I saw the case, I grinned.

"You remembered."

"You're my wife. I made it a point to remember a lot of things. I focused on the good times, like you told me to," he explained as he put the disc into the DVD player.

"I guess I did say that, didn't I?" I muttered. He either didn't hear me, or he was choosing to ignore it. He grabbed the remote and plopped down on the couch. I sat on the opposite side of the couch, and while he tried to act unfazed, I could tell that he was a little disappointed.

"I had never seen this movie until you forced me to watch it with you. I was truly disappointed..." He stopped and looked over at me. "That I hadn't seen it before. It is an amazing movie, and the cast was just perfect."

"I agree. There is no other actor that could have played Patrick. I mean, Heath Ledger just owned that role." He smiled as he nodded in agreement. "Plus, who doesn't love Kat? I used to want to be her."

As the movie played, it felt as if we were back at the beginning. I was explaining part to him, commenting on what I would've done, and crying over the emotional scenes. By the time it was about halfway over, I had laid down with my head in his lap. He made the exact same comments throughout the movie as he did the first time we watched it. He ran his hand through my hair gently as I focused on the screen.

After the movie ended, he found two more. We switched positions during the second movie, and he laid with his head on my lap. By the third movie, we had progressed to laying down. He was behind me, his arm wrapped tightly around my waist to prevent me from falling off the couch. I was so comfortable that I actually started to fall asleep.

"Hey, baby girl," he whispered softly in my ear. I opened my eyes and realized that I had fallen asleep on the couch. "Let's get you to bed." I rose sleepily, rubbing my eyes. As we got to the door of my room, I sighed. "What's the matter?"

"I was just really comfy... Can I sleep with you, just for tonight? I don't want to sleep by myself..." I asked timidly. His surprise shone brightly in his eyes.

"R-really?" I nodded slowly.

"Yeah... I really missed falling asleep with you. It was nice to be held..."

"Um, y-yeah. You can. If you want to," he agreed nervously. He continued down the hall just past the bathroom and pushed open the door. As we entered the room, I smiled to myself.

"Some things never change," I laughed as I saw the clothes scattered about. I laid down on the bed and watched as he took off his shirt. He turned off the light and walked over to the bed, but he hesitated.

"Are you sure?" He asked cautiously. I smiled as I recalled the first night we ever shared a bed. I nodded and patted the spot next to me. He pulled back the covers and slid underneath them. There was an awkward silence before I giggled to myself. "What?"

"This just reminds me of that first Christmas, after the family left. When we shared a bed for the first time, you were so nervous." I saw the smile play on his lips as he scooted closer to me.

"I do remember that. I was so uncomfortable. Not because of you. Just because I was so damn awkward," he laughed. I laid my head on his chest, and he slipped his arm around me.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.