I remember walking around in the hall And then the bell rang And i tell there's something that I couldn't recall Making you cry the way she did, I can't forgive myself for And if you want me too
I'll kill myself, cause I'm already in hell for it.
17...
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Coko Clemmons/ Coko/ tracy's mom: 49 year old
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Ishmael Butler/ Ishamel/ Tracy's dad: 50 years old
I hear footsteps behind me and my mom's facial expression changed and her jaw dropped. I spun around to see Emma standing there, wiping her eyes and yawning standing at the edge of the staircase.
Fuck.
"Emma?" My mom asked. She hit my dad on the shoulder rather hard to wake him up and his snoring stopped abruptly.
"Huh?" He looked towards the stairs and saw her and his face quickly turned to the same look my mom held. My mom looked back at me with a stunned face.
"What is going on here?" She chocked out. I sighed.
"On my trip, I... ran into Emma." She batted her eyelashes at me with attitude.
She then got up and walked over to Emma cautiously. Emma looked confused, and even a little scared. But that state of confusion and nervousness ended when my mom pulled her into a giant hug. Emma paused and hesitantly hugged back with a smile. My mom pulled away.
"Oh, baby I haven't seen you in so long this is such a pleasant surprise!" My mom exclaimed. Emma shyly smiled back at her, making a smile spread across my own face. "Why don't you sit down next to Jazz and help him explain what happened." Emma nodded and started to walk towards me. I stared at her with a "come on now" face.
"Sorryyyy," she mouthed, and then plopped down next to me. I looked at her and she looked back at me with a smile.
"Now... explain," my mom said, getting herself situated next to my now fully conscious father who held a very confused face. Considering he just woke up I wasn't surprised.
I took a deep breath and started explaining.
I told them how Emma's father lied to us when he took her back and how he continuously abused her, and how she snuck out and was almost caught but fortunately escaped, then ran into me on the road, passed out and went to the hospital. And, how we stayed at a hotel, then got on the plane. I left out her addiction, and her little incident on the plane for obvious reasons, One; I didn't want to worry them. Two; I didn't need to expose her secrets without her consent. Three; they would blow it out of proportion and send her off to rehab. This isn't an entirely bad thing, but there are different ways to solve the problem.
Their reaction; my mom wiped a tear that trickled down from her eye, and my dad held a confused, stunned, empathetic look. My mom reached out and grabbed Emma's hand from across the coffee table. "I am so sorry we left you like that, and you had to go through such horrible events. You can stay here for as long as you want and we will give you the love you deserve." At this point, my mom was full-on crying.
Don't get me wrong, both my parents loved Emma with all their harts, she was like their second child. But my mom and Emma had a special bond. My mom was like Emma's surrogate mother. My mom took her on work trips, the movies, and they even had a "girls day" once a month. They'd get their hair and nails done and go shopping then do something fun of Emma's choice. I don't know if my mom did this because she felt bad for Emma, or because she really wanted a daughter.
Emma smiled back at her. "It's not your fault, it's my dad's, don't blame yourself. I'm just glad to be out of there and reunited with you guys," she said looking back and forth from my mom to my dad.
"It's great to have you back Em's," my dad added in. Both parents rose into a standing position and outstretched their arms. Emma repeated their actions and hugged them both tightly.
"Well why don't we get you situated so you can settle in," my mom said. Emma nodded. "Why don't you head upstairs back to Tracy's room while we get you some things and have a talk." Emma nodded and headed back upstairs while we watched. Once she was out of our sight my mom turned back to me. "When were you gonna tell me about this?"
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? When did she get here?"
"Right when I came back and left with Gus."
"Gus knows about her?"
"He always knew about her but yes I told him exactly what I told you," I fibbed a little, considering I failed to tell her some details that I let Gus in on. She sighed.
"Are you mad?"
"Of course not. I love that girl with all my heart, I'm just surprised, and still a little shocked. And I honestly feel kind of bad. We left her, to be abused, and mistreated when you know that is the opposite of what she deserves."
"Don't feel bad. It's not our fault, it's his, just like Emma said," I reassured her. She sighed and looked down.
"You treat that girl exactly like you did before, got it?"
I nodded.
"I can take care of her for the night don't stress it, mamma," I said and kissed her forehead.
