The In-Between (Book 1 - Death, Demons and Mere Mortals)

Chapter FOURTEEN - Held For The Last Time

Emma waited in misery, her heart jumping timidly for what would come. Jen stayed still, her hands tucked into her pockets as the rain slithered down her hood, her face damp from the rain that had managed to find her skin.

'Your dad comes out almost every day to check it.' She finally spoke, her voice strong and detached as she tried to remain emotionless. She couldn't pull her eyes off the picture of the two of them, their smiles were carefree and naïve. 'He changes the flowers when they die, makes sure the pictures are still in-tact. It took a while for him to come back.' Her voice dropped down deeper as she let her emotions surface.

Emma bit her lip to stop it from shaking. She pictured her dad that day, wondering how he'd reacted. The images of him broken made a wail creep up her throat, she shook her head and prayed that her mind stayed empty.

'Abigail and Euan,' Emma's spine snapped straight at the mention of her brother and sister. She wondered in her head how they were. She wondered if Abigail was going through her teen phase, getting into makeup and boys. She wondered if Euan was still innocent, playing with toys and creating worlds from his imagination. But she stopped, they weren't innocent and happy. Emma knew the reality, they were broken, to be damaged forever.

'They've never come back.' She whispered; her fists tight in her pockets. Jen no longer felt her nails digging in her palms, they were cold and numb. Emma swallowed, keeping her head straight. She knew that Jen could see her, she didn't try to hide. 'I watched you that day, I waited for you.' Emma's eyes slowly moved over to Jen in surprise, taking in a little more of her tense figure.

The rain pelted down on Jen's hood so loud that she couldn't even hear her own breathing. She closed her eyes for a second, the image of the wheels and the shiny black material haunting her mind like an unforgivable ghost.

'I watched you leave from my window; I knew it was going to be hard for you. You hadn't been back since...' Emma knew what she was going to say, she felt the weight of her words take rest upon her body. 'Since your mother died. So, I waited for you to come back. I wanted to see if you were okay.' Emma lifted a hand to wipe her mouth, her upper lip soaked and dripping into her mouth.

'But you didn't come back.' She whispered hoarsely, turning her head slightly so Emma couldn't see the agony upon her face. 'They did. They ran into the house and I thought that maybe I'd missed you, that you'd snuck right under my nose and gone in first.' Jen took a breath, the world around her changing as she felt herself back in her sixteen-year-old room, sat by the window with a book in hand that she'd not been paying attention to at all.

Emma's breaths came out in shaky gasps. The cold air clung to her like the water had all those years ago. The memory was foggy. The only way she ever saw what happened was in her dreams. When she was awake, the memory was blurry, damaged almost.

'Then your dad went out. They were following, fast.' Her tone was dark, grave and hollow as she retold everything. She'd lost control. Her grip upon composure had loosened and she let it, knowing by the end she'd crumble before Emma.

'I thought you'd hurt yourself, fallen over and needed someone bigger to help you. So, I waited again.' Emma could feel Jen using her strength to keep her voice strong. But she heard when it dropped and peaked, she felt the pain that gripped her tight. 'And then,' Jen took a deep breath, closing her eyes tight, 'the police pulled up.' She opened her eyes, a picture of Emma staring back at her. 'That's when I knew something was wrong. They ran into the woods too.'

Emma's lip was wobbling, her arms were wrapped tight around her thumping chest. Her mind was blank as she tried to picture what Jen was saying. She tried to create the day in her head like a movie. Her glassy eyes stayed locked upon her mother's face as she tried to find the strength deep down within her.