The Fight That Changed Everything

Chapter 15

Before I could say anything, Emma appeared in the archway of the kitchen.

“Everything okay?” She asked. Caitlyn and I both nodded as we stood up. Caitlyn made her way out of the kitchen.

“Em, we have to leave in 15 minutes!” She said as she made her way upstairs.

“What do you have in 15 minutes?” I asked as I threw the broken glass in the garbage.

“Caitlyn wants me to go out to dinner with her. She had a horrible day at work. I don‘t know if you‘ve heard yet, but there was a robbery today” I looked down at the ground.

 “Oh, I’m glad she’s okay.” I looked at her “You could have canceled our plans. I wouldn’t have minded.” She moved closer to me.

“I know. I just really want to talk to you.” She sighed. “I’m sorry that I’ve been ignoring you. I was just in shock of what happened last week. It brought up memories that I didn’t ever want to think about again.” I looked at her, still trying to grasp what just happened with Caitlyn.

 “You don’t have anything to be sorry about. I completely understand. I’m so sorry that you had to go through that…” Emma moved closer to me, our faces so close our noses were almost touching.

“I miss you” She said, looking at my lips, then back to my eyes.

“I miss you too” I leaned in to kiss her, but before our lips touched, Caitlyn walked in.

 “I have to stop at the store before we eat. So lets go now” She said, ignoring what she just walked into. Emma laughed and then kissed me on the cheek.

“I’ll call you later?” I nodded.

“Sounds good”

　

After I left Emma's, I went to James's house.

 "Cody, where are you sleeping tonight?"

 What an odd question.

 "My aunts" I lied. "Why?" He focused on the baseball game we were watching.

"I was just wondering. Olivia thought that you were staying here." He looked over at me. I didn't say anything. James was a great friend, probably my best friend. But he didn't know anything about the gang. He had asked me several times about my back and all of my other injuries though. I knew I could trust him, I just didn't want to drag another person into my mess.

"Probably my truck...it's where I've been sleeping for the past couple weeks." I said, looking at the game, even though I had no interest in it.

 "Why aren't you staying at your Aunts?" He asked, his mouth full of pizza. I sighed.

 "It's complicated" He nodded. I hoped that he could tell I didn't want to talk about.

"Stay with us" He insisted.

"No, I couldn't"

"Yes, you will" I heard Jason say as a walked into the living room. I looked up at him.

 "Are you sure?" He smiled.

"Yes. We will have to set some ground rules though" I nodded my head.

 "Of course. Thank you." And with that, Jason grabbed a slice of pizza and joined us. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I had a "family".

Later that night while I was sleeping, my phone went off. I looked at my phone, which blinded me with its bright light. I was expecting it to be Adam or Jared. But, to my surprise, it was Caitlyn.

What does she want? I wondered as I hit the "end" button. I put my phone back on the side table and went back to bed. My phone rang again.

Are you serious? I picked it up.

"What do you want?" I asked half asleep.

 "Cody, Emma's in the hospital"

I hung up the phone. I didn't even bother to ask why or if she's okay. As soon as I heard Emma was in the hospital, I knew I had to be there. I threw on my clothes I wore the day before and headed for the hospital.

I walked into the waiting room to find Emma's parents and Caitlyn. Her mom gave me a welcoming hug. Before I could say anything, she spoke.

"She's been asking for you. Go on back. Room 223." I walked through the doors and down the hallway. I hated hospitals. I reminded me of my mom. I stopped when I came to room 223. I knocked on the door.

"Come in" I heard her sweet voice say. Though, it sounded weak and tired. I walked in, she smiled when she saw it was me. She was in worse condition then I expected. Her left eye was swollen, like she had been punched. She had a cut under her left eye with stitches in it. I tried my best to smile back.

 "What happened?" I asked, though I was scared to know the answer. She looked at me, trying to hold back the tears. I took a hold of her hand.

 "I don't really remember. Caitlyn and I were done eating and we were walking to her car when someone grabbed me and drug me into an alley way. They beat the crap out me" Her story didn't seem to fit, as if she was leaving something out. I heard a knock at the door and a doctor came in.

"Well, you have 2 broken ribs. Thankfully, they did not puncture anything. We are going to have to wait until tomorrow to do the surgery though. We'll give you pain medicine for tonight" I looked over at Emma, who just nodded at the doctor. His pager went off and he left the room. Her grip tightened on my hand.

 "Are you in pain right now?" She nodded, tears forming in her eyes. I leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"I'm so sorry Em" She tried to sit up, I could see the pain in her face.

 "Hey, try not to move alright? I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." She slowly laid back down. "Get some rest"

I wanted to ask more about what happened tonight, but Emma needed her rest and I didn't want to stress her out more then she already was. It would have to wait for a couple of days.

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I'm so sorry I havn't posted in awhile, but here it is! I know it's short compared to the last few chapters, but I just wanted to get something out there for you guys. I hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think.