Charles and Emi slept side by side that night. Charles felt at ease, sleeping next to her. Being able to feel her move around in bed and know that she was alive and breathing. His mom would constantly make fun of him for treating Emi like a newborn child.
"Eomma, being next to her is much better than in the hospital. She can get any assistance she needs since I am right there."
"Yes, Charles, I understand," Suk Yong chatted as they had their video call as Emi was taking a shower. "Just remember to give her space when she needs to. You know her best. Tell her we love her so much too." Charles nodded as he heard the shower turn off. That was his cue to ask what she needed.
"Em? Eomma says hi," Charles spoke into the bathroom. She waved to his direction as she slowly got out of the shower. "She says hi, mom. I'm going to go see if she needs help."
"Okay, don't be a weirdo and make her feel uncomfortable. I will call you both later." Suk Yong ended the call and Charles threw his phone on the bed.
"Em? Do you need any help or want me to prepare anything here for you?" he asked, looking away at the same time.
"C, I need help." He heard her voice and grabbed the towel from the holder. Emi tried to get over the bathtub but it was still too high for her to make it over on her own. Charles would ask her every day, rather than assume. He held her arm as she wrapped the towel around herself. She placed her hands on his shoulders to gain the resistance she needed to get over the bathtub.
Whenever Charles could steal a glance at her, he would notice how tired her eyes looked and the lack of smiles she had on her face. "Okay, Em, what else do you need?"
"I'm going to sleep again."
"Let me dry your hair first. You can fall asleep as I dry it. I'll carry you to bed if needed." Emi just nodded and sat on the bed. Before he turned on the hair dryer, Charles mentioned, "I'll wake you up for dinner in a couple of hours. We'll have jjampong and watch some Running Man for some laughs, okay?" Emi nodded again nearly falling asleep before Charles could get the hair dryer in his hands.
About 15 minutes of hair drying, Emi did fall asleep and Charles picked her up to carry her to her side. Her side of the bed since Charles started sleeping in it. He lifted up her injured leg to keep the blood flowing, per doctor's orders.
Whenever Emi was asleep, Charles, at times, would find himself reading over the different treatment instructions for Emi's care. Her ribs had healed pretty well at the hospital. Her head trauma was healed enough to let her be discharged to take a flight all the way back to Toronto. The sensitivity to her hearing and sight were thoroughly checked before leaving the hospital, but she was given special ear muffs and eye coverings in case they were to return.
As for her leg, her knee had been injured the most due to the explosion. From what the doctors could gather, her left leg was pinned down by debris and the explosion had other material pierce through her knee. Luckily, there was no nerve damage, but some tendons and ligaments were heavily damaged. This was taking the longest to heal physically.
Mentally, Charles could not tell where she was at. This is what worried him the most. There was a lot to process while she was unconscious a month or so ago. Now that she was fully conscious, she was aware of not only what was happening to her physically; there was more to deal with in regards to the outside world. Charles kept her phone close to him, but would also keep his phone hidden. If she was limited on her phone use, he would have to be as well. It was always that way, especially when they were kids.
Charles was reading a poetry book when Emi moved around in her sleep, looking for his hand to hold. She did this often in her sleep and would hold a tight grip as she mumbled different words; mainly, "help", "scared", "alone", and "leave". When her night terrors got intense, he could see tears falling and hear her sniffling. He shook her awake and pulled her up to help slow her breathing.
"You wanna talk about it this time?" he asked as he spooned Emi. The past few days she would remain quiet and the pattern would repeat. And Charles would be there holding her until she fell asleep again.
However, this time Emi was tired. More tired than before. The days were just becoming more and more endless. Sleeping was just something to pass a few hours and then waiting for tired, droopy eyes, a yawn, or just the lack of activity to take over to help her sleep once more. She only knew when the new day came when Charles set out her clothes in the bathroom or bring in her favorite omelette with a yakult. He never once complained.
"Yes, I want to talk. I need help." Charles had her lean against the pillows and he faced her, holding her hand.
"What help do you need?"
"C, I needed someone there when I was lying in that ditch. And no one came. I thought I saw you, Lia and Kai, Uncle Phil, Auntie Suk Yong. Then I saw Eomma." Charles was listening to every word she was letting out. He tried his hardest to listen, rather than cry as he knew she would not be able to finish her story. All he could let out was an "mhm" and nodded.
Emi continued, "I wanted to go with her so badly, because I couldn't move or feel anything. I cried out for her." Charles felt his tears falling from his eyes and he held her hand tighter. "She said I could not be with her yet. But C, I really wanted to be with my Eomma." Emi fell into Charles' lap and burst into tears. Something that Charles had been waiting for, but he burst into as well. They cried together once again.
"Em, I'm glad you didn't go with her. I love you way too much for that to happen right now," Charles admitted. "But I know how badly you want to be with your Eomma."
"And then it went all black. I think it was in the hospital and it all came at once. I was laying down again and I did not know who was touching me or where I was being taken."
Charles filled in, "Is that why you fought back?"
Emi cried, "And I hit you. Then I tried to hurt Stewart after. I'm so sorry, C. I didn't know it was you." This sent Charles over the edge and he cried in her lap. "I'm so sorry, C."
"No, Em. Don't be. I'm just happy you're here and I can take care of you." Emi wiped his tears after she wiped hers. It felt so alleviating to tell Charles about that day. It did not make that fear disappear, but it lifted a burden she had been holding onto for months.
"C? Can I ask for something?"
"Yeah, anything, Em."
"Can we go to the living room and have dinner together?" Emi asked shyly, while trying to clean her face up from the tears. Charles let out a small laugh and wiped his face on her hoodie.
"God, I missed you. Yeah, let's go have dinner." Charles held Emi up as they walked to the living room together.
YOU ARE READING
Threads and Strings
Fanfiction"I know there will be more people in your life that will be become more than someone you pass by." As a speech pathologist working with little kids, Emi Kim had been through enough in her 24 years of life that could have broke her, especially in 201...
