In Her Eyes - A Criminal Minds Fiction

Chapter 21: You Are NOT Okay

Isabella was still asleep next to her, her back towards Emily, when Emily looked over at the clock she saw it wasn't even 7:30.
Emily was just about to get up from the bed, thinking she could get a shower in before Isabella awoke, when Bella began to cry in her sleep.

"Please.... ....no please," she sobbed, breaking Emily's heart.

"Bella, honey wake up," Emily called out loudly, shaking her a little by the shoulders.

Isabella's eyes shot open, tears still running down her face, quickly pulling away from Emily as if she didn't know who it was.

"Hey, you're okay...it's okay," Emily comforted, keeping her distance not to scare Bella.

Isabella began furiously wiping the tears that were still falling, sniffing as she tried to get control of her breathing back , and refusing to look at her mother, feeling embarrassed.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked a few minutes later when she was sure that Bella was able to speak again.

"I'm fine," came the quick response that Emily had expected.

"It's okay you know, nightmares are perfectly normal, honey," Emily reassured. "no need to be embarrassed."

"I said I'm fine," Bella snapped, taking Emily by surprise. She didn't know if it was because she wasn't around much so she didn't see Bella mad or if it was all because of John.

"Okay," Emily replied slightly hurt. She got up from the bed in hopes of hiding the hurt that she knew was written on her face.
Isabella remained quiet, knowing she was pushing Emily away, but feeling unable to control it. Emily could tell that something was obviously wrong with the girl, she knew her baby was really hurt, and as much as she wanted to put it off, she knew that she needed to talk to Bella sooner rather than later.
Deciding to take the plunge, Emily took a seat on the bed, facing the child who was still refusing to look up.

"Look Bella, maybe we should talk about everything," Emily began.

"We already did" Isabella responded, picking at the comforter that was covering her legs.

"I know we did, but I've never seen you like this. You've been acting weird since we got—"

At this Isabella's head snapped up, interrupting Emily, "Acting weird? And this is based off what? The 5 days you've been with me?"

Emily felt like she had been slapped in the face, but continued on, attempting to keep her face and tone calm. "Bella if you're upset about having to move to DC—"

"I said I was fine, didn't I?" the girl said.

"You're clearly not fine," Emily replied with a sigh. "I just think we should talk about this."

"Please .... Mom" came Bella's sad reply, shaking her head, "...Please."

"Okay," Emily relented; knowing that forcing her to talk about this right now would only result in a bigger fight, "okay."

Emily stood back up again "I'm going to take a shower then," she explained.

"Okay," Bella replied, leaning back against the headboard looking defeated. Isabella knew she was treating Emily terribly; her mom only wanted to help, but she just couldn't deal with everything right now. She didn't want to talk about everything. She just didn't.

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Emily walked into the bathroom feeling completely defeated. The night before she had felt like things were going to be okay. She saw her kid was happy, but now things were the complete opposite. Isabella was shutting her out, and while Emily understood how much the child was going through, she couldn't help but feel hurt. Emily took her time in the shower, wanting to give Bella a little time to cool down, hoping that if she let her be for a little while, then perhaps she would come to her.
Just as Emily was stepping out of the shower her cell phone rang from where it was sitting in the bathroom sink. Wrapping herself in a towel, she made her way over to the phone, seeing that it was Hotch calling.