All For You

Chapter Two: Regret & Happiness?

"I AM NOT GOING TO REPEAT MYSELF! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" "Dad I was just..." "YOU WERE WHAT?! ABOUT TO SLEEP WITH RAFAEL!?" "Dad!!" "Rafael, leave. We don't need you anymore." "Dad no!" "Emma, it's okay. I'll be fine. I promise." "No! Don't go!" I said with tears rolling down my face. Rafael got up and left. "Dad you can't do this!" "Yes I can! You are only 18!" "You're right, I am 18, and I can make my own decisions. I don't need your permission anymore." "NO! You will not!" He got up and left and I immediately grabbed a duffle bag and packed things into it. Basically anything around me I put into my bag and ran into Rafael's arms. He gladly held me and didn't let me go. I needed him. "I'm coming with you." "No you aren't!" "Yes I am! I am not letting you leave me here alone! I need you!" "Emma no! You need to stay here! You are safer here!" "No I am safer with you!" I wanted to kiss him again. I needed to kiss him again. So I did. He didn't hesitate either. It felt like we were in love. But right on cue, my dad walks in to ruin everything. "What do you think you are doing?!" He looked like he was about to hit Rafael, so I jumped in front of him to save him and my dad ended up punching me in the ribs. I fell to the ground shaking and started crying while looking at him. "Oh my god Emma..." "Save it." Rafael jumped in. "You hit your daughter and..." "It was an accident! How dare you talk to me like this!" Rafael looked at me and saw how much pain I was in and said, "Emma, I've changed my mind. You are coming with me." "You can not protect her like I can!" "Actually I can and I will. I've been the one protecting her for years!" He helped me off the ground, picked up both of our bags and walked me out. I didn't look at my dad and to be perfectly honest, I didn't want to look at him. I was hurt, physically and emotionally. He kept screaming my name, telling me all of those things that he has said before, but again I didn't listen. I honestly didn't know what to think or do. We finally got into the car and were driving for what felt like eternity before he said something. "How's your stomach?" "Oh. Um I'm okay. I'm not in any pain." "Emma..." "Where are we going?" "You'll see, and don't think this conversation is over." There was a long pause, and he took his one hand off the steering wheel and put it on my thigh. "I hope you know, that when I said that I will protect you, I mean that. I will do anything and everything to keep you safe." "I know you mean it." He smiled, never taking his eyes off the road. Next thing I know, we were pulling up to the LAX airport. Honestly, I didn't feel like talking so I didn't ask any questions. He took our bags, got the tickets and went through security. "Rafael, where are we going?" "New York." My eyes lit up and he definitely noticed. "You're taking me to New York?" "Of course, like I said, I will do everything I can to make you happy and protect you." I wanted to kiss him. But at this point, I didn't even know what to do, so I sulked. My dad...he hit me. I must have been in my own world for a long time, because Rafael said something and snapped me out of it. "Hey, are you okay?" He said while holding my hand. "Yeah, I think so. I'm just thinking about what happened today." "Emma..." "Stop, I'm okay." "He should have hit me, I can take it." "He should have never hit you in the first place!" He pulled me close to him, and put a strand of hair behind my ear. "I promise you, you will always be my number one priority. I love..." "Flight 7510 to John F. Kennedy Airport in NY has been delayed due to inclement weather. Time of departure has been moved to 10:40PM." "Great. 10 hours." "Don't worry, I have things to help you pass the time." He opened his one suitcase, and pulled out a small duffle bag. Wait, before I go on with the story, you should know a little about my backstory. When I was born, my mom and dad had a perfect little house, perfect little girl and a perfect life. My mom was a nurse and my dad was a state representative. For the first ten or so years of my life, we did everything together. Mini golfing, bowling, going to the park, and so much more. Rafael was a body guard for my dad and our parents were friends, so he's been in my life since I was a baby. I have never known a day without Rafael in it. Anyway, when I was about 11 or 12, I found out my mom was sick. It was a lot to go through at that age. She died shortly after I found out. Again, Rafael was still there. My dad, on the other hand, was so upset because of her death, he started becoming ignorant. I started to resent him because of how he acted. He couldn't help me with the "girl things" that my mom could have. But Rafael did everything he could to help. It was awkward at first, he was a guy and I was a girl, but it didn't seem to phase him. He cared about me just as much as my mom did, maybe even more. I was just grateful he was there. I don't know what I would have done without him. After about 4 months or so, my dad brought home Madison. They then got married and I hated him even more because it was like he just forgot all about my mom. Days, weeks, and months went by and my dad and I grew farther apart. Flashback to now. "You have a duffle bag for me?" "Of course, it has always been in my closet, in case you needed something. I added things over the years that have helped you calm down." "Wait, how long have you had this bag?" "Since your mom..." I sulked, because I hated thinking about that time. I miss her so much everyday. "It was your moms idea to do this. She started it, I kind of finished it." I quickly gathered myself and opened the bag. I smiled like crazy. He was right, all of these things have helped me and are things that I love. An extra laptop, my three favorite books, a journal, headphones, and a box. A jewelry box. "What is this?" "I don't know if you should look at that right now. After everything that happened today..." "I'm fine. Really. I promise." "Okay, if you're sure. But you need to read this letter first." He handed me and envelope with my name written on it. "Is this..." "Your mom." I started to tear up and open the envelope...