All For You

Chapter Three: Flooding Memories

My lovely Emma,

If you are reading this, it means that I am no longer with you. But I promise you, that

you will always be loved and cared for. Rafael. He is your legal guardian. I know things

must have been tough all of these years, but just know that I will always be looking

after you. I love you babygirl.

Love,

Mom

By now, I was full on crying, in a packed airport. Rafael pulled me into his arms and held me. He put the box in my hands which I held onto. Still in his arms, I opened the box and inside was a white gold diamond with a thin white gold chain. "Why did she leave this for me?" "She told me that you talked about this necklace since you saw it in that store." I was shocked. "She had me go in and buy it that exact same day." I looked up at him with tears rolling down my face. "This was a $1400 necklace." "I know. She knew that. She wanted you to be happy and have anything you wanted." "Thank you." He smiled. "Here turn around." He put the necklace around my neck and kissed my forehead. By now, I have stopped crying and became extremely tired. He knew it before I even said anything. "Wanna take a nap?" "Yeah I could use some sleep." He pulled a blanket out of the duffle bag and I laid down over the chairs with my head in his lap. Before I knew it, I was fast asleep. I dreamt the weirdest thing. It was so familiar that I could have sworn that I have dreamt it before. It feels so real. In fact, way too real. "R-rafael?" "Emma whats wrong?" "I love you too." "I love you Emma. So so much." The minute he said that, the dream went black and I woke up to the sound of someone on the PA system and the sound of airplanes coming and going. I sat up groggy as hell. I felt like I was hungover. Still. "You okay?" "Yeah I just had a weird dream." "Oh." He said smiling. "What?" "Nothing." "Rafael." "You mean the dream where you told me you love me?" I was in shock. "That was real?!" I can't believe he heard that. "Don't worry. I know its a family type of love." I sulked, because I knew that was not the type of love I was talking about. I love him like a...lover. He makes me the happiest I have ever been. "Or its something different." He said snapping me out of my thoughts. We looked in each others eyes for what felt like hours, before he kissed me. Full on kissed me, in the airport full of strangers. "I love you Emma, and I always will." I couldn't help but smile. "Oh what a lovely couple you guys are! How long have you been together?" An older lady asked. Without looking away from me, he smiled and said "A long time." "Oh how cute!" She said as she walked away. "So we're together?" Shyly he said "Only if you want to." I love how cute he looked when he was shy. I kissed him. "I want to." The next few hours, we were talking about anything and everything. He put his arm around me and again I knew I was safe. Even though I was happy and this was a happy time, I still couldn't help but think about my dad. "Thinking about your dad?" God it was like he read my mind. "Yeah I just, I don't want to leave him, but he told me I wasn't allowed to fall in love with you or do anything." "Emma, you're his little girl. He doesn't want you to kiss, have a boyfriend, or even have sex." My eyes shot up when he said that. Did he want to have sex? With me? I had so many thought racing through my mind. "Flight 7510 to LaGuardia NY is now boarding. Please head to gate 19E for boarding." We grabbed our bags and headed in line to board the plane. We got into our seats and I put my headphones in because I did not like taking off or landing. It makes me very nervous. Music has always helped me calm down no matter what the situation is. I felt the plane start up and back out of the gate and head to the runway. My heart started to race and Rafael immediately noticed and grabbed my hand. We were both smiling and were happy. For the first time in a long time, I was happy. And that is all thanks to Rafael. I'll spare you the details of the flight. There wasn't much that happened. As soon as we were making our decent into NYC, my heart was beating and I was getting excited. I haven't been here since before my mom died. Being in NYC for the first time was a crazy experience, especially being 8 years old. I wanted to do anything and everything. And my mom made sure whatever I wanted, I got. Broadway shows. The Rocketts. Little Italy. It was the perfect experience. I got to experience my first time in NYC with my mom, and this time and every other time I will get to experience it with Rafael. And I couldn't be happier. The next couple hours, we got off the plane, got our bags and headed to our hotel. Well, I thought it was a hotel. Boy was I shocked. "W-where are we? This isn't a hotel." "No Emma, this is an apartment. My apartment."