The family silently sat around in the hospital room. Avia, which had been released, sat on her dad's lap. Shay stroked her hair. Colette was trying to calm the fan's nerves and Gavin was busy making crafts with the boys to pass time. Avia would glance at Emmi to her hands, trying to figure this all out. Finally after boredom, pain and a cloudy mind, she pulled out her phone. She slipped the headphones in and pressed play on a Spotify playlist. Shay pulls uo Instagram. With his notifications blowing up, Shay makes a post. He puts a picture of Emmi and Avia hugging and types.
Shaycarl: Hey guys. Emmi is stable and will hopefully wake up soon. Your love and support is really helping us through this.
He clicks post and goes to check his notifications. Different YouTubers like Bratayley, the Atwoods and Daily Bumps posted about them. Shay quickly liked them and set his phone down hearing the door open.
Elizabeth Willow Walker walked in. Her blonde hair down and over the sides of her red cheeks. She bit her lip.
"Hello." She said quietly.
"Elizabeth." Colette replied slowly. She knew this was Emmi's birth mother. Colette had decided by herself the mother needed to have a good talking too, but not too rough. After all, Colette had no idea what Elizabeth had gone through. Elizabeth walked away from the short and awkward conversation to her duaghter. She planted a gently kiss on Emmi's cold forehead and stroked her hand. It was quiet except for the occasional baby cries and talking from outside. Elizabeth's heart hurt. The pain from inside her was tearing her up knowing she caused part of it. The beeping of the machine yelled at her "It's all your fault!" Elizabeth had taken blame long before. She knew Emmi and her true family had every right to be angry at the poor motherly job she had done.
The door opened again. They liked up to see Emmi's old social worker. She looked around at them.
"Hello. I'm Jenny, Emmi's social worker." She says, smiling. Jenny adjusts her straight navy blue skirt.
"Oh hello, I'm Colette and this is my husband Shay. You met us just a few weeks ago, yes?" Colette says. Jenny smiles.
"Yes I remember." She turns to Elizabeth, who looks guilty.
"Elizabeth Walker?" Jenny asks, looking at her.
"Yes." Elizabeth replies slowly.
"Hello Miss Walker, I'm going to need you and the butlers to come speak with me for a while. To clear up." Jenny explains.
"Oh um yes. Definitely." Elizabeth says, standing for stiff.
"Gavin watch the kids. Avia call if anything happens." Shays says, motioning toward Emmi.
"Okay daddy." Avia says, hopping off his lap.
"Okay dad." Gavin replies, still making crafts with the boys. Shay, Colette and Elizabeth follows Jenny out the door. Avia looks at Emmi and makes her way to her bed. She gets in and lays with her, rubbing Emmi's hand. She sighs and looks at the ceiling.
"I love you Em. Boy do you make me stressed." She looks to her sister and kisses her head. "In a good way of course." Avia smiles as she hugs her sleeping sister.
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Elizabeth
We follow Jenny to a conference room. We sat down, Jenny pulled out a binder.
"Okay Shay and Colette Butler, adoptive parents of Emmi Lauren (A/N yes I know her real middle name is Laurie, it's for the story don't come at me) Butler, Walker. That is correct, yes?"
"Yes ma'am." Shays replies nodding.
"Okay. Elizabeth Walker. Birth mother of Emmi Lauren Butler. Yes?" She says.
"Yes ma'am. " I reply. She nods.
"Mr and Mrs.Butler, please explain to me what Emmi is like. Please be detailed." Jenny says.
"Oh. Well for starters, Emmi is a sweet, kind little girl. She's always smiling when she's with us and usually pretty shy and will usually hide from new people. Emmi never does what she's not to do. She's got bad anxiety, but for the most part it's much better than when we first got her. She has many nightmares and sleeps with one of us. But of course Emmi is mute. She hasn't said a word to us since we've had her, and according to her caretaker she hasn't said anything to anyone since she was taken into the system." They explain. I look down, knowing I had to have caused some of this.
Jenny finishes writing and looks at me.
"Miss Walker, please explain to me what your daughter was like when you had her. "
"Oh. Emmi was always smiling. She was always laughing and having fun. Always joyful and a barrel of laughter." I smile at the thoughts of little Emmi running around the house with pants on her head. When he wasn't home of course.
"She was just a bundle of joy. Almost never cried and loved life. She was, is perfect." I say. She stood taking notes.
"Now Miss Walker, according to her record, Emmi was abused by her father and found alone crying from her neighbor. She looked as if she had been starved and beaten." My heary stops stops. He just left her. Just elft her. You did too, Elizabeth. Don't lie. Jenny pauses and looks more serious than ever.
"Now Miss Walker, it is very important you are truthful. Do you understand that?"
"Very much ma'am." I reply.
"Good. Did you have any part of hurting Emmi Butler?" She asks. I look at her.
"No ma'am." I say. I didn't. I never set a hurting finger on my precious daughter.
"Are you sure Miss Walker? You must speak up now. It is important you do so." Jenny says. I sense Shay send Colette's eyes on me. I nod.
"Yes I am completely sure. I would never hurt Emmi." I say truthfully.
"Okay. Do you know any ideas of how or what your husband, Rivan Walker hurt Emmi Butler?"
"Yes." I reply in a hoarse whisper.
"Did he hurt you?"
"Yes." I reply again.
"How so?"
"I dint know how I will be able to say it."
"Miss Walker we need you to say so. If you won't do it for yourself, do it for Emmi. Get her the justice she deserves." Jenny says. I take a deep breath and look up.
My throat feeling scratchy and my head hurting I tell her about the painful memories.
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Still Elizabeth
I wake up in the same cramped hospital chair from last night. The painful memories smack me in the face. I do my best to move past it and get up. Shay and Colette are talking. Their children, Emmi's siblings, are at their cousins I believe. Expect for their daughter, Ava I think is her name, and Gavin I think. They're both still asleep on sleeping bags, since the hospital is unable to get us actual beds. Colette notices me.
"Good morning Elizabeth." She says quietly.
"Oh good morning, Colette. Call me Beth, really. " I say, awkwardly. She just smiles and nods.
I dig into my back pocket and pull out my phone. I have what seems like a millions messages from TJ.
My Love❤: Hey baby, please answer
My Love❤:is everything alright?
My Love❤:she, she is your daughter right?
My Love❤:text or call back soon, love you
My Love❤: the girls are worried
My Love❤:I hope everything is alright, you know with you and her
My Love❤: please answer soon!
My Love❤:g'nite baby, I'm really anxious. Hoping everything is okay
My Love❤:Beth, really worried atm
My Love❤:Elizabeth Walker text back!
Sighing, I text back.
Beth: Hey Tj, I'm alright
My Love❤: oh thank god. And her...?
Beth: emmi. My birth daughter. She's in a coma
My Love❤: oh my God beth! How Come you've almost never spoken about her?
Beth: it's just too hard to explain Tj, I'm sorry
My Love❤: beth, was that her real family? Like her real dad and siblings. They don't look like her
Beth: no, that's her adoptive parents
My Love❤: beth, why did you leave, um Emmi. What happened?
My Love❤: Elizabeth it's been two minutes. Respond
My Love❤: beth, what happened
My Love❤: what did he do?
My Love❤: Elizabeth tell me what he did
My Love❤: beth. You're scaring me.
Beth: I'll talk to you later, Tj
My Love❤: you need to tell me Beth. This is serious
Beth: love you Tyler Jake, tell the girls I love them and I'll be coming to see them soon. Don't worry, I'll text with more news later
My Love❤ is typing....
I shut my phone off before his next text arrives. I sigh and put it in my purse. Tears are at the rims of my eyes. I whipe them before anyone notices them.
"Beth, are you okay?" Colette says. I look at her and nod.
"I'm alright." I whisper.
"You're not. You need a hug." Colette says, standing. As she does, tears come out. Those fours years of emotion flow out heavily. I feel soft arms around me. My bison blurs as tears cover it.
"It'll be okay. Everything will be alright." I sob. I hear the rustling of kids and quiet voices.
After a while we separate. I was just my eyes out at the sink and sit. Waiting. Waiting for my Emmi to wake up, although she isn't much of mine anymore. I've missed the little things of Emmi. Her cute little blonde streaks, which are now more brown than anything. Her silly faces and sweet, high-pitched voice when we would sing together. The little things were the things about her I loved most. Emmi is my sunshine and I regret every moment of leaving her innocence alone by a man who did nothing but hurt. I felt like I would give her a even worse life. That a poor mother like me wouldn't do well. Emmi was starving and sick when I left. I didn't know why I had never toke her with. Emmi was the only reason I smiled everyday. The reason I woke up and didn't loose up. Emmi gave me a reason to live. And now I causes her precious voice to be silent. It's my fault. My fault.
I feel a light tap on my shoulder. I lift up my head from my hands. Their daughter stands before me. I immediately recognize the book. It's the Rapunzel story book Emmi and I would read every night together. I stare at the book a more tears come my way.
"Oh my god." I whisper, taking the book. She kept it. After all these years. She kept it. One of the only memories of us together. I look up at the little girl.
"Thank you, um uh--"
"Avia." She cuts in and smiles, turning away, leaving me to the special memory in my hands. The book is falling apart a little bit. The spin is ungluing and the pages are torn at the corners. I rub my hands over the old cover. The book my mother had given me. The book my Emmi still has. After all the years I just left her, she still hung on tons piece of her mom. I hug the book to my chest and never want to let go. I smell the familiar smell. I pull it away from my chest. I open the cover up. Inside are the words "this book belongs to" My name, Elizabeth, was crossed out. Emmi was below it. I trace my finger over the fading sharpie. Opening to the next page, I read.
Once apon a time lived a girl named Rapunzel. She lived in a tower and never was let down.
I smile and think about the memories of me reading these very words to little Emmi all four years. Those were the moments that made my heart glow even in the darkest times. I read through the rest, blinking away tears. When I get to the end even more memories hit me. The envelope stared at me. Still closed up. Never opened. She never opened it. I brush the envelope. Trying my hardest not to open it, I close the book. As I do. We all hear always tiny breath.
We look up a land scream and yell.
She's awake.