Author's Note: It has literally been a month since my last update because I really have a lot of things going in my life lately. I know that I promised you last week that I will finish the remaining chapters before updating all at once but some of you might have lost their patience already, some giving me messages that they cannot wait any further, etc, so allow me to update this first two chapters first to at least give you a glimpse of the aftermath of those unfortunate events, and I'll update the remaining ones altogether soon. 😘
Thank you for the constant support in this story. I love you all!
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XANDER'S POV
The sight of the sun that is brightly peering over those white cotton candies in the sky has never been this relaxing. Sitting at the backseat of this cab with my kitten melting in my arms and my best friend in the front seat, we are finally heading toward home after that tiring three-hour flight from Los Angeles early this morning.
Rebecca couldn't wait for another second to see her daughter and even planned on booking a flight to L.A yesterday. Good thing the doctor allowed us to go home the next day with proper discharge instructions along with the prescribed medicines to take.
I am jobless at the moment so I will help her in taking care of Emily full-time until her full recovery. I also need to get an appointment with an ortho doctor soon regarding my shoulder because this will definitely limit my activities.
Emily is just looking straight ahead and is obviously buried deep in her thoughts.
"I wonder what my kitten is thinking right now," I whisper next to her ear as I gently pull her head closer to my chest and let her feel the untroubled rhythm of my heart.
She looks up at me and flashes me a soft smile, "Nothing. I'm just glad that it's over now."
I pinch her chin and give her a kiss on her forehead in response.
"I will never let that happen again, okay? Everything's fine now, and we're gonna be okay." I assure her.
I let her settle in the comforts of my arms as I tighten them around her. I have to make her feel safe all the time because what she has encountered from those motherfuckers might have traumatized her.
I have been asking her the full details of her experience from that sexual ring—every detail, and she told me that they had constantly injected her with drugs, beat her up whenever she didn't follow their orders and other terrible things that she has some vague memories of.
I had the urge to kill them when I listened to her slowly opening up. I wanted to shoot their fucking brains out until I see them bloody and lifeless on the ground. Being in jail is not enough for that bullshit business they have and specifically on what they have done to my baby.
I wake Emily up with a smack on her lips when the cab finally pulls up outside their lawn. Her eyes immediately fly open when I mouth the word "home".
Rebecca and the others are actually expecting us in the afternoon and they are probably thinking that we are still in the plane right now but I wanted to surprise them.
"God, I feel like crying right now. I really miss them!" Emily squeals as we make our way to the door.
"Wow, she suddenly rose to life," Jace remarks as we noticed her sudden change in behavior.
She pounds on the door, demanding to be opened right away as if it's the bathroom door and she is being called by nature.
"Relax, Baby." I softly chuckle. I am a bundle of excited nerves right now. Emily's family is now mine and I feel like it has been ten years since I last saw them. My teeth are chattering and my insides are trembling in the mixture of happiness and...I don't know what do you call this feeling. It's some sort of dreadful anticipation. I haven't talked to her father yet and I'm worried that he would still ignore me in spite of everything that we have done.
It turns out that the knob is actually open and dragging our luggage, Jace and I follow her straight away as she barges into their own house like a little girl who just got inside a kiddie playhouse for the first time.
Lance is in the living room wiping some clouds of dust from their framed pictures in the wall, totally oblivious about our earlier arrival. He turns around and drops his jaw in surprise upon seeing us. His gaze stops at his sister, eyes growing wider in disbelief.
"Hey, Buddy!" Emily bursts out in glee.
"M-mom!"Lance cocks his head to the kitchen's direction and stutters with his eyes gawking at us. "T-they're here! They're here now!" He joyously stutters before running towards his sister to hug her.
My heart is swelling at this moment. It's my first time seeing Lance being sweet to Emily. As he goes to hug me and Jace as well, Rebecca's head pops in from the kitchen.
"What are you talking about? It's only ten in the morning and they are—"
Her face instantly lights up when she realizes that Lance is actually not kidding like what he always does. Her small frame trembles with utter joy as she sprints her way toward Emily.
"Oh, good Lord! It's really you! My Lily! My Lily!"
Emily snuggles in her mother's arms as they finally settle in each other's loving embrace. "I miss you, Mom."
Happy tears start streaming down Rebecca's cheeks. "I miss you more! Oh, God. I can't believe it. You're finally here!"
Emily's body melts into her mom's as her every muscle lost its tension. I can now list this moment as one of my favorites in my whole life.
Rebecca breaks from the hug and presses her daughter's face between her hands.
"My God. Just look at you! Your face became so thin! And you look so stressed out!" She studies Emily's face as the latter brushes those tears of joy from her cheek with the back of her hand.
"And what is this? What have they done to you?!" She tearily asks as she inspects Emily's arm which is lined with dark purple bruises from those injections.
"I'm going to be okay, Mom. They will lighten over the next coming weeks," Emily defensively explains while moving her arm away from her mother's sight.
"Are you sure? Are you okay now? How are you feeling now?" Rebecca asks further and Emily assures her with a small nod.
"Alexander..." she slowly turns to me with that yearning look on her face. I didn't waste any second. I close the gap between us and my world seems to have stopped with her embrace and my mind has never been this at peace.
"Thank you, for saving my daughter. You're an angel. " I can feel her warm smile against my shoulder.
I stroke her back and pull her closer into my chest. "It's all good now, Rebecca. It's all good."
She pulls away from my hug and again reaches for her precious daughter whom we all love.
"I wouldn't have made it without Jace," I transfer the spotlight to my best friend, the real hero here, who is just quietly watching us with a smile in his face.
Rebecca goes over him and hugs him as well.
"I thought you're arrival will be in the afternoon. We haven't finished preparing this "Welcome Back" party for the three of you. Everyone has been anticipating for this day, and they are all here now." she glances at me and continues, "Your father and his family are also coming over in a while."
This day can't seriously get any better. I feel like there's a beam of light from my heart and it is lighting up the whole place with happiness that I cannot contain.
"Xander and Jace wanted to surprise you," Emily reveals.
"You both are so sweet!" Her attention shifts to my arm as she finally noticed my sling. "Oh, poor little thing. We were also worried about you when we saw the news that night! How's your arm?"
So apparently, the media was able to cover the events from that time when the police arrived in the hotel until all suspects were arrested and those injured, including me, were brought to the hospital. The news was shown all over the world and everyone got updated.
"I just need some minor surgery and it will be okay," I assure her.
"I hope it will. I'm just glad that you three are generally safe, most especially my Emily."
The approaching footsteps from the stairs had Emily's face brighten up even more.
Curtis comes first, and then followed by Arianne, and lastly, Amber. They jump around and each of them hugs Emily as if they haven't seen her for years.
I tease Jace when I notice his sudden mood change upon seeing Amber. He seriously looks like a young boy who is shy to talk to his puppy crush right now.
I give him a little encouraging grin and jerk my head toward Amber's direction to give him a signal that he should go give his girl a hug but he just gives me a hesitant glare.
I shake my head in amusement when he sighs and mouths the word, "Later,"
Jace might be an expert in handling guns and he is looking so tough and cool in the exterior but when it comes to Amber, he is such a fucking pussy my pancreas hurt.
"We have been so worried about you!" Curtis exclaims with happiness evident in his face. Arianne looks genuinely happy as well as they all gather around my baby.
"We miss you so much!" Amber chimes in.
"I miss you too! God, I thought it was the end of me and I'll never get to see you guys again." Emily emotionally shares.
"Hush now, Sweetie. We won't let that happen again." Rebecca comforts her.
"So what will happen now? Are they going to reward you guys or something?" Curt asks, his question directed at Jace and me.
"They should! You guys are both heroes! And they look even hotter on the television!" There goes Arianne again in her flirty demeanor. If she was an anime character, her eyes would definitely pop out from their sockets in heart shapes.
"Hey!" Curt pouts his lips as he folds his arms against his chest. "We have talked about this already."
"I'm just kidding, Babe. You know that." Arianne holds on to his arm and hugs it. She then gives him a sweet peck on his cheek before saying, "Love you!"
"You guys are seriously like movie stars, you know," Lance adds as he looks at us with his eyes hinting admiration.
"About the reward...We don't know yet. Actually, we have a scheduled interview tomorrow at ABX news, as well as an appointment with Detective Wayne for our full statements. That would also include you both," Jace points to Emily and Amber, who are now having their own sweet conversation with Rebecca and Curtis. Emily is tattered with all their questions but the confused look on her face on who to answer first is overpowered with pleasure.
It joys me to see her like this. I feel like everything inside me is elating with satisfaction. I want her to wear this certain expression every day— tranquil blue eyes twinkling with delight and those beautiful lips curve up in a way that could brighten up your gloomy day for years.
A knock on the door has interrupted our little emotional reunion. Henry comes in while holding huge grocery bags on both arms.
"Surprise!" Everyone chorus as they enjoy the confused and surprised look on his face.
He drops the bags in an instant upon seeing Emily and we all watch in awe as they indulge themselves in their little father and daughter moment.
Silence ensues the moment he acknowledges
my presence with a glance.
"It's nice seeing you again, Sir." I give him a polite smile, but he didn't return it.
"Dad?" Emily butts in, clueless of the air of tension that I have been sharing with her father since she went missing.
Henry is just fixing me in a stare that could have frozen the Pacific.
Fuck. I don't think he's ready to forgive me. Despite the sudden heaviness in my chest, I still choose to swallow my pride and respect his decision. I soften my eyes and hold my hand out to him for a handshake.
To my surprise, he seizes my wrist and pulls me towards him for a full, manly hug. My arms automatically hug him back when I realize that he is actually grateful. The tightness
of his hug screams so.
"Thank you for keeping your word and coming back alive with Emily," he mumbles with a spark of genuine appreciation.
I blink the tears that are threatening to glisten out of my eyes.
"I told you, I will do everything for your daughter, Sir."
"I will always count on that from now on."
"Seriously, am I in the filming set of a heavy drama family movie right now or what?" Lance's comment has successfully broken the present tension, and everyone starts to buzz around again.
Rebecca helps us in our luggage and leads us to our room while the rest of the gang continued preparing our lunch and setting the table as well as those "Welcome Home" decorations that are actually meant to surprise us.
An hour later, my dad arrives with his second wife Beth and my half-sister Hannah and they join us in this exceptional lunch.
Look at us. There are just so many of us here I feel like this residence has shrunk into half its size. Everyone is here—the most important people in Emily and my life.
All those radiant smiles and genuine laughter...this is what you call a family. My family. I have never felt so complete and serene ever since my mother died, and I can't ask for anything more.
They all look so happy and enthusiastic as they discuss the conclusion of the events from last week. They have been praising Jace and me, as well as Amber for her sacrifice of becoming a decoy in the club that night. Good thing her health is fine now and she didn't experience any complications from the effects of chloroform.
"Baby?" Emily reaches for my hand under the table as we eat. I give it a gentle squeeze and turn to her.
"Hmm?"
"I don't want this day to end," she mumbles close to my ears.
"Me too, Baby. Me too..." I lovingly graze my thumb on her hand.
"I love you," she adds with a smile, that kind of smile that just seems so genuinely contented with just the right touch of shyness, and this unexpected warmth rushes through me.
I sincerely reply,
"I love you more, and forever."
*****To be continued*****
A/N: Thanks for reading!
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