Chapter 55
“Daddy! Oh? Where’s Emily?” As soon as I opened the door, Noah came running towards me. “I wanted to show something to her. Where is she?”
I kneeled in front of him and forced a smile. “She… she just went somewhere.”
“But she’ll come back, right?”
My heart shattered as I tried to think of the right words to answer this child’s question. I couldn’t find a word to say, yet I forced a smile as I nodded. “She will. She will be back.”
Noah handed me the paper he’s holding. I looked at it and my heart immediately dropped by the glance of it.
“Emily taught me how to draw. I drew that this morning to give it to her, to thank her for teaching me how to draw. I don’t know if it looks like her though.”
Without a word, I pulled my son for a hug. I immediately wiped my tears as I felt them flowing down from my eyes.
I stood up and looked away. “Noah, I… I have to do something. I’ll play with you later, okay?”
I stormed out. I ran upstairs to my room, and to my surprise my siblings were all inside. It seems like they’ve been waiting for my arrival.
No. They indeed are waiting for me. Afterall, they must have heard the news.
“Do you need our help?” Savannah asked as soon as I closed the doors.
“Patrick could have taken her. That bastard —”
“No.” I quickly interrupted Sylvester’s words. “She left. She left by herself.”
“What do you mean she left?”
“You let her leave?”
I threw the paper Emily left in their direction before dropping myself to the bed. It took a couple of minutes of silence as they read the letter.
“This is insane,” Savannah blurted out in disbelief. “What is she thinking?”
“I really thought she was doing fine ever since the funeral and burial. She’s indeed calm before dropping a storm.”
“What are you planning to do now? Won’t you search for her?” Skyler asked.
I scoffed. “It feels like deja vu. How could this happen to a person twice?”
“She’s not pregnant, is she?”
“Get out.”
“If she is, then we don’t have to worry. She’ll return after ten years.” I glared at my sister. “What?”
“But will you really just let her go, just like that?” Skyler asked.
“Yeah, won’t you search for her?”
“Don’t tell me, you’re seriously going to wait for ten years?!”
“All of you, get out! You’re not even ‘trying’ to help me! Just get out!”
Someone punched me on the stomach, and that someone is my sister. She’s sitting on my bed, beside me, while glaring at me. “That’s why we’re asking you what you are planning to do! If you don’t let us help, then how can we help? Stupid.”
I sighed as I sat straight.
“Even if I find her… will she come back? And even if she does… can I manage to be both her man and Noah’s father?” I sighed. “I’m afraid I’ll end up failing one of them if I continue to be greedy. I want them both in my life, and it feels greedy.”
“So you’ll give up on her that easily?”
“It’s more like… I’ll give myself time to rethink, adjust, and fix everything. Also, I’ll give her the time and space she needs as well.”
“Gosh. You’re pathetic.” Savannah messed up my hair. I frowned at her. “You’re a pathetic jerk, my dear brother. But you’re all grown up, and I’m proud. I just hope you fix the things you need to fix before it gets too late. Emily is a human, Stef. She’ll eventually get tired if you keep her waiting and wandering endlessly.”
“I also get this feeling that she’ll be safer if she's not with me. Look at the mess I brought her into.”
“But at least, you can protect her easily when she’s with you.”
I sighed and laid back down. “I don’t know. It’s hard to keep someone who doesn’t want to be kept. I’m not giving up on her, never. I… I just really think that time and space might be the best for us. I’m not confident in myself either.”
“So? What are you planning to do?”
Just before I could answer my sister’s question, Cameron barged through the door.
“Patrick has been arrested.” I quickly stood up. “He turned himself in.”
“When?”
“Just a few minutes ago.”
“The son of a bitch admitted to his crimes?” Savannah hissed. “Is the world ending?”
“But he’s requesting for you, Stefano. He wouldn’t speak all the details not until he has a word with you.”
“Stef.” I turned to Savannah as she grabbed my arm. “It could be dangerous. For all we know, this could be some scheme of his.”
“I agree with that,” Sylvester said. “For him to just suddenly turn himself in… it’s sort of suspicious.”
I turned to my brother-in-law. “What do you think?”
“Well, first is that I could guarantee that the police station he’s in is safe in case you decide to visit him. The chief in that station has been long acquainted with my family. Second, I believe there’s something more to it. The way he wants a word with you speaks of him wanting something in return.”
I let out a deep sigh as I made my decision. “I’ll talk to him.”
“Stefano!”
“If this is the way to resolve this mess, then let it be. He won’t be able to touch me there, so I think there’s nothing to worry about.”
“You don’t know what’s inside his head! You can’t trust him!”
“Patrick was once my friend. If there’s something I know, his mind is more simple than you think it is. I want to fix everything as soon as possible so… so I could have Emily back.”
I don’t know how long it will take for me to fix everything in my life, but all I know is that I’ll do whatever it takes to have her back into my arms once more. I can’t have our story end this way.