When it’s quiet she swears she can still hear the screeching tires and the warmth of fire on her face. Emily wiped the back of her hand across her face and Slowly lowered herself back onto the bed.
It’s funny her first reaction to waking up from a nightmare is to turn on her bedside lamp. Emily chuckled and murmured to herself, “at least it saves on the electric bill.”
Emily awoke early the next morning, at least she thought it was early, it had only been several weeks since the accident and her parents still refused to buy anything that would help her or make her life easier…it’s like buying an alarm clock with a voice that tells you the time means there’s no hope. Her parents refused to give up hope, but it was too late, Emily already had.
Emily stumbled to the bathroom and took a shower…cold like always. Nothing warm…never anything warm. By the time she returned to her room she knew it had to be after 8, she could hear the family downstairs yelling.
It was always the same, Grandfather yelling about how I should be “up and about” and then usual response of; “she’s having a hard time.”
“Who’s there?”
''Who's there?'' she called out again.
She clenched her fists in frustration and froze as she heard the sound of heavy footsteps on her carpet. And then a voice...
''It's only me.''
Her relief made her laugh out loud as she reached out for her brother.
''Jason, when did you get back?''
''Just today. Sonny called and told me what had happened.'' He leaned back to look her over. Her hair had just been washed and there was a fresh bandage around her eyes.
''How's my godson?'' She asked.
Jason smiled. ''Michael is doing fine. Do you want to see him?''
No, she thought, I want to hear him laughing. I can never see him. But she only replied, ''Is he here?''
''In the gardens.'' He responded.
Emily stepped away from him and got down on her hands and knees. ''I just have to find my shoes, I know that Monica put them here somewhere.'' Jason's heart fell as he watched her feel around on the ground.
''Am I hot or cold?''
Jason's brows narrowed in confusion. ''What?''
Emily smiled and shook her head. ''Where are they?'' He paused. ''They're here.''
Emily looked up. ''Well, aren't you going to help me?'' He glanced at the shoes which lay waiting beneath the windowsill.
''No.'' This infuriated her. ''Why not, you can see them.''
''Don't grow dependent, Emily. I had to learn that.'' Though he couldn't see her eyes, he could see her mouth twitching in anger.
''You weren't blind Jason, you could still see. Where are they?'' She gripped the bedpost and pulled herself up. ''Where are they?'' She asked again, angered at his silence.
He watched her. She grew frustrated. ''Where are my shoes!'' she shouted, ''why won't you help me?''
Jason stared at her for a long time before sighing and raking a hand through his hair. ''They're by the window,'' he finally answered quietly.
She turned her head towards the window and reached for her dresser to help guide her way. Bending down, she patted the soft rug until her hand reached her oxfords. She stood, shoes in hand, head bent.
"Thank you.'' He didn't say a word.
She lay on a lounge on the patio, her face raised towards the sun. Behind her in the gardens she could hear Carly laughing as she and AJ picked flowers with Michael.
She couldn't really piece together what was going on with all of them. Jason had gained full custody of Michael when the truth about Carly and AJ came out. Somewhere along the line, AJ and Jason began talking again-after a very heated argument-and actually became brotherly.
He had forgiven Carly and now saw Michael on a regular basis. It had seemed that all was right in the Quartermaine family for once, until... ''Emily, you have an appointment at the hospital.'' Emily made a face. ''They just checked my bandages yesterday.''
''It's for therapy, sweetheart.'' Emily's face clouded at the words. ''I don't want to go.''
Monica sat in a chair beside her and patted her leg. ''We talked about this. You have to go if you wnat to become more independent. You have to learn how to do things for yourself, don't you want that?''
Monica looked for any sign that would indicate that she was about to comply, but her daughter's face was expressionless. It must be something she learned from Jason. Monica sighed. ''Come on. I'll meet you in the car.''
Emily listened for the door to the parlor to close. When it did, she stood and reached for the doorway. She had already given up hope, but she couldn't help wondering if becoming independent contradicted what Joe had said about the possibility of recovery.
It must, if he suggested that she go to this therapist. Despair overwhelmed her as she realized that there was nothing left for her to look forward to.
Emily went. She was none to happy about it, but Monica had promised during the ride over there that they would get sno-cones in the park-just the two of them. And she never could resist a grape sno-cone. She waited for Joe in an empty hospital room. He had told her that she was going to meet her therapist- that she could wait a long time for.
While waiting, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and glanced around the room. She wondered what it looked like, wondered if it had plain, white walls with cheap plastic curtains and a gaudy picture hanging right above the bed.
She laughed out loud at the thought, but quickly closed her mouth when she realized that the door to her room was open.
It was then that she felt a presence. It wasn't Joe, for she would have recognized his footsteps-or perhaps the high heels of the therapist. And she was getting quite good of depending on her other senses. But this presence was different. It was silent, and she could feel the person's eyes on her. And for some reason, this silence was almost familiar.
''Jason, you know I hate it when you don't say anything. You can come in.''
She waited until she heard footsteps gingerly step on the tile as they came closer. And then a voice spoke, deep and so unfamiliar that it made her jump.
''Who's Jason?''
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