Chapter 10 - Nightmare
Three Years Later...
(Warning this chapter contains content that may be very sensitive to some readers)
It had been three years since Paula's death, and Emma had been counting the days until she could move out of Martin's house. She was going to leave as soon as she turned eighteen, but she didn't want to impose on Melora's family, so she decided to wait until she graduated.
Martin had kept his hands off her since her mother's death, but Emma still blamed him for what happened to her mom. She would never forgive him for the torture he had put Paula through.
Emma had gotten a job as a waitress at a local diner. She was saving her money so she would have enough to get her own place when she moved out in a few months.
It was late on a Friday night, and she was walking home from the diner that wasn't far from the house. Emma was tired and wanted nothing more than a hot shower and her bed.
As she walked into the house, she heard Martin in the living room watching TV. She continued past without saying anything and went up to her bedroom. After putting her purse down, she heard a noise behind her, and Martin appeared in her doorway when she turned.
"I thought I heard you come in. I think it's time we have a talk." She could tell Martin had been drinking because he was slurring his words.
"Not tonight. I'm tired and want to go to bed." Emma tried to push past him, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back into her room.
"I said it's time we have a talk. You're eighteen now, and you have to start pulling your weight around here." Emma glared at him thinking he wanted her to start doing everything in the house like he had her mom doing.
"I am not your servant, and you're not going to beat me into submission to be your servant. As soon as I graduate, I'm out of here." Emma crossed her arms and looked at him definitely.
"I'm not talking about housework. You need to pull your weight in other ways." Emma looked at him in confusion until he started unfastening his belt buckle.
"Don't you dare touch me." Emma backed up, and he followed her.
"Emma, you have gotten away with a lot these last few years, and I gave you a break. Your mother died because she was weak, so now you have to take her place. It will just make it worse for you if you fight me." Martin walked toward her while unzipping his pants.
Emma backed up, looking around for something to use as a weapon, but she had nothing. Before she knew it, she was in the corner of her room and had nowhere else to go.
"If you do this, it's rape, and I'll make sure they put your sorry ass in jail and throw away the key." Emma tried to scare him with jail, but he just laughed at her.
"I'm a defense attorney, and I know what to say to make it look like you wanted it. I get men out of he said she said things all the time; it's my specialty."
Emma tried to slide past him, but he grabbed her arm and threw her onto her bed. He laid on top of her holding her down with his weight when she tried to get up. Emma did her best to kick and hit him, but he was too big for her to move.
Martin reached under the skirt of her uniform and ripped her panties off. Emma screamed as loud as she could but knew it was useless. The houses in this neighborhood were too far apart. Leo came to the door, and she looked at him desperately.
"Leo, help me, please." Emma begged him.
"Sorry, Emma, but I'm surprised it took him this long." Leo started to walk away, but Martin stopped him.
"Leo, when I'm done with her, do you want a turn?" He asked as he pulled his pants down and forced himself between Emma's legs.
"No, she's a little too old for me." Leo walked to his bedroom and shut his door, smiling. Maybe now Emma will learn to behave and start doing stuff around the house again. It was about time his dad reminded her who the boss was.
Emma continued to scream as Martin raped her. She was a virgin, but he didn't care. He raped her repeatedly until he passed out on top of her. She pushed him off her and got out of bed when he started snoring.
Emma looked at herself in the mirror, and she barely recognized herself. Her hair was a mess, and her face was bruised where he'd slapped her. She saw blood running down her legs, and she was sore between her legs.
Emma wanted to take a shower, but she knew she couldn't. If the police were going to have evidence of what he did to her, she had to keep his DNA on her. While he was passed out on the bed, she went to the living room and called Ezra.
"Hello?" She could tell he had been sleeping, but she didn't care. Ezra was the only one she trusted who knew her history.
"Ezra, Martin raped and beat me. He's passed out, but I don't know how long he'll stay that way. Can you hurry and come here, please?" Emma was crying, and Ezra jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed.
"I'm on my way. I will also call for a patrol car and ambulance to come. Make sure you don't clean up, and can you wait outside?"
"Yes, I'll go outside on the deck. Please hurry." Emma hung up the phone and stepped out the front door to wait for Ezra. She hoped he got there before Martin woke up.
About ten minutes later, Emma saw a patrol car and ambulance coming down the street just as the front door opened and Martin walked out. She quickly ran down the steps toward the oncoming police car, and Martin screamed for her to come back.
She ignored him as she ran down the street, not caring that she was sore. Emma was scared he would kill her like he did her mother if he got his hands on her again. As she waved down the patrol car, a female officer got out of the passenger side.
"Emma?" She asked, and Emma started crying.
"Yes, please, he's coming after me." She pointed toward the house where Martin was halfway down the steps. He stopped when he saw Emma with the police.
"Go to the ambulance so they can take you to the hospital, and we'll take care of him." The officer led Emma to the ambulance while the other officer got out of the driver's side and walked toward Martin.
Emma was going to the ambulance, but she was looking behind her. She smiled when she saw the officer put handcuffs on Martin despite his yelling and screaming.
She got into the back of the ambulance, and they had her lie on the gurney. Emma laid back and took a deep breath. She knew this wasn't going to be pleasant, but she finally would be able to put the bastard behind bars where he belonged.
At the hospital, they examined Emma thoroughly, collecting every piece of evidence they could. A nurse had Emma take off her clothes and put them into a bag. She then gave her a pair of scrubs to wear.
After they were done, they said she was free to go. It was early morning by that time, and when she walked out to the waiting room, she saw Ezra. He stood up as she came up to him.
"Emma, I'm sorry he did this to you. He's in jail now, and the prosecutor is trying to hold him without bail based on how brutal he was to you. I didn't think you would want to go back to that house, so I called Tilly to see if you could stay with them again." Emma looked up at him, grateful.
"Thank you, Ezra. You're right; I have no desire to go back there again. I do want to pack up my things and get my mom's ashes, but after that, you can burn the house to the ground. Only evil lives there. What are you going to do with Leo?" Emma didn't really care; he was just as bad as his father in her eyes.
"Tonight, he'll be staying in a group home, but we'll probably put him in foster care once we find an accepting family. I didn't think you wanted him with you." Ezra led Emma outside and opened his car door for her.
"No, I don't want him anywhere near me. He had a chance to help me, but he refused and instead encouraged his father. They can both go to hell as far as I'm concerned." Emma got into the car and sighed.
Martin would finally be locked up after the torture he had inflicted over the past sixteen years. She just wished it had happened while her mother was still alive. Emma briefly worried that she may be pregnant from the rape, but she figured she would cross that bridge if necessary later. Right now, she was going to enjoy the fact that she was free.