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Chapter 5 - Unforgiving

Paula, Emma, and Leo were sitting in the waiting room waiting to be called back for Emma to see the doctor. Paula saw the nurses behind the desk whispering and looking at them, but she ignored them.

When someone finally said Emma's name, they were taken back to an exam room where a doctor was waiting. Paula saw the doctor and nurse glancing at the bruises on her face, but they didn't say anything.

"Hi Emma, my name is Dr. West. Can you tell me what happened to your arm?" Doctor West looked at Emma's arm; even without an x-ray, he could tell it was broken. He saw her look at her mom before answering.

"I fell down." Dr. West didn't believe her, but he wanted to get an x-ray to see what it showed before he tried to get the truth out of her.

"I'm going to take a picture of your bone so I can see what we need to do to make it better, okay?" Emma nodded at him.

The nurse took Emma to get an x-ray while Dr. West stayed in the exam room with Paula and Leo. He was trying to decide if he should say anything about Paula's injuries or not. He decided he would and see if there was anything he could do to help them.

"Would you like me to take a look at your injuries?" He asked her, and she looked away.

"No, I'm fine." Paula didn't want to go through this again. Everyone needed to mind their own business. It only made everything worse for her and Emma.

"I can see the bruises on you. Do you want to tell me what happened to you and Emma?" Paula felt the tears building in her eyes.

"Please just treat my daughter and let us go home. This is the result of someone trying to help us last time. It's better for us if everyone leaves us alone." Paula pleaded with Dr. West. She knew she wouldn't survive another brutal beating.

"If the x-ray on Emma's arm shows that it was not caused by a fall, I won't have a choice but to report it. There are places that can help you and the children. Would you like some information?"

Paula thought about it, but she didn't want to take Emma to a shelter. That was one step away from being homeless, and she still didn't have any skills, so she wouldn't be able to get a job. It was better to just tough it out with Martin and hope if they were good, he wouldn't be so rough with them.

"No, I have to stay where I am. I have no other choice right now." Dr. West saw in Paula's eyes that if he said anymore, he would be wasting his breath. She had a look of defeat on her bruised face. He thought about giving her a card of someone that could help, but he knew if the man abusing them found it, he might take it out on her.

When Emma returned, she had a lollipop in her mouth and handed one to Leo. Paula was thankful they were at the hospital and not home, or Martin would have had a fit with the sticky treats.

Dr. West looked over the X-rays and sighed. A fall could have caused the break, but he still didn't believe it was from falling naturally. He looked at Emma and smiled.

"Emma, the break in your arm is clean, so what that means is you don't need surgery. We can put a cast on your arm, and then you can go home." Dr. West looked at Paula, and he saw her take a visible sigh of relief. With neither of them wanting to say what happened, he knew it would be a waste of time to call the police. They couldn't do anything without a formal complaint.

Emma's arm was wrapped in a cast, and Dr. West went over instructions for keeping her cast clean and dry. He looked at Paula before they left.

"Are you sure there is nothing else we can help you with?" Paula shook her head.

"No, I need to go home and fix dinner. Thank you." Paula took Leo and Emma's hands and walked out of the hospital. Emma waved at the nurse who had given her the lollipop.

When they got home, Paula went straight to the kitchen and began fixing dinner. She decided to make Martin his favorite steak, baked potatoes, and salad. It was her way of a peace offering for him spending the night in jail.

Martin came to the table without a word when the food was done. Everyone ate in silence. Even Leo, who was usually not as careful as Emma and Paula, seemed subdued.

Martin looked at Emma's broken arm and the bruises on Paula. He knew he needed to say something before they were the ones who went to the police. If he spent another night in jail, he may lose it and kill them. Then he would be locked up for good, or he would have to spend time finding another punching bag. Neither of those options sounded very good to him.

"I'm sorry I got so angry today when I came home. It was really hard for me to be away from you guys last night. I know you didn't go to the police, but we have to make sure that no one else does either. I will try to do better, but I need you to do better too. It's hard for me to be the only one who does any work around here. I expect all of you to behave and do what you're supposed to. If that's too hard to ask, then you can leave. Otherwise, you know I like things to be done a certain way as long as things are done how I like, no one has to get punished."

Martin got up from the table and went to the family room. He gave them an apology and a warning all at once, which should get his message across loud and clear. He opened his beer and sat on the couch to watch baseball.

Paula knew Martin's apology wasn't genuine but more like a warning that it would be their fault if he hurt them again. She looked at Emma, who had her head down with tears running down her face. Paula could tell that Emma understood the warning as well.

After the kids were done eating, she cleaned the kitchen and bathed them before putting them to bed. Paula drew some flowers on Emma's cast and told her she could let the kids at school write or draw on it too. That made her feel a little better about having to go to school with the cast on her arm.


The following day Regina saw Emma walking into the classroom, and she immediately knew something was wrong. She noticed the cast on her arm and her sad face. Paula was behind her, which surprised the teacher; she never came into the classroom. Regina saw her new black eye and other fresh bruises.

"Mrs. Elrod, can I have a word with you, please?" Paula asked her with ice in her voice.

"Certainly, Paula." Regina led Paula and Leo to a corner away from the other children.

"Mrs. Elrod, the next time you want to help, please don't. Emma and I have paid enough, and you see the consequences of your help. My husband was let out of jail yesterday, and who do you think he blamed for him being there?" Regina felt tears in her eyes. She felt horrible knowing she had a hand in the new injuries to Emma and her mother.

"I'm sorry, Paula, I was only trying to help. I thought the police would do more."

"Next time you want to help, just hold the gun to mine and Emma's heads because we'll be dead anyway." Paula turned on her heel and left before Regina could respond.

She looked over at Emma, sitting at her desk with her head down. Regina's eyes went to the fresh cast on her arm, and she felt sick. How could they let a monster like this out knowing what he was capable of? She walked over to Emma and crouched down next to her desk. Emma looked at her with the most hurt expression she had ever seen.

"Mrs. Elrod, please don't call the police anymore. I know now that everyone lies. Everyone said Martin wouldn't be able to hurt us anymore, but he did as soon as the police dropped him off at home." Emma looked down at the floor with tears in her eyes, and Regina cried with her.

"I'm sorry, Emma." She didn't know what else to say as she stood up and walked back to her desk.

Emma watched her teacher go toward the front of the classroom. Martin lied when he said he was sorry, Mrs. Elrod lied when she said the police would help them, and Ezra lied when he said Martin wouldn't hurt them anymore. Emma decided she would never ask for help again.

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