Chapter 8 - Goodbye

Emma felt like someone had reached inside her and ripped her heart out of her chest. She couldn't believe that her mother was gone. All she could think was she would never get to talk to her or tell her she loved her again. Emma had wanted to be the one to save her mom and get them out of that house, but Martin had made sure that would never happen.

"Ezra, please tell me you will get Martin this time. You know he killed her. His abuse never stopped even after you arrested him last time; if anything, it got worse. Will you be able to get him?" Emma looked up into Ezra's face wanting to see the truth.

"Emma, I'm not going to lie to you. It'll be hard to prove that he killed her, but we'll do everything we can to ensure we find out the truth. Can you come with me? I want to get your statement on everything that has been going on in that house." Ezra couldn't bring himself to make any more promises to her when he wasn't sure he could keep them.

"Thank you for not telling me that you'll make sure everything will be okay. I know you tried your best before, but people like Martin always win. Ezra, can you take me to see my mom before I give my statement? I need to tell her goodbye."

"Yes, let's go. Martin will be at the station for questioning when we get there, but I'll make sure you're far away from him. What about your brother? Should we get him as well?" Ezra remembered the little blonde-haired boy that was with Paula all those years ago.

"Leo's my step-brother, and he won't care what happened to my mom; he's just like his dad." Emma spoke so matter of factly that Ezra was shocked. How could Leo be so insensitive to the loss of his stepmother? He decided now was not the time to question Emma about it.

Ezra took Emma to the morgue to see her mother before going to the station. The coroner had just gotten Paula laid out and covered up when they arrived. She looked from Ezra to Emma with concern. No child should see their parent in the condition that Paula was in.

"Are you sure about this?" The coroner was an older woman who couldn't imagine letting her children or grandchildren do something like this. She looked at Emma, who already had red-rimmed eyes.

"Yes, ma'am. I need to tell her goodbye. Thanks to my stepdad's abuse, I already know how bad she looks." Emma looked the coroner in the eye and saw her expression soften.

"Alright, dear." She slowly moved the sheet from Paula's face, and Emma gasped as her tears started falling again. Her mother's face looked even paler, making the bruises a deep dark purple. She lightly rubbed her hand on her mom's cheek and kissed her forehead.

"It's okay, mom. At least he can't hurt you anymore. I promise to stay strong, so you don't have to worry about me. I'll be alright. I love you, mom." Emma gave her mother one more kiss before turning to walk out the door. Both the coroner and Ezra had to wipe the tears from their eyes at the saddest goodbye they'd ever witnessed.

Emma still felt like she had a hole in her heart, but she felt better after seeing her mom and telling her goodbye. She knew her mom was now at peace and would never be hurt again. As soon as they got on the elevator, Emma looked up at Ezra.

"Take me to the police station, and I will tell you whatever you need to know." Ezra stared at the teenager next to him in disbelief. She was the strongest girl he'd ever known. What hurt him, though, was that the life she'd had to endure had made her that way.

Ezra took Emma next door to the police station and found a room away from where Martin was being held. He didn't want him anywhere near her if he could help it. Ezra was concerned with Martin being her legal guardian; she would have to return to that house if he didn't get locked up. He wanted to make sure that didn't happen.

Ezra had Emma go over everything that had happened this morning before she left for school. Once she was done, he had her talk about how things had been in the house for the past week. Emma was very detailed in describing every punch, slap, and kick she and her mother received.

Ezra felt sick listening to her talk about the abuse in a monotone. He could tell she had hardened herself and tried not to let the pain get to her. When she was done and looked at him with cold eyes, he knew he had to say something. Ezra felt responsible for leaving Emma and Paula in that house.

"I'm sorry, Emma. I should have done more to help you and your mom. I'm going to do everything I can to help you now. Is there anywhere else you can stay while we're doing our investigation? I don't want you back in that house." Ezra saw Emma's face pale.

"There is no way I'm going back now that my mom's gone. I can stay with my friend Melora. Her parents had been trying to get me and my mom to move in with them, but I didn't want Martin to bother them. I'm sure they'll let me stay there now." Emma still was worried Martin would go to Melora's house, but she couldn't stay with him.

"Alright, why don't you call Melora's parents, and I'll take you to your house to pick up some of your things?" Emma nodded, and Ezra showed her where the phone was. She dialed Melora's home phone, and Tilly picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Tilly. This is Emma."

"Emma, dear, what's wrong?" Tilly could hear the sadness in Emma's voice, and she felt a coldness wash over her body.

"Tilly, my mom died, and I don't want to go back to Martin's house. Can I stay with you? I'm at the police station now, and they're going to take me to get some of my stuff." Emma started crying into the phone, and Tilly felt her heart breaking. She knew Paula had been in bad shape but didn't think she would die.

"I'm so sorry, Emma. Of course, you can stay with us. Do you want me to meet you at Martin's house?"

"No, Ezra will bring me to your house. Thank you, Tilly." Emma hung up the phone and looked toward Ezra.

"I'm ready. She said I could stay there. I don't want to see Martin or Leo, so can we hurry, please?" Emma wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. She blamed both Martin and Leo for her mother's fragileness. They had treated her mother so badly that if she saw either of them, she was afraid she might kill them.

Ezra drove Emma to the house, and she felt her throat getting tight as they went inside. There were still people there gathering evidence and taking pictures. She quickly made her way upstairs, and when she passed the room her mom had been in, Emma felt her tears falling.

She passed Martin's bedroom and noticed a white shirt lying on the floor. Emma thought that was strange because she had pressed him a shirt this morning, so why was another one lying on the floor?

When she got to her room, she quickly took out her two suitcases and packed as much as she could into them. Emma grabbed the photo album that she had hidden under her mattress with pictures of her, her mom, and her real dad. She looked around, making sure she wasn't leaving anything important behind because she didn't know if she would ever be back.

As she and Ezra made their way downstairs, the front door opened, and in walked Martin. Emma felt the anger build in her, and before Ezra could stop her, she ran down the stairs. She saw the smirk on his face, and it made her even angrier.

"Are you happy now, you rat-faced bastard? You killed my mom, and now you have no one to beat on except your precious son. I hope you burn in hell when they get done with you." Martin tried to control his anger at hearing Emma talk to him like that. If the police weren't there, he'd teach her a lesson she'd never forget.

"I didn't kill her; she was too weak to live anymore. Where do you think you're going? I'm your legal guardian, so you have to stay here."

Martin had every intention of turning Emma into his next wife; he just had to wait until she was eighteen. He had gotten the idea while he was on his way to being questioned. Who better to take Paula's place than her daughter, who he could break just as much as he did her mother?

"Mr. Edwards, Emma will not be staying here while we're doing the investigation. Other arrangements have been made for her. If we find out that you have tried to contact her, you will be arrested." Ezra led Emma out of the house before anyone could say anything else. Martin still yelled after them; he couldn't help himself. He had to try and get in Emma's head.

"You'll be back, Emma. You belong to me, and I always get what's mine."

Emma held her head high and kept walking. She was used to his games, but she also didn't want him to see her fear. What if he was right and she had to go back to that house? Would the same thing that happened to her mother happen to her?