Shadows Of A Forgotten Spring
Chapter 59

That same night, Emma sat with Jaden in Ethan's room. The only sound heard was that of the quiet hum of the monitors. Ethan lay unconscious, his small chest going up and down rhythmically. Emma carefully stroked his hand, her heart burdened by so much concern.

Hardly had she noticed that her phone vibrated until Jaden nudged her lightly.

She reached for it with a heavy sigh; knowing it would be one of her workers calling about some problem she really didn't have the energy to deal with at that moment. But then the caller ID caught her attention, and her breath hitched, her fingers beginning to shake. It was her mother.

She had warned her mother's nurse to keep any news of what happened lately away from her, knowing how fragile her health was. But clearly, it had failed. The late night call confirmed her fear.

Swallowing hard, she answered, "Mom," she said in a soft voice, her voice quivered as tears welled up in her eyes.

"I saw the news, Emma," her mother, Mrs. Walker said, a tone of worry in her voice. "Are you alright? What happened?

The sob that tore from Emma's throat couldn't be contained. "I'm so sorry, Mom. I'm really sorry." she sobbed. She wanted to tell her mother the truth about Ethan, about her problems, about everything but her mother's health just couldn't take such a blow.

"No, sweetheart, stop apologizing," Mrs. Walker said, her voice firm yet soft. "I'm coming over first thing in the morning."

"No!" Emma exclaimed immediately, in a panic tinged tone. "You can't travel, Mom, you know you can't."

"I can't just sit here knowing what you're going through." her mother said, breaking into sobs. "I need to be there for you."

Emma wiped her tears and tried to steady her voice. "Mom, please don't you worry about me, it shall blow over soon, I promise. You need to take care of yourself."

Mrs. Walker took a deep, heavy breath from the other end. After a while of silence, she said, "How are Ethan and Emily?"

Emma's heart switched place with her liver as Mrs. Walker questioned. Her gaze fell on an unconscious Ethan. She wished she could say the truth. She wished.she could tell her mother that things weren't going so well, but she swallowed this lies and replied. "They are doing fine mom. They are fast asleep."

They spoke a little longer until Mrs. Walker finally, though reluctantly, agreed not to visit. Emma slumped back into her chair as she hung up the phone. Silent tears streamed down her face as Jaden squeezed her shoulder in silent support. His comforting presence did little to stem the tide of loneliness and helpless despair that washed over her. Finally, exhaustion took over, and she fell into a restless sleep.

^^^^^

A touch on her arm woke Emma up the next morning. She blinked groggily, taking a confused look around the room. Her gaze fell on the bed beside her; Ethan was still there and hadn't budged an inch from his position. Mommy, wake up," Emily said in a soft voice, holding a paper bag in her tiny hands. "Mr. Handsome told me to give this to you when you woke up."

Emma took the bag, her heart racing with a mix of fear and curiosity. She opened it, and her breath caught. Inside was her favorite meal. For one moment, her anger wavered. Alexander had remembered something so trivial yet personal. It stirred something deep within her, an old wound she thought she'd buried.

But as the images of the previous night replayed in her mind, her resolve hardened. She had warned him to keep out of her life, away from her children, yet he had listened not, just as he hadn't listened to her all those years of their marriage. She needed to let him know that she was now a new person and this was a new era.

"Where is he?" she asked tartly, her voice betraying the bubbling temper inside her.

"He left a long, long time ago, Mommy," Emily responded with a shaking voice.

Emma took another deep breath to let herself settle. "Where's Jaden?"

"He said he'd be back soon." Emily replied.

Emma knelt on the same level as Emily, relaxing her facial expression. "Stay with your brother, sweetheart. Mommy will be right back."

With the paper bag clutched tightly in her fist, Emma stormed out of the room with a stride that was determined and angry. ^^^^^

Alexander sat in his office flipping through the file Kevin had just handed him. Although it was on the news that the truck had crashed into the daycare, there wasn't any special attention on it and this made Alexander even more angry. Considering the age of the wounded kids, he has expected more attention on the incident.

Kevin handed the file to Alexander who immediately went through it. The culprit name was Adam Henshel. He was said to be a drunk addict and gambler. His wife and kids had left him years ago without a second thought. As Alexander read, anger began to rise in his mind. This was no accident. Something didn't feel right.

"I need you to dig deeper," he said, slamming the file onto his desk. "Something's off."

Kevin nodded, but before he could reply, a commotion erupted outside the office. Moments later, Emma burst in, despite the secretary's attempts to stop her.

Alexander looked up, his face calm but cold. "You can leave," he said to his secretary, who scurried out and closed the door behind her.

Emma didn't mince words. She slammed the paper bag onto his desk, the contents spilling out. "I told you to stay away from me and my family," she said, her voice cold as ice. "What part of that don't you understand?" Alexander sat back in his chair, regard steady. "I'm trying to help, Emma. That's all."

"The only help I need from you is to stay as far away from us as possible. Your involvement isn't helping, it is making things worse."

Her hands shook with ire as she pointed to the spilled food. "I don't need your pity, Alexander. And I don't need you meddling in my life."

She turned to leave, but Alexander's voice stopped her in her tracks. "Emma."

She turned back to face him reluctantly, her glare sharp enough to cut.

Alexander held out the file Kevin had given him. "This is everything I've found out about the driver. You might want to take a look."

Emma looked at the file for a few seconds, then shook her head. No more was said as she walked out, leaving Alexander to his thoughts.