He would fall apart and be useless to her. I’m coming, baby, I’m coming.
Emma had no idea how she had made it through the flight and the taxi ride to her parents’ home. There had been no chance of being stopped by security or dogs this time, as she had nothing but her purse and the clothes on her back. Robyn . . . Oh my God, Robyn. It couldn’t be true. When she walked in the door, her parents, Robyn and Boston would all be sitting there laughing and so relieved. It was just a misunderstanding. Some awful trick someone had played on them. In the part of her mind still capable of rational thought, she knew that no one would ever play this type of horrible joke on her family—she needed to believe that there was some hope, though. It was all that had kept her going since the call. She had fallen apart when her father told her the news. She had sat at her desk for a few moments before rushing to Brant. She had needed him to hold her, to tell her that everything was okay. When he had thrust her away from him and yelled at her, she had crawled into her shell and gone into survival mode.
Thank goodness for Beth. Without her, she would have driven herself to the airport and she was in no condition to do that. She vaguely remembered Beth arguing and pleading with the airline to let her have a seat on the plane. It didn’t happen, though, and Emma was on her own. She had made it, though. She had broken all records for speed getting home to her family. Except now why was she standing at the front door, afraid to go in? Because if you go in, then it’s real. Instead of opening the door, she dropped to the steps, needing just another moment. When the door opened behind her, she looked over in surprise as Boston lowered himself to the step beside her. She laid her head on his shoulder and murmured, “It’s true, isn’t it?”
He let out a breath that sounded more like a sob and said, “Yeah, she’s gone, Em.”
“What happened? Dad said that she drowned. How is that possible? Robyn could swim like a fish.”
“She was surfing a new break with some of her friends. From what we’ve been told, the surf was pretty brutal and she wiped out over some coral. Her leash was tangled. She had taken a big hit to her head and they think she was too disoriented to free herself.”
Emma could tell by the shaking of Boston’s body against hers that he was crying. She turned and put her arms around him, burying her face against his big shoulders. They stayed that way until their father found them sometime later.
“Emmie, Boston, come on in. It’s too hot to stay out here.” Emma stood, looking at the strongest man she had ever known. He was pale, his normally tanned skin having taken on a sallow cast. He ruffled her hair as he usually did, but the gesture was more automatic than affectionate. He was a man operating on fumes, doing what he needed to do to survive.
She hugged him before asking, “Where is Mom?”
“She’s in bed. I had to call Doc Janice out to give her something. She just completely lost it when we got the call. Maybe you could go up and check on her. She’s calm now but just staring at the walls. I don’t know what to do, where to start. Your uncle is handling the arrangements, but we need to go see Robyn. I don’t know if your mother is able.”
Boston, looking more sober than she had ever seen him, stepped up to lead their dad to the living room while Emma walked with a heavy heart toward her parents’ room.
As her father had indicated, her mother was under the covers but instead of sleeping, she appeared to be staring at the wall. Emma sat next to her on the bed. “Mom?” Her mother gave her a blank look, leading her to wonder if perhaps she had been overmedicated.
“Mom, it’s Em.”
The glassy look seemed to leave as her mother said, “I believe I know who you are, honey. You know about your sister.”
Emma nodded. “Yeah, I know.”
“I tried to talk her out of going,” her mother continued. “I just had a bad feeling about the trip. I know all you kids are great swimmers; your father and I made sure of that. I never worried about any of you being in the water. But I was nervous about Robyn surfing somewhere new. She knew the waters here like the back of her hand. She got it in her head that she wanted to start training somewhere more challenging. Some of her friends were encouraging her to enter the Wave Masters tournament. She felt like she needed more experience before the competition.”
Emma pulled back the bed covers and crawled in next to her mother while she continued to talk. They wrapped their arms around each other and the tears came in a torrent. Emma found herself wondering if there would ever be a time again when the house would be filled with laughter. The sorrow hung heavily over them like a black cloud.