Loving by the rules.

"Where are they taking me?"

Emily's point of view.

Ringing noises… So loud…

My eyes snapped open, a burst of oxygen flooding into my open mouth. The bright flashes of red and blue made my eyes close, blinking occasionally till it was adjusted.

And then the pain came, and by God, it hurt like a b***h. My head throbbed and pulsed, and it felt like someone had hit it with a hammer. The pain that coursed through the rest of my body was no joke either.

I groaned. “ma’am, can you hear me?” I finally noticed the paramedic, I guess, staring at me.

I nodded numbly even though I was far from fine, noticing that I was in what happened to be an ambulance. They continue checking my body and applying first-aid to the supposed wound on my head.

“It seems like you only got away with a minor concussion, which is really surprising and lucky. The other person suffered a lot more injuries”. He said when he was done bandaging the wound.

Luck? Yeah, I deserved that much after all I’ve been through.

And it looks like they didn’t notice that I was drunk. Thank Goodness.

Suppressing my dizziness and the ache that travelled through my body, I walk over to the scene of the accident, my gaze flitting through the destruction.

The bumper of my car took most of the damage, seeing as it was crumpled and hanging off. The left corner of the car was badly dented, one of the headlights and the window of the driver’s seat in a shattered mess on the tarred road.

My car was in a bad shape, but the other car? Just plain wrecked.

I had apparently rammed my car at the side of the other, as it was caved in, large dents and scratches along the panel. The windshield was cracked, with a spider web pattern radiating from the point of impact.

The windows were also shattered, and I could see that the car’s airbags were deployed, the driver’s hanging limp and broken. Glass and debris is scattered throughout the interior.

Oh my God. What if the people inside died? I don’t want to go to jail. What about my kids?

“Ma’am? We have to get you to the hospital for more testing” I heard the paramedic’s voice behind me.

Testing? There was no way I’d add hospital bills to the already long list of expenses. “Shawn-“ I glanced at his tag. “I’m fine. I have kids waiting for me back at home, I need to be with them” I said calmly.

“But ma’am-“

“Please. I’ll take care of myself and change my bandages well. If there’s a problem, I’ll visit immediately” I pleaded.

Long story short, Shawn gave in and ended up taking me home, but not after giving me a literal lecture on how to take care of myself and what to do in case of emergencies.

I knew a lot of it, of course. After all, my mother was a doctor.

After getting home around 1:30 am, the first thing I did was to check on Jake and lily. I hadn’t been gone for long, but long enough that one of them might have woken up. So I was relieved when they were still fast asleep.

“Ow, ow” my limbs scream in pain when I settle myself on the bed, the little cuts and bruises stinging after the shower I had. So much for not going to the hospital.

What a shitty day yesterday was.

Now I regret choosing to indulge myself tonight; my car’s as good as gone and everything’s become harder than it is and supposed to be. Not to mention that the suffocating feeling still stuck to me.

I once again took some Xanax and also some painkillers, knowing that sleeping tonight wouldn’t be possible without them.

Three days left.

If we lose this house, the amount of time it would take for our lives to completely ruin would be no more than the blink of an eye.

*******************

“Bye mommy” two pairs of lips kissed both my cheeks, my arms wrapping around their small frames. “love you guys” I yelled after their running figures.

It wasn’t hard to explain what happened to the car to the kids and they liked the idea of walking to school since it wasn’t too far from the house. But it didn’t help to soothe the pang of guilt choking my insides.

Two days had passed, and I’ve heard nothing from the police nor those who I hit or someone related to them. As much as I would like to think that I’m safe, I’m unfortunately not that delusional.

I walked back to the house to quickly get ready for work, wincing at small intervals.

My wounds were nowhere close to being completely healed, but I knew better than to let that hold me down. I’d better work overtime for the next few days; the money won’t be earning itself.

“Who’s there?” my steps slowed and then halted at the driveway of the house after spotting a figure by the door. I shielded my eyes from the sun to give me a better view.

God, I hope it’s not the police. My stomach dropped at the thought.

“Are you Mrs. Dahlia?” a man clad in black suits, pants and aviator shades approaches me. I step backwards, putting distance between us. He looks like he’s from the FBI. Oh lord.

“Yes, and you are?” I raise an eyebrow at him. “it does not matter, you need to come with us” he jerked his head to the black Mercedes parked on the street behind me.

My eyes widened. Where are they taking me? I don’t have anything to defend myself with. What if they killed me if I refused?

“Why should I? I don’t know you” I stepped to the side but he swiftly blocked my way. I lick my lips nervously, preparing to scream if needed.

“It’s relating to the accident you caused two days ago. The victim wants to meet you”. My breath hitched, my body breaking into a cold sweat. I knew this day would come, and yet, I was unprepared.

And just like that, I was seated in the backseat of the shiny Mercedes, following them to God knows where. The driver and man from earlier were as silent as stone, refusing to answer my questions.

I hope that the victim is a woman, it would be easier to apologize.

It wasn’t long before we reached a fancy coffee shop, the man from earlier steeping out from the car to open the door for me.

I stepped out, trying to summon the little luck and courage I have. 'Let this end well, please'. I prayed to the great entity above.

The aroma of freshly grounded coffee beans assaulted my nose as soon as I was in, making me sigh in approval. I was then seated on a table for two, right next to the huge glass windows.

The minutes ticked by, my calm waiting slowly turning to anxious jittering. Watching people passing by, living normal lives did nothing to soothe my raging nerves.

I kept my eyes trained on the floral tablecloth, not wanting to lay eyes on him or her as soon as they entered.It was when I heard footsteps approaching dangerously close to my table that I looked up, immediately locking eyes with who was supposed to be my victim.

“What the…”