Eternal Hope

Chapter 4

Emmersyn

Emmersyn quietly seethed at the fact that she had frozen and reacted like a helpless lamb when that slimy excuse for a human had grabbed her. She was trained in MMA and Krav Maga though she was not interested in competitions. Mainly because she didn’t want to be recognized at an event and then have it turn into a media circus or take away focus from the fights. It was something that she regretted not being able to do as the years went on, so instead she went and learned at different dojos and gyms as she travelled which allowed her to learn from many different individuals and pit herself against all kinds of fighters. 

But she had frozen, not believing that such a weak-willed individual would actually have the audacity to manhandle her. And then Carter had stepped in acting with the wrath of a scorned God, flipping Joseph easily and pinning him to the ground in a way that had Emmersyn’s knees weak. He was quick, efficient, and intractable. Many people assumed he was shy and an easy push over because of how little he talked, but it was the exact opposite. He just didn’t talk to people that he didn’t deem worthy of his energy. 

Emmersyn turned to take him in as he gave his version of the events to the officers that arrived to escort Joseph to the police station. His hair was longer, the straight blonde hair bleached from time out in the sun. it was pulled back in his customary low ponytail showing that his hair was a beautiful combination of colors. The underside of his hair was a deep rich brown, and from there it slowly turned into an almost bleach blonde with streaks of red that mad the pin straight hair worthy of Fabio. His body was the most noticeable change. Two years ago, Carter was heavy set, slightly chunky and a little overweight, but he carried it with the grace of someone that thought not a whit about his appearance. Despite the weight he was still a contender for hottest male on campus. If he had been more sociable and worn anything other than ripped cargo shorts and burned t-shirts, he probably would have won. Girls tripped over the sidewalk to watch the embodiment of a Norse god walk down the street. However, the endearing chub was gone and had been replaced by mouthwatering muscles, not too many, but just enough to really raise the bar on his personal hotness. As he stretched the t-shirt that he was wearing rode above the waistband of his shorts showing an Adonis belt and an impressive set of abs. 

He was handsome when I left, he was downright droolworthy now. It wasn’t fair. Between having and raising a baby and cranking out three books, Emmersyn had not had the time or the inclination to take care of her own s****l needs. Em had had flings and short liaisons with willing partners before she became involved with Carter, but she was not interested in them after him. He was the only one to see past her walls and accept all of her. The good, the bad, and the horrendously ugly. 

It hadn’t hurt that the s*x had been wonderful. Emmersyn blushed, remembering some of their antics in the bedroom, or outside of it. But then she shook her head. Liam. Carter would never forgive her for keeping Liam from him. In her defense she had attempted to reach out through social media, only to find that he had completely disappeared. She hadn’t known his address and had promised to stay clear of his friends so as to not make their breakup even harder than it already was. She had tried to reach his cell, only to find the number no longer in service. She should have known that Carter would move forward with barely a hitch in his step. It had hurt that she couldn’t contact him. Even her emails had gone unanswered. And so, she had waited until she would be back in the area. 

Now that she was finally faced with the man, she had spent years searching for, she found herself unable to say anything about her baby. What if Carter fought for custody, or what if he didn’t want anything to do with the baby at all. Liam had only known a life with just his mommy, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t eventually start to ask questions about where his father was. Emmersyn wanted to give her son everything, and the thought of her fear keeping her son from having a meaningful relationship with his father was just heartrending, and yet….

A few hours later Carter and Em are released, and Joseph is escorted from the building. The security team took statements from all the employees and even copied the security footage. Apparently, there have been numerous complaints from Joseph’s subordinates, mostly female, accusing him of s****l harassment, plagiarism, stealing projects… the list went on and on. Em was surprised that he was allowed to stay as long as he did, but it turns out that while the complaints had been filed, HR was not able to corroborate the stories, they always happened in the elevator or blind spots. Which meant they couldn’t just out and out fire him. This incident gave the company the proof that they needed to kick him to the curb once and for all. Em shook her head and looked over to where Carter was standing. He was offering a smile and soft eyes to a young woman that seemed to work with him. Apparently, she was one of Joseph’s harassment victims. Though for someone so ‘distraught’ about her treatment, she seemed to be soaking up Carter’s attention like a sponge. Em shook herself; she was not Carter’s girlfriend. She had no say whatsoever in who he gave his attention too. Even if she was his secret baby momma, she knew that nothing would really change except she would lose a little time with her son. Inevitably that would be a good thing, he needs a father to teach him things Em can’t; However, she realized that she was going to be lonely without Liam. The last two plus years had been all about raising him and getting her career to take off. It was all that she knew and now she was going to have to share her pride and joy with someone else. 

She was happy for her son, but sad for herself. 

Carter came over and stood in front of Em. He silently studied the floor between their feet, while Em stared at his eyebrows. She could read his entire mind by the way his eyebrows shifted. If they lifted, he was surprised, if they drew in, he was confused, anger tended to be the one eyebrow raised, while happy… well Em wasn’t sure what happy eyebrows looked like. Carter was stoic. He rarely showed his emotions, and what he did always tended to be the most volatile. His angriest, his saddest, and his happiest moments were all she had ever seen. His day-to-day emotions seemed flat and rarely crossed his face. He had trouble expressing his emotions, almost as much trouble as she had containing hers, but Em knew that it went deeper for Carter. He was almost incapable of feeling his emotions. Good, bad, or otherwise. They seemed to either not surface at all, or to be fleeting. One second there and the next… it was almost like he forgot what he was feeling. Like it was erased. Instead, he would logically explain how he was happy rather than feel it. 

As Em watched Carter struggle for words, she decided to take things into her own hands. He wanted to talk. She had things that needed to be said. So, she would call a truce. And hopefully, she wouldn’t live to regret this in the morning. 

“I am free for dinner at 8. How about our favorite Italian place in Hartford?”

Carter gave her surprised eyebrows and relieved eyes, “that sounds wonderful”

Em offered a small smile, she had been practicing moderate facial expressions, “I’ll meet you there, I have to head home first.”

Carter nodded, seemingly upset about something, but Em shook it off and headed home to kiss her baby boy. She wasn’t sure how this was going to go but she knew it was better to just get it over with.

It was 9:30 pm, all of the food was eaten in an uncomfortable silence, and now things were just plain awkward. They both knew each other’s order; they knew what desert they wanted without having to consult each other. What they didn’t know how to do was start a conversation. Small talk seemed like the best option, but what topic would they choose? The weather was to cliché. Family was not a viable subject of conversation: Carter’s mother was crazy, his sister was a selfish harpy, and his father just tried to stay out of the line of fire. Em’s family hated Carter and thought he was rude; they also weren’t very subtle about their thoughts or feelings. Work was not a good topic either based on today’s events so… that left honesty. 

Em took a deep breath and just went for it, “I have a son. His name is Liam, and he is two years old. I think that you should probably know.”

Carter drew in a breath. “Wait, what?”

Em tried again, trying for succinctness, “We have a son. His name is Liam and I think it’s time you met.”