“Stop. We’ll talk about this later,” Emma says, not meeting my eyes.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Emma says, narrowing her eyes at her friends.
Sindy speaks up not intimidated by Emma’s death glare, “Emma wants us to stop doing the Triplets”
“Yeah, we’re making more money than any of us had dancing by ourselves. You have to tell her not to stop.” Lacey gives me a pleading look.
“You guys can find another girl to do it. You don’t need me.” Emma still refuses to look me in the eye, letting me know there’s more to this story.
Lacey and Sindy aren’t convinced.
“We don’t want another girl. You’re a part of the Triplets,” Lacey says.
“Emma, quit being stupid. You know this is the most fun you’ve had on stage. I don’t know what made you think quitting is a good idea, but it’s not.” Sindy crosses her arms again, pacing the living room.
Emma stares up at the ceiling, and I wonder if Sindy is onto something. Maybe something happened that has made Emma want to quit the Triplets. Seeing the stubborn look on her face, I know I won’t get it out of her while the girls are here.
“I’ll talk her out of quitting,” I say.
Emma’s head snaps toward me, anger and something else swimming in her eyes. “You can’t convince me to change my mind. It’s done. No need to keep talking about it. I’m out of the Triplets.”
Before Sindy and Lacey can protest, I hold up my hand. “Why don’t you two go home. I’ll talk to her.”
Emma’s eyes shoot lasers at me, but I ignore her for now wanting to get her alone before I find out what’s going on.
“Well, hopefully you’ll have better luck than we did.” Lacey bends over and kisses Emma on the forehead. “We love you. It wouldn’t be the same without you. Just listen to Axel.”
Sindy comes over and hugs Emma. “Just talk to Axel.”
The two girls close the front door, leaving me alone with a very pissed off Emma.
“How could you do that to me?” I know she wants to yell, but Felicity’s sleeping so she has to whisper her anger.
“I just wanted them to leave so we could talk.”
“I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Emma, what’s going on? Did something happen? Did you already save enough money to open your yoga studio?”
I can see the indecision on her face. “It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
My instincts roar inside me. She’s mine, and I want to take care of her and eliminate anything that’s bothering her. I have to stop myself from taking control of the situation. She’s been surviving by herself for so long, taking care of her parents and Felicity. I’m sure she’s not going to let me barge in just yet.
“I’m sure it’s nothing you can’t handle. You’re the strongest woman I know.” She shakes her head and I refuse to let her deny the truth. “You took care of your dad’s medical bills. You set your dreams aside to keep your family out of debt. You are a fantastic mother. I don’t have any doubt you can handle anything life throws at you.”
“But?” she says, her eyes curious.
“But, you don’t have to. I want to help you, not because I don’t think you aren’t capable, but because I know you are very capable. You’ve been through so much. I’m here if you let me help you. I don’t want to take over. I want to be here to support you.”
She hesitates. We watch each other, knowing we’re on a precipice of taking what we’re doing to the next level. What she doesn’t seem to understand is I’m already on the next level just waiting for her to catch up. There’s something holding her back, and I want to figure out what it is.
A whimper down the hallway stops us both. I cock my head, but Emma’s already jogging toward Felicity’s room. I’m half a step behind her when we get to her room. Felicity’s face is scrunched up, her little body is tense, showing signs she’s in the beginning of a nightmare.
Emma runs over to her and I watch helplessly as Emma comforts her. Leaning against the doorframe, suspicion flooding through my veins. Felicity hasn’t had a nightmare since I read her a story and informed her she had superheroes next door. The timing could be a coincidence, but I can’t shake the feeling this has something to do with Felicity’s dad.
The badman.
I enter the room, Felicity brightens up when she sees me. “Hey, were you having a bad dream?” I ask, sitting on the opposite side of the bed from Emma.
Felicity nods her head, still half-asleep and obviously having a hard time fighting it off.
“Do you want me to read you a story?” Felicity nods her head again pointing to the ballerina book sitting on her nightstand. I catch Emma’s eyes, as she hands me the book as she moves to the rocking chair in the corner. Her face lets me know she understands I will be asking for an explanation when Felicity goes back to sleep.