Dream of Me: Book 1 The Dream Makers Series (33 page)

“Is she going to live?” Darla’s voice was tight with emotion.

“Honestly, that remains to be seen. Head injuries are unpredictable. Right now all we can do is wait. The nurses are getting her set up in the ICU. Visiting hours are over, but I’ve told them to let one of you go back and see her for a few minutes.”

The doctor gave his condolences for not having better news before heading back in the direction from which he came. Things were quiet after that as they waited for the nurse. Emma hadn’t given much thought to what would happen after that night. The police had allowed Darla and Wayne to take Emma into their custody while they tried to get in touch with DHS, and so she had just assumed that she wouldn’t have to deal with those worries for a few days at least. You know what they say about assuming.

The clickity clacking of high heeled shoes echoing off the quiet hospital walls drew all of their attention. The short, dumpy woman dressed in business attire before them was not the nurse they were expecting.

“Emma Jean?” she asked as she stepped onto the carpeted area of the waiting room.

Darla stood and stepped in front of Emma. “Emma’s been placed in our custody for the time being,” she said boldly to the short woman.

The woman nodded impatiently and started flipping through a folder. “Yes, yes, the police told me but it seems you won’t have to take on the burden; we’ve found a place for her to go.”

“I assure you,” Darla said as her voice dropped and Emma heard Wayne mumble
uh-oh
under his breath, “that she is
not
a burden.”

The woman, who Emma had figured out was from DHS, simply waved Darla’s obvious ire off. “Of course not, of course not. I just mean that you don’t have to worry about her. She can come with me.” She held out her hand fully expecting Emma to take it.

“Where are you planning on taking her exactly?” Darla asked in clipped tones.

“That’s not something I have to discuss with you. Emma is a ward of the state and the state decides what’s best for her.”

Emma could tell that the woman was getting frustrated that Darla wasn’t just hopping on her bandwagon.

“Emma was put into our care by the police, and we plan to pursue to have her placed permanently with us. Why is it necessary for her to go somewhere else if she has a safe place to stay?”

The woman huffed. “There are protocols and rules in place for a reason Mrs.—” She paused.

“Darla, you can call me Darla.”

“Mrs. Darla. We can’t just give you a child when we don’t know anything about you. There are classes you have to take and background checks and—”

“If you took her from us tonight, where would you be taking her?” Darla interrupted.

The woman paused and sifted through the folder again and then tapped something on one of the pieces of paper. “Ah-ha, here it is. It says that her grandfather will be taking custody of her until her next hearing.”

“What grandfather?” Darla asked.

The woman continued to read on and then answered. “The father of one Mildred Jones.”

Emma’s insides tightened as she remembered the conversation she’d had with her aunt about her father. She didn’t remember Mildred saying whether or not he was still alive, but regardless of that, he wasn’t Emma’s grandfather.

“Mildred’s father isn’t my grandfather,” Emma spoke up as she stepped around Darla. “My mom and her sister had the same mama but different daddies.”

The woman nodded as though she was listening, but Emma could tell she wasn’t. “Blood doesn’t really matter at this point. He’s the closest thing to a relative we could find, and the state likes to see kids placed with relatives as often as possible.”

After several minutes of a silent stare off, the DHS woman rolled her eyes. “Look, I understand that you care about her but I’m doing my job. I was told to come get her and so I am. If I have to call the police to arrest you for interfering in a DHS investigation, then I will, but I’d rather not have to.”

Emma looked up at Darla and Wayne and she could see it in their eyes. They would fight for her. They would stand there facing off with the DHS lady and make her call the police before they would turn her over to the woman. But then they would be arrested and Serenity would be at the hospital alone. Emma couldn’t let them sacrifice anymore for her.

She stepped forward and looked the woman in the eyes. “You don’t have to call the police. I’ll go with you.”

“Emma!” Darla’s voice was desperate.

She turned and looked up at the woman who had become a mother to her and pasted a smile on her face. “I’ll be alright.”

“You don’t have to go with her,” Darla pleaded.

“Yes I do. You guys don’t need any more trouble. Serenity needs you.”

“She needs you too,” Darla told her. “We need you. Don’t you want to live with us?”

Emma nodded. “Of course. But we can get it all figured out once Serenity’s better.” The eight-year-old in her wanted to cry and beg the DHS lady to let her stay. But that wasn’t how her mama raised her to act, and she would feel like a fool if she ever did behave that way. So instead she put on a brave face and did what she had to do. She reached up and hugged Darla. She felt Wayne’s arms come around them both, and for a few minutes they just stood there holding each other as though the world would fall apart if they let go. The clearing of a throat had them finally releasing each other.

“We will get you back,” Darla told her as she squeezed Emma’s shoulders. “You belong with us; don’t you forget it.”

Emma nodded and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying.

Glory stepped up then and knelt down so she was face to face with her. Her eyes were full of understanding as she took Emma’s hands. “You’re strong little one. Don’t let anyone kick you down. You keep yourself safe until Darla and Wayne can get you back, okay?”

Emma nodded and gave her a hug. She hadn’t known Glory long, but she already loved what she did know.

She turned and looked at Raphael who had been silent throughout the whole exchange. She realized, when the DHS lady turned to look at what Emma was staring at and looked confused, that he had taken on his invisible form. Only she could see him.

“Hope there’s room in her car,” he told her in his deep voice.

Emma smiled. She knew she probably looked crazy to everyone else, well, except Darla. She was pretty sure Darla knew that Raphael was the real deal.

“What?” he asked. “Surely you did not think that you could get rid of me that easily?”

Emma shook her head at the angel and then turned back to the dumpy lady. “I don’t have my clothes with me.”

“Don’t worry about that, we will get your things. You don’t need to go back to your aunt’s house.” She gave Darla a curt nod. “Thank you for taking care of Emma during this difficult time.”

Emma nearly laughed as Darla gave the woman a look that could only be interrupted as one thing—
Go jump in a lake, lady.

“No need to thank us for taking care of one of our own,” Wayne answered before Darla could say something that might get her in trouble.

“Come along then, Emma, we have a long drive and you’ve already had a long night.” The woman turned and began walking away, her shoes once again clacking on the hard floor.

Emma looked back at the people who had become her family. “Give Serenity a hug for me, okay? And you’ll let me know when she wakes up, right?” she asked Darla.

Darla nodded as she wiped tears from her eyes. “Of course.”

Emma didn’t look at her long because she would start crying too. “Raphael is coming with me, Darla,” Emma told her, hoping that would help ease some of the strain she could see lining her face. “I’ll be fine. I promise.” She gave them one last wave before turning to go, with Raphael by her side.

Emma followed the DHS lady and she thought about her words and wondered who she was trying to convince―Darla and Wayne or herself. She had just traded a life with Mildred and all of her mess for a life with the man who had created Mildred and helped make her the mess she was.
Any words of wisdom now, mama?
She thought to herself. The only thing that came to mind wasn’t something her mama had said. It was something her daddy had told her.
“People will underestimate you, Emma Jean. Like bringing a tooth pick to a sword fight, they will come unprepared for how to engage someone like you. Your job is to always make sure your weapon is prepared for battle. Your weapon is your mind. Keep it sharp by never doing drugs or drinking. Keep it healthy by feeding it wholesome things. Keep it intact by not allowing in the lies of others.”
Emma shook her head at her father’s words. “Why couldn’t my parents ever just talk like normal parents?” she muttered under her breath.

“Because that would have meant they had a normal child,” Raphael answered unexpectedly. They had finally made it out of the hospital and were now walking through the cold parking lot. The DHS lady hadn’t stopped typing away on her phone since they got in the elevator.

“So you’re saying I’m not normal?” she asked him.

“I’m saying you’re extraordinary.”

“Who are you talking to, Emma?” The woman asked as she turned back to look at her.

Emma glanced at Raphael from the corner of her eye before looking up at the woman innocently. “My guardian angel.”

The woman paused in mid step and tilted her head, examining Emma as if she were a bug under a microscope. After several seconds she shrugged. “Well that’s sweet, dear. It’s always nice to think someone is watching over us.” Her voice was patronizing, as though she were speaking to a little child. Then again―Emma thought―she supposed to the DHS lady, she was just a little child. She didn’t realize that Emma had more knowledge in her pinky than the woman had acquired in her entire life. Just as her father had said, the woman had underestimated her.

“Well,” Emma began, attempting to hold back the smile. “My mama said that we all
had
to have guardian angels watching over us.”

“Oh, why did she think we
had
to?” the DHS lady asked.

“She said we had to have guardian angels because it wasn’t a coincidence that God calls us sheep.”

The woman paused again and gave her a questioning look, before finally smashing the button on her key fob to a red Honda Accord. “I still don’t understand,” she said as she motioned for Emma to get in the back seat. “What does being called sheep have anything to do with needing someone watching over us?”

“Sheep are the dumbest animal ever created. They literally cannot survive without a shepherd. In fact sheep are so stupid that they will walk right off the end of a cliff unless something or someone guides them away from it.” Emma paused while the woman started the car and fastened her seatbelt. She could tell that the DHS lady was thinking about her words. And because Emma had had a rough night, she couldn’t help but mess with the lady just a little more. “So really, if my mama’s logic is correct, perhaps, it isn’t nice to have someone watching over us. Perhaps, it’s actually rather insulting.”

Raphael was sitting next to her in the back seat. Of course, the DHS lady had no clue. He looked at Emma and then back to the lady who looked to be in pain as she tried to reason out what Emma had said.

They drove in silence for quite a while before the lady who had mentioned briefly that her name was Frieda, which Emma found odd because she thought she looked more like a Jennifer, finally spoke up. “So what is your answer to the question? Is it nice or is it insulting?”

Emma waited until Frieda’s eyes met hers in the rearview mirror and then answered in her best sheep voice. “Baaaaah.”

Raphael was shaking his head at her as he laughed. “You know she does not understand what you just did?”

Emma shrugged. “That only adds further proof that my mama was right.” Frieda didn’t say anything more the rest of the drive.

About an hour later, Raphael turned and looked at Emma. His eyes were somber and his lips tight. “There are more than just sheep in this world, Emma.” He paused. “You saw that tonight with Rat and your aunt.”

“Wolves in sheep’s clothing,” Emma muttered as she remembered the inhuman look that had been in Rat’s eyes and in her aunt’s. Raphael had said they had been possessed by demons, and Emma had no doubt in her mind that they had been.