Sleeping With The CE Chapter 356: Missing Pieces

Chapter 356: Missing Pieces

It might have seed silly to say, seeing that Emily had recordings of her father. Videos where he was laughing and talking. But in truth, after 20 years, she had forgotten the sound of his voice. Her mories could never quite capture the comfort, that his warm baritone had used to make her feel.

But now, after waking up in hospital. Her mories from the accident twenty years ago restored. Emily felt as though she could hear her father’s voice as clear as day in her mind.

"I love you, Ems. Take care of your mom for ..."

Those had been her father’s final words to her. For two decades, Emily had forgotten them. But like a single pebble giving way, and a flood just rushing in, the mories were finally back.

She had no idea if it was almost drowning at the bridge again that had brought them back. Or if it was the trauma of Sebastian shooting at her and Derek. But either way, Emily was glad to have her mories restored.

She had not yet been able to share this new information with anyone though.

When she had first opened her eyes, making the nurse hovering over her nearly jump a foot in the air. Emily had wanted nothing more that to share the fact that she rembered everything. But that had been pushed aside when a small army of dical personnel had descended on her and Derek. Then after that, the police had co in, and she and Derek had done their best to answer the questions that they had been asked. After that Emily did not recall much, but she must have dozed off seeing as she was waking up to a much quieter room. Derek who was in the bed across from hers, also seed to be just waking up. His movents slow as he looked around the room. When his eyes settled on her, they lit up.

"Hey," He rasped, a big smile across his bruised face, and Emily could not help but return it, her eyes stinging as they teared up. The last ti she had seen him, she had thought she would never see him smile again.

It felt amazing witnessing him do such a normal thing.

Only soone without feelings would have been able to stay away from him. Especially when he looked so vulnerable, and Emily was just bursting with feelings. She never stood a chance.

She pushed herself up, and began getting off the bed. Her entire body protesting the act, but she ignored it.

"Emily, what are you doing. Stay in bed," Despite being in all types of pain, she could not help but smirk at him.

"Make , Mr Goodie-two-shoes." With that epic line, Emily hobbled her way to his bed. Giving him a grateful look when he helped her get on. The man even going as far as to wipe the sweat off her brow.

Too out of breath to speak, Emily just lay against him, listening to his heartbeat. Not even minding that he was holding her a bit too tightly. Clearly he too had thought he would never see her again.

"You could have gotten hurt, Emily, do not do that again," Goodness, she had been so scared to lose him that even him nagging her sounded sweet.

"It would have been worth it if it ant I got hurt making my way to you," She said, the words so cheesy that she had to hold back a wince.

Nuzzling closer, Emily decided to bring up her restored mories.

But how could she tell him that she rembered? What if he didn’t and it was just rubbing salt on his wound?

Deciding to just test it out, Emily told him the first thing that ca to mind.

"Twelve year old you, in a bow tie has got to be the cutest thing that I have ever seen." She said. And Derek took a startled breath, his chest expanding beneath her cheek before he breathed out with a pained hiss.

"You rember?!"

He asked and Emily nodded.

"You look just like your dad," She told him, and Derek brightened.

He grabbed Emily’s uninjured hand and brought her knuckles to his lips, planting a kiss across the bruised skin.

"Thank you," He said.

"Ten year old you was also very cute with those pigtails. You should wear them even now as an adult. The boys would not be able to contain themselves, especially if you added those pink ribbons that you had on that day," Now it was Emily’s turn to startle. Biting her lip when the action made every new ache in her body co alive.

’You rember too?!"Emily gasped, and Derek sighed, the exhale sounding like it hurt.

"You have your dad’s ability to be calm under pressure," He said

That one brought tears to Emily’s eyes because it was not just them recalling a mory from long ago. It was the two of them now knowing exactly what the final monts of their fathers had been like. And despite Derek saying that her dad had been calm.

His father had been too.

"I think that they already knew the mont we hit the water that it was too late for them. That is why they did not panic. All of their effort was put into making sure that the two of us at least made it out,"

"You rember everything right?" Derek asked, and Emily nodded. He stayed silent for a bit, when he spoke up, his words were hesitant, like he was trying them out to see if they made sense.

"I think that so of the words they said might have triggered our traumas," Her eyes widened at that. She had not been expecting him to say that at all.

"What do you an?" That whole ti had been nothing but a nightmare. So Emily could not think of a specific mont that could have made her suffere night terrors for twenty years. There were too many to choose from.

"Your dad, when he was saying goodbye, he told you to take care of your mom. That this was all just a bad dream and you would wake up and it would go away,"

" I think that is where your nightmares ca from,"

Emily had not thought about it like that. Clinging to the hand that held hers, she had to admit that it made sense.

’I Love you, Ems. Take care of your mom for ... This, this is nothing. You will get over it. It’s just a bad dream. It will be over very quickly.’

Those were the final words that her dad had said to her.

Now that Derek had brought it up, in every single nightmare that she’d ever had. Emily was always running from so sort of death.In her dreams, there was always sothing going wrong and she had to wake up imdiately, in order to make the bad thing go away.

Realization sinking in, she leaned more firmly against Derek.

"I think that you are right. And I believe that your father might have caused your insomnia unintentionally as well,"

"How?" Derek asked, proving that it was easier to realize things about soone else, than about yourself.

Emily looked up at him, brown eyes eting green.

"He told you to keep swimming, and never give up. That so long as no one was there, you had to stay awake to make sure that we stayed alive,"

Emily saw the mont that understanding dawned in Derek’s eyes. Just like her, he had not made the connection between his own issues and his father’s words.

"They did not an any harm," Emily said, her voice small, and Derek kissed her knuckles again.

"I know. It was a bad ti. They were doing their best to keep us alive. And we were doing our best to act brave, despite being just terrified children,"

They had a few monts after that to co to terms with everything before their ti alone was interrupted. Their moms walking in, and instantly bursting into tears at the sight of them. After that, there followed a few minutes of tears, hugs, and more tears. Enough fussing to last them several lifetis.

But in the end, they still had to tell their mothers the truth.

"We rember," They said in unison, and that cut through all the joy in the room mighty fast.

"What do you an you rember?" Derek’s mother asked, looking at her son, and Emily could not stand his heartbroken look. So she spoke up, instantly feeling the weight of their mothers’ gazes on her.

"We rember what happened twenty years ago. It was Sebastian. He ran us off the road by flaring his light. He killed my dad, and Derek’s too," Emily said.

"We didn’t tell the police earlier. But once he’s caught for trying to kill us, we can bring it up. And finally give them the justice that they deserve," Derek finished off. They should have said sothing in the first place. But they had still needed ti to process. Even so, Emily would have thought that the words would bring so happiness to their mothers but instead they just looked...guilty.

"Arresting Sebastian might not be possible. He might already have lawyers ready," Her mom said, sharing a guilty look with Derek’s mother.

"What did you two do?"

"We might have given him a scare, but only a little bit...with a gun," Cassandra Haven said it easily enough, like she was not dropping a bombshell. Emily looked at Derek, then at their mothers. Clearly they were missing so key information.