Worn Me Down

Chapter 32 Gwen

Ellie stalks over to Emma and rips the tape off of her mouth and I cringe as Emma cries out in pain.

“Please, don’t do this! You love her, I know you love her. I’m sorry the things I did hurt you, but please, don’t take it out on her.”

I can feel layers of my skin being ripped to shreds as I continue to use every ounce of strength left in me to get free. Blood drips down my palms and off the tips of my fingers to pool on the floor as the woman I spent my life trusting aims a gun at Emma’s chest.

Oh God, this can’t be happening. I can’t live in a world where she doesn’t exist.

“William should have been mine from the beginning,” Ellie growls at me angrily as she starts waving the gun around. “Did you know I saw him first that night at the charity event? We danced and we laughed and he asked me out to dinner. Then he saw you and forgot all about me.”

I look at Emma again and try to hold her frightened gaze in my own. I want her to know that everything will be okay, but I don’t know if it will. For the first time since she was born, I don’t know how to protect her.

“I’m sorry, Ellie, I had no idea. Just put the gun down and we can talk about it,” I plead with her.

Ellie laughs manically and shakes her head at me. “I’m so sick and tired of talking to you. You think you’re so much better than me. You get the man I was supposed to have and you get the daughter that was supposed to be mine. I thought once you finally left William that he and I could finally be together, but all he did was talk about you and his stupid, perfect little girl for the first month. I figured if you thought he was stalking you, you’d be so preoccupied that I could come in and take Emma so that William and I could be a family. You had to go running to someone, didn’t you? As soon as Austin started sticking his nose into everything, my plan went to shit.”

After everything that’s happened today, you would think that nothing Ellie says would surprise me, but that’s not the case. She was the one behind the mugs and the letter and the flowers. All along it was Ellie terrorizing me, not William.

“And you thought this was a better plan? What are you going to do now, Ellie? Do you honestly think you can take Emma away right now after everything you’ve done?” I shout.

Ellie paces back and forth in front of Emma and I want nothing more than for her to move away from my baby. I want her to focus on me and not my daughter.

“I changed my mind, I don’t want her after all. I mean, William didn’t even want her anymore either. Did you know he was going to give you sole custody? He wanted the two of us to start fresh. I figured he would regret it so I wanted to surprise him by bringing his daughter back to him. But she’s more trouble than she’s worth. She used to be sweet when she was younger. She’s spent too much time alone with you and now she has your attitude.”

Emma looks up at Ellie and frowns. “I don’t like you anymore, Aunt Ellie, you’re mean.”

Ellie looks at her in disgust and rolls her eyes. “See what I mean? That child doesn’t know her place. William could have taught her a thing or two about manners.”

The idea that Ellie actually thinks having William discipline Emma in his own way is a good idea makes me sick. I need to keep her talking; I need to get her away from Emma.

“What about your black eye and busted lip? Was William trying to teach you some manners?” I ask her sarcastically.

I’d rather she be mad at me than Emma. I’ll take a hundred more punches as long as she leaves Emma alone.

“William was never here, you idiot. I did that to myself with the television remote from the hotel. He had no idea I was in Nashville, he’s been visiting his parents for the last week,” Ellie informs me, stepping away from Emma.

“Hey, Aunt Ellie!” Emma shouts.

Ellie whips around and I shake my head frantically, trying to tell Emma to be quiet and not bring any attention to herself, but she doesn’t notice.

“What?” Ellie asks in annoyance.

“When Austin gets here, he’s going to put you in jail with the bad Barbies,” Emma tells her proudly.

I sob as Ellie walks closer to her. “Ellie, please!”

Ellie ignores me as she squats down in front of Emma’s chair. “Your knight in shining armor doesn’t give two shits about you, kiddo.”

Ellie stands up and the click of a bullet being released into the chamber of her gun echoes around the room. Ellie points the gun at Emma again and stares right at her as she throws one last threat my way. “Now it’s your turn to lose it all.”

I hold Emma’s gaze in my own and try to tell her with my eyes how much I love her and how sorry I am. With a sinking feeling of dread that makes me nauseous, I know our time is up. There’s nothing I can do now but pray that death happens quickly and painlessly for my beautiful baby girl – and that this asshole will show a tiny bit of mercy and put me out of my misery soon after.

Ellie starts to turn her head in my direction when Emma brings her attention back around with another statement. “Austin will save us.”

Emma opens her mouth and screams at the top of her lungs while Ellie stares at her in confusion.

The explosion of a gun going off happens without warning and I let out a blood-curdling scream.