Chapter Thirty-Two

Honk! A taxi flew by bringing Emma back for a moment, as she waited for Zeb to take them back to the church.

Her heart broke a second time. The first was when Caleb left. Now, feeling she had no choice but to leave him, it shattered again.

You knew better than to come here in the first place. It wasn’t about Mark so much as it was about Caleb.

She had lied to herself about her motivations for coming to the city and look what it had done to her. Their time together at the farm before they both left had given her hope about what it would be like, but being in his world did not sit well with her. She understood that it wasn’t always this intense, but she couldn’t reconcile living this way when she had a peaceful farm to live on. It would just be with Zeb, not Caleb.

That thought made her cry again, which would make Zeb even madder at Caleb.

Zeb walked with her to the subway, which he had made known he detested.

“What did he say to get you so upset?” Mark grudgingly followed behind them and found a seat.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said firmly, not wanting to talk about it with him.

“I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’ll be glad to get you and Mark safely home.” Zeb kept a protective gaze on her until they got to the church. He wasn’t street savvy but at least he was trying.

“There’s one more thing that I need to talk to you about.” She sighed.

“Ach, what’s that?”

Mark stared out the window, having left his friend who he would probably never see again.

“We are ready to leave,” Emma said. As a matter of fact, she was looking forward to it. Or was that just the disappointment of Caleb’s answer?

“Gut, because I’d be bringing you both home even if you weren’t.”

“Zeb.” She squeezed her eyes shut and said what she needed to. “I want to bring Monique with us.”

There it was, out of her mouth and flying into Zeb’s mind. She waited, praying for the best.

The train turned, and Zeb lost his balance. He grabbed one of the steel poles to hang on. “You mean that girl who caused all these problems?”

“Jah, Monique.” She didn’t try to explain where the blame truly went. Emma just wanted to make sure Monique went with her.

He was either shaking his head or it was bouncing along with the movement of the train. “I don’t know—”

“Zeb, it’s the only thing I ask of you. Please, I can’t leave without her.” She was begging and shouldn’t have to, but right now what mattered was that all four of them went home.

“Ach, Emma.” His face tightened and his mouth opened and shut quickly.

He had to know her conviction to making sure everyone was safely home with her. “All I care about right now is getting you and Mark back to the farm.” He paused. “Soon enough, we will have our own haus.”

She didn’t know whether he meant the situation wasn’t permanent or his words were just a reminder of their commitment to each other. Emma had questioned her life with Zeb, but there was not another option anymore.

When they got to the church, Alex motioned for Emma to come to him. He went around the kitchen door to meet her. “Abe is on the prowl.”

Biting fear pumped through her arms, and they started to tingle. “Where’s Monique?”

“In your room, scared as a mouse.” He looked over to Mark.

“She needs to be someplace safe,” Emma thought out loud. It was ironic that Monique couldn’t stay protected in a church, but then for some, like Abe, it was a perfect way for them to show their disdain of their former religion. Violence and fear were the complete opposite of what this building represented. It was at that moment she found the solution. “Mark, get your things.”

Mark frowned and stuck his hands in his pockets, something he’d grown to like while he was there. “Right now?”

“I gather we’re ready to leave?” Zeb seemed more than happy to go. It wasn’t that easy for Emma. As much as things here rubbed her the wrong way, she’d learned a lot and made some life decisions along the way.

“Jah, all of us.” She looked at him long enough for him to understand her meaning. Now it was a matter of convincing Monique. With Abe on the hunt, she just might agree.

“So when Abe’s name is mentioned, everyone runs and hides?” Zeb shook his head.

Alex squinted and answered with a warning tone. “We look after our own here, Zeb. That’s what we do.”

“I wish I had that kind of power,” Zeb scoffed.

Emma didn’t have time for this conversation, but she wished she did. Zeb’s arrogant ways left her angry and frustrated. He was talking about things he didn’t understand, and she wondered if he ever would. It took a certain kind of heart to bleed for the less fortunate.

Emma went to her room to talk to Monique, hoping she wasn’t in a stubborn frame of mind. She seemed to get mad rather than sad when danger came her way—defenses up, ready to fight back.

She caught Monique at the door.

Monique pushed up her lip and let out a breath. “Is he here?”

“Not yet. It’s only a matter of time when you stay here.” Maybe this time Monique would finally make a change, leave this place, and start over. “Mark and I are leaving with Zeb.”

Monique wrapped her arms around her stomach. “When?”

“As soon as you’re ready.”

“What?” Monique moved back. “For what?”

“To come with us.”

Instead of seeing her defenses go up, Monique seemed curious. Her eyes widened, and she turned her head to the side, thinking. “I can’t leave here.”

“What do you have to stay for?”

She shrugged. “What would I do on a farm?”

“What we all do. Live as a community together. It’s quiet and safe.” She paused, waiting. “Just for a while.”

“I don’t know…” Monique frowned, and Emma thought she might be losing her, so she backed off a little.

“Stay the night or two, and if you don’t feel comfortable, we’ll bring you back. You couldn’t be anyplace safer. Abe would never come back home.” Emma prayed for discernment, made herself be patient, and waited.

“Isn’t that what the prodigal son said?” Monique said in all seriousness.

Emma was caught off guard just long enough to stop rushing and think on Monique’s words. “Jah, I suppose he did.”

Monique looked at Emma and then up to the dirty window to see the bustle of the city, and then turned back to Emma.

“Only if I can come back. I’m not gonna convert, just so you know that right now.”

Emma pushed up onto her tiptoes and hugged her. “Danke, Monique. I feel better already.”

Monique shied away, and her eyebrows lifted. “Are you doing this for you or me?”

“Me,” Emma said, half-seriously.

Monique’s smile was an unexpected ray of sunshine in this dreary place. Talk was sparse as they gathered their belongings and then went downstairs.

“I’m gonna miss you around here.” Alex engulfed Emma into a hug, dwarfing her with his height. “Take care of Monique.”

“You know we will,” reminding him that it takes a village where she comes from.

He grinned and pursed his lips. “Are you sure you want to go?”

“It’s time. Thank you for having us, Alex.” She couldn’t say more without emotions bursting forth, so she left Mark to say his good-byes.

Emma sat on her bag, looking at faces while she waited. The footsteps and voices slowly stopped as most everyone left the building. She didn’t expect to see Caleb, which was good, because he never came.