Impotent anger

As soon as the two of you get back to your car, Emi startles you with an angry shout.

“That jerk! That asshole! That absolute fucking MONSTER!”

You stare at her. You’re angry too, but you’ve never seen Emi like this. You’ve also never heard her curse like this before. With a wordless shout of rage, Emi punches the dashboard in front of her.

“DAMN him. It’s not enough he carved me up and abused me like some kind of lab animal, but now he’s…he’s…argh!”

You put a hand on her shoulder, and her anger seems to fade away as quickly as it came. She looks at you, and you see the fires fade, replaced by a haunted look. She takes a few deep breaths before speaking, softly this time.

“The entire time I was in the facility, he was there. Always. I remember it clearly now. He may not have been the one doing the experiments, or doing the…other things, but it was his fault regardless. And now, here he is again.”

She sighs, shaking her head. “I should have known that things were going too well.”

Emi looks at you. “I’m scared, Andy. This is scary. What’s going to happen? Is he always going to be there? Like some kind of specter?”

You put your arm around her. “Everything is going to be fine, Emi. We’ll just go back to our normal life, is all. He won’t ever hurt you again, I promise.”

She hugs you. “I know. But…he’s still hurting other people. It feels selfish to be happy when I know that.”

You nod. “Yeah. It sucks. But we can’t do anything about him, at least not right now. I won’t risk losing you, or Lili.”

Emi sighs again. “You’re right. Maybe this is for the best. Just get back to being a family, no more sneaky stuff.”

You kiss her forehead. “For now, yeah.”

She squeezes you tightly. “Thanks, my love.”

You hold her for a little while longer, before she sits back and you start driving home. It’s quiet, and you’re both in a bit of a daze as you pull into your apartment parking lot. When you head inside, you get the usual hugs from Lili, but even that is subdued. As if she can tell that it’s not a moment for levity.

The rest of the day is spent like that, and after you explain what happened to Lili, the three of you mostly relax together on the couch. The closeness helps, and you’re thankful for their presence in your life. Emi especially is clingy, never leaving your side for very long. It’s clear that this has shaken her, and it’ll take a while to recover.