The Day I Kissed An Older Man

Emily held Corinne's icy hand and quickly reassured her, "Of course not, my darling. I want to take you with me! Moonie, will you come to Molomia with me?"

Corinne hesitated, which was surprising. After all, she had been dreaming of going away with her mother ever since she could remember.

It hit Emily hard that Corinne was all grown up with a life of her own when she saw her hesitating.

Emily wiped away her tears, smiled, and said to Corinne, "Look at me, still treating you like a child! I've forgotten that you're a grown woman now, with your own family and children." Corinne snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Emily with a complicated expression. "Can't you stay with us?"

Emily's smile faded into a bittersweet expression. "Moonie, I..."

Corinne was always that smart. She immediately knew what Emily was concerned about. "Mom, are you worried about the Riveras?"

she was as good as admitting

had barely escaped from. She did

can move far away from the city. What

off the hook so easily. As long as they

saw the fear in Emily's eyes. She could not imagine what abuse her mother had suffered at the hands of the Riveras to make her so fearful,

not discuss who goes where for now. You're injured, so you should focus on

touched by Corinne's understanding. She nodded and held Corinne's hand. She started to share with her where she had been and the things she had done

they chatted, exhaustion eventually took over, and Emily drifted off to

Emily had stopped talking, she softly called out a few times, only to receive no response. After making sure Emily had fallen asleep, Corinne laid