Chapter Seventeen

Emily hugged the box tightly against her to avoid dropping it as she walked through the door, stopping in the driveway to look back at the mansion that loomed over her.

After a long year and a half of court case after court case her nightmares were finally coming to an end and the house that held so much horror for her was being boarded up, hopefully to never be reopened again.

She had been surprised to discover that Josh was a detective on the L.A. police force and had been watching Lance and his so called team of doctors for some time. Marty had gone straight to the police after receiving the phone call from Emily that night and told them about Lance and what Emily had relayed to him and the police force was out there instantly to make the arrest they had long been hoping for.

The group had been embezzling money from the families of their so called patients while torturing the poor souls and releasing them in the woods to play their sick hunting game just as they had done with her, Josh, and Justin. When the news broke out, the families of the victims had been horrified to learn what had been going on, and that their loved ones were no longer living as each of them had been led to believe.

Chris and Joey had been sentenced for murder and received life with out parole, while Lance was found mentally insane and sent to a mental institution, locked away to never be released. They had each been sued by the families for the full amount they had paid for their loved ones care plus pain and suffering costing the team over $10 million total while the house was ceased for investigation and turned over to the government once the trials had come to an end.

Emily had spent a few days in the hospital with cracked ribs and lots of bruises, and once released she had no difficulty finding Justins mother and getting her on the next flight to L.A where they had both taken part in the suing of the team and had each received a nice sum of money. Lynn had been unaware of Justins whereabouts, had been told he'd died in a freak accident at the mental institution the courts had sentenced him to and his body had been buried in the private cemetery belonging to the institution who's families could not afford a proper burial. Lynn had grieved for her son, but had found some comfort knowing he was in a place of peace and away from the horrors his life had handed him.

Receiving the phone call from Emily had been a shock to her, and she was willing to do anything she could to make sure Lance paid for everything he had put her son through. The money they received would help them start the life they all deserved, but both Lynn and Emily received their satisfaction in knowing that Lance was being locked away, and would suffer just the way he had forced Justin to.

Life had been hard for Emily and the past year was the worst of all, but with all that behind her now, she was ready to move forward and never again look back to the painful misery she had endured for so long.

Turning toward the gentle hand that landed on her shoulder she smiled at the large teddy bear of a man that stood beside her and released the box as his hands reached out taking the heavy object from her.

"Give me that box girl. You have no business carrying something that heavy."

She chuckled and folded her arms across her stomach giving a long sigh as his strong arm draped across her shoulder pulling her against him.

"It's over Marty.....It's fianlly over."

He nodded, giving her a light squeeze as Josh walked toward them, his slight limp from the shooting still apparent, and stopped in front of the two of them.

"Lynn is in the car. She's ready to go I think."

She moved from Martys arm and wrapped her own arms around Josh giving him a tight hug as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"You will come to visit, won't you?"

His arms carefully tightened around her, making sure not to squeeze her too hard, and pressed his lips to her forehead letting them linger a moment, as he left a soft kiss before pulling away.

"You better believe I will."

She leaned back, looking up into his blue eyes, and pushed away the tears that threatened to fall before they could be seen.

Their friendship had grown over the year and half spent in those courtrooms and she couldn't deny the fact that she was going to miss him dearly. He was the one who had been suspicious of Lance, and was determined he was not going to leave that house till Lance and his partners were locked away for good and had helped to give Justin his peace back he so deserved and for that she would always be greatful to him for.

"You all be careful on your trip and call me as soon as you get there. I want to know you made it safely."

She nodded, kissing him on the cheek, and gave him one last hug before stepping away and looking back to Marty as he placed the box in the back of the jeep and closed the hatch clapping his hands together.

"That the last of what belongs to you?"

She smiled, staring at the large man who had become like a father to her when she ended up in California, and lunged forward, wrapping her arms around him the best she could, finally letting her tears fall freely.

"Thank you for taking such good care of me. I love you, and I'm going to miss you so much."

He quickly wiped away the tear that fell from his eye and pushed her away from him tenderly, swatting his hand in the air playfully.

"Goodbyes are not forever Emily. You're finally getting that something better you always hoped for. Now go on.....get out of here before I decide to not let you go."

She laughed through her tears and placed her fingers to her lips, kissing them lightly, and pulling them away giving them a gentle blow, sending him a kiss and turning away to the wheelchair that sat off in the distance.

Her mind wandered back to the night of the shooting and Josh coming to her hospital room telling her the news she had so dreaded to hear. During the struggle Justin had been shot in the back and should he live he would never walk again. The catch was, though Justin was hanging on, things didn't look so promising.

She had prayed that night...harder than she had ever prayed before, begging God to let him live, and if he would only give her one moment to see him, to touch him, and to hear his laughter that always filled her heart so full of joy, then he could take her instead, and erase any memory he had of her so he wouldn't be left with the pain. She had suffered enough living five years without him and the though of her having to spend a life time without him by her side was more pain than her heart could stand to bare.

The sound of her name being called drug her from her daze and she looked into the blue eyes glistening with tears and stepped toward him, bending slightly at the knees.

"Yeah honey, what is it?"

"I want to say goodbye."

She stood straight and stepped to the side as Marty offered his assistance, and smiled with pride as he stood from the chair taking slow baby steps toward Josh. The two men stood face to face, both unashamed of the tears that flooded their cheeks, and met in a hug, embracing one another in a long silence.

"You saved me and risked your own life for the one who keeps my heart beating and makes my world worth living. I will never forget what you have done. You will always be a part of us."

Josh pulled away, wiping the back of his hands across his eyes, and sniffed, nodding at the man who stood before him.

"You're a brave man Justin, enduring so much of what you did all those years, you fought to survive when the doctors said there was no hope, and you walked again when they told you there was no chance that you ever would. You saved my my life too and you put your trust in me and refused to leave me in those woods alone to die. I'm proud to call you my best friend."

They hugged again, pulling away at the sound of Emilys breath as it hitched and pulled her toward them embracing in a final hug and another round of goodbyes before separating once again.

"I'm coming to see you as soon as the baby is born." Josh said, placing his hand on Emilys rounded belly while Justin wrapped his arm around her shoulder helping to support himself just a little.

"Three more moths, right?"

Justins smile beamed with pride and his head nodded like a child full of excitement.

"Yes....just three more months. We were going to name him after you, but after that huge mistake you made at our wedding, well.....we regret to tell you we have changed our mind."

Emily laughed, playfully slapping her hand on Justins back and rolled her eyes looking back to Josh.

"Don't listen to him, it's not your fault you bumped into the candle and set the minister on fire. Who would have known."

Josh ducked his face feeling the blush creep into his cheeks and looked back up as the laughter faded giving a slight nod to his two best friends.

"Sun is starting to fade. You have a long drive, better get going."

He helped lead Justin to the vehicle and helped Emily climb into the front seat of the jeep, closing the door for both of them, and reaching his hands through the windows taking a hand of each one of them squeezing them lightly with a warm smile.

"Love you both."

"We love you."

Justin waved as the jeep pulled from the driveway down the long winding road and leaned back in his seat taking a deep breath as a smiled snaked across his face. He had finally found happiness, was reunited with his mother, married the love of his life, and in three months his son would be born. Lance was living in an institution tied, tortured, and medicated just the way that he deserved to be and as far as Justin was concerned life for him couldn't get much better. He had his freedom, and never again would he ever have to worry about his past coming back to haunt him.

THE END

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