Sooner or Later (Feat. 1D and 5SOS)

3. Like a Band-Aid

Ashton’s words ignited a fire in Emma’s curious mind. That afternoon, as she went from class to class and played the role of the dutiful student, her thoughts were overflowing with images of the exotic and exciting world that was high school. She’d been dreaming of it for years, ever since she was a little girl playing with her dolls.

Back then, she had to have a babysitter, so her parents hired Bridgette, one of the neighbor girls. Bridgette was like one of those cool, fashionable teenagers from the movies, and she soon became a role model to Emma. Whenever she came over, Bridgette would spend the whole night watching adult movies and television while she chatted on the phone with her friends. Normally, Emma wasn’t allowed to watch such mature shows, but with Bridgette, she could do whatever she wanted. Most nights, they watched TV together, and if ever a naughty scene popped up, Bridgette would tell Emma to cover her eyes until it was over. Of course, Emma was always peeking through her fingers.

Sometimes, when Bridgette thought Emma was fast asleep in her bed, she would bring her boyfriend into the house, and Emma would secretly watch them from the second-level balcony. Once, Bridgette caught her peeking, and she made Emma pinky swear that she wouldn’t tell her parents.

“Swear it, Emma,” she said, “or we won’t be able to hang out anymore.”

Emma didn’t want that to happen, so she never told her parents what Bridgette did, not even when she left Emma alone for hours in order to attend a party down the street. Emma didn’t mind, though, because when Bridgette came back, she told Emma all about it and even showed her pictures on her phone. Now, those pictures were all she could think about, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted to experience it for herself.

That night, she found herself pacing the hall just outside her parents’ bedroom, where her mother was sewing up one of her father’s work shirts.

“Okay,” Emma mumbled. “What do I say? What do I say?”

“Emma, do you need something, honey?”

Emma froze right where she was standing. “Nope, nothing, nothing at all.”

“Then why are you pacing around like a crazy person?”  

“I wasn’t pacing,” Emma said, finally finding the courage to enter the room. With her hands behind her back, she moseyed in and stopped at the foot of her parents’ bed. “I was just wondering if you wanted some help.”

Pausing in mid-stich, Mrs. Walters glared suspiciously at her daughter. “Okay, what do you want?”

“Nothing! I was just trying to be helpful. Can’t a kid offer her mother some help without her thinking she has an ulterior motive? Really, Mom, you just broke my heart.”

Dramatically, she clutched her chest and threw her head back in despair, but once she realized her performance wasn’t working, she dropped the act and came clean.

“Okay, Heidi wants me to spend the night at her house on Friday. Now, before you say no, hear me out. If you let me go, I will do the dishes for three weeks without complaining.”

“Yes, you will,” her mother replied, “because that’s your job, which you rarely do as it is.”

“Well, I’ll start! Please, Mom, please! I’ll never ask for anything else again, not even Christmas or birthday presents!” 

Her mother called for silence with a lift of her hand. “Okay, no need to lie. I get it. You really wanna go.”

“So can I?” Emma pressed, her brown eyes shimmering with hope.

“If your father agrees to it.”

Just like that, all her hopes went up in flames. Her parents, green-skinned with horns protruding from their foreheads, were hovering over the blazing fire. She could practically hear their deep, demonic laughter as she glared at her mother. Her cruelty knew no limits.