“Okay, and what exactly are we supposed to do here?”
“Get out,” Mick instructed, getting out himself.
Emily hesitantly exited and followed him to the middle of the clearing. “Okay…now what?”
“Scream.”
“What?”
“Scream,” Mick repeated.
“What is that going to prove?”
“That you have good vocal cords.” Mick stepped behind her and grabbed her shoulders, guiding her to the side slightly. “Now, imagine you’re the only one here, and scream.”
Emily took a deep breath and closed her eyes, preparing for it, but at the last minute she stopped and spun to face him. “You do it.”
“Fine.” He took a few steps back and yelled so loud if there were any birds nearby they were probably gone now. “Okay, you’re turn.”
She sighed and turned back. “This is stupid,” she mumbled.
“Are you whining? I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. I can hear you and you’re stating an opinion so I’ll guess we’ll consider it a good thing. Now, close your eyes and bellow your frustrations to the world.”
Again she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, but this time she let out a small yell. “That was pathetic,” Mick commented. “I’m guessing you have plenty of things to yell about, at the very least James…Just let it out.”
Emily pictured herself in the lake, floating joylessly as she was forced to listen to James taunt her, sitting in her room crying over whatever cruel her father had said. With another intake of breath she paused and let out a loud, high pitched yell. She turned back to look at him and saw that he was rubbing his ear.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever hear again, well done.”
A compliment. Emily couldn’t remember the last time she’d been praised for anything and she didn’t care if it was because of a scream or not, she was ecstatic.
Mick saw a small smile escape her lips. “There, now don’t you feel better?” He asked.
“I do actually, thank you.”
“Do you want to do it again?” Emily shook her head and Mick laughed. “On to stage two then.”
Emily wanted to ask what stage two was, but she knew it was useless. She may not have known Mick for long, but she could already tell that there was no point in arguing with him. Instead she silently followed him to the truck, wondering what he could possibly be planning next.
* * *
Emily had been expecting something crazy like skydiving or rock climbing, so she was surprised when they pulled into the library parking lot. “The library? What am I supposed to do here?”
“I have taken the liberty of volunteering your services.”
“Okay…and what does that mean?” Mick got out and she followed him, guessing that whatever he was planning it couldn’t be that bad if it took place in a library.
Mick however didn’t answer, he just smiled as he headed to the front desk. “Hey Mick, you bring a friend this time?” Emily almost jumped as the woman’s voice broke the silence.
Chapter Seven
Start from the beginning
