Sequel to The Mystery Girl,
You don't need to have read the first book completely, but it could help at some points to understand what's going on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After several months in Palm Springs, California, Emmaline Johnson finally d...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Emmaline looks down at me from above, perched on a tree branch like a bird. She's beautiful wearing a simple white blouse that's tucked into her light blue jeans paired with casual Nike air force ones. Her hair is slightly tousled from the night breeze, but perfect nonetheless. Her mouth is slightly parted, probably shocked to see me if I had to assume. My mastered smirk takes over my face as I shove my hands in my pockets.
"What are you doing up there?" I question after a moment of silence. She breaks eye contact to look back out over the horizon. My heart pulls at the look of heartbreak on her face. It's not often I get to see any sort of emotion on her face. Usually the emotions she displays are content or really nothing at all. She stays silent up there, quietly watching the world going on around us.
So I decide to try and meet her halfway. Pulling my hands from the pockets, I grip a tree branch and tug myself up the tree. When I make it halfway Emma looks at me with raised eyebrows, but I continue my ascent up to the top next to her. Once I make myself somewhat comfortable on the branch next to her, I take a look at the surroundings she's been staring at. It's quiet, busy with traffic but quiet. The sun is reaching its setting point so the sky is covered with pink, blue, purple, and a creeping dark blue. It's beautiful. Almost as beautiful as the girl next to me.
"Why are you here?" Her hushed voice blurts from beside me. My eyes flicker to her, her dark blue eyes focused on the sky. Her cheeks are slightly pink from the night chill. "How did you know I was here?"
"Axel told me what happened," I respond, watching her side profile for any changes. "You know I live down the road from here."
Her eyes stay stuck on the sky, never moving. Her breathing stays even. Her fingers fiddle with each other exhibiting anxiety, but the rest of her appears calm. She stays still like an owl watching its prey. Her eyelashes flutter with each blink. She's so quiet I start to grow concerned.
"Are you okay?"
Silence. Then a deep breath.
"I'm fine."
Her voice is weak as if she's fighting off emotion. Almost like she's afraid to speak more in case she breaks.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
More silence. Her gaze breaks from the sky. When her eyes meet mine, turmoil swirls inside, nearly breaking my heart. She tries so hard to keep it all in. I wish she wouldn't.
"I'm sorry about Jet. I know how important he was and how much you loved him."
Her eyes become glassy and she takes a long deep breath, diverting her attention to the darkening sky. A breeze blows her free hairs across her face and a shiver runs through her body. Quickly stripping off my dark blue sweater, I hand it over to her. She watches me questioningly.
"You're cold. Take the sweater," I state, lightly draping it over her legs. She sits quietly for a moment, her eyes burning holes in my sweater, but when another breeze blows through she puts it on. We sit in silence a while longer, the only noise breaking it being the traffic and rustling leaves.
