Untethered

Prologue | Innocence

Emma squealed in excitement. "Oh! It's my turn, it's my turn!" She waited for the rope to swing back toward her, and slow down enough so she could grab it.

She was just about to start running, when Ryan grabbed the rope from her, pushing her so that she fell on her bottom. She clawed for him, but he jumped onto the large knot, and swung out over the glassy surface once again.

There was another, gigantic splash in the pond, with him yelling, "Sucker!" back toward her. When he came trudging out of the murky water near shore, she was on him.

"Ryan!" she bellowed, shoving him, while he just laughed, "it was my turn!"

"You're too little to play with us, Emma-go home." He pulled her hair, laughing, with a cocky, stupid smirk on his face. She could feel anger bubbling up inside, and was on the verge of scratching that look right off his face. But then, her face reddened as she realized that they weren't alone anymore.

The hot, humid weather had drawn out the rest of the neighborhood kids, and they were laughing at her too. Infuriated, her face turning a shade darker, and she shoved him as hard as she could. He stumbled backward, making a satisfying 'plop!' as he landed in the soft, gooey muck in the bank right below the tree.

She giggled, a self-satisfied smirk on her face as she watched him struggle and flounder in the sticky, thick muck. When he finally emerged, he was covered in black goo from head to toe, and huge, plump leeches were suctioned onto his arms, legs, and even his face.

"I'm not that little!" Emma said smugly.

The shock on Ryan's face after she pushed him, slowly turned to a grin, and then he started chuckling.

"I'm gonna get you for that, Emma!" he hollered, an evil smile on his face as he ran toward her with open arms, covered in clumps of muck.

She shrieked and turned to run away.

They probably would have returned to playing if it hadn't been for her running straight into Matt Hearshman, and his big mouth. He was the closest thing they had to a neighborhood bully. He wasn't even very scary-his spindly arms and legs reminded her of a daddy longlegs. Not to mention, the intimidating glare he was trying to stare Emma down with, was ruined by the stringy, dirty blond hair that hung over his muddy, green eyes. Emma hated him—he targeted her often because of how easily she lost her temper.

"Why are you here, Emma?" he sneered. "You're a pest. You're going to be in trouble for pushing Ryan in the leeches, and now for pushing me, too."

"It was an accident!" she protested, afraid that if her Grandma heard about this, she wouldn't let her come back to the pond again.

"Nope, you did it on purpose, and I'm gonna tell on you."

Emma's eyes sparked, and she opened her mouth to tell him off, when he said it...

The thing that actually made her cry.

"My mom says you're so bad, because your dad was a criminal, and that's why he's dead. And you're just like him." He taunted in a sing-song voice that tipped her over the edge.

All the kids that had been watching, just stood there, stunned for just a second. Unaware of anything or anyone else, Emma let loose an anguished shriek and launched herself at him. Before she connected, Ryan's long arms snaked around her waist, yanking her back.

"Let it go, Emma," he ordered, "he just wants to get you in trouble."

"I don't care!" Wriggling and clawing, she finally broke free.

She needn't have bothered, someone had gotten Evan's attention, and as soon as he heard the last words out of Matt's mouth, he torpedoed himself onto him and was currently pounding his face much more effectively than Emma could have.

Avoiding the stares of the other children, she fled barefoot, her face hot with embarrassment and shame, uncaring that she was now covered in mud, and crying.

She didn't stop running until she reached the big willow.

~*~*~

Roughly, she swiped dirty hands across her cheeks, looking down on Ryan. He probably guessed where she would go, but if she was careful, he wouldn't actually see her.

She sniffled a little too loudly, and he looked up, worry written across his face.

"Emma! Don't leave, I'm coming up there." He grabbed the lowest limb and used his feet to climb up the trunk. When he was high enough, he walked his hands forward on the limb, and heaved himself up.

"Go away, Ryan," she said belligerently, while she avoided looking at him.

"No, and you can't make me," he said with a little grin.

"I could push you out," she retorted, crossing her arms defiantly over her chest.

Unconcerned, he straddled the limb, facing her, swinging his lanky legs on either side of it. "Matt's an asshole," he said, grinning more widely. "Ev gave him a bloody nose, maybe even broke it."

Shocked, Emma's mouth gaped open, "You aren't supposed to say that word, Ryan!"

"Well, it's the truth," he replied, shrugging his thin shoulders. "You can tell my Ma', but she'd probably say the same thing when I tell her what he said to you."

"No," she pleaded, "don't tell her!"

"Why not, Em? Matt's wrong, and he's mean—he shouldn't have said that to you." The expression on Ryan's young face was serious. "I won't tell her about you pushing me—I kind of deserved it." He sent her an impish smirk.

"He's not wrong about my dad," she whispered.

"He had no right to say that, Em." Ryan's expression sobered once again. "And even if your dad did bad stuff, it doesn't mean you're bad." He gave her a small smile. "My dad is gone too—and he wasn't very good, either. Grandpa says we all have to make our own choices. That it doesn't matter what my dad did, it matters what I do."

Emma burst into tears again, and Ryan swung one of his legs over the limb, and scooted closer, swinging an arm around her shoulders.

"Don't worry, little girl, we can stick together. I'll protect you," he said, puffing out his ten-year-old chest with all the bravado he could muster.

"I don't need you to protect me," Emma stated, jabbing one bony elbow into his ribs, "'sides, you're mean to me, too."

"I just tease you a little, Em," he replied, taken aback. "I would never say something to really hurt your feelings, and if anyone else does, I'll beat 'em up," he said with finality.

She leaned against him, swiping at her face again with the back of a dirty hand. When she was all done, Ryan turned to her, and his grin was back. Before she could react, he planted a big, wet, childish kiss right on her lips! Her brown eyes went huge, and she opened her mouth to yell at him, but he jumped down from the tree and started to run toward the house, calling back to her.

"C'mon, Em! Ma' got the big cherry freezies. I'll race 'ya!"

*A/N:

Salutations! Thank you for embarking on this journey with me!

I really hope you love this book, and fall in love with the characters and story as much as I have.

Please comment and vote. I love to know if the story and characters are resonating with you guys.

You can also follow me on Twitter @jessa_martell

Happy Reading!

Jessa xx

This one is dedicated to samantha for seeing something in this story and asking to have it featured on Cosmopolitan.com. The rising success of this story since March has been astounding, and that exposure made a huge difference ♥