Farm Girl Loves Bad Boy (#2)

Chapter Sixteen

I expect myself not to sleep at all, however as soon as I close my eyes, I drift off into dreamland.

“Don’t!” I scream, running towards Emery. Mr. Hastings holds his gun out in front of him, pointed towards Emery. There’s a loud bang as the bullet leaves the pistol.

Emery’s eyes look distant as they meet mine, the bullet piercing his skin. His pupils are huge and his eyes look like they can’t see what’s in front of him. His red cup falls onto the ground, splashing everywhere and Emery’s body soon follows.

“No!” I cry, running towards Emery. I drape myself over his body and sob, praying that he will be okay. I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn around to look up at Mary. Her eyes are swollen form crying and she can’t stop shaking.

“River,” she whispers. “I need to talk to you.”

Her eyes suddenly move away from mine and look to the left. I follow her gaze, only to see Vince. He stands leaning against the wall, twirling the pistol that shot Emery around in his hands.

I wake up screaming. Gasping for air, my hand covers my heart as I try to calm myself down. Sunlight streams in through my window and I can’t help but notice the missing presence of Emery’s breathing. It’s been two days since Emery’s accident and I’m still not allowed to see him.

Downstairs, my parents are drinking coffee at the kitchen table. Nothing seems out of the ordinary until they put down their mugs and meet my eyes.

“You’re home?” I ask my dad worriedly. “Why are you home?” He’s been staying at the hospital ever since Emery was put there and hasn’t come home until now.

He nods to my chair and I slowly tread towards it. Once I’ve taken my seat, I look from my mom to my dad, waiting for one of them to answer my questions.

“He’s stable,” my dad tells me, meeting my eyes with a serious look. “They said I could come home and the hospital will call if anything changes.”

I reply almost instantly after my father finishes speaking. “Has he woken up?” He doesn’t answer and instead sighs. I push myself away from the table and get out of my chair. In my room, I sit on the edge of my bed with my feet resting on Emery’s mattress. Slowly, I lift his black backpack onto my lap. Once it’s there I stop and listen, as if he could come in and yell at me at any time.

Inside isn’t much, but I quickly find the photograph of his family. I stare at it intently and wonder how the happy looking man in the picture could turn into Mr. Hastings. When my eyes fall on Emery’s smiling face, I can’t help but smile back. He was such a cute looking kid. It only takes a moment for my smile to quickly fade when I remember that he had his innocence stolen from him at such a young age.

With a sigh, I put the photo back in Emery’s backpack when I notice a small piece of cloth in the bottom, looking extremely out of place. It’s a dark purple and reminds me of my curtains. Looking over to the left, I roll my eyes. Of course. It reminds me of my curtains because it is a piece of my curtains.

Gently, I set the backpack down on the mattress and rise to my feet. At my curtains, I pick up the ends and look through them when I find it. Emery had managed to tie a knot in the back of them so I wouldn’t notice it. Smiling sadly to myself, I head back to my bed to remove the piece of fabric.

It’s folded so that what it contains doesn’t fall out. Slowly, I open the ends and smile at what’s inside. The horse necklace Emery got me for my birthday glistens like new. However it probably can still be considered new, as I only ever wore it once.