Emma That is Dead (FREE!)

Chapter Twenty-Five

I don't know. Can she be? "By all means."

A short silence stretches between us before she speaks again. When she does, the edge to her voice is gone. It's gentle, the way an adult would speak to a frightened child. "I'm worried about you."

My eyes narrow as I work to unveil her motive, and I bind the blanket tighter around my chest. "You're worried about me?"

"I'm serious," she says, taking a step closer. "You've not been yourself lately."

"I've not been myself?" I'm unable to contain my laughter. I steal a glance at my bedroom door, half expecting Mom to barge through. But she doesn't. "What are you talking about?"

"You know, like how you were before?" she prods. "That thing you did?"

A shiver of unease works its way up my spine.

"Are you still taking your medications?"

I hesitate, a slick of sweat coating my palms. "Why?"

"Because if you weren't, it would explain a lot." One corner of Emma's mouth creeps higher. She takes another step closer, her voice even softer. "Your anxiety. The paranoia. Your growing obsession with Jordan. I'd hate to see you have another breakdown. The first one was bad enough."

"The first one was triggered by a personal tragedy," I tell her, trying to score the upper hand. "As long as I follow my doctor's orders, I'll be fine. No reason for you to worry."

"Oh." Emma's eyebrows lift in surprise. "Are you saying my disappearance wasn't a personal tragedy? Weird. I thought we were closer than that."

"That's not what I meant. Don't try to turn this around." I swallow hard to clear my throat. "There is nothing wrong with me."

"You almost killed a man." Her eyes go wide as if she's reminding me of something I'd forgotten. Something taboo, pushed to the darkest corner of my mind.

"That happened a long time ago. I was a different person back then."

Emma shrugs. "Still. You completely lost your shit, the way you made that entire story up in your head. How you willed it to life. How do we know it won't happen again?"

Breath leaks from me like a punctured tire, depleting my lungs. I push out a response. "It won't."

But she continues on, as though I'd never said a word. "Your parents were so scared for you—and probably scared of you, if I'm being honest. Do you remember that? When they had to admit you to the hospital, and all of those visits with Dr. I Wilder? It'd be a shame to see that happen again. I know how happy you were when you didn't have to see him every week."

Her words hang in the air between us like a threat. I bite down on the inside of my cheek until the bitter taste of blood floods my mouth. "This isn't like that."

"How do you know?"

"Because I just do. I'm not paranoid."

Emma purses her lips like she doesn't believe me.

"There's something you're not telling us and Jordan knows what it is," I insist, ignoring her silent accusation. "You were fighting that day in the locker room, and when I asked you about it, you lied. I want to know why you were so upset. Because I'd never in my life seen you look like that before."

She cocks her to the side, and gives me a pitiful smile. "Hayes—Jordan and I didn't have a fight in the locker room."

"Yes you did—I saw you!" When Emma reaches for my arm, I snatch it away. "And when I brought it up, you said it was a disagreement about a play. That was a lie!"