•Emma's POV•
I didn't want to get out of bed. I had been woken up quite rudely by an alarm set on my phone and the blaring it was emitting had frustrated me enough to contemplate throwing my phone against the wall.
And do you know what made it worse?
I had went back to sleep, knowing I had free time on my hands only to be woken up again by another alarm. However this alarm I couldn't turn off nor throw at the wall as it was human.
"Get your ass out of bed already, Emma. It's past nine already." Daniel grumbles, pulling the blankets off of me before literally rolling me out of bed.
Landing on my wooden floor, I emit a groan of pain as I rub my shoulder that hit the floor first. "Is it really necessary to shove me off my bed?"
"Knowing you, if I didn't you would have went back to sleep." Leaving my room, just to tick me off even more. He leaves my door wide open.
Isn't he just the best?
Rising up from the floor, I go to close my door before returning towards my bed. Only to halt when I remember what time Daniel said it was. Heading towards the boxes in the corner of my room, I dig through a few of them until I find my skateboard.
I started at the board for longer than I normally would. Last time I used this was when I was with him. There were so many memories that were flashing in my mind. Ones that brought me pain.
Don't think about it. I tell myself before setting the board down and heading towards the shower.
Once I had finished in the shower, I slip on some undergarments before searching for an outfit. Slipping one one article at a time I come to a stop in front of my closet mirrors to examine my choice.
I had a white, V-neck spaghetti strapped blouse on paired with some ripped denim shorts. On my feet I had my white converse and a cream knitted cardigan was pulled on over my shoulders.
Fixing my hair in soft curls and doing a light makeup look, I apply some concealer to my wrists as well. Grabbing my small backpack along with my phone and skateboard, I make my way downstairs.
Eating a light breakfast and feeding the dogs, I exit my house and meet up with Shawn and three other boys that stood out front. Before I could pass through the front door I hear mother call my name.
"Don't stay out to late, Emma." Mother tells me, her eyes meeting mine. Her expression giving nothing away.
"I won't." Not glancing back, I close the front door shut and walk the short path to reach the boys who stood in the middle of the street.
"Hey, you ready?" Shawn greets me, a smile on his face.
"I am." Turning to face the three unknown faces, Shawn leads me closer to them before introducing me.
"This is Ethan, Luke and Nick. Guys this is Emma."
"You ready to go swimming, Emma?" Ethan, I believe asks me. His eyes subtly gazing at my legs before bringing them up to meet my eyes slowly.
Pretending as if I didn't notice his eyes on me, I turn to face the other two to greet them personally when Ethan's words hit me.
"We're going swimming?" I question astonished. Looking over at Shawn, I see a nervous smile adorning his lips as one of his hands came around to rub the back of his neck.
"Yea, didn't Shawn tell you?" Nick asks me, glancing at Shawn to see his expression.
"You don't have a bathing suit on, do you?" Luke now questions.
Taking my silence as an answer, Shawn finally speaks up. "I should have mentioned where we were going... sorry. We'll wait for you here while you change."
"Okay, I'll be right back." Dropping my board on the sidewalk, I re-enter my house and race up the stairs.
Quickly slipping out of my clothes. I replace my bra and underwear with a black two piece bathing suit. Just when I'm about to reach for my shorts to pull them back on I freeze. Glancing in the mirror, my eyes lock on the angry scar that wrapped around the left side of my waist.
I contemplated changing into a one piece but then again I didn't want them to be waiting for long so I just slipped back into my outfit and grabbed a pair of sunglasses before racing back down stairs and out the front door. When I had stepped outside, I glance up to find the guys no longer in their original position in the middle of the street. They were now standing around my bike, Ethan was actually on my bike and making the typical revving noises.
He is so childish.
"What are you guys doing?" I question, walking to stand between Shawn and Ethan. At the sound of my voice, three of the guys had flinched. Snapping their heads in my direction, they calm down once they see who it was that spoke.
"Your brother's bike is so cool! Do you think he'll let me drive it?" Ethan asks me, his eyes shining and a contagious smile on his face.
However my next few words wiped that smile off his face and caused panic and fear to form in his expression. "That's not my brothers..." Ethan wasn't the only one panicking as they all moved away from the machine. Shawn was the only one who's expression held humor in his eyes as he smiled at me.
"Do you think the owner saw me? Oh no... what if he comes running at me with the intent to beat me! I'm to handsome to get hit in the face!" Ethan rambles, sliding his body to hide behind Nick as he glanced around nervously.
"I'm pretty sure they did." Shawn states glancing at me. I could see that he was holding in his laughter and to say the truth so was I.
"Shit, okay let's get going before they do beat the living crap out of me." Ethan squeaks, grabbing hold of his board before making his way down the sidewalk at a fast pace.
"Ethan! It's okay, just don't do it again. I'm pretty sure you don't know how to drive a motorcycle." I call out towards him. Stopping in his tracks, he turns to face us but doesn't walk back on over.
"I do too... no I don't." Ethan grumbles before reluctantly walking back towards us.
"Guys, that's Emma's bike. Not some scary old man who's gonna beat you, Ethan." Shawn tells them, his arms crossing against his chest.
"Wait, you own a motorcycle?! Aren't girls supposed to have like those cute little cars?" Ethan points out, his eyes flickering from between my bike and myself.
Luke and Nick were looking at me as well with confusion but they didn't question it like Ethan does.
"I'm not your typical girl. Far from it actually."
"Come on, its time we start making our way." Luke calls before skating down the side walk. The rest of us soon following behind him.
With us all on our boards skating to hell knows where, I just merely follow in their path. It wasn't long before we were skating at a fairly fast pace on the street. Along the way the guys had kept me involved in their conversation and had gotten me to open up to them a little bit. It took us about twenty minutes to reach this hill to where we had to walk the rest of the way.
Stoping in my tracks, the faint smell of ocean air reaches me. Looking out into the distance, the bright blue water could be seen from here with the trek of sand being the only thing in between.
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Nick yells before taking off, sand flying behind him as he kicked his feet to push him to go faster. Ethan and Luke were hot on his tail.
"Come on." I hear Shawn speak up from beside me. Grabbing a hold of my hand, he leads me in the direction that the boys went. And when he knew I would follow he took off in a sprint as well. His hand still locked with mine.
Stopping just short of the water, I lay my skateboard down and place my bag and shoes on top of it. Glancing around, a few more people were here on the beach but my eyes had just glazed over them. Only to stop on the four boys in front of me, ones that were currently removing their shirts.
I could see their muscles rippling from where I stood. The movement causing their muscles to tense and flex as they playfully pushed each other towards the freezing water.
"Wait were going in the water? Now?" I question my eyes wide and voice cracking slightly. Clearing my throughs I keep my eyes trained on theirs or on the floor, not wanting show how flustered I was.
Really? You've seen guys shirtless before.
Stay out of my head. I snap at the voice. I didn't want to hear it. Not now, not ever.
"Why else would we come to the beach? Come on, Emma, join us!" Ethan yells. They were all already in the water, their hair plastered to their heads due to the water.
Listening to them, I slip out of my cardigan and shorts, but am more reluctant to take my shirt off. I didn't want any of them to question my scar. Now that I was on that track of mind, I glance at my wrists and find clear smooth skin.
Hearing laughter boom in the distance, I find the boys having fun. Their minds preoccupied with who would win whatever game they were playing. Not thinking much about it, I slip out of my shirt and make my way on over to them. Wanting to join in on the fun.
I could feel their eyes on me as I walked on closer to the water. When I had reached just the edge, the water had washed over my feet and had caused me to jump at how cold it really was. Retreating back a few feet, I hear them calling my name and so I turn my head up to look at them for the first time.
"It's not that cold once you get in. Just don't think about it." Luke calls out to me. Slowly my head starts to shake back and forth until I'm taking steps backwards away from them and the ocean.
I can't get in the water. What if my makeup wipes off? I can't have them asking questions. I just got here and I don't want to be cornered already.
I could feel panic starting to rise within me as my breathing became labored. I needed to calm down. Just calm down. Calm down, Emma.
Suddenly the sound of hushed voices enters my ears distracting me from my internal rambling. Glancing up I find Shawn coming out of the water and walking towards me.
"You're really not going to get in the water?" He asks me, still walking closer to me as I continue to take steps away.
"It's too cold." I reason pathetically. Wrapping my arms around my body to subtly hide the scars on my hip from his sight.
"It's not that cold." Shawn laughs, taking a step closer. A bright smile was on his lips as he gazed at me. His hazel eyes gleaming in the sun.
"I'll go in later." I say, my eyes focused on his.
"Okay, just one thing. Do you see that C by the sea?" Pointing to the left of him, I follow his gaze looking for whatever he was referring to when I'm caught off guard.
Suddenly, my body is being lifted from of the ground and is being placed over Shawn's shoulder as he carries me towards the water. Letting out a yelp, I hit Shawn's back and yell at him to put me down, only for him to laugh and tighten his grip on me as he jogs on over to the boys that were in the water.
I know you can escape from this hold. So why aren't you? Are you lazy or truly just weak?
"Sorry darling, but you had to get in the water one way or another." Shawn chimes, I could practically hear the humor in his voice as his feet became submerged in water.
The water splashed on my face and the ends of my hair became wet. Hitting his back a few times in a futile attempt, my body freezes. And I mean literally.
Once on Shawn's shoulder, feeling the warmth that emitted from his body, I was now submerged in the freezing cold water. Swimming up to the top, I break the surface and take a deep breath. Turning to face him, I find him smiling at me innocently as laughter surround us coming from the guys.
Not able to hold it in anymore, he burst out laughing as well. The guys all commenting about how my expression was hilarious. But I didn't find it one bit humorous and so I go up to each of them and dunk them under water.
Staring at me disbelievingly, their eyes narrow slightly before they're all splashing the water at me. Fighting back the only way how, I splash back and soon enough all hell breaks loose as everyone started to splash each other.
Once we had calmed down, smiles had appeared on all of our faces as we just relaxed in the water.
"I can't believe you carried me to get me in the damn water." I laugh, turning to face Shawn who was staring at the horizon in the distance.
"It was a good thing I did to or else you would probably still be on the sand." Shawn says, now looking at me.
"But you're not cold anymore are you?" Luke speaks up, his eyes sparking with knowing. He knew my answer but wanted to be proved right. That the water wasn't that cold once you got used to it.
"Not anymore, no." I reluctantly agree with him. Causing a smirk to grow on his face only for me to splash him to wipe it off.
We had stayed for a little more than an hour in the water. Ethan had even brought a volleyball and we played a few games after getting out of the water. Deciding it was time to relax, we all sit down on the towels we brought. Just enjoying the rare sunshine that Canada gets.
I had been laying down on my towel, completely relaxed and not giving a care about the world around me when a blaring had suddenly became present. Groaning, I rummage around in my bag to retrieve my phone and figure out who the hell was calling me when I freeze.
The caller ID had said UNKNOWN and that made hesitance rise within me.
"Who is it?" Shawn questions, his full attention now directed to me.
"It's unknown." I mutter and reluctantly answer it. Bringing the phone to my ear, I hear complete silence on the other end so I decide to speak first.
"Hello?..." I say into the phone, my voice however sounding more like a question. Hearing silence for a moment I contemplate on hanging up, but a voice is finally heard.
"Miss me?" My body suddenly stills as I painfully recognize the voice. I knew exactly who it belonged too.
"What do you want?" I snap through gritted teeth, my free hand clenching as memories replay in my mind.
Glancing over at the guys, I find them to all have confused expressions. I contemplate on whether or not I should leave. Planning on ending the conversation, I stay rooted to my spot as they speak once again.
"Did you think I would forget!?" The voice sneers at me, his voice loud to the point where I want to move the phone away from my ear.
"I hoped you did." People never change I swear. He's still the bastard he had been and will always be.
"You shouldn't take this lightly. You can't escape me, Chase. I am going to..." He starts, but I'm quick to cut him off. I knew his next words. I had already proved him wrong. I'm here, aren't I?
"No you won't." I hiss and am about to end the call when he speaks again.
"We both know I get what I want, whatever it takes!" He growls through the phone. Those same words echoing in my ears.
Whatever it takes.
"Over my dead body." I snap back and finally end the call. Taking deep breaths, I look at how much time the call was and notice that it wasn't long enough for him to trace me.
"Bastard." I murmur angrily underneath my breath. Shoving my phone back in my backpack with more force than necessary, I look up at the boys for the first time to catch their reactions.
"I'm guessing their not a friend?..." Shawn says, his voice soft as he looked at me worriedly.
"Don't worry, it was nobody." Internally I curse myself for not leaving as now they'll have even more questions that I wasn't interested in answering.
You should have followed your instincts.
Becoming aggravated with my subconscious, I push the voice into the furthest part of my mind.
"That didn't sound like nobody, Emma..." Shawn starts to say, the worry in his eyes intensifying. Giving him a harsh look, he gets the message and doesn't bring up what happened again.
They shouldn't have been able to contact me. I had gotten rid of my old phone and number. The only people who have my new number would be my close friends. He shouldn't have my number... so how the hell did he get it?
The same way you found Jackson's.
Wanting to rid the air of any tension, Ethan suggest we go back in the water for a bit until we decide to leave. Luckily everyone agreed and soon we're all back to our lively and carefree demeanors. We spent about another hour or two at the beach until we decided to call it a day. Being one of the first to completely dry off and pull on my discarded clothing. I walk down the beach but don't venture to far from the guys. I made sure to stay within hearing range.
Suddenly a familiar scent catches my attention. Looking around for the source, my eyes land on a man who seemed to be in his late twenties with a very familiar stick between his middle and pointer finger.
The craving for one at the moment seemed to arise within me as I looked at the stick longingly.
No. You don't need it. You don't want it, Emma. I convince myself.
Forcing myself to walk back over to the guys. I find them to be all packed up and we make the trek back off the beach and towards the street once more. We had been walking aimlessly down the streets with no destination in mind. You could hear the engines of cars as they drove past us, the crashing of waves still could be heard from where we were.
"Where are we going exactly?" I question, wanting to know exactly what we planned to do next. Catching up to walk beside Shawn, we wait for someone to speak up.
"Anyone hungry?" Ethan asks, his head turning to glance back at us.
"I could go for a bite." Nick says before we choose to head towards this mall the guys had said was close.
Skating the remainder of the way, we come to a stop when we were at the doors of the indoor mall. Picking up my board, we all make our way inside to be greeted by the lively chatter of the people who were already here.
Finding a table in the food court was fairly easy, and once we did, we had all set our things down before splitting ways. Glancing around the room I find a place that caught my eye and I quickly make my way over to buy me some food. Returning to the table, I find it to be empty.
Sitting down, I'm about to take a bite of my food when the sound of a chair scrapping against the floor catches my attention. Snapping my eyes up in the direction, I find Ethan sitting in front of me, a pizza hanging out of his mouth as he looked around.
"See, we aren't that bad, right?" Ethan says, his eyes meeting mine for a second before he returns back to his food to take another bite.
"No... you guys are just crazy." I chuckle, a faint smile pulling at my lips. Taking a bite out of my own food, I glance behind Ethan to where I felt someone was looking at us.
"You'll grow used to it. You might even become as crazy as us, if you stick around." A full blown smile was plastered on his face as he looked at me. I didn't expect him to say that. I didn't think they would want me to stay.
Feeling wary once again, I glance around to find who looked out of place. I could feel my guard rising as I noticed a figure walking towards us from just behind Ethan.
I could hear Ethan saying something to me but I was to focused on the person behind him. My pulse was racing as nerves and slight anger started to rise within me. He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't even know that I am here.
It wasn't until I recognized his hazel eyes that my nerves settled. They weren't a bluish-grey.
Seconds latter, Shawn had taken a seat beside me as the rest of the guys filled into the empty chairs. Soon enough the guys are joining in on our conversation. However the conversation took a turn to a side I wished it hadn't, but I didn't change the subject. They had wanted to know about my life back in LA. What I did in school and exactly who I was.
I didn't tell them to much just that I was well known in my school and that was about it. I didn't want them to know exactly why I was popular. And I didn't want to bring him up. I was getting a new start and I wasn't about to mess this up by having them know about my past. A past I wasn't proud of.
Finishing up our food, we all decide to walk down the mall for a bit. And luckily I had found myself a good jacket as I didn't have one already and I would most likely freeze without it.
Time flew by as we had finally decided to head on back. Skating down the street of our neighborhood, I could see Shawn from the corner of my eye glancing at me repeatedly. The only sound around us was the faint wind blowing and the wheels of our skateboards rolling against the asphalt of the street.
Suddenly, Shawn speaks up. His voice firm yet hesitant as he called my name. Glancing at him briefly, I prompt him to continue with the thoughts he had planned to voice to me.
"I know that call wasn't from nobody." He starts to say, keeping up with my increasing pace. Clenching my jaw, I look straight ahead.
"You don't need..." I begin to speak lowly however he swiftly cuts me off.
"Listen to me. I'm here if you want to talk. I know your gonna continue to say it was nothing when in truth it wasn't. You are not alone. You have me now. Even if we just met." There was this determination in his eyes. It was as if he had set himself on a mission he had no intention of turning down. He wasn't one to give up, I could see it in his hazel eyes.
He won't let this go.
Good. You need someone like that in your life.
Ignoring the damn voice once again, I catch a glimpse of his eyes on me. Turning to meet them, we come to a stop in front of both of our houses. Turning to face him completely, I inspect his features.
There wasn't any sign of lying. He was being genuine with me. He wanted to help me. Even with something I knew he couldn't.
"Thank you... I'll see you later." I speak, my head nodding just once before I spin on my heel and make my way back into my new house. I could hear him murder a 'bye' towards me before his receding footsteps enter my ears as well.
Entering the kitchen, I find my mother there with her eyes glancing between me and the time on the stove. "I expected you to stay out longer. It's only just past six..." She murmurs.
Not able to comprehend what happens next, I'm suddenly being engulfed in her embrace as she held me tightly. The need to pull away flares within me but I stay rooted to my spot, my arms limp beside me.
"I'm trying." I whisper, bringing my arms to wrap around her. Pulling me impossibly closer, she suddenly pulls back to look me questionably in the eyes.
It's not her fault that she treats me differently. I had started this mess and she was only dealing with it the only way she knew how. I was the one to blame for all the chaos happening in mine and her life.
You've always been the one to blame.
"You're... you're trying?" Mother questions, not seeming to understand what I mean.
"I don't want to be like I am now. Like I've been the past year. I just need time. I know I won't ever be that same girl you raised me as. I want to change for the better." But life doesn't always give you what you want. It gives you what you need. And if you need to be a monster to deal with the havoc surrounding you then a monster you'll be.
And a monster I became.
I am going to try my hardest to right all my wrongs. But knowing that he's still alive and most likely craving revenge. I'll only add to my number of wrongs faster than I could correct them.
All of my family knew I was involved in things I shouldn't be. Out of all my family, I believe my mother knew the most since she's caught me more times than the others. I wasn't aware of what exactly my brothers knew. And I would bet good money that my dad knew as much as mother.
You'll have to put off trying for a while. You can't become weak in the middle of a battle. It just might turn into a war.
My subconscious had made sense. I would have to embrace the life I've become accustomed to so quickly. I would just have to fain going back to my old self.
I need to be who I am so that I can protect you, all of you.
Back in my room, I let out a low groan as I tug at the roots of my hair. I knew I had to start again and the thought wasn't pleasing in the least bit. Glaring at the stacks of boxes I begin to rummage through them in search of everything before shoving them in a duffle bag.
I wouldn't start right now. It would be my last option if I didn't find a place for my first plan.
Taking a quick shower I change into a loose shirt that ended around my mid thigh and some spandex shorts I had. Standing before the mirror, I glance at my face before my eyes switch to my hands and stomach. Lifting my shirt, I run my fingers along the scar and inwardly cringe.
I had wished and begged for this scar to disappear. I didn't want to be constantly reminded of that night. I didn't want to think of one of the lowest times in my life.
With a sudden drop in my mood, my eyes flicker to the little wooden box, placed on the corner of my sink.
No. It's only been a few days.
You can hold on for just a bit longer! I snap at myself internally.
Suddenly the wooden box was in my grasp before I could even comprehend it. I knew what lay inside but I didn't want to give into temptation. Now one of the small objects were held between my fingers. The bathroom lights illuminating the object as if taunting me.
My mind was yelling at me, basically harassing me to go through with it while my heart was bellowing the exact opposite.
But in the end...
Glancing up at the mirror, I meet my red rimed eyes as they dull to show no emotion.
"My mind always wins..."
~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~
Another chapter!
You will be seeing a little of Emma's past in some of the upcoming chapters. I hope you guys are liking the book so far and continue to read it.
What do you guys think is in her little box?
Who was the mystery caller?
What did they want from her?
You'll have to keep reading to find out! Have a great day, Bye!