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𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗔 𝗠𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧
ＣＨＡＰＴＥＲ ＦＯＵＲＴＥＥＮ:
she's so gone
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"'CAUSE WE'RE STANDING on the edge of great," Apollo sang terribly as he and Emilia walked up the path to their house.
Ray had sent the twins home at about ten, stating that they needed a good night's sleep for school the next day. Emilia wholeheartedly agreed. She was utterly tired. Sure, performing was fun, but it definitely took a lot out of her. She couldn't wait to snuggle up with her pillows and fall asleep.
Emilia looked at him weirdly and let out a chuckle. "Oh my God, please stop. You're making my ears bleed."
Apollo glared at her playfully as she unlocked the door. "Not everyone inherited the music genes like you, Emilia."
"All right, all right," she voiced, stepping into the house with Apollo. Emilia locked the door behind her again and placed her keys onto the table. "You can run the mile and I can play the piano. I think we're even."
"Speaking of music, you totally crushed it tonight," Apollo told her as the two climbed the stairs. "I'm really proud of you, Em."
She smiled. "Thank you, A."
Apollo then removed his phone from his pocket and held it up. "I'm gonna FaceTime Julie for a little while. I'll see you in the morning."
"Okay, goodnight."
The twins went to their own separate rooms. Emilia opened her door, but she did not expect to see Luke sprawled out on her bed, Reggie looking at her bookshelf, and Alex glancing at the pictures on her walls. She immediately shrieked and slapped a hand to her mouth at the sight of them, clearly not knowing that they were coming over so unannounced. Luke laughed slightly at her, making her face turn red as she slowly dropped her hand back down.
"Guys," Emilia complained, shutting the door behind her. "Remember what Julie said about boundaries? You can't just pop in my room like this." She picked up a pillow and threw it at Luke's face. "And get off of my bed!"
"But it's so comfy," Luke protested.
She smiled sarcastically at him. "Yes, I know. Which is why I want to sleep in it right now, so if you could so kindly leave, that would be fantastic."
"Wait," Alex cut in. "We wanted to talk to you."
Her eyebrows knit in confusion. "About what?"
Reggie gave her a sad smile. "I think you know."
And the thing was, she did. It was the topic she had been avoiding since about a week ago when it had happened. The boys had witnessed Emilia completely blow up on her parents and had left without saying anything. However, she did promise Luke she would talk about it later, and she guesses now is the best time to do so.
Emilia laced her fingers together in front of her and sat on the edge of her bed. "I'm sorry."
Luke sat up next to her. "About what?"
"For having to see that," she answered quietly. "I didn't know they were going to be there. And I definitely didn't know I was going to explode like that."
Alex shook his head. "You don't have to apologize, Em."
"Yeah, you really don't," Reggie agreed. "Trust me, I know what it's like to have your parents neglect you. Mine used to do it all the time. But the way you fought back . . . that was so brave."
"If you don't mind us asking, what exactly happened between you and them?" Luke asked cautiously.
Emilia sighed. She had hoped that they wouldn't bring it up because talking about her parents was always hard. The only ones she really told her feelings about them were Apollo, Julie, and Flynn. However, Emilia trusted the three boys. Even after everything they had been through with the school dance, they had managed to bring her back in to their crazy friendship (and one more than a friendship, of course.)
"Apollo and I were thirteen," Emilia began. "Our parents told us they were going on a business trip for the first time. We were both worried about being home alone, but they reassured us everything would be fine. They left the day after that and gave us plenty of money for anything we needed. Both of them called and texted us every day to make sure we were doing okay. But, as time went on . . . I guess they started to see us as a burden. The business trips became more frequent and the calls became nonexistent. And now . . ." Emilia scoffed bitterly. "They only care about us keeping our grades up. Apollo and I always wondered what we did wrong, but now I've realized it's not us. It's them. Forgetting about their own children and only caring about work is their fault. And now they just showed up, wanting to take us away? No. I wouldn't allow that."
The room went silent. Emilia looked down to her hands and avoided eye contact with the boys at all costs. There she had gone again, completely speaking her mind without even letting the words filter through her brain. Suddenly, she felt Luke stand up next to her. She glanced up to see him holding out a hand to her. Emilia gripped it and allowed him to pull her up.
"What?" Emilia questioned softly.
Luke didn't respond. Instead, he tugged her forward and wrapped her in a tight hug. Not long after, Reggie and Alex joined as well. Emilia relaxed into it and wound her arms around Luke. She rested her cheek against his chest and let out a breath of content. This was her band, her family. Finally, after a couple of long moments, they all pulled away from each other.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Lia," Luke admitted. "But look at you know. You're one of the strongest people I've ever met."
She gave him a small smile. "I can say the same for you three. All of us . . . we've gone through some pretty tough stuff and managed to make it out. Julie's included in that too."
"One other thing," Reggie announced. "The part about us being your family . . . was it true?"
"Of course," Emilia responded immediately. "Even in the short amount of time we've known each other, you've shown me what it's like to have each other's backs. You three really are Julie and I's blessings in disguise."
Alex reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "I wasn't lying when I said that you and Julie were the best things to happen to us since we became ghosts. So, let me tell you, all of us feel the exact same way."
Emilia's smile widened. She attempted to wrap her arms around all of them once more for another hug. All three of them chuckled as they pulled away from each other after a moment. And even though Julie wasn't there to experience this, Emilia knew that this would be one of her most cherished memories. Julie, Emilia, and the Phantoms was seriously more of a family than a band, and Emilia would be forever grateful for that.
"Okay, we'll let you get to sleep," Reggie voiced. "We love you, Em. See you tomorrow."
"Goodnight," Emilia replied, waving to them. "I love you guys, too."
Alex looked to Luke. "You coming?"
Luke shook his head. "Go on without me. I'll catch up."
Alex and Reggie disappeared out of her room. That only left Emilia and Luke alone. Emilia felt her cheeks heat up and her heart beat faster. Considering what happened last time the two of them were alone in her room, the same thing could very well happen again now. She clasped her hands in front of her and stared right at him. Luke put his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels. The two of them didn't say a word for a long couple of moments.
"Do you need anything?" Emilia asked quietly, trying to break up the tense atmosphere of her room.
Luke nodded. "Something else is bothering you about your parents."
Her eyebrows knit in confusion. "How do you know that?"
He shrugged. "Because I know you."
"Well . . ." she trailed off. "You would be completely right."
"So what's wrong?" He held out his hand, and Emilia reached forward to take it, his skin warm and soft against hers. "You can tell me anything, Lia."
Emilia sighed, absentmindedly twisting the rings that adorned his fingers. "I don't know. They had this, like, tattoo thing on their wrist. It was a circle with the letters HGC inside of it. Something about it really bothered me, though. It made me really nervous and uneasy."
Luke's eyes widened for a second upon realizing that he had the same stamp on him, one that was sending harsh jolts throughout his body, but he couldn't tell her that. Not right now. Not when she was vulnerable. That would only break her more, and that was the last thing Luke wanted for Emilia.
"There's something else," Luke continued, quickly moving past that subject. He willed himself to concentrate and not focus on the way Emilia was playing with the rings he was wearing. "What's going on inside that pretty little head of yours?"
Emilia laughed slightly, blushing again at his compliment, making Luke laugh with her. "I — um, it's just . . . I think they expected me to be the same way I was when I was thirteen. I mean, that was the last time they even spared a thought about Apollo and I's wellbeing. But I'm different now then I was three years ago. That little girl who only cared about validation from her parents, well . . . she's so gone." Emilia squeezed his hand before letting go. She walked to her keyboard, picking up her red songbook for him to see. "Which is why I wrote a song about it."
Luke walked up behind her and peered over her shoulder as she flipped through the pages. She finally stopped at one titled She's So Gone. His eyes scanned over the finished song and took in all of the lyrics she had written.
"Insecure in her skin, like a puppet, a girl on a string," Luke read out loud. "Broke away, learned to fly, if you want her back, gotta let her shine. So it looks like the joke's on you, 'cause, the girl that you thought you knew, she's so gone."
"My favorite part is the second verse. Check it out." She sat down at her keyboard and began to play the chords of the song while singing. "Here I am, this is me, and I'm stronger than you ever thought I'd be. Are you shocked? Are you mad? That you're missing out on who I really am."
Luke let out a laugh of amazement once she finished. "That song is so amazing, Lia. Seriously."
"Thank you," she replied, standing up from the bench and closing her songbook. "I imagined much more upbeat with guitar and drums and bass, but we can definitely practice it another time."
"For sure. You and Julie would kill this song."
The two stared in each other's eyes for a couple of seconds. Emilia seemed to get lost in his, but she quickly snapped out of her trance. She shook her head and cleared her throat, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
"Uh, I should really get to bed," Emilia admitted, placing her hands in the back pockets of her red jeans. "I've got school tomorrow, so . . ."
Luke nodded in agreement. "Yeah, definitely. Goodnight, Emilia."
She smiled. "Goodnight, Luke."
He almost went to disappear out of her room, but he seemed to stop himself. Emilia went to ask what was wrong, but Luke walked up to her. Before she knew it, Luke dipped his head down and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. Emilia closed her eyes in content for a moment before opening them as he pulled away. He sent her a cute smile before he disappeared out of her room completely.
Emilia touched the spot where he kissed her and couldn't help the wide grin that spread across her face. Letting out a happy sigh, she walked over to her dresser to get ready for bed with butterflies fluttering throughout her stomach.
-ˋˏ ༻ ☁︎ ༺ ˎˊ-
I'm not proud of this chapter. what's freaking new.
ok sorry homies this is such a filler but I really wanted her and the boys to talk about her parents :)
however next chapter is unsaid emily, and I AM proud of that one even if it does cause me emotional pain </3