“Ember go get your father!” a nurse yells at the young girl, who watched from the hallways as the heart monitor flatlines.
The continuous beep fills the young girl's ears. She slowly walks into the room, tuning out the yelling of the nurses. She is focused on the sight of her mother’s pale body on the bed. She wraps her hands around her mother crying into her hand as a nurse tries to pull her away from the body.
She cries louder as her small body is pulled out of the room and turned over to her father.
“Ember! What are you doing?” her father yells at her grabbing her by the wrist and forcing her to sit down in a chair as he talks to the nurse asking what is going on. The girl watching from her chair as her father crumbles to the ground head in his hands. He is crying now too.
The nurse leaves the two in the waiting room to calm down. The father slowly stands, walking over staring down at the young girl. “This is your fault! If only you hadn’t been born then she wouldn’t have gotten sick. You killed her! It’s all your fault!” he screams at the young girl tears streaming down his face.
“N-N-No...” she tries to say but her father just turns walking off, leaving her sitting in the chair all alone. Even after he leaves, his voice and words stay. It was her fault, but she knew that it wasn’t.
It wasn’t her fault...It wasn’t her fault...It-It was her fault.
Her eyes flew open as she gasped for breath, her heart pounding in her chest.
She slowly turned over slowing her breathing down to normal. The bright red numbers reading, 6:15, causing her to let out a sigh. She had woken up 5 minutes before her alarm again. Each morning it was the same, the same nightmare. She woke up at the same point each time.
She sat up in her bed climbing out and heading to the bathroom.
She started the shower jumping in letting the water run down her body as she tried to forget about the dream and the events that played out in it.
When she got out of the shower, she felt much better. She grabbed her school uniform off her dresser and putting it on. She buttoned up the white blouse pulling the red sweater over top of it. The black skirt fell to just above the knees. Before she left her room she pulled on her knee-high socks and grabbing her backpack.
She shut her bedroom door behind her and walked down the hall to the kitchen. She had expected to see her father grabbing some food or maybe some dirty dishes in the sink but wasn’t surprised when there wasn’t. She usually didn’t see much of her father. He usually went to work earlier, and most of the time wasn’t home till late in the evening or even early in the morning. He always worked or was out at the bar with someone. Em had gotten used to him always being gone but sometimes it still surprised her.
She grabbed some bread out of the fridge and made some toast for breakfast. She grabbed a cup with some orange juice and sat at the table eating in silence.
A honking caught her off guard. She stood up walking to the front door seeing a blue truck, a young man got out and walked out the front door. She opened the door as he walked up.
“Morning Em,” he said as he reached the front door.
“Morning Daxton. How are you?” she responded, letting him into the house.
“I’m good. Wish it was the weekend but it’s two days away which is good.”
“True. I have to take care of my dishes and then I’ll be ready to leave.”
Daxton nodded, grabbing her cup and handing it to her. She washed her plate off and cup out before resting them on the drying rack.
She turned around walking to the door grabbing her shoes putting them on, and grabbing her backpack off the ground looking back at Daxton. He was taller than she was, but not by much, and had dark brown hair which complemented his hazel eyes. His uniform was the same color as her’s but messier. His shirt unbuttoned, slightly untucked, and he was missing his jacket and tie.
“Where is your tie?” She asked, but he just shrugged.
“I don’t want to wear it.”
She signed shaking her head, as they left her house, locking the doors, and walking to his car. “You never change do you?” She asked as they climbed into the car.
“No,” was all he responded as they drove off and to the school. The ride was quiet other than the few questions every once and awhile, and the quiet music.
She rested her head on the window looking out as the houses disappeared and it went to the large road that separates them from the school.
After a few more minutes of driving they pulled up into the school parking lot, many of the spaces already taken. They drove around the small parking lot finding a nice parking spot close to the doors. Climbing out of the car she watched as students began heading in. Em turned to wait for Daxton who she noticed put on his tie, but was holding his jacket on his arm.
We walked into the school. A few people were at their lockers, while others were talking to each other. Some of the boys threw a football through the hallway to each other running after it. Em shook her head at their childish behavior walking to her locker. She placed her backpack inside grabbing out her notebooks, computer, and textbooks. Once she had everything she walked a few lockers down to Daxton’s locker as they talked for a little longer.
Their conversation was cut off by the bell ringing signalling two minutes until class started. She said goodbye to Daxton as she headed to history, as he headed to math. They only had three classes together, and of course she had friends in her other classes, just none as close of Daxton.
Once she got to history, she took her seat just as the starting bell rang. Her teacher, Mr. Harris, began teaching, getting increasingly more upset as he got interrupted by late students.
His lessons were boring, but Em made sure that she listened taking notes for what she needed to and even answering a few questions. She wasn’t the perfect student but made sure that she knew the information and could do the work. She always turned in her work making many of the students hate her because she never seemed to struggle and always seemed to know everything, because of that she wasn’t very popular.
Finally, the third-period bell went off, signaling it was time for lunch. Em stood up waiting for everyone to leave before heading out herself. She walked down the hall, only a few people still there, and to her locker. She placed her textbooks and her notebooks in before grabbing her lunchbox.
She went to shut her locker when she felt someone hands cover her eyes, “Guess who?”
“Max?” Em asked knowing who it was.
“No, why would it be that jerk?” Daxton moved his hands as Em let out a laugh. He hated Max making it easier to torment him with the name. Em shut the locker turning around facing Daxton, who was whispering to himself. She knew that it had something to do with Max and how much he hated him. Daxton was jealous because she had liked Max when she first started school. She no longer had a crush on him after realizing he was a jerk but she still brought him up every once and awhile.
“What are you whispering about?” she asked as they started down the hall.
“Nothing, let go eat I’m starving.”
Em nodded as they walked outside, looking at all the kids were eating on the grass or playing. Some were on the football field practicing. They walked past them and to a large oak tree outside of the school sitting down under it, in the shade.
“Has anything happen with your powers recently?” Daxton asks looking around making sure no one was around.
“Not really. I did find a hurt blackbird so I tried to help it off the road and I healed it. There wasn’t anyone around though.”
“That's good at least. Have you figured out how to control it?”
“If I did I would give you a huge hug.”
“Okay...” he stops for a minute, “What if there are more like you?”
“I don’t think there are.”
Daxton shrugs stuffing his sandwich in his mouth. Em looked out at the other people thinking what it would be like to be over with them with no worry.
She looked down at her hands sighing. “What’s it like to be normal?”
Daxton looked up from his food, eyes wide as she tried to figure out if he heard right. He swallowed his food ready to talk.
“Nevermind it was a stupid question.” She noticed Daxton’s mouth open ready to say something but she cut him off before he was able to start. “Let's head inside before the bell rings.”
She stood up, heading inside with Daxton following behind her. When they got inside she headed to her locker, putting her lunch in, but she didn’t take anything out. The bell rang as the hall almost immediately. She turned looking at Daxton who had a set of textbooks in his arms.
“I’ll see you after school. Are we walking home together?” she asked.
“I have basketball practice today after school sorry, maybe tomorrow.”
“Sure. See you later.” She started off sending him a little wave before she went to her next class.
She walked into the gym and then the girl's locker rooms. There were already maybe five girls inside changing for P.E. Em walked to her small locker grabbing her clothes out changing into them. It was a pair of red spandex and a white t-shirt. Once she had finished changing she headed into the gym sitting on the bleachers with the rest of the students waiting for the teacher.
The teacher came in splitting up the students into four teams. He sent two of the groups together to one part of the gym and the others to the opposite side. The said they were playing dodge ball to begin. He had two students help him bring out the balls and lay them on the ground in between the two groups before blowing his whistle starting the game.
The final bell rang as everyone left school to their homes or to their practices. Em simply grabbed her backpack and headed out of school with everyone else. She walked along the sidewalk and past the road.
It was a pretty long walk but Em had walked it so many times that it really didn’t bother her.
When she arrived home it was empty as usual. Her father wasn’t home and nothing had changed since this morning, her dishes still on the drying rack and none of the lights were on. She didn’t expect him to be home but she still thought that maybe for once he might be home and she would get to talk with him and feel like she had a father.
She let out a sigh locking the front door and heading to her room. She dropped her bag on the ground and grabbed some fresh clothes. She threw the uniform in the dirty clothes and changed into a pair of jean shorts and a light blue t-shirt.
She sat down on her bed for a minute looking around her room thinking. She didn’t want to do her homework and felt tired. She stood climbing off her bed and walked outside into her backyard. She walked past the fence, there was a forest. She walked out leaving her house behind as she entered the woods. She walked for several minutes before the sound of running water filled the air. After just a few more minutes she could make out a shining pool of water.
She had found the pond two years ago running through the woods. It became her spot, where she came when she wanted to be alone or needed to relax. Sitting down on the edge of the pond she dipped her legs into the water. She let herself fall back on the ground, staring up into the sky.
She let her eyes closed as she listened to the running water the wind in the trees. It just calmed her listening to the relaxing sound of nature. She could hear the branches blowing in the wind and the rippling of the water.
She heard a thump and then crying out of an animal. She quickly sat up looking around for the source of the sound. When she couldn’t see anything she started off in the direction the sound was coming from.
After just a minute of following the cried she found it. There was a young fox caught in a bear trap. She didn’t know why there was one in these woods but she felt angry. She slowly walked over to the fox telling the poor thing that it would be okay. She reached out to the trap pulling on it and pushing on it to see if there was anything she could do. She found that pushing on the sides seemed to loosen it. She sat up on her knees and pushed down as hard as she could. The trap seemed to loosen a little fox was able to pull its legs out.
When it was out, it tried to run off but ended up falling onto the ground a step away. Em could tell that it really hurt, and scared. She slowly moved over closer to it and held out her hand. The fox seemed to become more panicked but when it realized she wasn’t going to hurt it the fox calmed down.
She was able to rest her hand on its leg and feel it healing. When she moved her hand the fox was on its leg again. It took a few steps to make sure it was healed and then licked Ems hand before running off into the woods.
“So, healing?” A voice said from behind her.
Em quickly turned her heart pounding in her chest. Standing behind her was a young man, maybe a year or two older than her. He had brown hair that was tied up in a bun, and hazel eyes just like Daxton’s.
“Who are you?” She asked but he didn’t say anything instead he took off into the woods. Em followed behind after him. She wanted to know who he was and why he didn’t seem surprised that she had powers.
After what seemed like forever he ran behind a large tree, but when she got there he was gone. She spent a few minutes searching for the man but after several minutes she came up with nothing. It was like he had disappeared into nothing and she didn’t know what to do about it.
“Hello, you looking for someone?” A new voice said from behind her.
She spun around seeing a man with short blonde hair, one side of it shaved off leaving a thin layer of hair. His eyes were green like the tops of the trees when the sun hit them.
“Who are you? Where did the other guy go?”
“He had to leave,” the guy said as he lifted his hand. At first, Em didn’t know why he was doing that but then she was blown off her feet by wind. She flew back hitting a tree and galling to the ground.
Everything went black leaving her in nothing but darkness.
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