‘Fuck him. Fuck that asshole.’

I had moved quickly to exit the Barretts' manor, determined to leave that place. I was already outside in the cool night, walking down the street-lit cobblestone path towards the gate and still feeling heated from the argument. 

By the way, what was the deal with that development? It had only been a few days since I started staying at Jaxon’s home. I had been so preoccupied with figuring out and remembering everything I could about the novel that I assumed I could put off making any actual plans for the future. 

But then that asshat went and practically demanded I go to Saint Lucas.

‘Ugh, that horrible bastard!’

There was no way in hell I was going to live under the same roof with someone like Kenneth. Of all the ignorant and stubborn people–

Some great parent he was.

“Emma!”

I momentarily thought I was hearing my own things.

“Emma, wait!” 

Jaxon was calling out to me from a distance. I could also hear him running. But I did not want to turn around.

“Stop. Please," he said, sounding louder because he had covered the distance between us so quickly. That caught me off guard for a second.

"How on earth did he catch up so fast?"

“Come back to the table,” he pleaded. 

I responded with a glare.

“Look. I know you’re angry–”

“Angry?” 

Jaxon noticed the look on my face.

“Okay, okay,” he backed off and stayed silent for a moment. I could tell he was struggling to find the right words to say.

“Fuck, what do I say to you?”

‘I don't know. But you better think of something quick.’

“Ah, whatever,” he gave up. “Emma, you're not thinking straight.”

“What did you just say?” 

“Look, I know how you feel. I saw how you left things with Dad… You need a breather.”

“Jaxon–”

“Please, just stay out here and get some air. It will help a lot. For now, I'll go talk to Dad. I’ll be back in a minute.”

He then turned and ran back to the manor. I stared at his retreating back for a moment, unsure if I was doing the right thing.

A sigh escaped my lips as I unconsciously agreed to Jaxon's proposal.

And, just as he had said, he returned about a minute later.

“Your dad’s gone, right?” I inquired, not wanting to be in the same room as him.

“Yeah. Let us go back in," he said as he began leading me back into the house.

Moments later, I walked into the dining room, relieved to see Kenneth had left the table. I went to occupy the seat where I had left my plate.

“I can ask for your food to be reheated if you want,” Jaxon said, raising his hand to signal a maid.

“Don’t bother,” I told him, having lost my appetite.

“Okay. So, I talked to my Dad,” Jaxon began.

I remained silent as I waited for him to say more.

“I told him that the two of you were not being yourselves.”

“Mhm… ?”

"He was upset, but I told him to consider what you went through and to excuse your behavior–"

“Jaxon.”

I did not like where he was going with this.

“-- because you are still on your meds, and that it might be your time of the month.”

There was a brief period of silence in the room.

“Excuse me?” the anger I thought had subsided resurfaced at that point.  “What utter bullshit did you tell–?”

“I had to do something,” he cut me off with a desperate look. “Work with me here. Were you seriously planning to leave and spend the night outside?”

“Yes,” I replied. Jaxon did not look amused.

"Out in this cold night, where you have no idea of what kind of danger you might face? Seriously, Emma?”

“It’s not that cold. It’s summer–”

“Emma,” Jaxon cut me off with a serious look.

I was about to say something else, but I held back as I considered his words. As much as I hated to admit it, Jaxon had a point. My anger had gotten the best of me. I could have found myself in new problems that I was not prepared to deal with.

“I see you understand. And I could honestly say the same back: what the hell was that, Emma? I thought you had amnesia.”

“Hmm? Oh, I remembered some things,” I lied. “Speaking of, if you knew about what happened to me at school, why didn’t you tell me when I asked? Were you waiting for me to remember by myself, or were you going to shut up until the end of summer?”

Jaxon seemed to be embarrassed by my words.

“... I don’t know,” he let out. “But I know I wasn’t going to just let you go back without telling you what to expect. Just so you know, I don’t know exactly what you go through there, but I have an idea.”

“Can you tell me more, now that we’re talking about this?” I asked.

Jaxon seemed to have a pensive look.

“I think most of the school is in on it.”

“... what?” I voiced out. “The whole school? How the hell is that even possible?”

“Well, kind of, but maybe not the entire school. I know some girls join in. Some boys, too, particularly Maddox and his friends…”

I slowly nodded. 

'So basically nothing new to what I already know.'

“Wait. You remember Maddox?”

“I remember him,” I shrugged. 

“Oh. And you're okay?”

That question had me furrow my eyebrows. Was Jaxon expecting a certain reaction from the mere mention of Maddox's name?

I hoped Emma's character was not the type to swoon over the male lead in public.

“Well, to be honest, I didn’t expect you to have this side,” Jaxon continued.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“The way you talked to my dad. I never expected you to have a quarreling match with him. At school, you’re usually timid. You don’t speak up a lot. You keep to yourself, you know?”

“... Oh,” I said.

‘I’m starting to think Jaxon’s thought about the whole school being in on Emma’s bullying may not be far off.’ 

“Is that a side effect of amnesia?” Jaxon then asked.

“Sure,” I just agreed.

It was a good thing Jaxon didn’t know Emma that well. If he did, he would have been able to tell that something was off about her. Or he could have unknowingly chalked it all up to Emma's amnesia, as I was sure he had done so now.

“It was nice. I kind of admired what you did. But don’t do it again. You might not win next time.”

I furrowed my eyebrows at that.

“What do you mean? How does what I talked about have anything to do with winning or losing?”

“You don't understand. Dad won’t let you leave Saint Lucas.”

“Then I’ll just yell at him again–”

“Emma, listen to me. He won’t let you leave Saint Lucas.”