Chapter three
1162 Words
Emma groaned, her head pounding, her mouth dry. She shifted—and froze.
The sheets weren’t hers. The ceiling above her wasn’t the one she stared at since childhood. A strange cologne clung to her skin, mixing with the faint ache between her thighs, and the taste of last night still lingered on her lips.
Her heart stuttered.
She turned her head–only to find a man lying beside her. Bare chested. Asleep. Peaceful. A stranger.
“Oh God…” the whisper broke from her lips as she scrambled upright, dragging the sheets around her trembling body. Fragments memory of the night before crashed into her—his hands on her waist, his lips devouring hers, the way she whispered yes when she should have run.
Her stomach churned with shame and regret. What had she done?
Emma’s fingers shook as she snatched her dress from the floor, tugging it over her body with clumsy haste. She couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. Her heels clattered in her hands as she fled, not daring to look back at the man who she had given the one thing she never gave anyone else.
By the time she stumbled into the nearest cab, tears blurred her eyes.
“Where to?” The driver asked, irritation in his tone.
“Home.” She croaked, her face plastered to the window, his warm woody scent with a hint of spice clinging to her skin.
Emma slipped through the front door of their house. She prayed she could reach her room unseen. But the sharp voice of her sister cut through the silence of the house before she even set foot on the stairs.
“Well, well. Look who decided to crawl back.”
Lily lounged against the wall, arms folded, a smirk curving her perfect lips. “Where did you vanish all night, Emma? Don’t tell me you found someone desperate enough to take you.”
Emma froze, her throat burning. The words hit harder than a slap. Still dizzy from regret and shame, she didn’t answer.
“Oh, come on.” Lily pushed off the wall, circling her like a hawk. “You think you can sneak in unnoticed? What were you doing, Em? Throwing yourself at some poor fool?”
Emma’s fingers tightened around her bag strap, her chest heaving. She wanted to scream, to fight back, but the word wouldn’t come.
Then another voice cut in.
“Back off.”
Alexa strode into the hallway, her glare sharp enough to cut steel. “She doesn’t owe you any explanation.”
Lily scoffed. “Of course you’d defend her. Birds of a feather–”
“Save it.” Alexa rolled her eyes. “Find a new hobby. Because tormenting Emma is getting old.”
Before Emma could blink, Alexa grabbed her wrist and pulled her upstairs to her room.
Only when they were safe in her room did Alexa turn on her. Not with anger, but worry.
“Emma, where the hell were you last night?” Alexa’s voice cracked, her usual confidence fraying. “I called you a hundred times. I thought something had happened. You scared me.”
Emma’s lips trembled. She sank onto the bed, burying her face in her hands. “Something did happen.”
“Then talk to me.” Alexa knelt infront of her, lifting her chin. Her eyes–wide, unfiltered, sincere–searched Emma’s. “Don’t shut me out.”
Emma spillled everything, her voice raw and trembling. When she finished, silence filled the room.
Emma’s chest heaved, waiting for judgement. For disgust. For disappointment she was so used to.
But Alexa’s lips curved–slowly, almost mischievously. “Well….about damn time.”
Emma blinked, stunned. “What?”
Alexa laughed, a sound bright and reckless. She sat beside her, throwing an arm around her shoulders. “Em, you’ve been locked in this glass cage your whole life. You finally broke out. You finally lived. Do you know how proud I am of you?”
Tears spilled down Emma’s cheeks–not from shame this time, but from the strange, overwhelming relief of being loved exactly as she was.
Alexa grinned, squeezing Emma’s shoulders. “Besides, I can’t judge you. I’m way worse.”
Emma blinked at her through damp lashes. “You’re not worse. You’re just… different. A nice kind of different.”
Alexa chuckled. “No, trust me, I’m worse.” She flopped backward onto the bed, her hair spilling like a dark halo around her. “I’ve lost count of the nights I’ve woken up not knowing if the guy next to me even remembered my name. Hell, half the time I didn’t even remember theirs.”
“Alexa!” Emma gasped, torn between horror and reluctant laughter.
“What?” Alexa lifted her head with a smirk. “Atleast you gave your first to a guy who didn’t look like a troll. I’d call that a win.”
Emma groaned, hiding her face again. “This isn’t funny. I feel… i don’t know… ruined.” Her voice cracked on the last word. “What if I made a mistake? What if he thinks I’m pathetic? What if–”
“Stop.” Alexa sat up, her tone softening. She reached for Emma’s hand and held it tight. “You’re not ruined. You’re not pathetic. You’re human. You were drunk, you were hurting, and for once, you let yourself want something. That doesn’t make you weak, Em. It makes you real.”
Emma swallowed hard, her chest aching. “But what if it means I’m no better than them? Dad. Mom. Lily. They all say I’m reckless. That I’m shameful. That–”
“Hey.” Alexa tugged her closer until Emma’s head rested on her shoulder. Her voice was firm now, but gentle. “They don’t get to define you. Not them. Not anyone. You hear me? You’re not Lily, and you’re sure as hell not your mom or dad. You’re Emma. My dear cousin, Emma. And I’d choose you a thousand times over those vultures.”
Emma’s throat tightened. No one else in this house ever said things like that. No one ever reminded her she was worth it all.
“Thank you,” she whispered, the words breaking as they left her lips.
“Don’t thank me.” Alexa kissed the top of her head and leaned back with a grin. “Just promise me next time, you’ll atleast text me the guy’s name before you disappear. That way I know whose windows to smash if he breaks your heart.”
Despite herself, Emma laughed–a soft, shaky sound that loosened the tightness in her throat.
Emma walked out of Alexa’s room to head to her room, but the hallway wasn’t empty.
Lily stood there, arms crossed, lips curled in a poisonous smirk.
“So…” her voice dripped with amusement, “.. that’s where you’ve been hiding.”
- Writer
