The Four Rings || An Eddie Munson Fanfiction

Chapter Three - Awakening

Trying to stay awake through the last few periods was both mentally and physically exhausting. Emelia stayed up all night researching murder cases – unsolved and solved – that didn't have all their ends tied up, including the mysteriously hidden murder of Ms. Keating. Hawkins did a very good job at keeping her story concealed. Emelia couldn't find so much as an obituary and that fact alone confirmed there was something fishy about the case. By the time she laid her head down, her alarm went off. She walked into school looking like a complete zombie, but she didn't care. She had seen people show up high out of their mind. Surely, she would be able to make it through without a little bit of sleep.

Emelia had scheduled sessions with Ms. Kelley on Thursdays, and she knew for a fact that she would be in there longer than usual today. The moment she would walk into her office, she would be bombarded with questions; she could only imagine what kind of breakthroughs she would try to accomplish. Ms. Kelley had only made a breakthrough with Emelia once when they had first started therapy. Emelia got the impression that Ms. Kelley really was her friend and spilled how she was actually feeling. She quickly faced the consequences of her actions and ever since then, she has just told her what she wanted to hear. She was getting better. She was getting enough sleep. She was happy. Today, she wouldn't be able to get away with that.

Standing in the bathroom, Emelia examined her reflection. Her posture was slumped, inevitably going to cause her significant back pain later, and the bags under her eyes were more evident than ever. The thought to bring makeup had never crossed her mind but even if she had, it wouldn't hide anything. Her eyes were bloodshot from the lack of sleep and her reaction time was delayed extremely. She had managed to catch a few minutes of sleep is Mrs. Click's class during silent reading – one of the pros to sitting in the back of the classroom. Mrs. Click was too busy talking to notice the young girl tossing z's in the corner.

Splashing some more cold water on her face, Emelia took a breath and started towards the office. The time was now 3:26, leaving her a little under four minutes to arrive in the destination. The consequences of tardiness weren't too harsh, but Emelia preferred to avoid the passive-aggressiveness of her counselor. The hallways were empty now, most of the students having gone home. The only people that she knew were here was the staff and the athletes.

Ms. Kelley was waiting in the hallway when Emelia arrived, trying to stifle her impatience. She wore the same wide grin that she always did, her shockingly white pearls practically blinding anyone who looked at them. Emelia knew better now.

"Emelia!" she greeted cheerfully, offering an air pat on the back. Emelia liked that she had learned to respect her boundaries. Although it wasn't detrimental, she didn't like being touched. It made her feel instantly uncomfortable and anxious. The only person she could stand to be intimate with was Lexi and even then, it took them almost two years of being friends for Emelia to accept a hug from her.

Ms. Kelley's eyes grazed over Emelia's body, examining the baggy hoodie she was wearing and dull glow she had about her. She stifled her grimace, her grin only wavering slightly, and gestured into her office. The room looked as it usually did. Ms. Kelley hadn't rearranged it since she first started, the trinquets sitting on the surfaces now decorated by a thin layer of dust. She sat down and placed her intertwined fingers on the desk, her smile still present.

"How was your day?" Ms. Kelley began, keeping her eyes on Emelia's. Although Ms. Kelley was very good at hiding her feelings, Emelia could tell she was just itching to ask about her exhaustion. "Have your nightmares started again?"

Emelia had made the mistake of telling her about her recurring dreams early in their honeymoon phase. The truth of the matter was that they never stopped. She only told her that to get her off her back. The topic seemed to be Ms. Kelley's favorite thing to talk about and after Emelia finally had her convinced they stopped happening, she only asked about them every so often when Emelia looked tired.