Past the Horizon (Eddie Vedder)

Ch. 9 - Still Alive (Emmy)

Next chapter I will probably be switching this to mature (still contemplating 🤔) mainly due to a scene that I think might be triggering.

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Chapter song:
"I Don't Want To Know" - - Fleetwood Mac

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Tuesday, September 5th

The chill from just a couple of days ago had completely disappeared, and it was starting to feel more like early September should feel in Tennessee. She couldn't get a handle on the weather lately, feeling like the abnormally cold temperatures had to be some sort of omen hinting at a bleak future to match the persistently gray skies. That was a somewhat silly notion though; she knew that. The breaking of the dark clouds alone proved her wrong, the blue sky now peaking out from behind tufts of white as if to say hello. 

Hello, indeed. 

Emmy slipped her jacket off and shoved it in her bag as she hurried to her car; she no longer needed it, after all. She was in a rush though, still having to make the drive from the campus in Fairfield to her apartment in Stoneridge. And although the sun was now out and the coldness had dissipated, the wind had decided to stick around for an encore. Her hair was going to be a tangled disaster by the time she made it to her car. It had warmed up, sure, but the wind was sending it flying in every direction, and she almost regretted not pulling out her hat box before leaving that day or at least bringing a hair tie. The time was drawing nearer for her to unleash her sizable hat collection, courtesy of Lily, and soon enough she'd once again have to add that extra layer of clothes. Even though it was warming up outside, she could still smell the signs of fall in the air.

All of her hats and scarves that Lily had made were stored in a floral hat box underneath her bed. She had found the box at a local thrift door during her freshman year in college, needing a place to store the ever-growing hat collection. The hat box was very pink and very girly, but the vintage quality gave a sense that it had some sort of story to tell. She liked to envision all of the different life events and scenes that the box had witnessed first-hand throughout the years. One day, her own story would be added to the box's expanding library of tales to entertain the next owner with.

Her favorite hat was a rainbow knit slouch one that Lily had made last year. It lay neatly at the top of the box, easily accessible. She had a matching scarf to go with it, trimmed in a rainbow design with white clouds at the end instead of fringe. 

That wasn't what she'd be wearing tonight though, not for her dinner with Jacob. He'd told her they were going to a formal restaurant and that she would need to dress nice. Rainbow hats and scarves probably wouldn't qualify as formal wear. Such a pity. She did have the perfect hat for the occasion though, another one crafted with love from Lily. It was a light-gray beret, casual enough for day wear but classy enough for dinner at a fancy restaurant. Although, now she was wondering if it would even be necessary due to the increasing temperature.

Fuck it. She'd wear it anyways. She could always take it off if it was too warm.

She dropped her bag on her bed when she entered her room at her apartment, the medallion quilt her grandmother had made strewn across it, unmade and one corner dripping down to touch the floor. The full-length mirror on the inside of her door provided the confirmation that, yes, her hair was indeed a disaster. Normally, she wouldn't care so much, but today was an important day. She yanked it back in a ponytail, choosing to tackle that mess last. Makeup would come first, then clothes, then hair.