Healing Hearts

22 || text message

Emmalyn ⋆｡°✩

The rest of the day was quiet. After Mateo and i got home, i immediately hopped in the shower and turned on the warm water.

My head was a mess, and I hadn't fully processed what had happened. As i massaged shampoo into my hair, i tried to make sense of everything.

The warm water washed away the shampoo, and I stood there longer than usual, letting the water's heat send waves through my body.

What will happen now?

How do i move on from this?

I scrubbed my skin with a sponge, trying to wipe away my memories. How do I live normally after this? Do i just ignore it and move on?

I started applying conditioner to my hair, running my fingers through the soft strands while the water continued to flow.

Before getting in the shower, I had messaged Melina, asking if she and Elias could come over soon.

I needed to tell them the whole truth and get this off my chest.

Although Melina is my best friend, i had never told her about my father's abuse, both verbal and physical.

She could probably guess from seeing my bruises. It wasn't a matter of trust—I did trust her—but I wanted to handle it on my own, without anyone's pity. Her and her family had already helped a lot, often inviting me over when things got too hard at home.

Though i'm not as close to Elias as i am with Melina, we became closer over the past few months. He seemed trustworthy and honest, so I wasn't worried about him revealing my secret. It felt like the right time to tell them, since they would find out eventually anyway.

I stepped out of the shower, wrapped myself in a soft white towel, and got dressed in pink pajama shorts and one of Mateo's black hoodie, even though I had my own clothes there.

His scent made me smile and i put the hood up to hide my neck bruise. When I walked out, I found Melina and Elias sitting on the kitchen counter, chatting with Mateo.

I didn't expect them to arrive so quickly.

Melina's face lit up when she saw me, and she practically ran to hug me, squeezing me so tight I couldn't move or breathe.

The boys watched with shocked expressions before chuckling.

"Melina, I can't breathe," I repeated, but she just shrugged and held on tighter.

I finally pushed her away, smirking. "You little..." I pretended to get ready for a fight, but Mateo gently pulled me back, and I laughed.

"Jokes aside, what's wrong?" Melina asked, her face turning serious. Elias nodded in agreement.

"Sit," I instructed.

We all settled down in the living room. I took a deep breath, trying to gather the strength to say what I had been holding in for so long.

The room was silent, the atmosphere heavy with anticipation.

Melina, Elias, and Mateo all watched me closely, their concern evident. I could feel the weight of their eyes on me, and I knew it was time to finally let it all out.