Unspoken Desires

eight.

Emerson Jenkins
Age 14

I brushed Storm for the thousandth time, making sure she looked pretty and perfect. Brushing her calmed me for some reason. I think she liked it too. The sun would go down in a couple of hours so that meant I wouldn't see her until dawn. It made me sad. Storm was my only friend these days. The only girl I could talk to. She never replied besides occasional huffs but horse language wasn't something I was fluent in.

"Emerson." Her strict voice made me flinch, dropping the brush onto the ground. It was my mom. She normally didn't come out to the stables so her presence caught me off guard. Mom was dressed in a classy, black dress that cut off a couple of inches after her knees and some tall, matching heels. Her hair was perfectly styled in waves and she had her everyday makeup on. Beautiful. Just like I wanted to be when I got older.

It just sucks that her attitude was shit.
I didn't want that part of her.

Picking up the brush before Storm could mistake it for food, Mom stopped before reaching the inside of the stables. She gave my horse a disgusted look before looking back at me. Dad had gotten me Storm for my tenth birthday. My parents had limited my TV growing up so my sister Leighton and I only had about five channels total. One of those channels was a horse channel. All the programs shown were about horses.

It's how I got into horseback riding. Dad was adamant about my newfound obsession but his annoyance from my whining for a horse grew deep enough that he caved and bought me Storm. She was smaller back then but she's grown to be a big girl.

"Yes?" I questioned, holding onto Storm for stability. Both mentally and physically. Storm snorted at my mother and it made me secretly smile. Even she knew mom wasn't good company.

Mom gave my horse another disgusted look, raising her chin before she spoke. "Go inside and shower. I left a dress on your bed. We're going to one of your father's charity events tonight and I need you to be on your best behavior." She glared at me. "Or else."

My eyes widened at her words but she didn't notice because she was already walking back to our house, trying not to trip on the clumpy dirt. It had been years since mom and dad invited me to one of their fancy events. They hadn't liked my change of behavior the last couple of years. If only they knew they were the reason behind my mischievous ways. Mom and dad have never given me a dot of attention.

But I wasn't the only one who was treated this way by them. My older sister Leighton was dealt with the same cards. It had been five years since she left New York for college. Last year, we attended her graduation in Boston. She graduated from Harvard with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science. You would think after all her success my parents would want to divulge in her life just a little.

No. Not at all.

They were too focused on their own successes to worry about anyone else's. Which is exactly why I have ended up the way I have. I could win the Nobel Peace Prize and these people wouldn't give a shit. There's no reason to be someone anymore. Honestly, I'm just acting out for the sole purpose of getting their attention. Until they finally reach their last straw and send me away. Or kill me. Not that they would. That would ruin what they've built thus far and that's the last thing they want.

'I need you to be on your best behavior. Or else.'

Mom's words sit in my head on reply. I've asked for plenty of things since birth and have rarely received them from her. She's about to get the same treatment from me.

***

The dress mom left me on my bed was long and classy. There was no hint of cleavage or leg skin. The straps were thick and it was a sort of blue that made my eyes pop. I didn't like it though. If it were up to me the dress would have been black. Deciding to keep a touch of myself, I did my usual dark makeup. Winged eyeliner, dark red lipstick, and a black waterline. Mom didn't like it when I wore so much makeup.