Chosen

Preface

I know, I know. It's damn short. Sorry about that, but I didn't mean for it to be long. This is just kind of a glimpse of Emma and what she's dealing with. I'm Chapter One up right away, so I'm not just giving you two tiny things. Now it's two things and a full-blown chapter. Woo!

Drop me a line and don't forget to comment.

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Cold wind blew around me harshly and whipped the ends of my coat against my legs. My brown hair stung my face and I tucked the long strands behind my ears. Snow fell gently around me, turning everything but the water beneath me white. Clouds above roiled in different shades of grey, the white sky peeking through every now and then. Portland was really a sight in the winter.

I was standing on the Hawthorne bridge, staring down at the Willamette River. Afternoon traffic sped along the wet road behind me. The water mesmerized me, it's movements almost trance-like. I wondered morbidly what was below that dark surface, then decided that I really didn't want to know.

I didn't have long. Natasha would be home soon and wondering why I wasn't there. I had maybe fifteen minutes, if she didn't linger at her classes. No, not long at all. Not enough time, and yet way too much.

A car honk behind me knocked me out of whatever state I was in. I flinched in surprise, then let out a slow breath.

"Come on Emma," I murmured. "No time like the present."

I dug my hand into a pocket and took out the reason that I was standing out here in the cold. It was a small ring. Silver, with a slim band. Nothing special. Everything I felt was purely sentimental. And it was time to let go.

I stared at it for a bit longer. Logically, I knew it was just a ring. But I wasn't thinking logically right then, and all I could think about was him. A year ago, on this day, I was given this ring and the hope for an amazing future. Now . . . it was all gone. All I had left was this stupid little ring.

I could keep it . . . I shook that thought out of my head. I couldn't keep it. It was just a reminder, an ugly reminder of a future that I'd never have. A future that, really, I never had a chance of having.

Without debating it any further, I reached over and tossed the ring into the water. There. Done.

As I walked back home, I tried to ignore the heartache that throbbed in my chest and stung my eyes. It wasn't hard - I was getting better and better at it.