Infinity

Chapter 15: Mason

I don't know why it was so hard to pull away from her house after dropping her off from school that day. There was no reason for it to be difficult. Maybe it was out of worry. I mean, I was worried enough that day, with Josh not being in school and the usual worry I felt after sending my sister to school every day. I mean, for Pete's sake, she hardly even made it into the school that morning without witnessing some boy shove her to the ground for accidentally brushing past him as she tried to make it into what had become her own personal hell. The only thing stopping me from taking her home that day was the fact that my mom technically had work that day and I guess I had a bit of hope that maybe she would show up that day. I couldn't stay home, I had several tests that day and I couldn't afford to miss them. The better my grades, the nicer the college I could get into, and the better the job I could get, which would help me get Emily out of that hellhole of a house. Of course, that didn't stop me from spending what should have been 1st and 2nd period in the school arguing with administration until I had to leave or face missing one of Mrs Robert's unit tests, which wouldn't be good for my grade or reputation with her. I guess that was somewhat lucky though, since I got to see Ella again that morning. Why she was just wandering around the streets, I had no clue, and though I was extremely curious I wasn't about to pressure her into explaining why. She was obviously a secretive person, and I didn't want to scare her off, or piss her off for that matter. I wanted to know her, really know her. Not in a stalkerish way, or to figure out to get to her, like Josh. I truly wanted to know who she was as a person. She was a mystery, a 29-digit code, a 15x15 rubix cube, and I desperately wanted to solve it. There was obviously something up with her, and I felt as if I needed to know what it was. It seemed extremely important, though I had no clue why. I was too concerned about other things to think about that though. Like, the fact that when I pulled up to Kearney Elementary School, there was no sign of Emily sitting on the steps where she always waits for me unless something happens. I quickly parked my truck, navigating through the swarm of uniform clad children, almost making it into the building before I somehow managed to hear a little shriek from around the corner of the school that was oddly familiar. Without hesitation I was running in that direction, just in time to catch a glimpse of the two boys running off to their respective cars before turning the corner to see Emily curled up in a ball in the dirt against the brick wall of the school with her backpack covering her head, trembling like a leaf. I quickly went over to her, kneeling beside her and gently tapping on her.

"Emily, they ran away.."

It killed me to see her flinch away so quickly when I tapped her, to get a small glimpse of what she had to go through and how terrified she must be to even come to school. She peeked out from under her backpack warily, her tears filled eyes seeming almost relieved as she saw me. Before I could say another word she had jumped up and was clinging to me tightly, sobbing.

"I-I wanna go h-h-home!" She wailed as I gently hugged her back, picking her up from the ground and dusting her off gently.

"Shh, it's okay Em, we'll go home right now okay? What did they do?" She sniffled shakily, not loosening her grip on me as I began walking to the car with her.

"T-They kicked me, a-and took my homework, a-and called me a b-bad word." She choked out, before crying a bit louder. I just started bouncing her slightly, getting to my truck and gently setting her down in the front seat before gently wiping her eyes.

"Hey, take a deep breath alright? I promise we'll work this out Em, but you gotta calm down okay? Where did they kick you?" She pointed to her side and stomach and her arm with a shaking hand, and after quickly looking over the indicated areas I could already see bruises starting to form. I just sighed tiredly, kissing her on the forehead and buckling her in. "How about McDonalds for dinner? You can get a kid's meal, and we'll even get ice cream!" This brought out a small smile from her, which I met immediately.