Masked Emily

Chapter Five

The next day, as I open my locker door, a note fell to the ground and looking around, the hall is empty. Since class wasn't going to start for another ten minutes, I found this suspicious. Bending down to grab the note before anybody could come, I open it up. I dreaded these words since I started to sing, and now, they're in my hands.

'I know who you are, and you better stop or else I will tell everyone, Emily.'

Once I saw that, I knew the end was near. Someone, someone in this town, in the world, knows who I am, and I don't know who they are. I wonder if this is the way everyone else feel... No, it can't be. They can't have the gnawing feeling that someone would expose who they are, on the inside, within this note, was the little secret I have been maintaining.
Looking back toward to make sure nobody is watching, I throw the note away. It's probably a fake. Let them try to expose me, I dare them, they couldn't because I covered my tracks way to easily. You hear that bad guy,I don't know who you are, but I will.
The next few days are a blur, and everyday I keep getting notes in my locker, each one almost identical to the last and in the same handwriting. Now that I think about it, I think I have seen that handwriting-
"What do you have there?" I hear someone ask I finished reading the last word on the note of this one. Knowing who it was, I crumbled the note up in my hand and I put it in my back pocket, turning around to see Mar behind me. We get to school together, but she likes to spend time with her other friends and we go our separate ways.
"Nothing, just a piece of paper I found on the ground," I say to her and smile, not knowing how to tell her how I've been getting these notes without telling her was is going on, nor that I don't trust her enough not to go on a rampage and try to find out who it is. I don't need more drama.
"Are you sure it's nothing, because it looks like it has you worried?" Mar asks me, and this last note has. It was telling me I have two days to shut down my youtube, instagram and facebook or else I will be exposed. Why two days, I have no clue, but it isn't right. It's too close to the ball and I can't afford that kind of exposure, so I decide I will go along with the note.
"Oh, Mar, I've been thinking and I think I need to go on a hiatus," I say to her mouth drops open, in surprise and suspicion.
"Is this about that note?" Mar asks me, and without knowing, I shake my head. I just lied to my best friend. For the very first time, ever. "Well, I don't know if that is such a good idea..."
"People are getting to close to the answer. They know I live in this town for crying out loud! How could they know?" I ask, more to myself. Ever since the press released where I lived, I had to go out dressed more like Emily in other towns to try to throw them off my track. Let me tell you, it's hard to run away from the paparazzi and change without them catching onto you changing.
"I know, but I still don't think it's the best idea," She says to me, again. It doesn't matter if she thinks it's a good idea or not, because I have to do it to get some normalcy in my life.
"I have to do it, I hope you understand," I say to her, walking away. Taking to twitter, I post something and within moments everyone's phone around me pings and I hear groans and moans.
All throughout the day, everyone is groaning that Emily is deactivating her account within the day, and that some people think it's fake and she'll do it, but for a day, that it's just a publicity stunt. By lunch, everyone isn't happy and some people aren't even eating.
By the end of the day, I haven't spoken with Mar all day and I think this might have hurt us. For whatever reason, it feels like she was more into then I am. But, that's might be because she has been helping me create my image and here I go, wrecking it.
Going through the end of the day regular routine, I walk out of the school before anybody else, and before anybody else could ask to take me home again today. He's been doing it for the past couple of days to try to suck up to me, but I haven't fallen for it. If anything, it has made me hate him even more. He doesn't have to worry about anything, what people would think of you if you came out. I knew it was a bad idea in general, and I should never had posted the video to the internet. I should have just taken what my grandmother always said to me and leave it at that. Leave it to the wind and let nobody know I could sing, nobody would have to go through what is going on right now and we wouldn't be swamped with paparazzi.
Leaving school, I head home. Taking the longer route to take my mind off of everything, and everyone, especially Emily, I pass a park. Park are my favorite place to write, other than my room and the music room. With school for elementary students not let out, the park is baren.
Going to sit on the swings, I let my mind wander and I begin to write a song out in the form of the frustration I have been holding in. For my friends, to my fans, to my haters. Everyone that would betray me, everyone that could. Just letting my frustration out, I get three outline's to songs down and a short story for behind one.
Looking around me, it looks like it's about to start raining. Putting my notebook back into my bag, I start to head toward home. That is, until I get lost. Back tracking to school, it looks like the sky is just about to open up on me, so I head inside of the school and go toward my music room.
Spending time in the music room, I try out some lyrics on the piano. Being careful and not actually singing the lyrics, I get this far,
"Taking the hate away, to another day, I just hope to say, that this isn't working!" I scream at the end and bang my hands on the instrument in front of me.
"What's not working?" I hear a voice behind me say and I nearly have a heart attack, and turn around in a rush to see who's behind me. I glare at Caden, thinking I had outsmarted him today and avoided him.
"Nothing," I say to him, turning back around and crossing my arms over my chest. Mad that this has happened and that nothing is going right, right now. Thinking in my head, I notice from the sound that it's still raining outside.
Grabbing my stuff, I head toward the exit, leaving Caden behind me, or so I hope.
"Want a ride home?" I hear a voice behind me ask, not having to turn around to know that it's Caden, again, that has asked the question. I guess I didn't hope hard enough.
"No, I'm still okay, thank you though," I say to him, hoping the rain is going to let up and cursing my luck. I would still have to see him today. Even after leaving on time, I have to deal with him pestering me with asking if he could take me home, like if he could take me out on a date. Ever since I made the remark someone else would probably kill for it, he offers rides home to girls who stay back far too long. I guess I'm that girl.
Since I want away from the conversation, I walk right out into the downpour. Shivering from the cold cutting right through my shirt and skin, down to bone.
"Thank you for taking me home," I say to him, still soaked like a cat that was caught out in the, since I was caught out there, in the rain. Looking at the dashboard, my mother is having a bad time wondering where I am since I come home right after school and it's almost time for lunch.
It's not like me to not text her, or call to tell her I will be late. Maybe it's from the whole drama thing going down in school, or maybe it's just a teenage thing like most things are with my father. If I want to color my hair, it's a no from my mother and a 'it's just a teenage thing, you don't want to ruin your hair.'
"What's this about hair?" Caden asks me, not sure what I meant. I guess I said it outloud.
Cheeks flaming, I muttered, "Nothing," and start to get out and he stops me by putting a hand on my shoulder. Turning back to look at him, I notice he is close, dangerously close. Before he could move anymore, I bolt from the car and into my house, nearly smacking into my mother as she's passing back and forth. Not noticing the tears streaming down my face since it's all a big mess from the rain. That was bad timing.
Like the bad timing, I had a bad memory, something I would rather repress than have happen to me. Something that wouldn't have happened if I was stronger, or I could take better care of her. This is all my fault.

"Lil, can you sing for me?" My grandma asks me, after the nurse walked out of her room. She has a stay at home nurse, since she's too weak to be transferred to the hospital. I was eight at the time, and would do anything for her.

"Okay grandma, what would you like for me to sing?" I ask her, with a small smile on my face. She's the only one to know about my talent, and I would risk anybody else finding out for her.

"You know which song I want to hear," She says and smiles. I slow down on the last note as she begins to close her eyes. She looks at me one last time, then with her last breath, says, "I love you my Lily Pad. You have a beautiful voice, do not forget that."
As she closes her eyes, I smile a little bit. That's until I found out she has stopped breathing. I look at her with panicked eyes. No. No!
Letting out a piercing scream, I jump from my seat next to her, leaning over her blanket, and put my hands on her chest. I start to pound on her chest with my palms, trying to get air back into her lungs. After a few seconds, I felt arms go around me, pulling me away from her. No! No no no no no no.
Clinging to her lifeless body, I let out another piercing scream when I don't feel her heart beat underneath her. That's when I started to sob. My body racking with tears as I felt my hair being petted. I look up and saw my mom. The tears in her eyes told me that she was really gone. No, this is just a dream. She wasn't ready to go. I didn't even say goodbye.
"No, no, nonononononono." I just keep saying on and on. I shake my head, it still being on my grandma's stomach. Hugging my arms around her, I don't want to let her go.
"Lilly, you need to let her go." My mom says, or it sounds like her. I can't feel anything, not even the fabric of her clothing under my cheek. Looking toward the source of the voice, I can see my mom with silent tears going down her face. "It's going to be alright." She says to me, with a small smile. I shake my head a fraction. Lifting my body from hers, I make a silent promise. I will never sing her song again, not until I'm ready. Knowing in the moment, I would never be ready.
The next few days pass by in a blur and it's like I'm on autopilot. At the funeral party, if you call it a party, I smile and nod my head. I say 'Thank you for coming' even though I don't mean it. Everything is a lie. That I'm happy to be here, when I rather be up in my room still.

Everything is a lie and everybody is here out of sympathy, and not even for my gramma. For living this long just to die in her bed and not somewhere where she wanted to go. Not for not knowing that. Not even for knowing her at all. But, for the living. Ironic isn't it? A funeral party for the living, when it should be the other way around. A funeral party for the dead.

When I am finally able to go to my room, I head to my notebook I have had forever. It's worn and torn from

Snapping back to reality was a blessing. I couldn't remember anything else without having tear stained cheeks and a broken heart all over again. Nothing will let me rest until I fulfilled her promise, and that is what I am going to do. Nothing can stop me, not even someone who want's to hide behind little note in my locker. Someone cowardly enough to not show their face to let me know they don't support me and my decisions.

Well, that stops now.