Window

7.

A warm light filled her room, streaming in through the two windows on her side wall, and the one that lay across from her bed. The bright light gleamed on her glass desk, the one covered with physics papers and eraser marks. Bright and early Sunday morning, Emma was awake, doing what she should've been doing Saturday night; catching up on the work she had missed. 

There was a slight fog in her mind, accompanied by a burning exhaustion in her eyes. A loose blue teeshirt hung on her shoulders, baggy, grey pants along with it.  After she had gotten home from the party, Charlotte and her brothers had been waiting for her. And when they saw her tear stained face and soaked clothes, she'd had a lot of explaining to do. 

~

The three's eyes grew wide as they stared at her, listening to the soft dripping sound that came from the droplets dripping from her hair and onto the floor. Emma's teary eyes moved from Charlotte to her brothers, a sniffle escaping her. 

Lanny immediately stepped forward, wrapping his sister in his arms. Resting his head on top of hers, Lanny hugged her tight, wishing that he could've shielded her from whatever it was that had happened. 

"Who did it?" Zack snarled, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. Charlotte jumped, startled by the sheer rage that radiated from the guy standing next to her. "Emma, who did this? I swear to God, I'm going to kill them." he raged, beginning to pace through the kitchen. 

Shooting his brother a tired look, Lanny pulled back as he rested his hands on Emma's shoulders. "What happened, Em? Tell us what happened" Lanny soothed, offering her a comforting smile. 

Letting out a deep breath, Emma shook out her shaky hands. "Nick-"

"I knew it!" Zack bellowed, slamming his fists down on the counter before moving towards the door. 

"Stop it Zack!" Emma scolded, pulling away from Lanny before sliding in front of the door. Placing her hands on Zack's chest, Emma set him with a stern stare. "Let me finish, okay?" she asked, watching his clenched jaw shift side to side. 

But after an encouraging nod from Lanny, Zack released a heavy breath and took a step back. "Nick threw his drink in my face, because apparently the DMV took his license away." Emma continued, watching Charlotte's eyes grow wide. 

"Yeah, but that's not your fault! Ugh, he's such a-" Charlotte seethed, her eyes darting back and forth as she searched for a word crude enough to describe him. 

"I know" Emma interrupted, offering her the smallest hints of a smile. "So, I took a deep breath and I laid into him. Because I had gotten the drink splashed in my face, I already had the attention of the whole party. So, in front of everyone, I called him out for having a crazy mother and father, called him out for being a pathetic pussy and called him out for having no real friends. He was so mortified that he didn't even have a response" she admitted with a look of pride, watching a grin pull at Zack's lips. 

He reached out, ruffling Emma's hair as his smile turned into a laugh. "That's my girl. Hit him where it really hurts" Zack smiled evily, extending his fist where Emma connected hers. 

Lanny rolled his eyes, shaking his head softly while attempting to suppress the large grin that rose. Charlotte immediately pulled out her phone, opening each and every one of her social media apps. "What are you doing?' Emma wondered, studying her friend's vigorous motions. 

"Checking social media. Something that big is going to be talked about." Charlotte explained without looking up from her screen, a confused glance being exchanged between the three siblings who would never understand the inner workings of the gossip web. "Oh. My. God." she breathed, her eyes growing wide.