Window

9.

"And that is why World War II is the worst war in history." Emma spoke out loud as her fingers flew over the keyboard, her finger hitting the period button with a final tap. Leaning back in her chair, Emma released a loud yawn while attempting to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

Picking up the small clock on her desk, the hands pointed to seven thirty am. It was both a blessing and a curse, to not be able to sleep past eight o'clock. On one hand, she always had extra time to get stuff done. But on the other side, she couldn't help but feel extra tired.

Hearing her door creak, Emma jumped as she spun around in her chair. In the doorway stood Buddy, her Bernese Mountain dog of seven years. A happy grin appeared on his face, his tongue hanging out as he panted loudly.

Emma released a soft chuckle, placing her hand over her racing heart. "Hey Buddy boy, what are you doing up?" she wondered while patting her leg, the older dog running into the room before rubbing up against Emma's legs. "Did Lanny let you out again?" she questioned, knowing what a bad habit her brother had of losing track of the dog. And if Buddy woke up Zack, well, no one would hear the end of it.

Buddy whined happily, his fluffy tail wagging back and forth as Emma took his head in her hands and planted a kiss on his nose. "You want to go to the park today?" Emma teased, Buddy's ears perking up as his head tilted to the side. "You wanna go to the park? And see your doggy friends?" she continued as another whine escaped the happy dog.

From the kitchen came the sound of food clattering against Buddy's metal food bowl. In an instant Buddy had disappeared from her room, the sound of his claws clattering against the hardwood floors echoing through the empty house.

"Well, at least Lanny remembered to feed you" Emma muttered as she shook her head softly, rubbing her eyes once more before turning back to her computer. Cracking her knuckles and adjusting her loose, grey pajama shirt, Emma began typing once again.

Multiple tabs were pulled open in her browser, grotesque war pictures filling some, lengthy historical recounts and stories on others. Her eyes danced back and forth as she switched pages, her fingers typing furiously into her document as she recorded the historical evidence to back up her claims.

It wasn't the normal way to spend a Saturday morning, but Emma had already had her morning cup of green tea and her gluten free toast, so she was ready to get to work. There was also that nagging feeling in the back of her mind that made her feel behind, like she had missed something in those classes that she had missed. So she just wanted to make sure she understood everything, even if it meant sacrificing her Saturday morning.

At the sound of another knock, Emma rolled her eyes as she turned towards the door. But her door remained shut, Buddy's smelly dog breath absent from her room. The knocking sound repeated as Emma's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Her eyes fluttered around the room for a moment before they landed on the window.

Dean stood outside, his back facing the window as he looked out over the street. Pressing her hands against the cool desk, Emma rose to her feet before taking slow steps towards the glass pane. Her eyebrows arched together in confusion as her mind tried to figure out a reason why he had come by her window yet again.

Her hands grabbed the glass before pushing it up, a rush of fresh morning air rolling into her room. "Hello" Emma greeted slowly, watching as Dean turned around to face her.

Emma's eyes grew wide before they narrowed on him, more specifically, what was different about him. His skin had lost its glow, leaving it pale with red splotches on his cheeks. Purple bags hung under his eyes, where his irises were so dark that they almost looked brown. But most noticeably, there was a fresh gash in his lower lip that only seemed to have just ceased bleeding.