you and i • jack avery

Chapter 17

Emilia's POV

Long strips of salty tears are left on my face. My head is resting on Jack's chest. I can feel all the boy's eyes on me. Corbyn has joined everyone in my room. Jack is stroking my hair "You do deserve us, you deserve all of us; especially me" He says to me. I can see tears threatening to cascade down his beautiful face. I look him in the eyes "Why did you bother to stop me?" I ask him and Dani "I'd be with papa if you'd have let me go" Shit. I didn't mean to say that to them. Jack's frowning at the floor "What?" Dani asks me, confused like everyone else. "No, it's nothing" I say, but more tears are dripping down the side of my face.

Dani sits down next to me and Jack, then the others leave, knowing that I just want Jack and Dani there. "When I was 10, my -our- dad killed himself" I tell them "I found him dead on the kitchen floor when I got in from school. I called 911 straight away and made my little sister go upstairs. Mom wasn't in, so I had to deal with everything on my own" I start sobbing into Jack's chest. Dani rubs my back, whilst Jack attempts to calm me down. I feel better now that I've told someone. I've kept my feelings bottled up for years now, as I've felt that no one will ever understand. I look into Dani's eyes to see small tears forming. Jack folds both me and Dani into a hug, which we hold for ages. "I'm sorry" Jack says to me and Dani. We nod at him. I don't want people's sympathy.

After a while, we decide it would be a good idea to go see the boys downstairs. Before we leave, I take all my makeup off with a wipe. Jack and Dani hold onto my hands as we walk down the steps. When we arrive in the living room, the others turn and face us. Corbyn gets up and envelopes me in a hug "I'm glad you're here" He mumbles in my ear. I smile, then go and sit down on the couch in between to Zach and Jonah. Jonah puts my hand in his, whilst I lay my head on Zach's chest. Jack and Dani walk out into the back yard to talk, whilst Corbyn finds a movie to watch on Netflix. We end up watching IT, but this time I'm unphased by everything happening on the screen. I'm not feeling anything. My heart is aching, and tears are once again threatening to fall. I snuggle my head further into Zach's chest. He strokes my hair as he watches the movie. I fall asleep with my head still resting on him.

Jack's POV

Me and Daniel go outside to talk about what just happened. "Why do you think she didn't tell us?" He says to me. My brow furrows "I don't know, but I think she needed to tell someone" I reply. Daniel nods, then it looks like he's going to cry. I wrap my arms around him "You'll get through this" I say in his ear. He lets a small smile creep onto his face, then we decide to go inside. Em is asleep with her hand in Jonah's and her head on Zach. I smile when I see her laying there. She looks peaceful, but I know what's going on inside of her head isn't. When he notices me, Zach gestures for me to move Em off him. I smile and pick her up, and move her onto the other couch, with her head laying on me. "Christina's arriving at 11am tomorrow, so I need to leave at 10.30 to pick her up" Corbyn says after a while. All the boys, including me, nod their heads. "I'm not sure I can do this" Dani says to us. We don't notice Emilia's eyes opening. She gets up and walks out of the room "Em, come back" I yell, then run up the stairs after her. I enter our room to find Em crying into a pillow. I sit down next to her and rub her back "It's okay, he didn't mean it Em" I say to her, attempting to calm her down. "If he didn't mean it, why did he say it?" She questions me, her head still stuck in the pillow. "He's scared Em. He only just found out that his dad was dead" I explain to her. She looks at me with her bloodshot eyes. "I don't want to be here anymore" She says, then buries her head back in the pillow. I change into some sweatpants, then get one of my t shirts for Em to sleep in. I give it to her and she goes and gets changed. We climb into bed and sleep. I wrap my arms around her waist, then fall asleep.

*Next day*

My alarm goes off at 8am. I look around for Em, as she isn't in my arms. Where the fuck is she? I look in the kitchen to find a note on the counter.

I'm gone. Don't try to find me. I'm making your lives easier by leaving. I love you guys, especially you Jack. Just know I'll be looking down upon you and looking out for you. I'm going to go to my papa in a better place. Don't miss me; I was a burden for you guys to carry.

-Emilia x

I break down into a mess. I'm screaming her name. The boys rush into the room. The scene in front of me flashes by. I watch as the boys read the note. Tears are streaming down mine and Dani's faces. "Get in the car" Dani says. No one does anything, so he shouts it out louder. He puts the directions to somewhere into his phone, then hands it to Jonah. We drive to a small park with a bridge next to it, then jump out of the car. I notice someone standing on the bridge "Em? EM!" I yell. The girl looks up at us. I run over to the bridge "What are you doing?" She asks us when we arrive by her. "Stopping you from doing something stupid" Dani tells her. We look at her. "I told you not to come find me" She says with anger in her eyes. She moves a step closer to the edge "Don't do it Em, please" I say, hoping she'll stop. I walk forward and take her hand "I'll help you get through this" I tell her. She nods her head, then steps towards me. Tears are streaming down her face. "I'm sorry" She says, kissing my forehead...

To be continued...

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