Broken: Emily's Story

26

We slept until noon. I only had a few more hours until I had to go home. I was not looking forward to that. I wish I could just stay at Eric's forever. I didn't know how much longer I could live with my Dad.

We spent a couple hours watching videos of me and my sister. We did such random things. We played spy games, we played video games, we sang songs, we gave hair and make-up tips, we talked about absolutely nothing at all.

Once we got through all of the videos, Eric and I played the video game again. It was the first time since Ellie died that I'd been actually happy. When I was with Eric a year ago, I was almost happy. I guess Ellie's death had still been bothering me. Or maybe it was because I hardly ever came over.

After a while, I told Eric I had to leave. He nodded, helped me get ready to go. Before I left he said, Don't die on me, ok? I looked at him. You know I can't promise that, I say. He pulled me into a hug and kissed me. I turned away and went down the sidewalk.

I looked back at him. He was watching me with a sad look on his face. He waved and I waved back. He went back inside.

I walk home. I see my Dad's car in the driveway. I walk up to the door and breathe. I brace myself and open the door.

He's drunker than usual, which I thought wasn't possible. It's your fault, he says. His speech is slurred, so I almost don't catch what he says. Confused, I look at him with a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach.

It's your fault they're not here, his voice starts getting louder. If you'd watched them better, Ellie wouldn't be dead and your mother wouldn't be brain-dead. It's your fault, he yells. I cower by the door. The meaning of his words hadn't quite sunk in yet.

Get the fuck out of my house, he shouts. I run out of the door, not bothering to close it behind me. I run to the tree blindly, tears streaming down my face. I collapse under the tree, sobbing. I pull out my box and

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Eric puts down the book. He can't read anything else because it's covered in blood.

He'd found her under the tree two days ago. She'd called him, but she didn't say anything. He'd heard only wind and the noise of the library. He quickly put on his shoes and ran to the library. Something was off.

He almost went inside when he saw a form under the tree. He ran under the tree and nearly backtracked. He just stopped and stared at the scene in front of him. Just an hour ago she was fine, playing a video game with him.

Emily lay on the ground, her arms red and slick with fresh blood. The grass near her was soaked, darker than the rest of it. A small composition notebook lay on her lap, slowly absorbing her blood in one corner. A small box lay next to her, its contents spilling out and some of the objects gleaming in the sunset. Another gleaming object was loosely grasped in her left hand, a pencil in her right. The pencil had been yellow but was turning red in her grasp.

He remembered calling 911. The ambulance had come and gotten her. He got in with them. Her olive green eyes were vacantly staring at the roof of the ambulance, her black hair spread around her. She was barely breathing, almost not breathing at all. He grabbed her hand and silently wished her to be okay.

The ambulance ride was a blur. They took her into the ER. The doctors were in there for a half hour before someone came out. The doctor's blue eyes were sad, sympathetic.

"We tried. But she didn't make it. I'm sorry," she said. He nodded. He couldn't really hear what she said next.

When she took Eric to see Emily, he swore Emily could've been sleeping. They had closed her eyes.

"We tried to reach her father but there was no answer," the doctor said. "Don't expect him too," Eric said, not looking away from Emily. "He doesn't care about her."

The hospital called his family and they came and got him. The blue-eyed doctor told his parents what happened. They nodded, his mother's eyes rimmed with tears. They knew how much this must've been hurting, felt bad for Emily.

They were going to hold a tiny funeral today. Eric thought it would just be him and his family. But people had started calling his parents, asking if they could go. Eric was surprised that even Justin was going.

He'd spent the past couple of days reading her journal. The doctor had given it to him before they left. He got ready to say goodbye to Emily one more time, taking a long look at his computer screen.

He left his house and his parents started the car. He sighed and looked out of the window of the car.