How Long Does High School Really Last

chapter six

Saturday morning I wake up to the smell of smoke in the house, "dad are you making pancakes again!!?" I yell.

"Yeah come down in 10 minutes for breakfast!" He replies from the kitchen. He always burns the pancakes and smoke fills up the entire house.

I roll over and turn off airplane mode on my phone and see that I have a text from Ethan: good morning Emma I hope you slept well, I hope I see you soon😉.

He sent that 5 minutes ago, oh no. I throw the blankets off of me and throw on a shirt and some shorts and half ass brush my hair down. I run down the stairs and see my dad talking to Ethan in the smoke filled kitchen with all the windows open.

"Hey Emma good morning" he said giving me a hug. "Uh hey Ethan I wasn't expecting to see you so early?" I said kinda confused, "oh yeah I came over and I asked your dad if I could surprise you and take you out today." He said.

"Oh how sweet of you" I said, not trying to show that I didn't want to go anywhere. Honestly I thought it was a little weird or creepy but i don't think it's a big deal.

We all eat the pancakes quietly and awkwardly. "How's work dad?" I ask to clear the silence. "It's the same as usual, people are being stupid and things aren't getting done sometimes but it's no big deal." He said calmly. "Oh" I said not knowing what else to say. We all get done eating and I get up and take the plates to the kitchen, I come back out and their talking about something, so I go up to my room to get ready fully this time.

I put on some jeans and a light sweater with a tank top and some converse. I brush my hair properly and brush my teeth. I go downstairs and ethans on his phone on the couch, I hear the water running in the kitchen and go in to tell my dad I'm going, he says "be safe" and I say "yeah I know" with a laugh. We walk to ethans car and I look up to Jonathan's window but look away immediately when I see him standing there looking at Ethan and me. Ethan doesn't seeWe get in ethans car and he drives. "So," I ask "where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere special" he says while winking. I punch him in the arm playfully "ow man" I laugh and ask again "no really tho where are we going" I say as I laugh. "The nature preserve" he said letting go a breath. "Oh I love that place" I said jumping in my seat. I pick up my phone and start playing a game.

***

"What's going on with you Emma, what was Jonathan talking about that one time when he said you did something to isaac?" Ethan said as were eating on a blanket in the middle of the nature preserve. "I can't talk about that, I've only told violet. I don't know if I'm ready to talk about it again, it brings back so many bad memories" I said thinking about what happened. "Emma" he said taking my hand, "you can tell me, I'll be here for you" he said while looking into my eyes.

"You can't tell anyone"
"I promise" he said.

"Okay. So, back when I dated Isaac, I was a low key party girl. Hell I was even a cheerleader for a short time like those girls in the movies. Isaac and Jonathan were actually nice, I was friends with Jonathan and the other three a little bit but I was mostly with Isaac a lot. One night there was a football game and we won, it was the biggest game of the season so isaac threw an after party at his house. It was fun but I couldn't spend much time with him because he was talking to other people because it was at his house. I was outside in his back yard drunk and by myself talking to violet on the phone about how the game went and when I hung up, this guy from the other school he came outside and was babbling something about how he was upset that his team lost, I thought it was weird so I went for the door but he stopped me. I tried to yell, to scream but the music was too loud." I wipe away my tears and I see ethans forming "after it happened I got my bearings but I was still in tears and went inside after he left and I looked for isaac, I found him talking to his friends and I pulled him up and into a secluded room and hysterically crying I told him what happened, that the guy took advantage of me, and he lost it, he wasn't mad at the guy, he was mad at me, he thought that I cheated on him and just felt bad about it so right then and there he kicked me out of the party, broke up with me, started rumors about me and him and all of his friends started beating me up after that. Kept threatening me to not tell, when they found out I told violet they started on her too."