Life's Too Short To Even Care At All

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

                Sebastian and Emily arrived at Dalton a while later. Sebastian had questioned Emily about her haste to leave the house, but she simply brushed it off and made up an excuse, so it was forgot about for the rest of the journey. Sebastian didn’t even question her as they returned to his room, mostly because the pairs lips were locked in a passionate embrace as they lay on the bed. They kissed for a few minutes, before Emily felt the sudden need to stop. The pair parted, and Emily sat back, almost like clockwork. She didn’t want to go any further in fear of pressured by Sebastian. The day had been perfect so far, almost too perfect.

                Sebastian looked at Emily quizzically as she sat delicately on his lap. Emily returned the look, but with a slight hint of fear in her eyes. Sebastian must have noticed this, as instead of pulling her back forcefully and lustfully, he simply laid her gently against his chest. It was unlike him to be so calm. He stroked Emily’s hair gently as her eyes closed, and soon they fell asleep.

*******

                “Come on Seb, you know this,” Emily spoke. The pair were currently sat in a private corner of the school library, opposite each other around a small table. Emily was quizzing Sebastian on the English Civil War, but he was much more interested in playing footsie under the table.

“The battle of… Waterloo?” Sebastian questioned, clearly knowing the answer he had offered was wrong.

“No, that was Napoleon Bonaparte,” Emily answered, flipping the pages of the giant textbook she was currently reading impatiently. “The battle of Edgehill was the correct answer.” Sebastian kept quiet for a while, before leaning far back in his chair.

“I’m bored,” he whined like a small child. “We’ve been here since 10.”

“I don’t care, you need to pass this history exam, and I’m helping you whether you like it or not.”

“Fine, next question.” Emily continued quizzing Sebastian until she suddenly felt a presence watching her. Slyly, she looked up slowly from her book, as Sebastian luckily closed his eyes in concentration. Good job as well, because Jeff was stood across the room, book in hand, and his eyes boring into Emily’s like daggers, filled with hurt, yet anger. To Emily, it looked as if he was about to walk over , and she was right; Jeff was poised to step forward, but as Emily shook her head pleadingly, he smiled falsely and walked straight out of the library. He thought they were finally over; they hadn’t seen each other in over a week. But there they sat, closer than ever. And it hurt.

*************

Emily did not see Jeff again until Tuesday evening. She had rushed over to his dorm shortly after Sebastian had finished in the library, telling him that she was going to get something out of her car to avoid detection. But when the door of dorm 153 opened, Emily was met by Nick, and not Jeff.

                On Tuesday night, Emily was attempting to find a way of entertaining herself. Sebastian was staying at school, first with warbler practice, and then with studying. Emily’s mother had gone out drinking with her friends, like she did every night, and Jess was staying at a friend’s house for the night. Max, of course, was absent, and Emily had not seen him for about a week.

Emily’s room was lit darkly with her bedside and desk lamps, and the moonlight outside did little to illuminate the room. Her computer was quietly playing a collection of her songs, creating an atmosphere that Emily greatly enjoyed. A collection of her books were laid out on her carpeted bedroom floor, as she attempted to choose one to read. She finally picked up a copy of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, one of her favourite books. Sure, it was old fashioned, and not her usual style of reading, but she loved it nonetheless. She rolled over on to her back, and opened the book, skipping the foreword and contents page. She had just read the first sentence, when behind her she heard the sound of footsteps on tiles, before a loud thud, as the intruder entered her room. She sighed loudly.

“It would be polite to knock,” she sighed, putting the book on her chest and looking up above her at her tall, blond friend. He wore his Dalton uniform, minus the tie and blazer, and on his wrist, Emily smiled as she noticed the friendship bracelet she had made him. She stood up to face him.

“What happened?” Jeff sighed. “Why did you get back with him? You were finally free!” He gazed at her sadly, desperate for her to realise what she had done wrong. Emily sat on her bed reproachfully.

“He regrets what he did Jeff.”

“And he told you this?” Jeff yelled, getting angrier with every second. He remained stood in front of Emily.

“Yes, he did. He apologised for what he did to me and Blaine.”

“Blaine has to have surgery Em! Surgery! Because of him. You can’t stay with him, it’s too dangerous. One day, he’ll get out of control, and he’ll hurt you. Badly. And I can’t do anything about it.” Jeff waved his arms about madly.

“Well it’s not down to you, is it Jeff? I’m not a child. He’s not going to hurt me anymore.”

“And I suppose he told you this too, did he? Got down on his knee, begged you to take him back, offered to take you out for the day?” Emily shook her head at the accuracy of Jeff’s suggestion, but she still refused to believe him.

“He saw what he did to me. He saw…” Emily trailed off thinking about the bruises and scars that constantly reminded her of him.

“And then he kissed you all better, telling you he would never hurt you again? Well you just wait Em, tomorrow, you’ll come crying to me, because he’s hurt you yet again, and I won’t do anything about it.” Emily watched Jeff with sadness. He was making things difficult for her. Neither Jeff nor Sebastian wanted her to see the other, and she didn’t know what to do.

“Get out,” Emily said quietly, shaking her head and wiping the tears from her face. She looked down at the carpet as Jeff scoffed, and when she looked up again, he was gone.