Emma (A Prequel/Short Story)

{One}

Luke

As I left him, I could have sworn I heard him repeat my name to hisself.

Would today be the only time I'd see him or perhaps I'd run into him again someday?

I opened my sketch book and moved my blonde hair from my face to view the drawing of the boy reading his book. I hadn't even asked why he was reading a book outside when it was this cold out.

I arrived home and hung my coat on the hook by the door. "Mum, I'm home!"

My dad peeked through the entrance of the kitchen. "There's my girl." he laughed and I ran to embrace him. "Been out sketching again?"

"Yes! Let me show you. It was the weirdest thing. I get to the park and there's this boy just sitting at one of the picnic tables, reading." I told him, sitting down at the kitchen table and taking off my boots.

"How is that strange? Seeing a boy reading?" he questioned, stirring his cup of tea and sitting across from me.

"No, but it was so windy and cold. Obviously I go out to sketch things that I see but he.. he seemed like he was avoiding being at home." my gaze rested on a drop of water trailing down the window.

"Ah well, lots of times kids have bad at home lives and the only way to escape it is just to leave. It could have been anything, maybe his parents fighting or his younger siblings were getting a bit too loud and rambunctious." he smirked, then sipped his tea.

I know that he was referring to me; the way that I'd leave to escape the madness. My father seemed to be the only person that understood me.

"Emileen Alexandra Carter, it's about time you got home. The boys are running around upstairs like elephants, Opal wants me to braid her hair and I've still got to put food on the table." my disheveled mother with her strawberry blonde hair falling out of her bun and a baby on her hip, came into the kitchen, flustered and cursing under her breath. In this house, I own nothing that doesn't belong to everyone in this family, including my time.

"But Dad was home. He could have helped you while I was gone." I told her, gesturing to my father.

"Your father is busy at the moment and he's been working to support this family all day. You, young lady, are out drawing. Do you think I have time to just leave and go stroll in the park?" she was angry. My mother wasn't a bad mother, nor was she angry all the time, but she had her off days more than she had good ones.

"Yes, ma'am. Im sorry." I apologized and went up the stairs quickly to find the twins, Jacob and Edison, chasing each other around their room.

"Dad gave me that car! You broke yours already!" Edison yelled at Jacob, clawing at his clothing and reaching for the red toy car in his hand.

"But you weren't even playing with it!" Jacob ripped away from Edison, bumping into me.

"Emma, tell Jacob to give me car!" Edison demanded.

"Where's your car, Jacob?" I asked, taking the car from his hand.

"Its on the table. I stepped on it and broke it."

I went over the table and picked up the two pieces of what was a toy car and took them downstairs to the garage. Glue would easily fix this problem.

After gluing the pieces together and bringing the toy back upstairs, the boys had stopped quarreling.

I don't see what was so hard that my dad couldn't have helped out. My father was a children's book writer and often seemed to be off in his own little world. He went to work at 7 every morning and came home at 7 every night and I never knew what he did in that office all day except write silly stories and put together puzzles and I never questioned it.

"Emma!"

I opened the door of my room, well.. our room, to see Opal sitting on my bed with an elastic and a ribbon.

"Mum said you'd braid my hair for me since she's busy." her big brown eyes looked like mine, but her hair was slightly darker. Opal was only six and seemed to stay out of trouble for the most part.

"Do you have a brush?" I sat down on the bed next to her and ran my fingers through her hair.

"Right there." she pointed to the nightstand and I picked up the wooden paddle brush. I brushed through the light golden brown strands and separated them into three pieces.

"Do you think daddy is a child?" she asked.

I laughed. "Of course not. He's a grownup, silly. What makes you think he's a child?"

"Mummy said he acted like a child all the time and never helps her."

"I think she just gets angry sometimes and doesn't know what she's saying. It's his job to act like a child sometimes or else his books would be boring and grown up." my fingers moved quickly pulling her hair into one long braid down her back. I tied the red ribbon on it and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you, Opal." I told her as she hopped down off my bed and out the door.

"I love you too, Emma. Don't grow up and be angry like mummy, okay?"

A/N

So this didn't have much Luke in it but it introduced her family and the backstory of her!

Tell me what you think and what you want to see next chapter!

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