Bury a Friend | Hemlock Grove |

Chapter 9 | Somebody Else |

"What are you and Roman's plans for your birthday?" Kay asks as she takes her seat across the table.

"Oh," Emma clears her throat, "I don't think we're going to do anything this year."

"What?" Kay asks shocked. "You and Roman always do your birthdays together."

"Um, we're not really on speaking terms right now."

"What's going on?"

"He-" Emma searches for an excuse. "He upset one of my friends and I'm mad at him about it."

"What'd he do?"

"It's complicated."

"Okay..." Kay doesn't seem convinced. "Well, not to add to the disappointment, but I couldn't get off. Dinner on me next week, though. We'll go somewhere nice!"

"We don't have to, Mom."

"Yes we do!" She smiles at her daughter. "It's not every day my baby girl turns 18."

"Yes, joy," Emma says sarcastically. "I can not buy lottery tickets and porn. Really changing my life."

Kay was right, though, this would be the first birthday she could remember without a Godfrey appearance. The two kids had a tradition of skipping school for Emma's birthday. It all started in elementary school when Olivia refused to bring him to Emma's birthday party, so instead, she would let them stay home from school and have his nanny take them to do something. Roman always wanted to come to the parties though.

Roman's birthday was before school even started, so Olivia always did something extravagant. One year she sent him to Disney World for the week, another time he went to Mount Rushmore. This year she booked out a whole amusement park for him. Emma spent that evening walking around uncomfortably with Shelley while Roman rode whatever rides Letha wanted to go on with her.

Letha continues to smile at her in the hallway to no avail. Emma won't even look at her. She wants nothing to do with the Godfrey family. Even poor Shelley gets thrown in the mix. Emma was never particularly close with the youngest Godfrey, but she had some loving feelings towards the quiet girl who Roman absolutely adored.

She was surprised when Shelley sent her an email a few weeks ago asking if everything was alright. She apologizes on behalf of her brother saying, You know Roman after all. He's impulsive and speaks before he thinks, and often acts before he speaks. He's unsure of how to proceed with friendships once things begin to deteriorate because he has never had a friend to deteriorate with. I blame his social and empathetical ineptitude on our mother and a lack of literature.

Emma has nothing to say so she doesn't reply. She'd rather tell her own mother before she broke the girls already soft heart.

School is so fucking monotonous to her. She's trying to keep up though. She doesn't miss a day and only comes in late once. She is exhausted constantly usually dips out from her lunch table to grab a nap in the library. It gets her through the second half of the day. At home, all she wants to do is sleep, but can't.

She wakes up and does the same thing again. She has her test coming up that Saturday so most nights are filled with her peaking into her SAT prep book, turning a couple pages, then becoming exhausted.

On her birthday, Ally and Kim take her out for dinner, but the night ends pretty early. She goes home and tries to study again, but can't. Instead, she takes a couple of sleeping pills with a glass a wine and falls asleep. Too asleep.

She awakes that Saturday to her room flooded with sunlight.

Fuck, fuck, fuck! Emma's mind yells to herself. She was too late.