Emily walked herself from her uncle's house to the general store. She tried to ignore the stares and glares of the locals. They knew who she belonged to. They had already seen her. Surely there was gossip surrounding her. She was used to this because she had always been popular.
She walked into the general store and started looking around everywhere for some hair dye. She eventually found some. She chose the same color that her mother's hair was. She wasn't about to bleach her hair and ruin it so she bought a platinum blonde shade.
On her way, she decided to buy herself a coke. She walked to the checkout. The guy at the register looked at her and smiled. He seemed to be curious as anyone when it came to her but he wasn't rude about it.
"I don't recognize you. Are you just a passerby? Oh, you must be the town recluse's daughter right?" Emily dug into her bag and brought out her uncle's money.
"He's my uncle actually." She wasn't up for much conversation. It seemed that they were the only ones in the store aside from a couple of people. She just wanted to get home. When she was out, she felt anxious and exposed, as if Eric could get her at any given moment.
"Oh. I heard that he was your dad. I'm Ian. What's your name?" Emily bit her lip. She could almost see Ian's face turning into Eric's, smirking. She couldn't just burst out screaming, that would make her look like an idiot.
"I'm Emaline." Ian stared her down. He made her nervous. Was he just sizing her up? Who knew that the locals would be so curious, almost to the point of rudeness. Ian broke out in a smile that was friendly.
"You're not much of a talker, are you? I'm sorry that the people in this town are a little weird. They're just curious about you because of who you belong to. Apparently your uncle's like a mass murderer. You should be cautious around him." Emily gave him the money and angrily walked back to her new home. She could care less if she ever had to deal with the townspeople ever again.
How could someone accuse her uncle of being such a monster? He was the nicest person that she had ever met. Eric's words buzzed in her mind. You can't judge people by the way that they look and act. Could her uncle possibly be what the townspeople claimed him to be? She hoped that it wasn't true. It couldn't be, it didn't make any sense. Or maybe it did, maybe it made perfect sense, she was just to blinded to see it. She didn't know!
