One Hell Of A Life

chapter forty eight: proof.

Simon POV:
9:50am

I was at my desk. Working. Just as I usually would on an average day.

I still felt empty. Every time I saw something that reminded me of her... I felt a pang of betrayal.

Cheated on. Twice. I guess you could say that's not ideal for anyone.

I wasn't even thinking of getting back on the dating scene. My mentality was all over the place; I didn't know what I'd done to deserve this treatment. The girls that I'd been with... I was never bad to them. I think I could honestly say that I was a good man to them - but then to have it all thrown back in my face; it was a different type of pain.

Absolutely everything felt like a chore. Making meals, making videos, editing videos, taking care of myself... The list goes on.

I just didn't see the point in making much effort if I didn't have Emmy.

I'd cut off a lot of others, too. I wanted to isolate myself and make sure I could stand on my own. After Talia, I had Emmy to hold onto. Hell, I always had Emmy to hold onto. Whenever something was up, and I didn't feel comfortable sharing it with the boys, I knew I could always go to her. She'd never judge me.

I loved her from being so young. But it seemed that it was always in a sisterly way. I was always a boy who didn't have any girl mates. I didn't try and get a girlfriend when I was at school - it wasn't something I was ever interested in. Even if she was so much younger, I did have a connection with her in a sibling way. And I think having less females around me strengthened our bond even more.

I remember from her being about 12 years old that she seemed just so incredibly mature for her age. It was quite mesmerising to listen to her speak about things in such an educated way... Especially subjects that were more taboo at the time, like mental health and equal rights. It was inspiring.

JJ always said that she'd make it big. Even with her anxiety, her place in the world was to preach and to make it a better place. To make people happy. He insisted on it.

She never let anything hold her back. She loved proving people wrong - those who doubted her and who said she couldn't do things because of her conditions.

She was a special person to me - in more ways than one.

It got harder each day without her. Talking to the boys about didn't seem like an option every day. Without her wise words, it was rough trying to find a place to dig just an ounce of positivity from.

It was easy to get lost in my own thoughts. Far too easy. I was supposed to be editing.

This is what it was like, then.

Gaming videos, main channel videos, Sidemen videos when it was my turn to edit: all finished late. So then everything was behind schedule because I simply could not get Emilohi Olatunji out of my fucking head.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz

My phone vibrated, signalling somebody was calling me. It rapidly separated me from my thoughts, but only just. I turned it over as it was faced down.

Caller ID: Florence

Flo POV:

"Everything okay, Florence?"

I had the phone on speaker in our living room. Ebony inhaled sharply at the sound of Simon's voice, knowing what was about to come next.

"Can I come over? Like, me and Ebony, now?" I cut to the chase.
"Well, JJ's filming, Josh is training with Dida and I'm editing so–"
"Simon, not to disrespect your's or JJ's work, but this is fucking urgent." I told him.
"Wait, what's going on? Are you okay?" Simon sounded worried now.
"We're fine. We - Ebony and I - have uncovered something to do with Em supposedly cheating on you. It's proof, like you wanted, Simon. She didn't do it." I said clearly.