s.t.a.y. | ethma

10

Ethan

Sophia opened the front door, surprise crossing her face as Grayson and I stood on the other side.

It was kind of late, but Grayson and I talked it over and decided we needed to come check on Emma.

"Hey, boys." She said, stepping aside to let us in.

"We came to check on Emma." Grayson said.

"She's in her room." Sophia responded.

"Thank you." I quietly said as Grayson and I headed towards the stairs.

Emma's door was locked, so Grayson lightly knocked. "Emma, it's me and Ethan."

About a minute later, a sleepy, red-eyed Emma opened the door. It was obvious that she cried herself to sleep, and just woke back up.

Grayson reacted before I did, opening his arms and enveloping Emma into them.

"Hey, Em." He said.

A muffled. "Hey." Came from Emma before she pulled away from Grayson, her eyes glancing to me.

I opened my arms, gesturing for her to come here with my hand.

She wrapped her arms around my torso, nuzzling her face into my sweatshirt. I could feel her take a deep breath before she relaxed a little, and then she pulled away.

"Sit down, guys." She said, walking over to the light switch and turning on the light on.

Grayson sat down at her desk chair, so I leaned against the window sill. I didn't want to invade her personal space or make it awkward by sitting on her bed with her, so I elected to stand.

"We just wanted to make sure you were holding up okay." Grayson said.

Emma sat down, leaning her back against her headboard. I noticed the piece of blue tape that covered up my name. I don't blame her for it.

"I'm okay, I guess. I already cried as much as humanly possible in one sitting, so I guess the worst part is over." Emma said. "I think he deserved a deeper punishment than the one he got." She continued, staring down at her comforter.

"He did." I said. "The court system is fucked up."

"Yeah. It is fucked." Grayson added.

Emma laughed, nodding at the statement. "It just feels like I can never win, you know? And Jared hasn't even called me back and I'm just so overwhelmed with everything going on, and my mother's probably gonna ship herself off to who even knows where again by next week and I'm gonna be here all by myself."

"Emma, you're not by yourself. You have us." Grayson said. "We're gonna make sure you're okay. It's gonna be okay."

"Thanks, Gray. I'm really grateful for your support, guys." She said.

"Of course." I responded.

Emma gave a soft smile, even though she wasn't looking at me or Grayson. She was still staring at her comforter.

"You coming to Charlie's tomorrow?" Grayson asked. Emma shook her head.

"Can't. I'm going to Jared's after school. It'll be late when I get back."

"Okay. Well, we'll see you soon?" Grayson asked. Emma nodded.

"Sure."

"We're gonna go now." Grayson said, getting up and giving Emma a quick hug before he walked out of her room.

Emma looked at me, an expressionless look on her face as I walked over to her bed and sat down.

I leaned close to her ear. "Meet me in Green Run at midnight tomorrow night. Your choice. Just let me know if you're coming or not."