^ Trigger warning mentions of rape !
Emma's P.O.V
I drove home as fast as my little Honda Civic could take me, I may have sped like a tiny bit but I had to get home before everyone came bombarding me. I could see my parent's face's I know that they know what they were looking at, I knew that telling them would hurt them but I could see the hurt in their faces.
As soon as I pull into the driveway I waste no time turning off the car, yanking my keys out, grabbing my stuff, and running into the house. Pressing the lock button on my fob a bunch of times as I run up the porch, I punch in the combination on the lock of the door and run in slamming the door shut behind me.
I run up the stairs tripping once or twice along the way and run into my room closing the door with yet another slam. I press my back against the door and try and catch my breath, you know when I decided that I was going to show people this part of me I didn't really think of what would happen afterwards.
A good chunk of the school was there, my whole family was also there. This Friday's dinner is going to be very interesting and full of question's I just know it.
I've been standing there for about five minuets, I snap into reality when I hear the front door open. Crap!
It must have been my adrenaline because there is no way I could have done this all on my own. I push my big heavy oak dresser in front of my door after locking it, I'm not sure why exactly it's not like my parents would try and break my door down. I hope.
"Emma!" my dad yells as he bangs on my door, "Emma open the door!". Panic sets in and I grab my headphones and run into my bathroom, I shut the door and sit in the bathtub and put my headphones on so I can no longer hear him banging on my door.
I'm not trying to make you nervous or anything but your parents are at your door and we're downstairs. -Gracie
Who's the 'we' in 'we're'? -Me
Just me, my parents, Ethan, and your brothers. Everyone else went to their homes, my mom said we should come here for support or something. -Gracie
My dad's freaking me out, I got scared when I heard the front door so I pushed my dresser in front of it. Then he started banging on my door and yelling so now I'm in my bathtub with my headphones on hiding. -Me
I'll take care of him. -Gracie
Gracie's P.O.V
I get up off the couch and storm up the stairs, I love Uncle James I do but he's freaking Emma out and if he causes her to burn herself I'll hit him I swear.
"Would you stop!" I yell when I get to the top of the steps, "Gracie not now," he sighs turning to me. "No, you're freaking her out. She's sitting in her bathtub with her headphones on she can't hear you banging on her door. She was really brave tonight to do what she did, and I know that you know what she does, I know you aren't stupid and you pretty much figured it out the second her arms were out there. You doing all this could cause her to go add a new burn to that collection." I say in a stern voice.
"James, just leave her please," Aunt Tyler pleads, he leans his forehead against the door. "Okay," he sighs then pushes himself off the door and walks down the hall to his bedroom.
Emma's P.O.V
I roll over and fall off my bed, I sit up with a groan and look out the window, its bright outside. I find my phone on the floor and check the time, eleven forty-five.
I slept through my alarm and my parents didn't wake me up for school.
Last night after Gracie got my parents to leave my door I got out of the bathtub and took a shower. Then I crawled into bed and went to sleep, I didn't burn myself even though I did consider it for a split second.
I check Life 360 and see that everyone is gone but Dad. I use all the strength I had to push my dresser back where it goes. It took about ten minutes total because this thing is heavy.
I leave my room and head down the stairs looking for dad, I listen and can hear him talking in his office so I head that way.
"I know, she's at home... she's sick" he must be on the phone with the school, I knock on his door and peek in. "I need to go," he says then hangs up, "Dad?" I ask standing awkwardly in the doorway, "Can we um, talk?" I ask and mess with my fingers.
"Yeah come in," he says and waves me in, I go in and close the door behind me. "I'm really sorry" I don't know what else to say or how to start this conversation.
"No don't apologize, just can you tell me why?" he asks as I sit on the small leather couch against the wall next to the door.
"You remember Jonah right?" I ask bringing my knees up to my chest, "Yeah the guy you dated in ninth grade right?", "Yeah and then he broke up with me like the begining of tenth grade," I say nodding.
"Okay, what about him?" he asks leaning back in his big desk chair, I take a deep breath, "Right before the end of tenth grade you know how I had painted that mural on the bleachers on the football field?", he nods.
"And how I had to stay after school for like a week to finish it before school got out," he nods again, I take another deep breath but this time it comes out shaky. "The last day I stayed I was headed to my car and Jonah had met me at the shed where I was keeping the paint and supplies," tears start to well up in my eyes and my words are shaky.
"He pulled me into the shed and I fought as hard as I could to get him off of me, and I screamed but no one heard!" I yell the last part, it feels so good to get this out. Gracie, Matthew, and Mara know about this of course but to tell my dad it just feels almost freeing.
He stands up and comes over to me on the couch and sits, pulling me into a hug. "Oh Emma, why didn't you tell me? There was so much we could have done," he rubs my back as I cry into his shoulder. "I was scared dad, I was so scared," he gives me a little squeeze.
"So you started hurting yourself?" he asks pulling back after a few minutes, "No," I shake my head. "I thought about it but never did. Then school started back up and he would find me in the hall and we had classes together. He would shove me, or just stare at me, one day he drug me into the janitors closet and I thought it was going to happen again. It didn't he just stood there and laughed at me as I cried and begged him not to touch me." I look over at my dad and then look away.
"That's when I started hurting myself, at first I cut myself but they healed too quickly. Then I accidentally burned myself lighting a candle one day and that's what started me burning my arms. They take longer to heal and it just is a nice distraction from his terrifying stares. Gracie found out early last year and started taking care of them, she'd put burn creme on them anytime she found a new one." I smile a little at the thought of her taking care of me.
"Gracie knew you did this for a year and didn't say anything!", "No dad wait, I asked her not to. I wanted to tell ya'll when I was ready, don't be mad at her she helped me a lot when I needed her." I pull on his arm when he stands up and tries to leave.
He just sighs, "Why aren't you at work?" I ask, he never misses work. "I didn't want you to be home alone today," he says and pulls me up into another hug.
"Um, Dad?", "Yeah?", "I don't want to tell them, can you please do it?" he doesn't say anything for a few seconds and I start to think he doesn't know who I'm talking about. "Yeah, I'll do it," he says letting me go, "Can you ask the boys not to treat me differently?" I know they would, they'd treat me like glass that would break the second you look at it.
"Yeah, I'll talk to them tonight while you're at practice. Are you still going tonight?", "Yeah, I need to practice," I say and mess with the bottom of my shirt. "Okay, I love you Emma, my little Flower," he says letting me go, "I love you too Dad," I smile at the nickname he's had for me since before I was born.
The second mom found out she was pregnant with any of us he'd give us a nickname, Wyatt was Jellybean, the twins Marsh and Mallow (it originally was just marshmallow but when they discovered it was twins they split the name), then there was me. I didn't have a nickname for a while, not until they found out I was gonna be a girl.
Dad said he didn't want to call me his princess that was too basic, so I was his little Flower. I think it's cute, he used to call me that all the time until I got older, and now he only uses it in situations like this.
But I don't mind, because it's times like this when I need the reminder that I'm his little Flower.
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We love Gracie standing up to her Uncle for Emma.