Emma's POV
Time went by so fast.
Mark married my mom and were living their happily ever after. She didn't even have to work anymore, Mark had us both sorted.
We had even begun to talk about college.
I wanted somewhere far from home. It had been over six months since we moved to the city, but Mark's house still didn't feel a lot like home.
I lived like a robot, a shadow of myself. The only person who added color to my existence was Lily, who herself had many demons she was battling.
Her parents divorce had dragged out to be really messy and was affecting her mentally.
We got along really well, and had each other's backs.
Things with Chase were still pretty much the same. He avoided me, and when he couldn't, bullied me.
Lily and I had been the butt of every nasty joke, and she still refused to tell me what it was that turned Jessica, Chase and their friends against her.
She was so guarded about it, everytime I mentioned it, she got angry and defensive.
So I avoided stuff that sparked her, like her parents and her former relationship with Jessica and Chase. And she did the same too, she didn't ask anything about my whole life, which was really triggering to me.
I still hadn't found the guts to tell her that Chase was my Stepbrother, partly because Chase said not to, and also because I did not know how she'd feel.
One day, I decided to just let it out anyway. She seemed more eager to get out of her house by the day and it was the only reason I hadn't offered her sleepovers.
"Hey." I said. Breaking the silence in the library, where we were making research about a project we were embarking on.
"What's up?" She asked, not looking up. She was a nerd like me, happily, and so we caught up on many other topics beyond girls gossip.
"There's something I think you should know." I said.
"What's it?" She asked. "We can't talk here you know." Only then did she look up from the gigantic book in her front.
"It's about… Chase." I said.
She didn't like his subject much, but she was up for any gist about him that didn't involve her.
"What's it? You're stalling. The suspense is…" She made a show of cutting her neck.
I chuckled nervously while debating the best way to go forward with my reveal.
"Well, his dad, my mom. Sorry. I mean, my mom is married to his dad."
Lily stared hard at me, unblinking. It was like she saw something out of the ordinary.
I had begun to feel bad for bringing it up.
"Why did you never say it?" She asked. "Why are you just telling me now?" She asked again.
"He said I shouldn't. And apart from that, I really don't want to identify with him either. He's…everything I'm not." I replied to her.
"How sure am I that you're not just putting up a show? Maybe you're his little informant that tells him stuff about me?" She asked.
Lily was taking it farther than I expected. I didn't even think of all that in all the scenarios I ever made up in my head.
"Lily, you're taking it too far." I said.
"Young ladies, is there something you want to share with us?" The librarian asked, sounding very sarcastic.
"We're sorry." I mouthed to her.
"No we're not!" Lily mouthed back at me, set the book we were studying back on the shelf and walked out of the library. I immediately ran after her.
"Lily, now you're being unreasonable." I said as soon as we got out of the school library.
"You tell me." She said, turning back. "Matter of fact, why did you even bother telling me?" Lily was making me feel like the worst person to ever live.
"Come on!" I chided her. "Do you think I enjoy hearing all the stuff you tell me about your place, knowing I was dying to invite you over, but I could not because of him? Because you didn't know I was his stepsister." I hated confrontation Ms, especially with someone who was that close to me. It always broke me fast. I was already teary.
"I'm sorry." She said, calming down. It felt unreal, but I was happy.
At least, she wasn't mad at me anymore.
"You're not mad at me?" I asked her.
"No. I'm not. Plus I kinda always thought you just never wanted to see me beyond school." She confessed.
I stared at her, grateful that I cleared the misunderstanding.
"So we're cool now?" I asked her.
"Yeah, Pookie." We hugged, and in that moment, I swore to never undermine our friendship.
Together, we could face Chase and Jessica, but separate , well… I
I guess we'll never know.
We had a class, so we just headed there anyway.
Chase and Jessica were coming in the opposite direction, but it was too late to do our typical "turn and run" or "turn and hide".
Mustering all the confidence I could, I held Lily's hand tight, and we walked right past them.
They didn't seem to mind us, and they also did not seem to be chatty as usual. Matter of fact, we heard Jessica hiss at him.
There was trouble in paradise, but to Lily and I, it was paradise.
"Well, it sure felt quite cold." I commented as soon as they were out of earshot.
"Yeah, strangely, it's the kind of weather I like." Lily was grinning from ear to ear.
My best friend looked like a maniac, but it was excusable. Chase and Jessica were pecks and deserved all the shit they got.
Together, they had consistently bullied Lily and I. It was so bad at times, we would sit in her favorite toilet and cry.
Jessica once dipped my head in my food one day at lunch. It was so embarrassing all I could do was run and wash all the sauce and oil off my face.