On Monday, Emmie woke up way earlier than her parents. She threw her hair up in a ponytail and took a long run by the river before turning back home. Even by then, nobody in their right mind was awake in the neighborhood. She showered, picked out her first day of school clothes, and while only wearing her underwear, took a seat by her vanity. She rubbed cream all over her body, leaving her skin smooth and adding a nice scent to it, after which she applied moisturizer to her face. Emmie had never liked thick makeup or understood the need to apply a generous amount of concealer and foundation. She liked her skin fresh and natural, and since she had never struggled with many zits or any type of acne, she didn’t want to ruin it. Simply applying some eyeliner to make her eyes look bigger, and the natural-looking mascara, she moved on to her lips. Another thing she hated on herself was dark lipstick, which mostly only made her use nude lip gloss. It made her feel p

It was already pitch-dark outside when Ramsay knocked on Emmie’s door.He waited for a few minutes until the girl swung it open with an apologetic face. “Sorry, I was…”“…late, a meeting…”“…couldn’t find the towel…”“…go to the trailer…”“…clothes…”“Sorry,” they both finished together, and after a second of silence chuckled together.“Hi,” Emmie started over, waving awkwardly.“Hi,” Ramsay grinned and stepped inside, arm wrapping around her waist as he closed the door behind himself. Without further ado, he pressed his lips against hers, both of them melting into the kiss.After a few moments of standing there, lips moving in unison, they pulled away, eyes closed and foreheads rested together. With a smile lingering on Emmie’s lips, she whispere

Emmie walked down the halls, watching teenagers scurrying around, hugging their partners, kissing against the lockers. It didn’t hurt as much as it had when the school first started. She was jealous and upset, of course, especially when the couples would hold hands while walking past her, but she had gotten used to the strong feeling in her gut. The girl didn’t know if it was masochistic that she always directed her eyes straight to their laced fingers, but she couldn’t help herself. She needed to see the affection between other couples if she herself couldn’t have it. With a sigh, Emmie reached the Newspaper office, entered without looking up from the ground, and shut the door behind herself. She bit her lower lip while exhaustedly dropping her bag onto the ground and let herself fall into the armchair. Her eyes stayed closed as she pushed off her shoes and pulled her feet up onto the chair, resting her head against her knees, the tears making their way thro

The next morning, Emmie woke up in Ramsay’s arms. The boy was already awake, planting soft kisses against the skin of her bare shoulder that his shirt didn’t manage to cover. She stayed on her spot for a while, until she realized a book was perched up against her shoulder and he was flipping the pages after about every minute or so had passed. With a slight giggle, she reached her hand out under the covers and grabbed the book. She felt his laughter better than she heard it, his chest shaking against her back as his arm snaked back around her waist. “Good morning, baby,” he whispered, nudging her hair out of the way with his nose to kiss the back of her neck. “Morning,” Emmie mumbled, smiling as she read the title of the book. “Why are you reading The Moonstone while cuddling me?” “You’re warm and I was comfortable and you slept too long, so…” The blonde rolled her eyes while turning to face him. She gently folded the top part of the

Ramsay sat beside Emmie’s bed, eyes directed to the girl. It had been an hour since she fell asleep, and yet, he couldn’t look away. She was so peaceful while asleep and didn’t seem like the broken girl she was on the inside. Her chest moved up and down in a steady rhythm, but as his thumb brushed over the skin of her hand, he could feel the bruises from making herself vomit on her knuckles. He made sure to be extra careful while he caressed them and the wounds on her palm. The door opened, causing Ramsay to finally look away, only to reveal the girl’s father. He sat up straight on his chair, facing the man, but didn’t let go of Emmie’s hand, their fingers still loosely laced together. Ramsay cleared his throat inaudibly before speaking up. “Hello.” He managed to keep his glare and frown away, hoping that maybe her father would accept him a bit more than her mother had. “Hi,” Peter said and swiftly closed the door behind himself. Ramsay gulped