Y E L L O W

Chapter 8

Emma couldn't help but shiver as she held onto the thin blanket tighter and sneezed when a spoon full of warm broth was held to her mouth, the contents spilling back into the warm bowl. Mrs. Cole shook her head at the pitiful sight but didn't comment and for that the child was thankful.

Its been nearly a week since the cave incident and things since then had been, as she liked to put it, bad.

After whacking the corpse repeatedly with the bucket that she still had for some reason and jabbing the rusted fork into its eye, Emma felt her vision blacking when she felt a sudden shock in the water. With a screech, the grip on her body loosen when the child was yanked out of the water and collapsed into the shores of the water. Coughing, Emma barely had time to think before Tom decided that Jones was up for round two, they definitely had no time for that shit.

Amy and Dennis were mid screaming/crying when they found the adults, and the moment Dennis saw Emma was the moment she understood why the hell Anakin hated sand.

I don't like sand. Its rough, coarse and irritating and gets everywhere.

Emma still had bruises from how hard she was tackled by the two and to this day was still finding sand in places that she wouldn't dare explain.

"Honestly, one would have thought that among all four children, you would have been smart enough to know how dangerous sea caves are." Mrs. Cole tisked, "Your very lucky that Riddle was there otherwise things would have turned out much differently…"

She wheezed, "Y-yeah, that wave and Seagull came out of nowhere…"

When questioned what Amy and Dennis were screaming about, Emma quickly gave the excuse that they had disturbed a seagulls nesting ground and after the two were scared off, a wave decided to say hello, hence the visible cuts and bruises. Of course, this was to the disbelief of all three children present.

Emma had some nice purple patches left on her side from Amy, free of charge.

After the bowl was cleared and empty, the Directress left to tend to other matters, leaving the sickly child to finally relax into her comforter. Closing her eyes, Emma couldn't help but shiver.

Not from the cold, but from how close she was to dying.

Again.

Her hands trembled at the feelings of arms grabbing her, it didn't matter that it was all in her head but it was the fact she was reminded of just how frail a life was and just how easily it could be taken away.

It was much later when the sound of the door opening and closing was heard. She didn't pay it any mind, figuring that it was either Mrs.Cole with more bitter medicine or Amy bothering her for lying, however when the person simply sat in the chair that her caretaker normally occupied, Emma felt the pricks that she normally got when around one person and one person only.

Opening her eyes, Emma was met with dark ones.

She quickly shut them and pretended to be asleep.

Tom was unamused because this was one of the, if not the only time, he had ever done this, ever.

He waited, watching as her hand, resting over her chest began to twitch. Emma meanwhile wondered how much it took to knock a child out with a pillow.

She knows enough to not kill a person.

Maybe.

The young boy was persistent enough to wait a straight ten minutes before the girl gave in. Sinking into her bed even more if possible and the two simply stared at each other in silence for a while. Both taking note of the bags under their eyes like Amy and Dennis due to nightmares.

Catching sight of the lump of coal in his hand, Emma raised a brow.

Toms eye twitched.

"I made something for you…" He looked like he swallowed something foul as he muttered, "to get better."

Silence.

Emma stared at the now identified food that was apparently not charcoal to the boy in front of her. She knew how out of character this was for Tom and seeing how this was a once in a lifetime opportunity from the sociopath decided to not comment on his apparent horrid cooking skills.

Without a word she picked up the block, her warm hands briefly brushing against his cold ones and without a word took a bite out of it, and then another, and then another until nothing was left. They did not break eye contact the whole time.

Tom now had a strange sort of respect for her. Emma meanwhile was comatose for another two weeks due to food poisoning.