Together With You

Grom Part 1

Author's Note "If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram you might have seen my post that I accidentally deleted a chapter for today. This was always going to be a two-part chapter but because of that mishap, I need to work on part 2. I will be posting it either later today or tomorrow morning."

I was pacing back and forth in my room, alternating between looking outside my window and looking at my scroll for any sign of Emira. She never made it to school and didn't mention where she was going. I've been texting her nonstop all day, but she hasn't even seen them. I was hoping that she had gone back home because she didn't want to go to school today, but she didn't. I searched her room for some sign of where she might have gone but found nothing. She always behaves strangely on this day, but for her to disappear without telling me anything was not normal and I was starting to panic.

"Hey Edric, what's going on?" asked Amity. She was standing outside my room looking through my open door. I had a sudden feeling of hope. Maybe Amity had seen Emira.

"Amity!!! Have you seen Em?" I asked desperately. She looked at me as if I had said something unpleasant. She probably realized how scared I looked, so she held back from whatever snarky comment she was going to say.

"No, not since this morning. Why?" she asked, though I think it was more out of courtesy. Any sisterly attachment Amity might have had to Emira left the day Hunter did. "Wasn't she with you?"

"I haven't seen her since this morning either. She wasn't at school and she's not responding to my messages. I'm scared, what if something happened to her?" I said trying not to cry. I hated this so much. In situations like this Emira would be the one to keep me calm but she wasn't here.

"Good riddance I say," Amity muttered under her breath. Hearing her say that made me feel like I had just been punched in the gut and had the wind knocked out of me. How could she be so cruel? I know she always preferred Hunter over us, but that was no excuse for being so mean.

At that moment my fear turned to anger. I had promised Emira that I wouldn't get involved between her and Amity but I couldn't take it anymore.

"What's your problem?! Hunter's departure didn't just affect you! He was our best friend!" I yelled. Amity looked stunned but I didn't care. I had never lost my temper like this with anyone and now it was too late to stop. "You don't even know the pain Emira went through after she lost Hunter! Out of all of us, it hurt her the most!"

"Ed..." she started but I interrupted her. I had been holding back for so long that even if I wanted to I couldn't stop this from coming out. Emira always let Amity vent but now it was my turn.

"Do you even remember dad having to break down her door after she locked herself in there for almost a whole week? What about mom begging Hunter's mom to let her see him? Or even how long it took to get Emira to eat again?" At that moment all I could hear was my heart pounding in my ears from anger. But it wasn't all because of Amity, I was angry at myself. Whatever I did I couldn't help Em. On that day it was like I had lost my two best friends and there was nothing I could do about it.

"I... I don't remember," she replied looking surprised and embarrassed at the same time. I know I shouldn't blame her, after all, she was just a child when all this happened. But she's not a child anymore and it was about time she knew the truth. "Why..."

"Because she was in love with him. " I said, feeling all the anger drain out of me and be replaced with sadness. "The day Hunter told us he was leaving was the same day Em had decided she would confess her feelings to him. I'm not sure if she ever got to say it, but she made it very clear to him that she wanted to be more than just friends."

I pulled out some photo strips I had hidden in my desk drawer. I looked at them for a moment remembering how happy we had all been that day before I gave them to Amity. That day at the fair, when Hunter pulled Emira into the photo booth, I put some snails in the machine so it would start taking pictures. I had planned to tease Emira with them later, but after how that night ended I didn't even have the heart to show them to her. I knew that seeing them would only break her heart even more.