Over the Edge

Ch. 12-Nightmares and Getting Along

~Emmalyn~

It was embarrassing. Absolutely humiliating. It started with stupidly falling asleep while Rhys was watching a movie with me, and then having another one of those damn nightmares. They had come back since the medication. I knew it probably had more to do with what happened at that apartment Rhys took me to than the meds, but it was what my mind associated them with.

I glared at the bottle of pills on the table in front of me. I could feel Rhys's eyes boring into me. I felt exposed, vulnerable. Like he was peeling back my layers with his eyes and uncovering my biggest secrets.

That was a horrible feeling. Especially when the secret I was trying to keep had the potential to destroy me if it ever got out.

"Emma?"

I jumped, cursing myself when I did. I had been avoiding Rhys's gaze for the past fifteen minutes. "Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I replied quickly. Too quickly.

"No you're not."

"Yes I am," I quipped, the biggest lie I had ever told in my life. "Please, just . . . Please drop the subject. Thanks for the movie and the fries but I think you should go home now."

"Are you going to . . . You know . . ."

I turned my gaze on him for the first time in the longest time. He was staring at me closely, analytically. "Am I going to what?"

He looked uncomfortable. "You know."

My stomach dropped. "You mean am I going to hurt myself?"

He shrugged.

I suddenly grew angry. He had no right assuming that! Even if it was warranted. But still . . . I wasn't like that anymore.

I wasn't.

I stood up. "You need to go home now."

He followed me. "Come on, Emma, I'm just trying to understand."

I wrapped my arms around myself, squeezing my eyes shut. "Please, Rhys. Go home."

Why was this boy so stubborn? Why was he so persistent to expose me? Some things needed to be left in the dark and my past mistakes were some of them.

He came up behind me and grabbed my arm, spinning me around to stare hard into my eyes. I refused to reveal any of the things he was looking for.

"What happened to you?" he asked, fingers digging into my upper arms. "Why do you need those pills?"

"Rhys, I-"

"Oh, my goodness! Am I interrupting something?"

I ripped myself away from Rhys and stepped back, face heating up. My mother stood at the door with Clara beside her. Both had groceries in their arms. I hadn't even heard them come in!

"No, you're not," I muttered, feeling all flustered. "Rhys was just leaving, actually."

"Right," he muttered, not looking at all happy. "I was."

"Well he doesn't have to do that!" my mother exclaimed. "Why don't you stay for dinner, Rhys?"

He sent me an apprehensive look, to which I returned with an indifferent expression. "No, I think I need to go," he finally responded. "But thanks."

"Okay, then." She handed more bags to Clara to take into the kitchen. "It was nice seeing you again."

He nodded and with a last lingering glance to me, slid into his shoes and walked out. I fell onto the couch, dropping my face in my hands. Out of all things I never wanted anybody to see, and Rhys had been the one to see it.