Red Skies | The Prime Archives #1 ✓

twenty-nine

Emily's arms were on fire.

Sweat dripped down her face as she struggled to push upward. She strained, spots dotting her vision. Her head felt lighter than a feather in zero gravity. If she didn't muster enough strength in the next coming seconds, her sternum would be crushed.

''Alright,'' Stella said. ''That's enough. You're going to hurt yourself.'' She helped Emily rack the weight.

''I had it,'' she grumbled, rubbing his forearms.

Stella wasn't buying it. ''Sure you did.''

Emily sat up from the bench and stared at her hands. The two of them had been working out in the weight room ahead of the next day's battle. It was a good way to pass the time—Emily would've preferred to train with Chase or Andre, or anyone else really, but everyone was busy.

They were just a few hours away from confronting Kismet for what might've been the final time. Kane's machine would be going live soon. If they didn't stop it, the world would be changed forever. It was up to them to rescue society as they knew it.

''You ready for tomorrow?'' Stella asked.

Emily shrugged. ''I don't think I'll ever be ready to fight a group of terrorists.''

''Fair enough.''

They sat there on the weight bench, avoiding each other's gazes. The silence between them was tense as always. It made Emily's skin itch. She wanted to get up and run out the room, but that would've made the situation even more awkward.

''Hey, Emily.''

''Hmm?''

''If we die tomorrow,'' Stella began, ''I just want you to know I really am sorry. You know, for everything I did to you. I was cruel and selfish. I never thought about the way it'd affect you.''

She snorted. Her vendetta against the girl had been pushed to the back of her mind over the past couple of weeks, but it was still very much there. Stella constantly apologized for what she did; and every time she did, Emily wasn't sure if she was being genuine or not. She might've appeared to be sincere, but one could never be sure.

Stella was known for her diplomacy and guile. It was no fluke that she was elected student class president. She may have looked like a sweet, intelligent girl, but she could also be manipulative and calculating.

Emily thought back to the day when Stella threw away their friendship.

They'd gotten into an argument about something towards the end of their eighth-grade year. Whatever it was had been so stupid that she couldn't even remember. They'd been slowly growing apart, starting to hang out with different crowds. Stella rose through the ranks of middle school popularity while Emily remained firmly rooted at the bottom of the hierarchy.

One day, Emily revealed her secret to Stella during the heat of their argument. She'd told the girl that she was in love with her. Stella, of course, had no idea; how could she have? Emily did her best to make sure no one knew.

She went to school the next day, hoping that Stella would just forget about it. The quiet stares from the girls in their grade and the crude jokes from the hormone-filled boys suggested that hadn't happened. When one of Stella's friends walked up to her and asked how long she had been a lesbian for, she retreated to the bathroom and cried.

She wasn't even sure if that's what she was. Her feelings were all jacked up. Nothing in her head made sense; but she knew Stella was important to her. Important enough for her to tell her greatest secret. Stella ripped Emily's heart from her ribs and crushed it underneath her favorite pair of yellow heels.