Saving Emery Clarke

E M E R Y · 0 7

E D I T E D : J U L Y  2 9 ,  2 0 1 7

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"Thank you, Ms. Finley-um, I mean Sarah," I say, smiling slightly at her. I now have perfectly aligned and straight stitches across the gash on my leg, thanks to her.

She waves me off. "Don't thank me, sweetheart. If you need anything, I'm here to help."

I try not to let my eyes water at that. "That really means a lot," I tell her. I haven't had a mother figure since I was eight, when the incident happened.

I shake away my thoughts, focusing on the present. Ms. Finley frowns, but quickly smiles. "It's not a problem, honey. Now Seth, be nice and let her borrow a shirt. And don't you even dare think about letting her sleep on the couch-"

Seth rolls his eyes adorably. "Mom. I know, I'm not a complete jerk," he says. "I have these things called manners-"

"This is why your only friends are Anthony and Brett-"

"I am your son!" Seth gasps playfully. "You speak of me as if I have no life!"

Ms. Finley snorts. "I speak of you correctly."

I laugh. If only I could have this relationship with my mother.

Seth huffs. "I'm going to hang out with Emery now. She's nice to me."

"Love you too!" Ms. Finley calls as she walks into the living room, probably to watch some late-night TV. Seth and I are left alone, me in my t-shirt and underwear.

"Oh, um-do you have, uh, something I can wear?" I stutter out. Why am I stuttering? Its not like I'm nervous...right?

"Yeah. Come on," he says, helping me off the closed toilet lid. I keep all my weight on my right leg, hopping as I try to gain my balance. I end up almost face planting into Seth's chest.

He chuckles as my face lights up in embarrassment. "Whoa there, easy tiger," Seth says, his hands gripping my hips in an attempt to keep me steady. "I can just carry you."

I shake my head. "No, you're going to hurt yourself carrying me around so much," I tell him.

"Nah. I'll be fine," he says, carefully sweeping me up into his arms anyways. I stiffen as I feels his arm against my bare legs, but he doesn't seem to notice.

Seth starts up the stairs, walking with ease, as if I were a feather. "You make this seem easy," I muse.

"I'm dying inside," he says, pretending to gasp for breath. He makes a big show of taking another step. "One-more-step!"

I laugh at his goofiness. He grins, resuming his regular walk. When we get to his room, he swings the door open and sets me on his bed. Seth flips on the lights, lighting the room up. He has navy blue walls, a desk, a dresser, a bed, and a nightstand. It's surprisingly clean for a teenage guy's room.

Seth walks over to the dresser that has some picture frames and a plethora of soccer trophies on it, and pulls open a drawer. He grabs a plain black t-shirt and a pair of boxers out, and hands them to me.

"You can wear these. I'll step outside, so you can change," Seth said. He walks out and closes the door behind him.
I let out a sigh. I really am thankful for all their help. I know I don't deserve it and they barely know me, but I can't help but feel as if they actually care about me.

I carefully pull on the Spiderman boxers, trying not to smile at them. Who knew Seth Finley would have Spiderman boxers?

I strip off my shirt and slipped his huge one on. It falls down to mid thigh on me, but then again I'm short. I immediately feel comforted by his scent that enveloped me.

"Emery? Are you okay in there?" Seth asks through the door.

"Yeah. You can come in," I pipe up. He walks in, and his eyes look me over

"Shit," Seth mutters.

"I think I'll take that as a compliment," I say, smiling softly. "Thanks for letting me borrow these."

"Y-yeah. No problem," he says, snapping his eyes away from me. "I guess that movie went to shit, didn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess so," I say, trying to fight off a yawn.

"You look really tired, Em. Why don't you get some sleep?" Seth suggests, nodding towards the bed.

"But where would you sleep?" I ask, brushing my hair out of my eyes.

"I could just take the floor, it's fine," he says, shrugging. "Lay down, you've had a rough night."

I shake my head. "No, it's your bed. I'm just a guest."

Seth groans. "Why are you so nice?" Seth rolls his eyes. "Look. How about we share the bed? I won't try anything on you, I promise."

I bite my lip before nodding. "Okay. That's fine."

"Go ahead and lay down, I'll change clothes," he tells me, grabbing a new pair of boxers, much like the ones I was borrowing but with SpongeBob instead.

I smile at how cute it is that he still wears kid-like boxers.

I climb into the bed as he changes in the bathroom a couple doors down. I inhale his scent, not seeming to get enough of it. It's like a drug, luring me in and holding me in its grasp.

I feel myself sink into his comfortable mattress, and almost sighed. I didn't even have a bed, I have a twin sized mattress that had springs sticking out, a worm out pillow, and a scratchy old blanket.

Seth's sheets are silky and smooth against my skin, his pillows fluffy, and his blankets warm. I can feel myself slipping away, but I fought against it.

Soon enough, Seth climbs into the side opposite of me, in only the boxers he grabbed. I'm certainly not going to complain, and besides, it's his house anyways.

The lights are off now, and I can feel feel the mattress dip with his weight. He slides closer to me, until I can feel his minty breath fanning across my cheeks. Even in the dark, I can see his bright blue eyes staring back at me. Seth tucked a muscled arm under his pillow, like I had mine.

"Can I ask you a question, Emery?" Seth asks, his voice coming out in a quiet whisper.

"Sure. What is it?" I whisper back.

"Are you okay?"

"What do you mean by that?" I ask, my voice still very quiet. There's something about the night and the darkness that makes it seem as if we're supposed to whisper.

"I know you're lying when you give me excuses about what happens to you," he says. I open my mouth to protest, but he stops me first. "And that's fine for now. I just need to make sure you're okay."

I close my eyes tightly. "No, Seth. I'm not okay."

He pulls me to his chest, cradling me gently. "Promise me you'll let me help you. Please."

I shake my head. "I can't promise you that. I barely even know you," I say.

"How about we make a deal? We get to know each other, and you let me help you," Seth says, pulling away a little to see my face. He tucks a strand of dark hair behind my ear. "Deal?"

I let out a breath. Maybe I should be more trusting. "Deal."

Seth kisses my forehead. "Get some sleep, Emery."

With that, I fall asleep in Seth's arms.

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