Saving Emery Clarke

S E T H · 1 0

E D I T E D : J U L Y  2 9 ,  2 0 1 7

warning: the second half of this chapter is intense and may be triggering for some readers. Read with caution.

•°•°•

"Mom, I'm back!" I call, shutting the front door. I kick my converse off by the door, then walk into the kitchen.

After I dropped Emery off, I had met up with Anthony and Brett. We went to the movie theater, where we saw some action movie and ate unhealthy amounts of popcorn and candy. It's about ten o'clock now, and I yawn.

"Hey son," Mom says. She's sitting at the bar, in her purple bathrobe holding a mug of hot tea. She has a book in her hand, reading. She does this almost every night. "How was the movie?"

I go to the pantry and grab a package of snack cakes. According to my soccer coach, I'm not supposed to have these, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him.

"It was okay," I say, hopping onto the counter, my legs dangling down. I take a huge bite out of one of the chocolate cakes, chewing and swallowing.

"You better get your ass of my counter, boy!" Mom says sternly. "I just cleaned those."

I laugh, holding my hands up, but comply anyways. "Okay, okay."

"Thank you," Mom says contently. "So, how do you like Emer-"

"No. I am not having this conversation with you, Mom. I'm going to my room," I say, shoving some more of my snack cake into my mouth. "Night."

My mom laughs as I head towards the stairs. "Good night, Seth. I love you!"

"Love you too!" I yell as I bound up the stairs. I enter my room, finishing my cakes and flipping the lights on. I went to grab a new pair of boxers, but something caught my eye.

Emery's phone.

I frown, picking it up. Either I could take give it to her tomorrow or Monday, or I could run over to her house right now.

The sensible side of me was saying to take it to her tomorrow, but the other side kept repeating for me to go now. Besides, what if she needs it? It won't take long, only about half an hour.

I make up my mind and grab my hoodie, slipping it on and grabbing both my and her phone. I run back down the stairs, almost running into my mom on the way down.

"Seth, honey, where are you going?" Mom questions.

I hold up Emery's phone. "She left it here. I'm just going to take it to her real quick, I'll be back in about half an hour," I tell her, heading for the door.

"Wait! Why don't you do that tomorrow, it's late," she says.

"Emery might need it. I'll be fast, I promise," I say, hugging her quickly. I pull on my shoes and grab my keys.

"Okay. Be safe, sweetheart."

"I will," I say, smiling at her before leaving the house.

I get into my truck, pulling out of the driveway and onto the road. As I drive to Emery's house, I start thinking.

A couple weeks ago, I wouldn't have done this for a girl. I would've waited until the next day. But not for Emery.

Emery's just...different.

I finally pull up to her house, and it looks just as I had remembered from the first time I was here, but the grass is a little taller.

I hear a loud scream, and then nothing. I'm immediately concerned, and I practically sprint out of my truck and into the house. There's a woman passed out on the couch, a blanket draped over her as she snores. The house smells of cigarettes and alcohol.

I run into a hallway, and see a door open at the very end. Grunts are coming from inside, and a slight creaking noise. "Emery?" I call out.

I cautiously walk in, and suddenly saw red. There was a guy, thrusting into Emery's limp body. It seems like she's unconscious.

I storm over, not thinking. "What the fuck are you doing?" I roar, grabbing into the guy's shoulder and ripping him back. He sprawls out onto the floor, then grins at me.

"Want to join? She's a pretty good fuck-"

I land a punch as hard as I could to his mouth. "No, I don't want to fucking join! What the hell is fucking wrong with you?" I scream, tackling him. I punch him anywhere I can, not caring that he was naked. His face quickly becomes bloody and starts to swell up.

I stop beating him, breathing heavily, and rush over to Emery's still body. She's on her stomach, her face smashed into the old mattress. I carefully turn her over, not paying attention to her nakedness. All I care about is her wellbeing.

I hear her ragged breathing, and sigh in relief. She's alive, at least. I notice the fresh bruises all over her breasts, her hips, her ribs, her legs, her neck, everywhere. Even the stitches my mom gave her are ripped again. This guy really had beaten her up. I'm filled with so much anger that I almost started beating him again.

"Emery?" I say softly. "Em, wake up. Are you okay?"

She doesn't answer in anyway, and I see the blood on her cheek. She has a small cut on her cheekbone, as well as a bruise. This son of a bitch had slapped her.

I bite lip. What do I do? My mind is going a thousand miles a minute, most of my thoughts either planning ways to kill this bastard or how I'm supposed to help Emery.

I grab the thin blanket on the mattress and wrap her in it. I then proceed to call the police.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"I need help! She-she's just been raped and-"

"Sir, calm down. What address?"

"The address? Oh fuck, I don't know!" I say, tugging on my hair. "I have to get her to the hospital!"

"I understand, sir. Can you find your location for me?"

"Oh, yeah! I can! I have the maps thing-" I say, putting the lady on speaker. I go to the maps app and read off the address to her.

"Okay sir, we'll send the police and an ambulance that way-"

"We don't have time for that. I'll take her to the hospital and you guys just arrest this little bastard- I mean, uh, jerk. He's unconscious right now, I punched him."

"We'll hurry over. Call back if you need something."

"Thank you," I say, hanging up. I carefully pick Emery up, hugging her close to my chest. She lets out a whimper of pain in her sleep, breaking my heart.

I kiss her forehead and carry her out of the house. I set her in the backseat of my truck, and speed down to the hospital.

I could only hope that she'd be okay.

•°•°•