Being Shot

P h o t o #23 - Gray Clouds Bumping In The Night

P h o t o #23 - Gray Clouds Bumping In The Night

~Emma's POV~

I tried to control my breathing as I took every word Kayla had said in. I stayed silent for a long while, long after she had stopped speaking at all, my thoughts set to a halt as they still tried to wrap themselves around Kayla's past experience.

Jonas. The obnoxious, the womanizing, annoyingly bleached-haired Jonas Keenan was originally named Jonas Smith before his parents split. He was almost like a prodigy child, excelling in both physical and academical categories. He also used to be a sweet and innocent kid who seemed to change after his family broke into two.

I could cry. I sure as hell felt like I was going to cry at that moment, break down and moarn Kayla's broken feelings, how she had to endure so much pain for other's happiness. Sob for the unknown, but probably equally upsetting story of why Jonas acts the way he does. Like I said, I could.

But I wouldn't

I've learned too many times that crying does not solve your problems, and there seemed to be a huge problem with the gaps in Kayla's story. I've learned that if you want things solved you've got to roll up your sleeves and get your hands a little dirty.

But I was a coward. I know these things, yet I don't act upon them, at least not for my own problems. I guess I was lucky that Jonas and Kayla's predicament wasn't my problem.

So, I did what I knew was right.

I lifted my head, only now realizing that I had put it down halfway through her flash-backs. My hair, which was now taking back it's original curls as the hairspray wore off, opened like a curtain as I slowly went to look at Kayla's usual brown eyes.

But they didn't look like they always did. They didn't hold their usual glow. Her flushed face, her teary eyes, her messy hair, her smudged make-up. This was Kayla, yet it wasn't. And I wasn't okay with it. I wasn't okay with her being sad like this. Not then, not ever.

So I smiled. I smiled wide and masked the waves of emotions that came with how familiar a tear stained face, the sound of heartfelt crying, and the grief stricken faces of human beings had become to me.

I grabbed a tight grip on her slim wrist, watching her bewildered face twist with absolute confusion as she and I left the warmth of her pretty pink bedroom and descended down the stairs.

I ignored her questioning, which didn't last long anyways. Soon her voice died out once we rounded the corner of the hallway and past the boys, who were still standing in the living room where we had left them not to long ago.

Parker stepped out of my way, Jonas and Cooper seemed to call out to us. Elliot just stared at me. I held his hazel eyed gaze without stopping my strides for what seemed like hours. Everything seemed to slow down for just that moment. And then it slipped right through my fingers. The moment was gone, and Kayla and I were out the front door.

Chilly October air nipped at my face, goosebumps rose on my bare arms. My warm breath clouded in white puffs in front of me as we both trudged on. Dark clouds made the crescent moon above our heads fade in and out as the stars struggled to scream their individual lights through their thin screen.

"Emma..!" I heard Kayla gasp through tired breathing. I didn't answer. She wasn't the only one who wanted to stop. My lungs began to burn as I gulped down the dry, icy air around me. I couldn't stop though. Kayla needed to clear her head. I always ran when I needed to clear my head. Hopefully what I was doing would work.

We ran for another ten blocks, both of us already wheezing from the movement. I finally skidded to a stop. We had made it to our destination.

Kayla bumped into my back after I abruptly stopped. My footing slipped just a bit and I stepped forward, quickly catching myself after the swift impact of our bodies.