Emma woke up early the next morning to someone knocking on her door. She got off of her bed and walked over to the door. She peered out of the little glass bubble to see it was Brady.

"Em, I know you're in there. We need to talk."

Emma sighed and pulled the door open. "What?" She asked, blocking the doorway.

Brady looked terrible. He was probably struggling through a terrible hangover.

"I messed up last night."

"Okay." Emma said, closing the door. He stuck his foot in. 

"But you know I love you, right?"

Emma heard Bird growling. 

"Brady, I don't want to be in a relationship anymore. Don't talk to me." She slammed the door shut and sat down on the other side of the door. Bird whined and Emma crawled over to her crate to let her out.

"I know." Emma said, letting Bird lay across her lap.

She got dressed and looked in the mirror. She couldn't wear a ponytail. The bruise would show. She sighed and got out some conceler. It hurt as she dabbed it on but she was able to hide it pretty well. There.

Bird was vested up and the pair went to the dining hall. It felt weird being single all of a sudden. Who would she eat with? She didn't make any friends and they were almost a month into school. She sat alone, Bird at her feet.

"Good morning, class." Professor Wahl greeted the tired students. Morning classes sucked. Professor Wahl was a typical privlidged white man. He had a weird, kind of fucked up, sense of humor. She was reminded of Mr. Daniels when he laughed. She didn't like it. Class droned on.

"Come collect your tests as you leave." He ordered.

Emma lined up- last in line and when it was her turn, put her head down and took the papers.

"Emma?" her professor said.

She lifted her head. He obviously saw the bruise.

"I'm sorry I failed your test." Emma said, barely above a whisper.

Professor Wahl's face softened. "Your eye-"

"I walked into a stop sign." Emma muttered

He softened his voice "Come take a walk with me. The leaves will be changing color soon. I would like a chance to say goodbye to summer."

Emma didn't say anything to her Bio prof. She just followed him out of the building. He clasped his hands behind his back and sauntered beside her. She was uncomfortable with the silence but he broke it.

"Do you see that tree?" He asked pointing across the pavement. A student on a bicylce passed by.  "That's an Atlantic white cedar. They're going extinct."

Emma said nothing. He kept walking so she kept following. "A lot of people like trees, as well they should. They give us wood to burn, leaves to paint, and branches to climb." He laughed, softly. "My granddaughter loves to climb trees."

"You have a granddaughter?" Emma asked.

He nodded. "And two grandsons." He continued. "The youngest one, the girl, Emily, you would like her. She makes friends with anyone who has a dog. Our neighbors will stop by when she's playing in the front yard and let her give them a pet."

Emma walked in as he held a door open to the Web building, where there were a few food stalls, club rooms, and the clinic.

"Here we are." He said, opening the glass doors to a waiting room painted purple.

"Where are we-"

"Hey, Emma." Came a voice from across at the front desk. "Hi, Bird."

Emma looked at the sign next to the door "Jefferson Women's Center."

Her professor smiled. "They'll take care of that... stop-sign bruise." He handed her his business card. She took it.

Emma looked at Joey "Hey." She said, quietly.

Professor Wahl backed out of the glass doors. Joey stood up.

"Your eye." He said, concerned.

Emma shrugged "I tried to put conceler over it."

Joey got up from behind the desk. "One moment. Have a seat."

Emma looked at the couch in front of a coffee table with some pamphlets and a bowl of life-saver mints. She sat down and Bird provided pressure on Emma's lap.

It didn't take Joey long to come back. He returned with a slim lady. She had dark skin and beautiful natural hair.

"I'm Monika- one of the women's center counselors. Would you mind coming back with me?"

Emma was nervous but she got up. "Okay." She said, barely above a whisper. Joey looked on as she followed Monika back down the hallway.

Monika's office was immediatley calming. The flourescent light above had a purple sheet over it, giving the room a softer, purpler light. She had a beanbag chair in the corner and two chairs facing eachother. She took a seat and gestured for Emma to sit down.

"You look nervous." Monika noticed.

"I am." Emma admitted. Monika stood and opened a drawer from the desk behind her. She handed Emma a packet of wipes.

"Will you take off your makeup?"

Emma lifted the seal on the package and hesitantly pulled out a wipe. She looked up. There must have been a reason that she had them stashed.

"Do a lot of girls hide stuff with makeup?"

Monkia smiled, kindly. "All the time."

Emma winced when applying pressure to her bruise to wipe off her makeup but when she was done, she twirled the wipe in her hands, wringing it out tighter and tighter. There was a trashcan by the door but she held onto the wipe anyways.

"I'm not like most girls you probably see." Emma said, looking at the floor. Monika was quiet. Emma continued. "I know I didn't do anything to deserve this." She looked up.

"Will you tell me what happened?" Monika asked.

Emma took a deep breath. Brid put her paws up in Emma's lap.

"We went to a party. Without Bird." She stopped. "This is Bird." She continued. "He got drunk. I got hit." She looked up. "You're not going to kick him out or anything, right?"

Monika shook her head. "We can't do anything if you don't give a name but if you do, legally, we have to pursue the case."

Emma thought. Now or never. She blurted it out. "My neighbor- he did something like this: abused me." She took a deep breath and shook her head. She looked out the window, the curtains were pulled to one side. Emma explained what happened. "And now I have anxiety."

Monika uncrossed her legs and stood up. She handed a business card to Emma. She seemed to be getting a lot of those.

"We're going to go across the building."

"Why?" Emma asked, nervous.

"Don't stress- we're just going to the counseling center."

Bird jumped off and stood ready. Emma followed Monika out. She was rubbing her arm again. She did that a lot.

"Dr. Price?" Monika asked the front desk.

The woman typed something in her computer. "He'll be out soon. His current appointment ends in 4 minutes. Do you need the forms?"

"Yes." Monika said, as she was handed a folder. "Here." She said, passing it to Emma. "We're going to fill this out."

The forms took a minute. "Have you felt severe depression in the past week?"

"Yes."

"Scale of 1 to 10?"

"9"

"Have you lost interest in your usual activities?"

"Yes." She thought "At about an 8."

Monika ran through some questions before pausing. She looked serious. "Have you thought of ending your life in the past 24 hours?"

Emma thought to her burning shower in her clothes. All she wanted to do was shrivel up and flow down the drain. Die. Be gone forever.

She looked up. "Yes." She said, confidently.

"Level?"

"9."

Monika stayed with Emma during the intake appointment. Emma said she would be more comfortable that way.

"We're going to have to call someone." Dr. Price said. "Who should we call?"

Emma thought. "My mom." She gave the number but it went to voicemail.

"We need someone now." Dr. Price emphacized.

"Darla Rhodes." Emma said, scrolling through her phone for Mrs. Rhodes.

They placed a call.

"Hello?"

"Hello Mrs. Rhodes, I am one of the counselors here at Jefferson University. I have an Emma Parker with us. We are in a bit of a situation."

"Okay- what can I do?"

"Do you know someone who can pick her up? If you can't that's okay, but we will have to send her to the emergency room down here."

"No, no." Darla said. "I'll send my son. We're three hours away. He can be there before 4 and pick her up. I'll see if I can get Carolyn on her work phone."

Emma was allowed to talk with Darla but she didn't have much to say. When the appointment was over, a security guard came by. Dr. Price handed her a brochure. "Take this. Consider applying."

River Crossing Christian Rehabilitation Program. A Safe Space for Young Women facing Eating Disorders, Trauma, and Mental Health.

Emma was escorted to her dorm with the guard and Bird by her side. Brady was sitting, leaning up against the door.

"There you are! It's about fucking time." Brady said exasperated. He looked at the guard. "What's with the cop." He remembered the bruise. "Hey! Did you narc-"

"No." Emma shut off. "Piss off, Brady." 

It felt good to say that.

Brady walked past her, burning with eye contact. "You still love me and you know it."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Concieted much?"

She packed her clothes up and got her tioilitries and stuffed her textbooks into her bag.

Back at home, Paul stepped in through the door. He had just finshed his morning classes at the local community college down the road.

"Hey, ma."

Darla was on the phone but signaled for him to come over. He set down his bag. She hung up.

"There's an emergency at Emma's college. I need you to pick her up ASAP. I'm trying to get her mother on the line."

"Is she okay?!" Paul asked.

"She's safe." Darla assured. She handed him a scribbled adress. "Put it in your GPS and GO." She urged.

Paul Rhodes ticked: he coughed and shook his head. "I'm on it."