Emma's Pov

My world begins to crash down as soon as it feels like it's coming together and my lips are open, gaping like a fish that needs water.

A red face, tight-lipped Nathan stands in front of Mateo and I, and it scares me tremendously because he told me to stay away from him. But it's nearly impossible, especially now that I've had a piece of Mateo.

"What in the hell did I tell you Emma? You had one fucking job to do and it was to stay away from him and what do I find? My girlfriend in the elevator with my stepbrother!" He yells causing people to look at us

Trying to train my focus on the floor, I feel the guilt starting to settle causing me to stay quiet. Seeing her come back in the room I start to twiddling my fingers and she throws me an demonic grin. Making the same metallic taste as before overwhelm my taste buds.

The thought of knowing he's looking through my soul along with the kids from school makes me want to crawl into a hole but I can't move my feet.

She won't let me.

Her grin becomes wider and I see her wave her hand in my face and when I see Nathan's lip part again, I feel my blood run cold.

"I should've knew you would've done this shit sooner or later. You've been acting weird ever since he stepped foot at the school. You got a thing for him or something huh?!" Nathan adds deadly calm and I soon feel like I'm being stabbed in the ribs

The question takes me by surprise and it gives me a slight migraine since it's the one I've been trying to avoid. But with him, you can only run away for so long. Because in the end, he will always find you. Always.

"Stop it shit head, you're causing a fucking scene!" I hear Mateo yell in my defense

His tone is clipped like he's on the verge of diabolical behavior and I know that soon it will be a brawl between the two.

"Shut the fuck up Williams! If you wouldn't have came in and fucked shit up--,"

Before he can continue, Mateo lunges toward him and connects his right fist to his nose. A shriek leaves my lips and I hear someone yell "security" as the two begin to scramble on the floor throwing punches left and right. Suddenly three security men run across the hallways slightly pushing me out the way to break them apart.

Clawing my wrist and biting the inside of my cheek I can't help but think that it's my fault. If I wouldn't have came with Mateo, none of this would have happened. If I would have stayed away from Mateo, none of this would have happened.

If I didn't blindly catch feelings for Mateo...none of this would have happened.

Abruptly seeing Nathan's nose and left eyebrow bloody lures me out of my thoughts but when I see Mateo, only sporting a busted lip, they come back full fledge.

He took that hit. For me.

After the thought darts cross my mind, he looks back at me, still trying to fight one of the security guards, and when he sees my tears slowly rolling down my face, he starts to fight against him harder. But I shake my head telling him to stop, but to also tell myself silently that "this" has to stop.

Taking one last solemn glance his way, I walk away from the scene, but not before hearing him desperately yell my name telling me to wait for him. I can't help but believe his pleads have a double meaning but I continue to sprint not wanting to cause anymore problems.

From a distance, I hear the entrance doors bursts open and I turn back to see police officers come into the building. I feel a ton of bricks hit my body and I run my hands through my hair frustrated.

I can't leave him here defenseless.

But you also can't get your parents involved.

My mind reminds me and with conflicted thoughts, I continue down the narrowed hallways littered with framed awards for "Best Well Kept Establishment". Also noticing the frames of the business owners and managers I feel like a fraud. They're actually fortunate. They have a background and 5-star building that is the center of their success.

Looking down at the brown tiled flooring, I continue to walk until I find a room and push the door open. When I fully open it, I'm met with a room full of glass and it doesn't help because the only thing I see when I turn my head, is myself.

Seeing my reflection only brings more anger and sadness into my empty soul and I let out a frustrated scream and when I see her I see red. I'm tired of her. I'm tired of her ruining my life with her pop ups. She only gave me something to cry over.

Something to break myself down with.

Turning my head left and right I'm met with different shapes of glass and it faintly reminds me of my life's mildstones. That I've been trying to run away from. Every time I turned to see another shape of glass, my face morphed into a younger version of itself.

And when I saw hers, I couldn't stop myself before knocking it over subtly hearing it crash against the floor. Into pieces.

Seeing the shards scattered across the floor, my hands shake but I can see a fire in the back of my mind. And that's when I feel the warmth circulate through my bones and I knock over another glass sculpure.

The satisfaction it gives me is indescribable and I don't want to stop.

So I don't.

Glass starts flying into the walls and floors and every time I hear the crash it sends delightful chills through me. And I continue until there's no more left. After I start walking through the newly cleared aisles, and find a huge mirror with real crystals engraving the perimeter. They must have been hiding it.

Hiding it from people like me.

The broken. The weak. The tormented. The diminished. The angry. The depressed.

The imperfect.

Continuing to walk towards it, I see dark bags under my eyes and my hands are bloody and bruised. The tiny scratches will give me hell later on but I force myself not to think about it.

Wait... Did I just curse? I think that was my first ever curse word.

See, nothing in this life makes sense anymore.

Whose to blame though?

A sad chuckle escapes my lips and a hiccup quickly follows after. In mere seconds wet tears are strolling down my face carelessly while my heart aches.

The door slightly opens catching me off guard but I continue to stay put not caring about what happens next. If it brings punishment on the broken girl inside of me, it won't be anything I'm not used to. Anything that I haven't felt before.

"Emma," I hear him call out to me softly

I know who it is by voice but I don't have the energy to reply, and my eyes won't take themselves off of the girl in front of me, only making myself go back to the therapy sessions with Ms. Matthews.

She always told me I will never become comfortable with the "real" me until I look at myself, but now that I am, the only thing I'm comfortable with is seeing myself hurt.

My parents believe they have the picture perfect daughter, and Nathan knows he has an unstable chaotic girlfriend. As crazy as it sounds, I want their perspectives flipped.

I want Nathan to see me as the perfect girlfriend. The girlfriend who doesn't self harm, or starve herself, only because she's scared of what other people say or think about her. And I want my parents to understand that I can make mistakes and not be penalized for them. Or that I can be physically unprepared at times and not be faulted.

"Bunny," He calls out to me again now coming up behind me pulling me out of my thoughts

Something he has done graciously.

Part of me wants to think he has conflicted feelings about this scenario since it's my fault but when I look at the way he's looking at me, all of it washes away. And the simplest thought makes me relax me in the best yet weirdest way.

We both have our personal issues, and it looks like mine were exampled first.

Suddenly feeling his arms wrap around my waist, I start to feel at ease, and he leans down and kisses under my ear causing more warmth to spread through me. He looks at me through the mirror and I prepare myself for his following words but I'm taken completely off guard and begin to laugh hysterically.

"Damn I've been waiting to beat his duck looking ass since 7th grade,"