Normally the Paige household was quiet, except for the occasional echo of a door opening or closing. However, on such the occasion, the house was in an uproar of voices, bustling about as if they owned the place.

Emerson was being poked and prodded as if she was a lab experiment. Stranger's hands in her hair, fixing her clothes so that they sat just right upon her tiny frame. Woman with crazy hair were smearing makeup over her face, and another woman was miking her.

"Sound check!" Someone shouted.

"Um, nice to meet you?" Emerson spoke hesitantly.

"No, you don't say nice to meet you! You say it is an honor to be here today! Emerson, we went over this a thousand times! Don't screw this up for me again!" Her father raised his voice in exasperation. 

"Okay, okay," Emerson muttered, now a sour expression took over her face. 

~~~

"Good evening Cincinnati! Welcome back to Chatting with the Carson's! Up next is Emerson Paige, and her unique story!" Phillip Carson spoke with a plastered on smile you could only tell was fake when you were up close. 

Immediately the happy facade was broken and placed on top was a scowl.

"Come on people! Five minutes till live! We need to make this a success!" Carson clapped. His face was slightly paler than before, he got nervous every once in a while. Especially when one of the most powerful men in your city had their daughter interviewed on your show. If things don't spin the way he wants it to, his life could be over as a reporter.

Mr. Carson's scowl turned into a smile at the sight of his wife, "You ready?" 

"Of course! Our viewership will skyrocket after this! Think about it, our channel will be popular for weeks!" Mrs. Carson smiled,  her eyes twinkling.

"Spots people!" The director shouted. "We are back in three, two, one!"

Emerson walked on stage with a well rehearsed smile as she gave a casual wave.

"Good evening Emerson, glad we you could make it," Mrs. Carson smiled, extending her hand for Emerson to shake.

"The honor's mine, really, Mrs. Carson," Emerson gushed, while taking a quick glance towards her father's direction. Richard mouthed 'posture', and went back to his phone call.

The girl immediately stopped slouching, and went to take a seat by the couple.

"So we hear you got into a scuffle at school?" Mrs. Carson asked sympathetically.

"I hate to admit it, but I was. I've been under a lot of stress lately. I don't know if you've heard, but my friend Tamara went missing a few months ago. It's safe to say that I'm really worried," she spoke, making sure to not rush her words and that she put emphasis on the right ones.

"Such a shame. So, tell us about this Tamara," Mr. Carson urged.

"She lived on my street, and we're best friends. I called her over to hang out, and she never showed up. The next day I went over to her house to see if she was okay, and she was gone. Her parents couldn't find her. The worst part is, I don't know if she's okay," she spoke softly.

"I know it's hard, but what happened at school?" Mrs. Carson asked, placing a hand on Emerson's.

"My brother spoke hatefully about her, and I just couldn't take it. After all, I was already stressed out enough, and I slapped him. I'm not a really violent person, so it was as much of a shock to me as to anyone else that I hit him. However, I'm not sorry I did it. In fact, he deserved it. But I am ashamed that it was in a public setting, and that it had to get to that for him to stop worrying about his reputation," she said thoughtfully.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. But, we are curious, what are your theories on Tamara's disappearance?" Mr. Carson inquired.

"I think she was kidnapped, if we're being honest. There's no way she would've ran away without telling me. We tell each other everything, and she just wouldn't have left without saying goodbye if she did run away. She also would've reached out to me by now, so that I wouldn't worry myself sick. She had to have been taken, which is why whoever has her needs to know that I will find them. And when I do, they'll be rotting where they belong, behind bars!" Emerson said determinedly, looking into the camera lens.

"You're such a good friend. Tamara's lucky to have you in her life. Now, before you go, we have one final question. We found out from the hospital yesterday that your brother was taken there because of a drug overdose. Is this true?" Mr. Carson asked with a crocodile grin.

My face paled and I looked over to where my dad and Martin were standing. My dad's face turned a vibrant shade of red, while Martin's drained of color.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize this was part of the interview," Mrs. Carson spoke interrupting her husband, giving him a stern look.

Mr. Carson looked like he was going to stand his ground on the matter but laughed, "I'm just kidding. There wasn't any hospital incident. We just heard that you were selling some of your belongings to help your brother. What exactly were you helping him with, my dear?" Mr. Carson prodded.

"A school fundraiser for his team. They needed some new equipment. The stuff they were using were as old as the empire state building! You should've seen it! Practically split in half when they touched it," Emerson laughed nervously.

"Thanks for coming Emerson," Mrs. Carson spoke, shaking hands with Emerson before the red head exited the stage.

"Now, up next is the story you've all been waiting for," Mr. Carson's voice was cut off by the slam of the production door.

"What happened in there?" Richard shouted, his face red of rage.

"I don't know," she muttered, not meeting his eyes. 

"God, do you know how much of a fool you made me look? What was he talking about with Ethan? Was Ethan doing drugs? Look at me when I speak to you!" He sputtered, raking a hand through his hair as he paced back and forth.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know what they were going to talk about," she whispered with a small shrug.

"Just get in the car, I'm done looking at you," Richard sighed exasperated, as he shooed her away with his hand.

"This is really bad Emmey. If the press twists this, they could make it a whole mystery to see if your brother actually messes with drugs. And it won't stop there, they'll try to weasel their way into your life, discover how your family interacts with each other and everything will be worse. So much worse, you understand? From now on, you can't talk or trust anyone but yourself," Martin whispered to the girl before shutting the car door once she was inside.

"Martin! What do you--"

"You didn't hear any of this from me, Emmey. You must be careful, your more special then you realize," he said with a sad smile before turning away to go sit by her father.

"Martin! Martin, what are you saying?" Emerson called out, but was answered by silence. 

A/N: Hope you liked it!!! Had a busy day, went to three baseball games, celebrated my cousins birthday, and talked to my Great Pap. He really isn't doing well, but he's 94 and he lived a long happy good life. It's sad, but I'm trying to be optimistic!

Anyway, I'll try to update tomorrow!!!

Thanks for reading!

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AND STAY BEAUTIFUL!!! ;)

~Tapqueen101