Chapter 16
Ema's
The next morning arrived far too early. I felt like I was being dragged back to school with a heavy iron chain wrapped around my neck. I didn't want to go. I didn't want to see anyone or pretend that my life was normal. But I didn't have a choice. I put on the same uniform I had worn the day before. I walked through the same hallways and saw the same faces. Every step I took felt like I was carrying a heavy weight. There was a deep ache in my chest that just wouldn't go away.
I felt completely distant from everything and everyone around me. It was like I was watching my own life happen through a sheet of fogged-up glass. I could see what was happening, but I couldn't really feel it. I hadn't seen Derek since the night before. I kept thinking about the way he had carried me up the stairs to my bed. I remembered the feeling of his fingers moving gently through my damp hair. Most of all, I remembered the words he whispered when he thought I was already asleep.
