Chapter 5 She Can’t Know

Emily wakes up and finds herself all tucked up in her bed. She runs her fingers through her hair and looks around. No one is here. She lifts her phone to see the time. It is 4 in the morning, and there are 20 missed calls on it from her friends. She gets out of bed and goes to the washroom. She splashes her face with water. She comes back to her room. She grabs her phone and takes out Ethan’s number but then put the phone away, “I’ll call him tomorrow. It is pretty late already.” She gets into bed when suddenly she sees a blurred vision of Nathan saving her from the wolf, how he jumped in front of it and stabbed it in the chest. “Nathan!” She says the name and goes back to sleep.

The following day she wakes up and jumps out of bed. She runs downstairs and sees Ethan sitting with her mother in the kitchen. They both look at her, and she hesitates after seeing Ethan. “Ethan! Hey, what are you doing here?” she asks.

Ethan looks at her mother and takes a sip from his mug, “I came here to pick you. I thought I’d give your mother a day off.” He chuckles.

Emily smiles, “I’ll go and get ready, be back in 15 minutes.”

She turns and heads back to her room; Ethan sits with her

mother. Emily’s mother looks at Ethan and smiles. “Excuse me,”

her mother says as she follows Emily.

She walks into Emily’s room. Emily is standing in front of the mirror, brushing her hair. She stands at the door and knocks. Emily looks at her and continues to brush her hair. Mrs Stone walks over to her daughter and puts her hands on Emily’s

shoulders. Emily smiles and puts the brush down. “The boy downstairs!” Mrs Stone says.

“Yeah. The boy downstairs.” Emily replies and smiles.

“He’s lovely.” Mrs Stone says with a smile and kisses Emily’s

head.

Emily walks down and sees Ethan waiting for her by the door. They both make their way out of the front door and get into the car.

On their way to school, Ethan can see the distraction on Emily’s face. She seems lost in her thoughts. “Babe, are you okay?” he asks.

Emily looks at him and nods. “What happened last night? We lost you in the woods, and then we all received a message from you that you are going back home with Nathan?” he continues.

“Nathan?” Emily asks.

“Yeah, here, check my phone.” He shows her the message. Emily reads it and gives the phone back to Ethan, “Yeah, he did.

He found me in the woods and then dropped me home. That is

exactly what happened.” She says.

Emily cannot remember sending the message or Nathan taking her home. But one thing she can remember is that she hurt her ankle last night, which seems in perfect shape now. Emily rubs her ankle and puts pressure on it; it looks perfectly fine like nothing happened. Ethan looks at her actions and asks if everything is okay.

“Yeah Totally, I was just doing my morning stretch.” She replies.

They reach the school. Ethan parks the car in the parking area. Emily looks outside the car window, “What are you looking for?” Ethan asks.

“Nothing,” Emily replies.

Ethan holds her hand and leans forward to kiss her. Emily kisses Ethan on the cheek, “Later, babe. I am running late for class.” she says and steps out of the car.

Ethan stays as Emily walks away. “There is Something wrong

with her, and she is not telling me.” Ethan thinks to himself.

Margaret, Daniel and Claire are standing outside the class. Emily

comes running to them. “Hey, slow down,” Claire says.

“Well, you guys won’t believe what happened last night,” Emily

says in excitement.

“You went home with Nathan, and you guys got together, didn’t you?” Claire says.

“What? No!” Emily says.

“Well, then I’ll pass,” Claire replies.

“Will you let her say it, Claire?” Margaret interrupts.

Emily smiles, “Thanks, Margaret. So remember how we were all running from the wolf last night, and I got separated from you all.” she says.

“Yeah, and Nathan came after you,” Daniel replies. “Where is he, by the way? I haven’t seen him anywhere.”

“He must be smoking in some corner,” Margaret says.

“No, he must not have come today. That’s what I am telling you. He saved me from the wolf last night. The wolf was approaching to attack me when Nathan appeared out of nowhere and stabbed it in the chest.” Emily says.

“He did what?” all three says together.

“Yeah, he did. And I remember him bleeding out a lot.” Emily

replies.

“Then what is this text? If Nathan got that injured, how did he

drop you home then?” Margaret asks.

“To be honest, I don’t remember sending that text at all,” Emily

replies.

They see the teacher approach, “Heads up! Let’s continue after

class.” Emily says and walks inside the class with her friends.

During the class, all Emily can think of is how bravely Nathan saved her last night. She can see herself as a princess of a romantic novel and Nathan as the prince who saved her from a threat. She has liked Nathan from the very first day, but he has never given her any attention, so she considered that she is not his type, but after last night she can see that Nathan cares about her more than his life to jump in like that.

On the other side, her friends are discussing what Emily said about how Nathan saved her. Daniel messages, “Do you think she is okay?

Claire replies, “Well, absolutely not. I mean, don’t get me wrong. She is our friend, and we are supposed to believe her but what she is saying is an utter novel event. Where the guy saves a girl, she has a crush on.”

“She might have hit her head too hard, you know,” Margaret replies.

“But what about the message she sent us?” Daniel replies.

“Maybe she was telling the truth that she was with Nathan last night, and then she got all wasted because you know Nathan. The guy is always smoking weed.” Margaret replies.

“That explains why she doesn’t remember sending us that message and why she is acting all … ouch!” Claire gets hit by chalk on her head.

“The book is on the table, young lady.” The teacher says.

Claire smiles and puts her phone down. “Yes, sir.”

Emily looks at Claire and checks her phone to see if Claire has sent her anything but no, nothing on her side. Emily ignores and goes back to dreaming.

After the bell rings, everyone comes out of the class, and they all

see Ethan outside. Ethan hugs Emily and kisses her. “Hey, how did it go?” he asks.

“Good, well, Claire here got hit by a chalk on the head,” Emily replies in Ethan’s arms while looking at Claire.

“Haha, Em. It was nothing. I have been hit by worse.” Claire replies.

“What was it about, by the way?” Emily asks.

“Nothing, I was just checking my Instagram. History is way too

boring for me.” Claire yawns.

“But today’s topic was way more interesting. I thought you liked

all sci-fi.” Margaret says.

“Yeah, I do. I like superheroes, not scientific experiments that happened during world war.” Claire replied.

“Captain America is also a science experiment, so that you

know,” Daniel replies and chuckles.

Claire looks at him with her cat eyes, “But Chris Evans isn’t!” she

says.

Ethan jumps in to change the topic, “What do you guys have next?” he asks.

“French!” Margaret replies.

“And I have a training session. You coming, man?” Daniel asks

Ethan.

“Yeah, I am right behind you,” Ethan replies.

He kisses Emily and leaves with Daniel. Emily waves to him and turns with her friends. Margaret and Claire can notice a change in Emily. She looks different in a way. She has not stopped smiling since this morning. Claire hits Margaret’s shoulder and gives her a gesture to ask Emily. Margaret shakes her head. “What is going on? I can feel you two having a brawl behind my back.” Emily says.

Claire stops and then goes on, “Okay, fine! What happened to

you? We can see the change in your walking. You are walking

like a flamingo. Dancing with each step, and you haven’t stopped smiling since the moment we have seen you. What is going on?” Claire lets it all out.

Emily chuckles. She plays with her hair and goes on, “Nothing. I am just feeling good today. And as my friends, you should be happy, right?” she questions.

She continues, “I am just glad that we all survived that wolf last night, and it wouldn’t have been possible if Nathan wasn’t there. He saved us all. First from the trailer and then from the wolf.”

“So this is all about Nathan. Isn’t it? You are falling for him, aren’t you?” Claire says.

“No, I am not, and even if I am, you shouldn’t be bothered by it unless you have a thing for him,” Emily replies with anger in her tone.

Claire flinches. “Em, I didn’t mean it that way. I just don’t want you to get in trouble or anything,” she says.

They all stay silent for a while, then Emily breaks the ice. “I am sorry, Claire. I shouldn’t have said those things. I didn’t mean it that way either.” she comforts Claire.

“It’s okay. We support you with whatever it is, you know that.” Margaret says, “We are just concerned about you because you have been under an eye. Lately, that’s it.”

“Relax, I am fine,” Emily replies. She looks around, “Let’s head to class.” The three make up quickly and head to class.

On the field, Daniel and Ethan are running with their rackets. Daniel passes the ball to Ethan, and Ethan runs through all the players. Dodging them and makes a score. The coach blows the whistle. “Price, Reid to me,” he yells.

Ethan and Daniel run to him. “Yes, coach?”

“You two! You have great chemistry on the field. What are you

doing for vacations, Reid?” the coach asks. “Nothing particular, coach,” Daniel replies. “And you, Price?” he looked at Ethan.

“I am going out with my family,” Ethan replies.

“Well, that’s a bummer. I thought you would join us at the training sessions but well fine by me. Now head back on the field.” the coach says and walks away.

“So, where are you going, man?” Daniel asks Ethan. “France!” he replies.

“Ooo, that’s fancy! With family?” Daniel asks.

“Nah! My folks are already touring. I was thinking of asking Emily if she would join me. You know, getaway for a while, just her and me.” he replied.

“Sounds cool, man. Have you asked her yet?” Daniel asks.

“No! I went to her place to ask her mum for permission which she gave me. I tried asking her on our way to school, but she was lost in her thoughts. I might do it after school.” he replies.

“Cool, man. Best of luck.” Daniel replies.

He puts his helmet on, punches Ethan in the arm and runs onto the field.

Emily and the girls come out of the class. “Hey, let’s go to Rob’s

diner,” Margaret says.

“You guys go. I have somewhere to be.” Emily says while taking

a few steps back.

“Where are you heading?” Claire asks.

Emily sighs, “I am going to see Nathan.” she replies.

Claire and Margaret give her a look. Emily continues, “I want to thank him. I owe him this at least, and no, I am not cheating on Ethan, relax.”

“It’s your choice. We’ll see you around, Em.” Margaret says.

Ethan walks in. The girls greet him and leave. “What was that about?” he asks.

“Forget it.” Emily says as she wraps her arms around Ethan, “How was practice?” she asks.

“Good. Coach offered me to join his training sessions during the vacation,” he replies.

“That sounds good,” Emily says. “But, I refused.” He adds

“Why would you do that?” Emily asks.

“Because I was thinking to go to France for the vacation,” he

replies with a smile.

“France! That’s romantic.” Emily replies.

Ethan continues, “Isn’t it! Well, I was thinking maybe….”

Emily’s phone rings, “Excuse me.” She takes the call, and Ethan stands there looking at her, “Oh, great. Thank you so much.” She turns, “Babe, I gotta go somewhere really urgent. I’ll see you later, okay, bye.” She kisses him and flees.

Emily reaches La’ Cruise Mansion. She checks her phone to see if she is at the right place. “The map says this is the place. Didn’t know Nathan was this rich.” She thought to herself.

Emily walks in through the gate. She was looking around the big empty entrance, with a sculpture fountain in the middle. She walks around looking for Nathan as his jeep is parked, but he is not in sight. She walks to the door. A bell is hanging by the door, “Antique!” she murmurs and rings the bell. She waits for a while, but no one answered. She rings the bell again and leans on the door. The door slides open itself and take Emily with it. Emily gets up. She is standing inside the mansion. She looked around, calling Nathan’s name, but he did not answer. She walked through the wooden entrance into the great hall. The fire was burning brightly. “How stupid of me. He badly injured himself

last night. How do I expect him to even come out of bed.” She

thinks to herself.

Emily looks around and sees the stairs. She heads to them and walks up, calling Nathan’s name. She comes to a room with the door slightly open. She knocks on the door, “Nathan? Are you in there?” she slides the door. The room is all messed up. The sheets are clean but messy, liquor bottles on the floor but no sign of Nathan. “Maybe he is out,” she says and turns to head out. As she walks down the stairs, she hears a boiling sound

coming from one side door. She looks in the direction, stops for a moment then follows the sound. “Nathan, is that you?” she says, but no one answers. She arrives at a door, and behind it, she can hear the boiling sound. Emily pushed the door, and it opened into a dark underground chamber. She takes her phone out, turns on the torch and sees a man standing in front of her.

Emily screams horrifically. Nathan covers her mouth, “Sshh… sshhh. Why are you screaming?” he says.

Emily says something in gibberish, “I can’t understand you.”

Nathan replies.

Emily points at Nathan’s hand, which is covering her face. Nathan removed his hand, “You scared me.” Emily says as she breaths heavily.

“I scared you? You are the one who entered my house without me knowing. What the hell are you doing here anyway?” Nathan asks.

“I came to thank you for last night. I even brought food for you. I thought you would be in too much pain to cook anything.” she replies.

Nathan looks at her with his eyes all confused, “Why would I be in pain?”

Emily chuckles, “Because you saved me from that wolf last night, and it cut your whole chest. You were bleeding, Nathan.” she says.

“I think you hit your head hard when you fell. You have been dreaming.” Nathan laughs and walks Emily into the hall.

“Don’t you remember, you saved me from that wolf? You staked

it right into the chest.” Emily exclaims.

Nathan chuckles, “What do you think I am? Superman? There was no wolf Emily. I found you in the woods unconscious, so I picked you up and dropped you home, that’s it.” he says.

“Quit lying, Nathan. I remember spraining my ankle and then the wolf jumping to attack me, but you jumped in and killed it.” Emily says.

“Spraining your ankle?” he says and looks at Emily’s foot. “Not so much sprain I can see there,” he replies. “And bleeding my chest out?” Nathan opens his buttons. “Not even a single scratch Emily.”

Emily looks at Nathan in shock. She remembers Nathan had a large cut on his chest, but it was not there anymore. “How is this possible? I saw you getting cut.” She says in confusion.

“Well, where is it then?” he replies as he buttons his shirt up.

“Let me tell you what happened. I found you lying in the woods. I picked you up and dropped you home. I even texted your friends from your phone, so they didn’t worry.”

“But…” Emily struggles.

“Enough, Emily. Thanks for the food, but please leave.” He says

to her.

Emily turns and walks out in despair. Nathan walks her to the door and closes it as she steps out. Emily walks out, still trying to process the whole thing.

Nathan opens the door and walks down the staircase into the chamber. He reaches another door. He pushes it open, and inside is a lab with multiple glass beakers on stoves. Vials on the stands. Some formulas in the fridge. A man walks out from behind the pillar. It is the same man Daniel met outside the mansion.

The man walks to the front, Nathan ignores him and walks to the

shelf. “What was that all about?” The man asks.

“Ignore her,” Nathan replies and puts on a pair of rubber gloves.

“Ignore her? What was she talking about?” The man asks Nathan.

“She was in danger. What was I supposed to do? Let her die?”

Nathan yells.

“But now she knows, and she will ask questions. She will let your secret out.” The man walks to Nathan.

“She won’t because no one is going to believe her,” Nathan says

and turns to a boiler.

Emily reaches her home. She runs into her room and takes her phone out. She dials Margaret and Claire and takes them both on a conference call. “Yeah? How did it go?” they both asked.

“Nathan was excellent! There was not even a single scratch on him. I swear I remember him getting hurt, but he was standing there in one piece.” Emily exclaims.

Claire sighs and starts in a calm tone, “Em, babe, we love you but that story. It sounds pretty unreal to me from the beginning. I didn’t want to say it to you before, but now you have seen it with your own eyes.”

Margaret follows, “Look, there is nothing wrong with dreaming, okay. Maybe Nathan saved you from falling or something else. You should take some rest.”

They both disconnect the call. “I am not crazy,” Emily screams. She is sitting in her room when she hears a car horn outside her house. She looks out of the window, and Ethan is standing outside.

Emily runs outside and hugs Ethan tightly. “Are you okay, Emily?” he asks.

“Do you believe me?” Emily looks at him and asks. “What?” Ethan questions.

“Do you believe me or not?” Emily asks again.

Ethan takes her and sits with her on the porch. He asks her what happened, and Emily tells him the whole story of how Nathan saved her and got injured in the process and when she visited him, he was all fine, and he is telling her that nothing like that happened.

Ethan listens to Emily and loses his temper, “You have been

ignoring me all day because of Nathan?” he questions, “and you went to see him. I told you how many times that I don’t like the guy, but you went anyway.”

“Ethan, you are not getting it,” Emily says.

Ethan yells, “You are not getting it, Emily. I was planning to take you with me to France, but you… I have been asking you all day what is it, but you lied to me.” he stands up, takes the ticket out from his pocket and tears it in front of Emily.

“Ethan, don’t do this,” Emily begs.

“We are over, Emily,” Ethan says and tosses the torn pieces of

the ticket into the air.