Chapter 10

                                    

                                          
Emily's POV
"So, are you guys dating?" Cam asked, skipping beside me.
"Cam, did you hear anything I said? We're friends—we agreed to be friends," I said, rolling my eyes. My words felt hollow. I didn't want to just be friends, but I wasn't ready for anything more, especially since she's my teacher.
"You guys are not friends," Cam scoffed.
"Okay, she's my teacher, but we can still have a friendship," I said, opening my locker to grab my books.
"I'm not saying it's because she's your teacher. I'm saying it's because you practically swoon every time you see her," Cam said with a giggle. I smacked her shoulder with my book.
"Fine, I'll admit I'm attracted to her, but I genuinely want to be her friend and help her through her sadness," I said, glancing down the hallway for a glimpse of her.
"Emily, I know you want to fix her problems, but if I'm being honest, you're avoiding your own issues," Cam said, leaning in close.
"Avoiding? Why do you think that?" I asked absentmindedly, spotting her walking down the hall.
"You said you'd go back to therapy. You can't fix yourself by fixing others, and you definitely can't force her to open up just to feel better about what Chloe did to you," Cam said. Everything around me went dark as Alexandria's frantic voice pierced through.
"Emily!!! Let her go!! What are you doing?" I looked at Alexandria's panicked face, then at my hand gripping Cam's neck. I felt someone hitting my arm, snapping me back to reality.
An arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me away. Cam collapsed to the ground, gasping for air as a few students rushed to her side.
My mind couldn't process what had happened. Cam's voice was distant, her words a blur. I pushed Alexandria away, my panic escalating as I realized everyone was staring at me. My body shook uncontrollably, the buzzing in my ears drowning out everything else. Cam's face blurred as my vision dimmed, and then everything went black.
Cameron's POV
The moment I mentioned Chloe's name, I regretted it. I knew Emily's past was painful, but bringing up Ms. Vieira's troubled history seemed to ignite something in her.
I've been taking care of Emily for the past two years, and while I've always hoped she'd seek therapy, I never pushed her. I was pleased when she started seeing Ms. Vieira, thinking it would help her see she wasn't ready to move on.
Now, it felt like everything had spiraled out of control. Emily's outburst was my fault, triggered by my careless words. I was sitting beside her in the nurse's office after she had a panic attack and blacked out, feeling overwhelmed with guilt. I held her hand, stroking her hair, when Ms. Vieira walked in.
"I talked to the principal. She won't be suspended, but she has to help with rearranging the books in the library for a week," Ms. Vieira said, and I nodded. I knew she'd want to know what happened, but I wasn't ready to talk about it.
"Did the nurse look at your neck? It looks like a bad bruise," Ms. Vieira said. I instinctively covered my neck with my hand and took a deep breath.
"It's fine, thank you, Ms. Vieira," I replied, my voice cracking with a mix of pain and concern for Emily.
"I was surprised to see her like this. She always seemed so calm," Ms. Vieira whispered. I glanced up at her briefly before returning to stroking Emily's hair.
"I won't ask, Cameron," Ms. Vieira said, and I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. A tear rolled down my cheek.
"Don't worry, she's not mad at you, no matter what happened," Ms. Vieira reassured me.