Emma hummed , an extra bounce to her feet which were tapping on the floor of the cab to the song she was tuning, as the cab turned into her street. She was home.
She couldn’t wait to embrace her sister, Amelia, and tell her all that had happened in her life in the past few months. She smiled at the imagery of the shouts and screams and comical faces that Amelia would make as she would recount her adventurelike-tales, but frowned when her mind train zoomed past the betrayal that she had experienced at the hands of a man whom she had thought loved her, and his family.
She would make them pay. She thought, not knowing how she was going to do it, but knowing that she would.
“We are here, madam.” She heard the driver mention, and heaved out a sigh of relief before grasping one of her bags, the smallest, and stepping out of the car.
She waited by the side, as the driver brought out her other bags gingerly from the car and kept it by the foot of the stairs leading to the front door of her house.
“Thank you.” She said, tipping him plenty, to which the dark skinned driver smiled toothily in gratefulness, before turning around and walking back to the car. He waved at her before, driving off; the happiness still shining on his face. Emma felt lighter for that.
Leaving her bags at the same spot, she walked to the door and knocked twice. She listened in, there was nothing, not even a ruffle.
“Look, who is back.. is the semester over already?” She heard a voice call out, and gritted out her teeth. Of course she knew who it was, June.
She turned slowly, making sure to keep her fists unfisted. She didn’t want to give anything way. She wanted the girl to be relaxed enough to come closer, so that she would give her a blow for hurting her sister. It won’t dissipate the anger that was simmering again, but it would satisfy her to an extent.
“June, how have you been?” She asked, forcing a cheer to her voice as she stepped away from the door, and started to descend the stairs to meet a June whose eyes were swirling with confused emotions.
Emma could garner from the latter’s mind that the latter was wondering if hugging her was a good idea, and why it seems that Amelia hadn’t told her about what she had done.
Emma could also read off that she had broken up with the ex already.
Non-compatible eh? She thought, finally getting to stop by June who had also taken a few steps to meet her, a false smile to her lips too.
June raised her hands for a hug, but she was met with a fist punch instead, which had her falling to the ground ungracefully.
The pain wheeled life out of her for a while that it took her more than a minute to discover that together with the blood that was flowing from her mouth, she could feel the rough edges of a tooth; no, a few teeth on her hand which had gone to cup her mouth on the assault.
What the hell!
With tears of anger flowing from her eyes, she looked up, her knees on the floor, to Emma, shuddering at the emotion that was floating in the latter’s eyes.
What had happened to Emma in England?
“What was that for?” June managed to ask, striving to get to her feet but failing twice. It was like she was crippled from the blow to her mouth. Could Emma always punch like this, or had she taken fighting classes in England? Had she joined a fight club?
Well, she wouldn’t put it past the girl she had envied since the first time she had set her eyes on her.
“If you ask that question again, you will be receiving another punch, slut.” Emma stated calmly, wiping her hand off invisible stains on her cloth, before folding it across her chest.
“I am not a slut!” June shouted, or tried to, before blood choked out from her mouth.
She was coughing in fits now, and although Emma became a bit scared, wondering if she had overdone it, watching as the blood continued spurting out of June’s mouth, she didn’t raise a hand to help. Rather she watched with an aloof expression as June tried to get a handle on herself.
“He left her for me. Was that my fault?” June sneered as she asked the question, shrinking back in fear when she saw Emma flare and start to saunter towards her.
She shouted for help but there was none, until a neighbor opened his door to peek at the source of disturbance in the quiet elite street.
“What is going on here?” The middle aged man asked, as he balked at the sight of June on the floor.
But Emma gave him no answer, rather she turned on her heels and walked back to the door. She was just about to knock, when the door opened, and she came face to face with her father.
Oh thank god. She sighed, at loss at what to say now. “Good afternoon, Father.” She greeted, infusing a chirpy tone in her voice.
“Good afternoon, Emma. What are you doing here?” Mr. Jason asked, furrow lines appearing on his forehead, deepening when he noticed that his neighbor was glaring at Emma whilst squatting down near a girl. June right?
He knew the girl had been behind Amelia’s tears some months ago, but why was she bleeding? A sharp look between Emma and the girl, and he knew what had happened.
“Already causing trouble as soon as you are back” He asked, hiding the satisfaction at seeing his daughter avenged.
“I’m sorry, Dad. I had no choice.” Emma said with a shrug, attempting to bypass her father, and walk into the house, but Mr Jason remained rooted by the door.
“Not so fast, young lady. Why are you here?”