Page 56 of Redemption
"As excited as I am to listen to Henry's off-tune serenading," Emma teased with a chuckle as she headed toward the door, "I don't think my ears can handle any more abuse this morning."
"Try living with him," I retorted playfully, throwing a pillow at her. “When do you leave?"
"Right now." she said solemnly, her smile fading.
"Now?" I echoed, my voice barely audible. Emma turned to face me, her eyes softened with regret, an expression id rarely ever seen from her.
"I know, it's... it's too soon. I wanted to tell you as soon as I found out the other day, but I just couldn’t." She admitted, wringing her hands nervously. "They want me to start right away... they have their quarterly reports coming up and..." She trailed off when she saw the look on my face. The words were hollow in my ears, echoing emptily around the room.
"I understand." I forced the words out through a tight throat, trying to put on a brave face for her. This wasn't supposed to happen. We were supposed to stick together, navigate through life side by side.
"I'm going to miss you," she finally said, her blue eyes glistening.
"Yeah," I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Me too."
I stood up and our arms wrapped around each other. Our tight hug sharing all the feelings and words that we didn’t have time to express.
"But..." she continued, her voice barely more than a whisper, "Before I go, there's something else I want to give you." She reached into her bag once again, pulling out a small box.
My stomach tightened as she put it in my hands.
She bit down on her lower lip. "Open it," she encouraged.
I tore open the cardboard box, revealing a velvet case. I opened the case and felt my eyes widen. It was the exact set of paintbrushes I had spent so much time saving for, only to lose them at the beach in the waves.
"Emma…" My voice broke on her name.
“It took forever to find the exact ones you bought, You're going to need them."
"Thank you, this means so much to me, but I don't have anything for you."
"Sure you do," she said, her eyes glistening.
"You have your promise. Apply to the art school, Sophia. Do it for you, and do it for me."
I swallowed hard at her words and nodded.
She flashed me a teary-eyed smile before walking toward the door, she paused to look back at me. "Take care of yourself, Sophia." With those parting words, I watched as she stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind her for the last time. I was alone in my room again, but for the first time, I truly felt alone. First Gabriel, now Emma. I collapsed into my bed and just laid there for what felt like hours.
No more Emma to pull me out of my dark moods or distract me from my life with her wild stories and infectious laughter. No one to share late-night gossip or early morning coffee with. My best friend was gone. My room felt suddenly too empty, too quiet. The silence was suffocating, pressing down on me like a heavy blanket.
I found myself staring at the painting stuck to the wall, then dropped the pamphlet I had unconsciously crumpled in my hand.
"You're coming off that fucking wall." I gritted my teeth and grabbed the frame, pulling with everything I had. The frame creaked, drywall splintered, chips of paint fell onto my bare feet, and with a final tug and a scream, I fell onto the ground, with the ruined painting in my hands.
Sophia
Idropped the mangled painting as I stood with a wild cheer then placed my hands on my hips in a fleeting moment of triumph. My hands fell to my sides as I stared at the wall where the painting had once been. Where the frame had met the wall was a thick square of dried super glue. In the center of the wall, a small black circle glinted in the light. I took a step closer, struggling to understand what I was seeing. Then reality became clear: a tiny hidden camera lens stared back at me.
I picked up the ruined canvas and flipped it over. On the back of the painting, a pinprick-sized hole stood out. I flipped the painting over again; the hole perfectly aligned with the darkest part of the canvas. From the front, it was nearly invisible.
I stumbled back, dropping the canvas, my heart hammering wildly in my chest. Cold sweat trickled down my back as the gravity of the situation sunk in. Suddenly, I was hyper-aware of every move I made, every breath I took, like someone was watching me—because Henry had been for years.
The room felt like it was spinning, my footing slipping away no matter how hard I tried to find solid ground. A shiver ran down my spine as I thought about all those moments—changing clothes, sleeping, talking to Emma about things that were noneof his business, doing things when I thought I was alone—all under Henry’s watchful, unblinking eye.
Disgust coiled in my stomach, mixing with a growing fear. My heart pounded furiously in my chest, transforming into anger.
I paced around the room, thoughts racing faster than I could process them. I felt naked and exposed. Finally, my thoughts led to action. I looked around for my phone. Gabriel always said the cops were useless, but this time, he was wrong. I just needed to find my phone and dial three numbers. I ripped my covers off my bed, looking for my phone. Flinging it and my new paint brushes across the floor. My heartbeat pounded in my ears as I picked up my phone, and my body rocked with each adrenaline-fueled beat as I typed in my passcode. I thought I knew what fear was; I thought I had felt it hundreds of times until a loud crash echoed downstairs and feet pounded across the gallery below me. For the first time, terror sank its claws into me, consuming my mind and senses. Henry was coming for me. Every nerve in my body screamed at me to run, to hide, but I just stood there, frozen. There was nowhere to go. Even if I could manage to get the window open, it was too small. Despite the fear, I ran for my door, ripped it open, and stared down the long, dark stairwell. Light poured in from the gallery below into the narrow hallway at the bottom of the stairs, then dimmed as Henry charged around the corner and up the hallway towards the stairs. Towards me.
