| Chapter Nine That night I just walked the streets. I didn't sleep. I just...walked. By morning I could feel the effects of the sleepless night starting to have an affect on me. I slowly trudged back to my old sleeping grounds, to see if the group had recollected themselves there. I turned the corner past the alleyway and saw Holly walking around. I took a breath remembering the events that had happened the night before. I walked toward my only friends and family in the world. Ayanna was the first to look up at me. "Hey, guys," I said, breaking the silence. They all just glanced up at me then back down to what they were doing. "Emily, can we talk?" I asked, looking down at her. She kind of rolled her eyes and stood up. "I guess," she quietly responded. We walked together a little bit away from the group. "Look," I said, after we had walked for a bit. "I'm really sorry about what I said last night. I was being really selfish. I know that I'm not the only one living out here and I have got as much to lose as anyone else. I'm sorry for the hurtful things I said. Em, you're like a sister to me. You, Holly, Nikki, Ayanna, Jordan even. You're all like family." I looked over at her as we stopped. "Friends?" "Of course," she smiled. I hugged her. "I couldn't imagine our family being the same without you." We walked back together and I explained to everyone that I had just freaked out the night before. Luckily, they accepted me back and everything was well again. *Three Months Later* Holly and I stood outside an Atomic Kitten concert, waiting for the perfect moment to sneak in. "I don't think this is such a good idea, Holly," I said to her as we inched closer to the gates. "Why not?" she asked. "You've done this before." "Yeah, once before, but I don't know, this is different," I responded. "What? Like a bigger crowd? The more the better!" she exclaimed as she walked ahead of me and slid in. Knots formed in my stomach as I followed and did the same. I miracualously made it through without getting stopped by one of the security guards. "Nice job," Holly smiled when we met up with each other again. "I hate this," I complained. "Free concert, oh well," she said as we headed toward the lawn seats. The music started up as we sat down in the massive crowd. A few songs later we stood and were mingling with the other people when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and looked directly into Abs' brown eyes. Chapter Ten... |