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It's okay if you don't like me

not everyone has good tastes

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♠︎♤Chapter 47♤♠︎

●Emma's Point of view●

Yesterday, things were a little hectic, with Leo's girlfriend entering the house furious and leaving in tears. In an attempt to stop his girlfriend from finding Leo, I accidentally ended up seeing him in his most vulnerable state, and lastly, getting a mystery box filled with red camellias.

Yet the craziness didn't stop there because when my father got home and saw the mysterious white box filled with red flowers, he started to bombard me with questions.

Like "Why did I open the door?" Was I not supposed to?

The second one was whether "My mother had any other person other than Rick. That knows me on a personal level."

Now I can't open the front door without someone being with me. Something about... I could've gotten kidnapped.

"Are you listening, Emma?" Romania's voice snapped me out of my intrusive thoughts that were running rampant since I opened my eyes this morning.

"No, sorry. It's just that I have something stupid on my mind." I mumbled out as I picked up the pace to keep up with the two sisters strolling down the empty hall. We were all going to the restroom, but collectively, we decided to wander a bit first to get away from the lunchroom's noisy atmosphere.

"Spill it. What's got your head in the clouds?

Who is the lucky guy who's stuck in your head?" Juliet slowed down her pace to match mine, making Romania do the same.

Three faces flashed in my mind, but I quickly buried that silly thought in the back of my head.

At first, I debated with myself whether I should confide in them my issues or not, but in the end, I gave in, seeing how both of their curiosity grew. Maybe they could help me make sense of this bizarre situation. "No... nothing to do with a boy.

It's just yesterday that someone sent me a white box filled to the brim with red flowers inside. There was no note of who sent them to me."

"Wait, awww, somebody sent you a box of flowers.

What kind were they?" Juliet nudged me with her elbow, throwing me a wink and a playful, knowing smile.

"Red camellias."

"How romantic. That person must really like you. " Juliet sighs dreamily. But her expression did not last long when she heard Romania's words and reactions.

"Ewww, no. That is terrifying, especially if you don't know who sent them to you.

That, my friend, is called a "fucking stalker."

Who is probably a creep watching you from a distance, or probably watching you right now as he breathes harshly in and out in a dark corner, waiting for you to be alone to attack." When she said the last part, it made me quickly glance a little harder at my surroundings, trying to detect anyone that looked suspicious and out of breath in the hallway.

Romania chuckled at my expression and continued, "Don't worry too much. With your brothers always looming over you like guard dogs, that creep wouldn't be that crazy to approach you without wanting to die to do so."

"Why do you always have to make everything so creepy, Romania?" Juliet shook her head in disapproval at how Romania wasn't helping her by making me feel any less worried about this creepy situation.

"Bruh, in Japan, that flower symbolizes a noble death.

Why couldn't he just take another flower instead? Like, for example, red roses. But nah, the creep had to go for the creepy one with an origin story. " Romania shivers as she throws her sister a side-eye to counterattack.

"Maybe she has a secret admirer. who is probably a nice guy. Who could be a little shy and probably like red camellias? "

"" That's what Ms. Nancy said to my father to ease his tormenting thoughts that those flowers could be connected to my abusers.

My father wasn't amused by the mysterious white box filled with flowers at all. He called the investigators to see if any of my abusers had any communication from anyone from the outside, but nope, nothing.

"Here, you can keep it. And use it when the time comes.

If the creep ever gets you, remember to hit him in the liver; it knocks him right down to his knees.

And make a run for it, okay, when he's down. Remember, don't freeze in place because every second counts." Romania passed me a small pink pocket knife, making my eyes go wide as she quickly put it in my dark jeans' front pocket.

"Is this even legal to have in school?" I asked.

"No .... Still, women have to defend themselves somehow from creeps. Especially now that a serial killer is out and about getting girls that oddly act all shy and timid like you."

"Really, Romania? Are you trying to get her into trouble? This is not a good idea." Juliet throws Romania a pointed hard glare.

"If you say so, I would rather be in jail and alive than dead in a dark ditch somewhere out in the abandoned woods. While my crops are being eaten by worms and stray wild animals," My face twisted with disgust the more my mind vividly painted everything Romania was letting out with such a serious expression on her face.

"Plus, you haven't even noticed I had one right here this whole time. I have had it around my neck for a while." My face twisted in confusion when she pointed to her silver-gold cross necklace decorating her neck. She linked her arm with mine and dragged me to the bathroom quickly, with Juliet hot on our tail.

When we are inside, she checks that nobody is in the bathroom. Then she begins to show me what she was referring to.

My face was surprised at the long blade that came out of the cross necklace. Juliet's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her face at how wide they went at seeing the sharp, lethal weapon in her little sister's hand.

"I'll get you one soon. So for now, keep the one that I gave you, until then. Okay? Because there are too many crazy fucks around trying a bitch lately. And you don't want to become a statistic, right?"

"Okay." I didn’t argue with her about that because I know it’s true. At the end of the day, only I can save myself. There won't be any white shiny armor in sight if the time ever comes.

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Having a knife in school was nerve-racking. I needed to keep checking to see if it was inside my pocket. This was terrifying.

How does she do it? Doesn't she feel scared to have these things in school?Or am I being too paranoid for my own good?

My body flinches when I feel an arm drip around my shoulders. When I saw who it was, my nerves calmed down a bit, but my cheeks flared out of control.

Mike pulls me along to keep walking around the green field. It seems like I stopped without noticing.

Today the teacher was going easy on us because the weather was nice. Leaving us just to walk around the enormous green field as he sat himself on a chair watching us go in circles.

"You can let go of me now." I said it a little too shyly. Mike has gotten more comfortable with skin contact.

The last time I touched him, he ran away from me. Thank God he wasn't mad at me then. We made a lot of progress in this weird relationship that doesn't have a label to it.

"For you to stop again. No way." He pulled me closer to him, making my heart beat out of control.

Then, out of nowhere, he lets go and jog a little towards a spot on the field to pick something from the grass.

What could it be?

He returned with something small in his hand. He passes it to me, and my cheeks warm up even more when my eyes settle on the small thing he gave me with a smile plastered on his face.

A small yellow flower Yep, he gave me a flower. God, this guy really likes to find ways to make me blush so hard.

"You have to stop this. Everyone in class will start to think we are a couple." Those words came out much softer than I intended them to.

But all he did was shrug as he kept walking at the same speed as me to keep me company.

Even though I said those words, I was a little happy inside. That he gave it to me.

So much so that I protected the small yellow flower until I got home. and placed it inside a small cup filled with water.

And the pocket knife? I kept it in my bag, hidden with a pink handkerchief.

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