"Emma, why won't you come back?" Craig asked, a bit hurt by Emma's steadfast rejection to his invitation.
"It doesn't feel right." Emma said, "I just don't think I can open up myself to strangers." Craig sat down and sighed, disappointment mixed with confusing churning in his mind. Emma stepped behind him and rested her hands on his shoulders.
"I'm sorry." Craig touched her hand gently and gave her a weak smile.
"Don't worry. I get it. It was the same for me when I first started." You'll warm up to it, he thought. Emma smiled her familiar smile and nodded.
"Just give me a while okay? When I'm ready." Craig looked at her hopefully and a smile broke through his disappointment and hurt.
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Emma stared at herself in the mirror. She had grown so small in the mere week that followed the rape. She never wondered what had happened to her, she just knew. He had taken all of her, no questions asked. She was numb, always so numb and cold. There was nothing she could do though; there was only something Craig could do. She loved Craig, but she doubted he loved her back. No one could love someone so atrocious, she thought, not even herself. She touched the mirror, caressing the reflection of her cheek, the flesh that used to be so warm, and so alive. She smiled, a fake smile, and shivered. Lightheadedness came to her, and then black.
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Emma awoke a few hours later, staring at the tiles on the bathroom floor and the carpet that seemed so violently green. She sat up and used the edge of the sink to support her weight. The lightheaded swoon came back to her, but she vowed not to fall this time and stumbled back onto her inviting bed. She touched the cold phone and dialed, the white numbers consumed in a swarm of black buttons.
"Hello?" She croaked, as the dial tone stopped.
"Emma? What's wrong?"
"Craig. Help." Her words were barely a whisper now.
Click.
Craig arrived in five minutes.
Emma was a mess by then, sprawled on the bed, crying weakly. When Craig opened the door, he ran straight to her, cradling her.
"Shhh. It's going to be okay." Emma cried herself dry, letting herself fall apart in Craig's loving arms. When she cried her last, she fell asleep and Craig gave her a kiss on the forehead before letting her go. He felt the urge and the need to stay in case she woke up again so he found a sleeping bag and decided to take his own break.