Chapter 19 (Riley's POV):

I got up slowly and got dressed, trying not to think about the fight I had with Nate the day before. I felt so bad for saying those things to him, but what was he expecting?! He said none of that had any meaning to him... I could only answer like that!! I left my cabin and headed to the soccer field. On one hand, I didn't want to talk to Nate, but maybe, if I saw him, I could think things through.

Then, I saw someone behind the benches. A girl.

"Emily?" I said, surprised. I approached her and there she was, sitting on the ground, grabbing her knees, with a weird expression on her face. "Emily, what happened?"

"Nothing, I just felt like coming here..." she said, in a low voice. I stared at her, confused. It took me a while to see marks on her arms.

"Wait, what's that on your arm?" I asked, as she grabbed her arms, like she wanted to hide them. "Emily, what are those marks? Answer me."

"It's nothing. I went out last night and I fell when I returned."

"Ems, those marks are too dark to be from a fall... It's almost like... Like someone grabbed you really hard or something..." I understood, as she lowered her head. "Emily, is that what happened? Did someone hurt you or-"

"Riley, nothing happened, okay?!" she yelled, running away. I just watched her leave. If it was something as bad as she made it seem, she couldn't keep that a secret. I thought about for a while and I headed to Kyle's cabin. I knew he was involved in what happened.

As I arrived, I knocked on the door really hard. No one answered. I did the same three more times without any answer whatsoever. I decided to push the door and it opened easily. But nothing could've prepared me for what I was about to see.

"Riley?" Kyle said. He was lying on his bed and Gwen was on top of him. I felt all the blood rushing to my head and I closed my fists in anger. As I saw Gwen smirking, I approached her and grabbed her by the hair.

"What are you doing here, you bitch?! Is stealing other people's boyfriends the only thing you're good at?!" I yelled, pulling harder. She just screamed more and more.

"Riley, it's not like that! Emily and I... We're not together anymore..." he explained. I looked at him, astonished. I let go of Gwen and came closer to him.

"What do you mean, you're not together anymore?"

"Some stuff happened last night..."

"What stuff? I found Emily, today, totally devastaded and she didn't want to tell me anything at all."

"Maybe it's better if you don't know..." he said, trying to go to the door. I grabbed his arm, squeezing tightly.

"I swear to God that, if you did anything to hurt Emily, I'll hurt three times as much and you'll wish you were never born!" I threatened, turning to face Gwen, who looked scared. "I advise you two to stay away from Emily or it'll be worse for you."

"It's not our fault you're sister such a disturbed freak, that hurts everybody just to feel better about herself!" she yelled, as I was leaving.

"What did you just say?" I asked, not waiting for an answer. I jumped on top of her and I pulled her hair, even stronger than before (and I didn't even think that was possible), punching her as well. She kept on screaming and I felt someone grabbing me from behind. But it wasn't Kyle...

"Riley, that's enough. Let's go outside." Nate's voice echoed in my ears, as he pulled me away from the two of them. I struggled really hard, screaming and squirming like crazy, but he wouldn't let me go. We stopped by the lake and I bit his arm, moving two steps back. "Ouch! What was that for?!"

"Why did you stick your nose in there, anyway? Isn't it enough for you to ruin my life, now you have to mess with my sister's problems?"

"I didn't ruin your life, you're dramatizing."

"Whatever." I replied, walking away.

"Riley-"

"Don't. I'm not in the mood for your pep talk. Not today..." I mumbled, running my fingers through my hair and looking down.

"Did something happen with Emily?" he asked, concerned.

"I don't know... I saw her a while ago near the benches and she had some weird marks on her arms. And now I caught Kyle and Gwen snogging... Has everybody gone nuts?"

"Sometimes, it seems like it... Have you tried to talk with Emily?"

"She won't tell me anything... She says she went out last night and she fell a few times on her way back... But those marks... I don't know... They're worse... It's almost like someone grabbed her..." I confessed, trying to hold back my tears. Just the thought of someone trying to hurt my sister made me feel sick.

"Look... I know we're not exactly 'okay'... But you can talk with me, if you want...

"I don't need to talk with you." I said, coldly. I knew I was being a bit mean, but I had other things to worry about.

"You don't have to. I'm just saying I'm here, in case you wanto to. We'll talk later, General." he said, with a sad smile, as he walked away. I sighed. I blew it... Again...

I went to the cafeteria to see if I could eat something, but I had too much on my mind. I thought about Emily and her marks, Kyle and Gwen... And Nate... How could I've pissed so many people in one morning? The day was going horribly to me and it wasn't even eleven o'clock.

I saw Emily at the other end of the cafeteria, eating by herself. I was afraid to go talk with her and say something that would her her. Again... I also saw Nate sitting alone at a table and I frowned. Maybe I should talk with him.

"May I?" I asked, aprroaching him, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Sit." he said. I sat down and stayed in silence for a while. How was I supposed to open my heart to someone that I had treated so wrong?

"Well, you... Uh... You said that I could talk with you if I wanted to and... I think I want to..." I mumbled, staring at my plate. I heard his laughter.

"Talk, then."

"It's about Emily's marks... You've been here longer than me and... Tell me, do you think there's any possibility that Kyle was the one who did that to her?" I questioned, surprising him. He hesitated. I realized it was a tough question. "You know what? Nevermind. It was stupid. Let's change the subject."

"I don't think he did it. Kyle can be an ass somethimes, but I can't imagine him hurting a girl. Specially, not Emily." he aswered, staring at me. I understood the honesty in his voice and I thought maybe I had to think outside the box if I wanted to find out who did that.

"I'm going for a walk, to clear my mind." I informed, seeing Emily with a sad expression. Nate nodded and that made me think. Maybe now was a good time to redime myself. "Do you wanna come?"

"You sure you don't mind?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, it's cool. I mean... What kind of General am I, if I have no one to boss around?" I joked, smiling. He laughed.

"Okay, let's go." he agreed, standing up. We left the cafeteria in silence, specially because I needed to think. The truth is we weren't really okay, but maybe this could be a good start, no?