The Variations by Jones M (christmas read aloud txt) 📖

go," he added, and she did not waste time leaving the room.

Just as she had exited the class, she bumped into someone.

"Oops! I'm sorry," she apologized, using her hands to grasp on the person's shoulders. She froze when she noticed who she was holding onto.

"It's nothing," Emma said with a strained smile as she moved to escape from Kate.

Marie seemed frozen for a moment as she watched her walk away to the building exit. A thought came to her, and it had her sprinting towards Emma.

"Wait!" Kate yelled, having a couple of heads turn to face her. Emma also turned, and she hesitantly stopped.

"We need to talk," she told her once she was in front of her.

"About what exactly?" Emma asked, not meeting her eyes.

"Look. I won't judge you like the rest did. I just want to understand why you did it."

Emma knew what she was talking about, but she let out a humorless laugh.

"Why? It still won't change the thoughts you have about me."

Before Kate could get a word in, Emma turned and resumed walking towards the doors at a hastened pace.

She sighed.

************* ************************* *********************************** ********

"You bitch!" Gwen yelled in greeting as she entered the dorm. Kate turned, expecting a raging expression, but she found her roommate smiling.

"Gwen?" she called out, confused.

"Why didn't you tell me you and Chris are dating?" she said, approaching the couch that Kate had occupied.

In an instant, her cheeks turned red.

"Wait. Didn't I tell you last week?" Kate said with furrowed eyebrows.

"Oh, right," Gwen replied with a slight nod. "Now come on. You know I want to know all the stuff you did."

"Gwen--"

"Don't you Gwen me," she cut her off. "You never tell me anything."

"That's not true!" Kate exclaimed.

"You waited days to tell me that things between you and Chris had been rocky before Christmas."

Kate sighed, knowing that her friend was right. She was glad she wasn't mad at her. And so, she decided to tell her everything.

"Well, we just started last week," she started, earning a congratulatory shriek from Gwen that made her laugh.

"Explain."

Kate then proceeded to tell her roommate how Chris had come to her house to talk to her and the events that followed.

"OMG! I'm so happy for you!" Gwen said, clapping her hands in excitement.

"Thank you," Kate replied.

"So tell me. Have you already done it?" her roommate asked.

"What do you mean?" Marie asked. Gwen's suggestive look that involved her smirk and bouncing eyebrows quickly clued Kate on what her friend was suggesting.

"Oh. Oh! No," she replied, earning a frown as a reply.

"As in no you wouldn't tell me, or--"

"We didn't do anything."

"Really?" Gwen looked a bit shocked. "But you were staying at his house during that freak storm."

"Well, we only kissed and made out. Then we did some stuff with our hands and mouths..."

"Ooh," Gwen said, smirking. "Like horny teens."

Marie blushed, not wanting to talk more.

"I'm so happy for you, Kate," Gwen said as she stood up from the couch. "Now if you'll excuse me..."

"What? Already? Where are you going?" Kate asked her roommate.

"Hmm?" Gwen stated. "Oh. I'm just going to see Ben."

Honestly, it had shocked Marie. She knew that her roommate could barely last two months with a boy because they turned out to be 'boring'. Kate had expected her to end the relationship, but it seemed like he had captured her interest.

"Okay. Tell him I said hi."

"Will do!" Gwen grinned as she left the room.

Kate found it weird that she told her roommate to greet her boyfriend even though they had never met.

With a sigh, she turned to focus on her assignment.

 

Chapter 39

In spite of the snow, things had been okay during the first week of the new semester. Everyone resumed their studies, going back to their normal college routines.

The arrival of Emma had taken Kate, Chris, and Alex aback. They had not expected her to make an appearance in their lives, especially in Charles Darwin University of all places. Nobody knew about the school shooting in Stonedale High, and it had them worried about the secret being exposed. Unexpectedly, things had gone okay. It seemed that no one knew about their past with Emma, and it confused them.

Kate's conscience had been bugging her about it, and so she planned to visit Emma after her IT class that Tuesday. She had no idea of where she lived, and so she asked the students who were around the campus. It had taken her a while to find out that she lived in one of the university dorms.

As she walked on the stairs of the building, she wondered how she would approach Emma. They had barely talked to each other in high school, and so having a conversation with her was bound to be uncomfortable because of their history. A part of her worried about what would happen in her place, but Kate was determined not to let it change her decision to confront Emma. She just couldn't ignore she was in her life again, and so they had to have a talk.

Marie soon found herself standing in front of a door with the dorm number. She knocked, her heart thudding as she waited for it to be opened.

The knock was answered, and Marie found Emma standing in front of her. Her hair looked out of place, and it looked like she had been in bed.

"What are you doing here?" Emma's harsh voice pulled her out of her trance.

"I came to talk to you," she explained.

"Well, I don't want to talk to you," Emma replied, moving to close the door on her face. Marie moved quickly, placing her boot-covered foot to stop her.

"I mean it," she stated with a serious voice.

"You must be crazy," Emma said as she moved into her dorm. Kate followed, pushing the door wide open to let herself in before closing it behind her. Her vision was immediately met with the interior design of Emma's place. It looked just like the dorm she shared with Gwen, and the only difference was the cream walls.

"Why would you want to talk to me?" Emma stated with a bored look. "After everything that happened--"

"I want to know why you did it," Kate cut straight to the point. 

"You know why," Emma rolled her eyes.

"Seriously? You let the bullying push you to that point?" she found it hard to believe that.

"Don't start getting all judgmental on me," Emma stated. "You have no idea of the crap I went through."

"I do," Marie replied. "I was there to see it at times, remember?"

"Then why are you asking? Why did you come here for an answer that you already know?"

Kate remained silent, looking away from Emma.

"It's the guilt, isn't it?" Emma said.

"I did nothing to stop it," Kate did not bother to deny Emma's suggestion. "I was afraid of doing something because Darcy would have retaliated. I am so ashamed--"

"But not as ashamed as I am," Emma interrupted with a sigh. "I still can't believe I went to school that day with a fucking gun."

She looked at the floor.

"People could have died."

"But why did you do it, Emma?" Kate asked softly. 

"I was... I was going through a hard time, you know?" she sniffed as tears clouded her vision. "There were problems at home."

Kate noticed the frightened, faraway look on Emma's face, and it made her feel uncomfortable.

"You don't have to explain--"

"I wanted to get away. I wanted to be somewhere else, and that could only happen when I got to college. I needed a break from everything in my life."

Emma hiccuped a sob.

"But Darcy..." she trailed off, her hand forming a fist as she spoke. "That bitch wanted everyone to believe she could control the world. I fought back, but she ruined my future in the end."

She had turned to look at Marie at that point.

"I wasn't even going to stay for that long. I had planned to graduate early. But after Darcy posted those photos online..." 

Emma wiped the tears on her face.

"Things went bad for me. She ruined my chances of getting into a revered college. She had taken away my escape, and that's why I snapped that day."

Kate could do nothing for a moment as Emma silently cried. The wheels in her mind were turning, and what Emma was saying made sense. She understood the pain she felt and the guilt of what she had done. It made the grudge she held on her go away.

That is if it was there in the first place.

"But why the gun?" she asked.

"I didn't mean to shoot at anyone," Emma stated with a look that told Kate she meant it. "I just went with it to make a point. I only planned to fire warning shots so that Darcy and the rest would leave me alone."

"But it didn't work," Marie stated.

"I know," Emma revealed a sad smile. "I didn't think it through. I had brought it from home on impulse and I didn't allow myself time to think about what could happen after."

Kate swallowed as her eyes darted around the room.

"Also, that bitch was more courageous than I thought. I mean, who the hell comes after a person holding a gun?"

Emma smiled, and she tried hard not to laugh despite the topic they were talking about.

"So, anyway, I'm sorry, Kate," she said, surprising her. "I didn't mean to shoot at you."

"It's okay, Emma. I understand," she replied. 

"What?" Emma couldn't help but voice her shock. "I shot you."

"You did, but honestly, I'm not mad at you."

Emma looked at Kate in disbelief before inquiring, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" she chuckled, relaxing in her presence. "I know you are telling the truth. You didn't mean to fire at me because it was an accident."

"Oh," that was all Emma could say.

"Also, I wanted to thank you."

"Why?"

Kate's throat constricted at the thought of relaying what she was about to say at that moment.

"When I was in the hospital, the doctors found a tumor during one of the checkups."

Emma could not speak for a while before she said, "What?"

"It had been growing for a while in my head. They said it affected some of my brain functions and that it could have me dead before I could reach my mid-twenties."

"Whoa," Emma exclaimed with wide eyes.

"I was lucky they were able to get it out because it was still developing. In a way, I'm glad you shot me. You helped them find it."

"You definitely are crazy," Emma stated, but a small smile appeared on her face. "Thank you, Kate. Thanks for coming to see me."

"Something just told me that I had to talk to you," she said with a shrug. "Oh! And will we be able to meet up for lunch?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Emma replied.

"Why?"

"You still hang out with Chris and Alex, right? I don't think they like me, especially now that I'm here."

Kate frowned at those words.

"I won't lie to you and say you are wrong. But listen, Emma. The three of us all came here to have a new start in life. Just like a lot of movies say, a college is a place for new experiences. Don't let what happened in the past ruin this for you, okay?"

Emma hesitated with furrowed eyebrows before nodding.

"Okay. Well, it's been great talking to you," Kate stated as she turned for the door. "See you later?"

"See you around," Emma nodded. Kate smiled before turning to