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Her parents kicked her out and disowned her. She was told to pack her bags and get out of the house, and was never to see any of them again.
When they found out that their daughter was bisexual, they had kicked her and shouted at her, absolutely destroying any strength and confidence that she may have had left. Mind you, Emma was only trying to say something to distract her parents, the vultures that they were, from blaming Jane for something they had done themselves. The words slipped from her mouth merely as a distraction, but as soon the words were said, Emma knew she was done for.
“I SWEAR TO GOD, EMMA PERKINS, PACK YOUR STUFF AND GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, NOW,” Her mother had yelled, picking up a spoon and throwing it, narrowly missing Emma’s chest. “YOU ARE AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE TO THIS FAMILY. I WILL NOT HAVE SOMETHING AS DISGUSTING AS YOU IN MY HOUSE.”
By this point, Emma had run to her room to start shoving everything she could into bags that she’d inevitably have to carry. Her mother and father stalked after her, throwing open the bedroom door while her father grabbed her and her mother started to repeatedly punch her.
At hearing Emma’s screams, Jane followed her parents into Emma’s room, trying not to be seen in fear that she’d receive the same treatment as her poor younger sister.
Emma was in bone breaking pain, and was sure her ears would fall off from all of the screaming, but she still wasn’t crying. This, sadly enough, was one of the easier things the she had been put through, especially in her teenage years. In her parents’ eyes, all teenagers were evil with the exception of Jane and her friends, therefore Emma was evil and she wasn’t allowed to talk to anyone in her school unless absolutely necessary.
“YOU DO NOT DESERVE TO BE ON THIS EARTH, YOU DISGUSTING, WORTHLESS, FREAKISH, WHORE!” They all stopped for a moment. Emma found it hard to speak. Tears were welling up in her eyes, and as soon as her father saw this, he jumped at the opportunity.
“LISTEN TO ME, CHILD. PERKINS’ DO NOT CRY. AND BELIEVE ME, YOU WILL ONLY BE A PERKINS UNTIL YOU’RE EIGHTEEN, BECAUSE THEN, WE WILL DISOWN YOU. NOW FINISH PACKING AND GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE, YOU PIECE OF FILTH.” With that, he threw her to the ground, and Jane bolted back to the kitchen to take her place at the table once again.
She brought everything she owned to the lake. Tears were falling freely now. Of course, she was still very worried about her parents coming to find her and hurt her, so she figured that she had to do something about it. “They can’t hurt me if I’m dead,” She said, to no one in particular. Emma managed to drag all of her old belongings to a bench, but they wouldn’t be of much use to her for longer.
Letting out one last exhale, she started to climb over the railing on the bridge and prepared to jump. She was about to fall when—
“Don’t jump!” She heard a man call. Soon she felt a hand grab her arm to which she tensed up. She turned to face him.
“Why shouldn’t I? I have nowhere to go now, and my parents would finally be proud of something that I did with my life,” She said, taking in this man’s features. He was tall, he had grey hair, and he looked absolutely exhausted and worried.
“Listen, I have been where you are and I know how badly it hurts. So please, don’t jump, take my hand, and let me help you.” She contemplated still jumping for a moment, but she took his hands and let him help pull her over. He let out a huge breath of relief that he had no idea he was holding.
“T-thank you... I don’t think I could’ve done it...” She whimpered. “Can I trust you?” She asked, with good reason, too. She’d never met someone who hadn’t tried to or actually hurt her. “Like, you’re not going to hurt me, right?”
“Oh, sweetie, why would I do that? You’ve been through too much today. Is it okay if I take you home?” She nodded, suddenly unable to speak. “Where’s your stuff?” She pointed to the bench. He picked up all of it and brought her to his car. “Dear, what’s your name?” She clumsily signed ‘Emma Perkins’ letter-by-letter. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. “Oh no, you’re a Perkins?!” She nodded again. “I’m going to bring you home, okay?” He put his hand on her shoulder, and from that moment, she knew that she would be safe.