Yes but to no avail

Something in Emily made her want to fight back. She needed the AirPod in. She was suddenly aware of the dull hum that was emanating from the device and knew she wanted to keep it going. She reached her hand up to try to swat him away, but he got to her ear first. As soon as the humming stopped, the voice in the back of Emily’s head screaming at her to leave grew louder. What was she thinking doing this? Her hand met Steve’s and pulled the AirPod back from him.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry. What the fuck was I thinking.” She hastily grabbed her bag that had slid to the floor and began making for the door, “I really need to be going, oh my god, I’m so sorry.”

The last thing she saw as the door closed was Steve staring after her in utter confusion and the other brother next to him laughing. This was totally unlike her, responding to a catcaller enthusiastically like that… what had gotten into her? Shaken by her own actions, she walked the rest of the way home in silence, letting the crisp air clear her mind.

When she got to her apartment and sat down with her data, she found that it was impossible to concentrate. She wanted to work on her analysis. She knew she had to. But a fog wrapped around her brain making it impossible to focus.

‘What the hell, a glass of wine and some TV won’t kill me for one night.’ Emily thought to herself. She shut down her computer and prepared for a night of lounging. It just felt right.

Her phone rested next to her as she watched, the screen blue and a dull hum emitting from the speakers. Emily didn’t even notice.