"Emily is dead."
In three words, three little words that probably mean nothing to you, Sam Uley's world came crashing down around him.
The spot in his chest where his heart had been beating imploded, sucking everything with it, pulling him into a black hole. He was floating, floating into the black abyss of nothing, where he belonged.
Something grabbed him at the last moment, tugging him back to reality, holding onto him with a force he couldn't understand.
Alika.
Sam's eyes were wet with tears as he collapsed on the hospital room floor, clutching his chest as he sobbed, attempting to hold himself together. The thought of his newborn daughter was the only thing keeping him from leaving, leaving just as Emily had.
His brothers surrounded him, his pain flowing through them, ripping them open just as he'd been ripped open. They'd lost Emily, too.
"Pull it together Sam," Jacob's breath was cool against Sam's cheek as he pulled Sam up from the floor, "For Alika."
Sam let out a ragged breath, tears still streaming down his cheeks, but he nodded jerkily, registering what his brother was saying.
What would Emily think?
A shot of fresh pain almost overwhelmed Sam, like salt in the fresh, tender wounds, but he swallowed it down, saving it for later as he held his head high, brushing the moisture from his cheeks.
"I want to see Alika."
Hours passed slowly, somehow turning to days, the days to weeks, and finally, months.
It'd been eleven months to the day since Emily had died, and it still felt like it was yesterday to Sam.
It was light outside when he rose from his bed, walking straight to his daughter's room.
"Dada!" She exclaimed, pulling herself up in her crib, a large smile on her face as she reached for him.
"Mornin' sunshine." He smiled weakly as he grabbed her, cradling her to his body as he made his way to the kitchen.
He pulled her high chair from the corner, sitting her in it carefully before turning to the fridge. He grabbed the carton of eggs, opening it, sighing. There were only three eggs left, he'd have to go to the grocery store.
He hated going to the grocery store. They stared with their sad eyes, they felt pity for him. He didn't want their pity, or their sympathy, he wanted Emily back, he wanted to be whole again.
Sam grabbed a frying pan, turning the burner on as he sat the pan down on the stovetop, grabbing the butter. He cracked the eggs after the butter melted, listening as they sizzled in the pan, the scent filling the small kitchen.
"You need some help?" Penny asked as she walked right in through the front door, not even bothering to knock.
"No, I got it." Sam practically growled, stirring the eggs with much more vigor then needed, Alika giggled, her attention captured as soon as Penny walked into the kitchen.
"Nana!" Alika's voice bounced off the walls, echoing.
"Morning!" Penny smiled as her lips brushed over Alika's head, her eyes focused on her son's tense back, but she said nothing as she ran her fingers through Alika's thick curls, "I can feed her breakfast, you know."
"It's fine." Sam sighed as he played the scrambled eggs, shoving them in the freezer to cool quicker.
"Daddy never let's your poor, old, dear, frail nana do anything!" Penny sighed exaggeratedly, grinning at Alika as Sam sighed.
"Fine, feed her breakfast. I have to get dressed. I have to go to the store to get groceries." Sam kissed Alika's head before leaving the kitchen, walking back into his bedroom.
He shut the door behind him, pulling a clean shirt out of the dresser, pulling it over his head before grabbing a pair of basketball shorts, pulling them on over his boxer-briefs.
He glanced in the mirror for a moment, grimacing at his appearance. He needed a haircut, and some more sleep. The bags under his eyes just kept getting worse and worse, but other than that, his face was exactly the same. He growled, feeling a tremor run through his body. He ignored it, clearing his head. He hadn't phased since the day Alika was born, the day that Emily died.
He walked into Alika's room, grabbing the diaper bag, making sure there was still a change of clothes, diapers and wipes in the bag.
"Is grandma's pretty girl all done?" Penny asked as she lifted Alika from her highchair, the pan and plate washed. Sam sighed, reaching for Alika.
"I'm going to bathe her, Sam. She made a mess with her eggs, but she has to practice eating." Penny grinned easily, ignoring Sam's glare, "You know Sam, you should let people start helping you. You're not in this alone."
Penny brushed past him, humming to herself as she walked into the bathroom, flicking the light on.
Fifteen minutes later, Alika was washed, dressed and ready to go. She waved at Penny as Sam strapped her into her car seat. "Bye bye!" She exclaimed, repeating the words over and over, savoring the way they tasted as they passed her lips.
Sam couldn't help but smile at her as he ruffled her hair, shutting the car door. He glanced back at his mom who just smiled, waving at him, too.
"Drive safe. I'll be here when you get back, probably running a load of clothes or dusting your lamps or something." Penny smiled, blowing a kiss to Alika before walking back into the house.
Sam couldn't help but roll his eyes as he slid into the car, a faint smile on his lips.
He drove toward Forks slowly, the radio playing some upbeat pop song, Alika dancing in her seat, Emily's smile on her face. She looked so much like Emily.
Sam glanced away from his daughter, focusing on the road once again. He turned into the Thriftway, parking in a space close to the front doors.
He grabbed Alika, and the diaper bag, bouncing her in his arms as they walked into the store.
Alika was giggling as he sat her in the cart, strapping the belt across her belly, heading toward the meat department.
Alika babbled, her hands tugging on one of her toys as Sam threw random items into the cart, not really remembering what exactly he needed.
Eyes lingered on Sam, but not with pity, with curiosity, he could feel it. He looked around, meeting a set of deep auburn eyes. His breath caught as he almost felt it, the tug, but he squashed it under his toe, ripping his eyes away from hers.
He could feel her pain ripple toward him, and he sighed, glancing toward her from under his eyelashes, refusing to meet her eyes.
She was short, and slight, her hair dark, concealed mostly by a beanie. Her skin was the lightest sepia he'd ever seen, and unmarked. Her lips were curved in a slight smile, and she still looked rather dazed and out of place.
He looked away again, realizing she was walking toward him.
Great.
"Hello," She said, her voice was soft, and sweet. Innocent.
"Hi." Sam said gruffly, focusing on the contents of his cart, and Alika.
"Your daughter is beautiful, she reminds me of my niece." The woman said, a smile creeping into her voice, "She's almost a year old, too."
Sam glanced at her again, ignoring her eyes as he took in her face once more, glancing down at her clothes. She worked here. She must be new.
"Alika is actually 11 months old today." Sam said, matter-of-factly, still avoiding her eyes.
"Alika…" The woman seemed to ponder for a moment, resting her fingertips on her lips, "That's a beautiful name, for the most beautiful."
Sam stared at her, incredulous, "How did you know that's what her name is supposed to mean?"
The woman flushed, staring down at her tennis shoes as she ran her toe over the floor, making a loud screeching noise before she shrugged, "Intuition I guess."
She looked past Sam, at Alika, and the little girl stared at her unfazed by the fact she was a stranger. She grinned happily, taking in the woman's face.
"My niece's name is Gabrielle, but I call her Gabby. My sister-in-law gets aggravated with it, but Gabby likes it." The woman volunteered, taking a short breath, continuing, "And my name is Francesca, but most people call me Frankie. I just moved out here from Seattle. Needed a fresh start."
"Don't we all?" Sam asked, frowning slightly, remembering he should probably introduce himself, "I'm Sam. I live up in La Push, came down to get some groceries."
Frankie smiled, understandingly, "Well, I guess I should get back to work. It was nice to meet you, Sam, and you too, Alika." She touched Alika's hand for a brief moment, turning around.
Sam watched her for a moment, his heart racing as he thought of her leaving, or her disappearing, too.
"Frankie," He said, his voice a whisper, but she turned, as if he'd called her like this a thousand times. Her eyes were wide as they met his, full of emotion as the world stopped spinning on its axis.
There were two stars in the sky, both shining, both burning with heat, both bright, both real.
Emily faded, a distant, happy memory.
There was no more pain.