Alright people! Sorry for such a wait. But no matter! Here's chapter 3!

The sky had grown increasing dark, and soon, the foggy day had turned tar black, and the rain had grown into an utter downpour from the sprinkling that had begun only an hour and a half ago. We'd planned to leave nearly an hour ago for something that they'd refused to tell me exactly what it was, but they said that it would be later at night, when the rain would let up. At this point, I was beginning to think that they'd have to just cancel, but they insisted that they'd follow through with their plans.

Eventually, I'd ventured out of the room that Sam and Emily had insisted I do whatever I want to -just not burn it down.

"Too bad." I mumbled at one point, at an attempt of humor. "I really like candles."

"OH! Well, so do I!" Emily jumped in, with a nervous excitement. She glanced at Sam, and he put a reassuring hand on her knee. "I use candles all the time." She smiled at me. "My favorite is vanilla. It reminds me of my mother."

The wall, up until this point, had been cracking, fissured into a crevice of black, where a river of memories were pulled roughly to and fro. A soft, heart-shaped face stared back at me, tears in its eyes.

"I remember when I was a little girl. Every day, my mama used to light a candle for me before I went to bed. It smelled like fresh lavender, and when I would have nightmares, I would awake to a dark room, but the smell lingered, so that even though I was in the dark where tall shadows danced, the smell was there to comfort me."

Just like my mother, she would do the same, until the last night I saw her.

"Lavender." I replied, attempting to give a genuine smile, but the memory of her voice was too painful.

Emily smiled. "If you'd like, when spring comes, we could plant some flowers."

I nodded, smiling with my eyes. "Sure." Pause. "May I ask you something personal?"

Emily reached up to her face, Sam tensed, and I shook my head. "No. Not about that. That's obviously something much more personal than is appropriate for me to ask." Sam relaxed considerably. "Why did you choose to adopt. I mean, especially an angsty seventeen year old, who has a ton of baggage." I whispered, not looking them in the eye.

A hand reached across the dining table, scooting my coffee cup aside, and gently grabbed my hand. "I can't have children." I figured that much. "The doctor told me when I was younger that I had polycystic ovary syndrome, which had scarred quite a bit of me, but I was determined to have a family of my own, so I chose adoption. And as for why a seventeen year old? I get angsty teenagers so much more than bratty toddlers. Eventually I will adopt a baby, but I need a starter. So far it's a great start."

I looked up at her, and smiled. "I'm glad." And removed my hand from hers. I was willing to talk, but physical contact was not going to be a part of it.

I could see Emily's smile wane, and Sam scrutinized my expression, but they both dropped it. We continued talking about mediocre things, until I'd glanced out the window, and found that the rain had altogether stopped.

"Ah!" Sam said, standing. I'm sure Billy and the boys are wondering where we're at. Looks like time got away from us."

"It usually does." I blurted out, and cleared my throat, once again reverting my eyes, ignoring their questioning silence.

"Well, let's go, before it turns into a hunt for time!" She said, with a big huff, standing with Sam.

"Yeah." I chuckled.

We ended up at a rocky beach, where several bonfires were burning. Freshly started fires burned a bright green. I watched on in awe. Clouds began to depart, and soon the bright full moon glowed around everything, casting a white coat, almost like snow.

"It's the salt from the ocean that turns the fires that color." Emily called from ahead of me. Sam was already at the biggest fire, where a large crowd had begun to gather. Emily walked quickly toward them, and soon they were very far away from me.

I stood there, watching all of this, feeling like a small ant forced to carry the sky, a big purple grape. The ocean ebbed and flowed, like the memory river far below the crevice in the wall in my mind. Somehow, the ocean seemed so much more peaceful, and not as loud. Silver clouds floated across the sky, gliding like those graceful dragons you see on the Chinese fans, worth thousands of dollars.

"Violet!" Emily called across the expanse. Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward, and paused.

Were these people going to like me? Was I going to be just another obstacle? Just another face in the crowd? Pushed along just like any other fish in a school of them? I took a step back, uncertainty sweeping across my brow. What if I made it down there and they ridiculed me? What if they called me a killer? Called me worthless… the only worth I was was another suicide?

I jumped when Emily called again.

No. I wasn't. Besides, who cared? Up until now, things had been fine. I didn't need to have their approval. Soon, I would be eighteen and legally free from the system.

I squared my shoulders, and stomped forward, determination wiping away the uncertainty. I walked, and walked, and walked. Good god, how long was this going to-

"Everyone!" Emily grabbed my shoulder and showed me off proudly. Sam even seemed to stand up a bit taller. "This is Violet."

The group silenced, and everyone stared. My stomach sunk, but when the faces of curiosity and tentative wonder flipped into smiles, and everyone walked forward, truly happy to meet me, my stomach jumped so high, that the smile on my face left me breathless.

"It's the hot girl!" Paul called, and was slapped on the chest by a girl his arms were wrapped around. I tried to keep my eyes off the place that she'd slapped, but it was really friggin' hard. "This is Kim." Kim gave a short wave, and grinned. "How are you doin'?" He asked.

"Good." I mumbled, suddenly succumb with shyness at the fact that I was talking to a shirtless male, only a few years older than myself.

"Good!" He shouted, as he ambled toward the shore, Kim still clinging to him.

"Those two…" A woman snorted. She turned to me, and reached out a hand. "I'm Susan and this is-" She named a whole horde of people who smiled at me warmly. "Are we missing someone?" She looked confused or a moment, when a voice, like the softness of feathers and warmth of a candle's flame, said a few words, so simple and yet like a lullaby.

"I'm here. Don't worry, I didn't die. Hi, I'm Embry." And then the face appeared, and for a moment, just a slight moment, the wall shifted.

It didn't crumble, or fissure, or shake. It just moved. As if another plane of understanding flattened itself in my mind, like a chalk board, ready to be written on. Like the pages in a book, flipping open, to new unmarred pages. There were no coffee cup stains, or candle wax, or water damage. No scribbles or doodles, and no torn, or dog-eared pages. Just a shift. A small little shift that changed a lot of things, but the wall was still there, with its secrets just beyond it.

Whether he felt this shift, I'm not sure, but I could only assume something happened.

"Hi." He repeated, his face blank and in slight shock.

"Hi." I replied, trying to hide the blush on my cheeks.

I kicked myself internally. Start a conversation! I told myself, but he beat me to the punch.

"I'm Embry." He held out a hand. Nervously, because I knew my hands were sweaty, I took it.

"Violet." I murmured. We shook hands.

All my life, I'd been told I'd had big spider-like fingers, which were used to play guitar and piano, as well as the occasional violin, but mine dwarfed in comparison. It felt strange and right all at the same time.

We stood there, shaking hands, until a ripple of laughter broke out from the crowd. I quickly pulled mine away, self-consciously, leaving his shaking by itself. In realization, he jerked it back and chuckled nervously, only to shoot Quill a look of complete irritation.

"Food's ready!" And most of the men and Leah, lunged at it, picking up anything they could find. "Hey, easy!" Emily called, her voice cutting their quickness in half.

"Sorry." Paul, who'd suddenly appeared at the mention of food, apologized with a mouth full of burger. Off on the side, I could see Kim roll her eyes.

Embry hadn't joined them, and noticing this, Paul called out, his words seeming to have a double meaning, "Aren't you hungry, man?"

Embry shot him another look. "Shove it."

I stared at him, wondering what was wrong. For a slight second I had seen something, but what remained seemed odd. If a person could glow without literally glowing, then he had broken a Guiness World Record.

"Fine. Vi?" Paul turned to me, and shoved a hotdog in my hands. It was somewhat smushed, but the thought was what counted.

"Thanks." I turned it over in my hand and tried to hide the disgust. I'd hated hotdogs since I was very small.

It was right after I'd been placed into my first home. The lady that lived there had nine kids, including me, and by the time she-who had no business with children- got off both her shifts, she'd have her eldest daughter cook the dinner, who was so busy making out with her girlfriend, that we'd end up with burnt hotdogs most nights. I'd left that house after a report of negligence from my school, and following me were seven of her other kids, all underage.

"You want that?" Quill had come up at this point and had an arm around Embry's shoulder.

I looked down at the forlorn hotdog. "Well, it kind of deserves a better home. Here."

Story of my life. I thought bitterly.

Quill ate it in two bites, smiling like a five year old. "Thanks." He said with a full mouth, a piece flying out. Shrugging, he smiled and moved on.

People had hit the ground at this point, running a marathon to get as much food as they could before it was gone. Most were sitting on thick logs around the fire, their drink wedged between rocks. My hunger had dissipated. Something in me felt… weird. There was no other word for it. I tried my best to ignore Embry, but his presence was so heavy, I was pulled to him like a magnet. I knew he felt it too, because every few minutes, he would inch a little closer.

Abruptly, I jerked away internally.

"I'm going for a walk." I said loudly, unsteadily.

Emily stood and came towards me. "Are you alright, honey?"

The wall that I'd forgotten about up until this point shook in rage, and it threatened to fall on top of me. Dark spilled out of the edges, like moldy ink, and I flinched away from its spiky, cold tendrils.

"No. I'm fine." I croaked, and turned on my heel, toward the car.

Before, I'd thought that the walk was long, but it didn't take long for me to run to their car. I pulled on the handle with such ferocity that when I realized it was locked, I was pushed backwards by gravity, so I was forced onto the concrete. Hitting the back of my head, for a moment I saw black specks, like dark stars in my head, but they soon faded, and then I was looking up at regular stars. Embry's face appeared in my mind, the stark clean plane beside the dirty wall, dulling the stars, and the glowing, effervescent moon.