Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story except for the unfamiliar names you're about to read.

A/N: I would like to thank everyone for all the positive reviews, reading it and added this story to your favorites. I have to apologies for deleting half of my chapters, but I wanted to rewrite them to make it more clearer or at least try to. Again, I apprieciate all your reviews, favorites and reading this. :)

Italics are either flashbacks or thoughts

Chapter Four

Emma leaned in her chair looking down at her tattered journal and looked through the pages with a calmest expression she could manage. She flipped the page, careful not to rip it, and examined the drawings on them. Feeling her eyes watering, she fought them back and sniffed gently as she felt a tear fall. She heard her house phone ring and looked up towards her wooden table with the black phone. She closed the journal and sat it down on the armrest. She stood up and walked towards the phone. Picking up the phone, she put it against her ear and sat down on one of her couches. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Jane," The caller replied and the brunette smiled gently. Jane noticed Emma's strained voice like she was crying. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"No, no," She responded loudly and wiped her tears away. The brunette forced a chuckle. "So, what can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to come over around five for dinner," Jane responded and Emma contemplated the idea. "So we can get to know each other more, Charley's out of school by then, so it'll be fun."

"Hm," Emma hummed and looked out the window absently. "I think that's a great idea, I have nothing planned today."

"Great, see you at five." Jane replied and hung up. Emma sat her phone down and rested her arms on her knees. She smiled to herself and leaned back in her seat while she grasped her forehead with her right hand.

Having someone invite her over made her thrilled at the idea of making friends. She remembered her old neighbors; they never talked to her nor even acknowledge her. She regretted not going over there just to have a chat but was worried about invading their privacy. When Jane invited her over, she caught Emma by surprise and knew they'll have a good time.

Emma walked out of her house carrying a trash bag and went towards the garbage can. After opening the can, she hurled the bag in it and slammed the top shut. She looked towards her left towards Doris's house and saw her walk out with a trash bag. She smiled towards Emma and continued with her chore. The brunette looked over towards the suspicious house and narrowed her eyes.

She walked towards it and looked around to see if anybody was watching her.

Emma stopped at the door and suddenly felt her heart racing. She put her bejeweled hand on the door and rubbed it gently as if trying to find anything curious. She still felt her blood pulsing inside her and sensed something evil inside the house. The brunette put her ear against the door.

Emma's head immediately started to ache. Her left hand reached up to her head and she heard shuffling on the other side of the door. She sensed the feeling of being mesmerized, like she couldn't get away from the house. She knew that feeling and it was the same feeling of being trapped. Someone inside the house knows she's outside the door and that someone was hypnotizing her.

The woman pulled her head away from the door and held herself up by the frame. She eyed the doorknob and reached for it slowly. The knob was cold under her hand and her vision went hazy. She gasped alarmed and released the knob before rubbing her eyes.

Her headaches started up again.

Emma looked up at the house and backed away from it critically, knowing she might be right about the occupant. The brunette walked back in her house and towards her kitchen sink to wash her hands. She looked out her window above the sink as she did so and eyed the house warily. "No way," She whispered to herself and rubbed her aching temples. "Calm down, Em, you finally found him," Emma muttered reassuringly to herself and noticed a covering on the inside of one of the windows.

She glared at the covering and looked down at the sink trying to calm her anger. The woman closed her eyes and looked up at the ceiling as she took a breath. Her green eyes opened and sighed calmly. She faced the clock. "It's almost five, good." She turned off the water and made her way out of her house once again. She walked across the street and as soon as she stepped on their sidewalk, she felt as if there's someone watching her.

Emma stopped in her tracks and faced the neighbor's house. In one of the windows, she saw a faint figure of a man looking straight at her. "Emma," She heard Jane call from the door. The brunette faced the source of the voice and forced a smile. "You're on time," She added happily. "Come on inside, dinner's almost ready," Emma nodded and looked towards the window again but saw nothing.

Emma glared as she felt her nerves build up again and walked inside Jane's home trying to ignore the feeling.

"So Emma," The older woman asked happily and stopped at the kitchen counter. "What do you do?"

"It's sort of a busy job, really," Emma started and crossed her arms. "I'm a counselor." She finished and heard the front door open. She looked over idly.

"That must be Charley," Jane stated. "She must've been out with Amy if he's coming home so late," She pointed at the dining table. "Go ahead and sit down."

Emma walked over towards the table and sat on a chair as Charley came in with a girl. "Hey mom, can Amy have dinner with us?" He then noticed Emma at the table. "Oh hey, Ms. Blake."

The woman smiled in response and Jane turned to face her son. "Sure, dinner's ready." The kids went over and sat at the dining table. Emma looked down at the shiny plate and studied the silverwares.

"Ed confronted me today," Charley told his girlfriend and she faced him curiously. "He mentioned kids at school were going missing."

Emma lifted her head towards him subtly. "What makes him think that?" She heard Amy say to him.

"Two students were absent during roll call in my Economy class, including Adam."

"You believe him?"

Charley shook his head. "Psh, no, I think he's going insane," Amy laughed as Jane went over and sat servings on the middle of the table. Emma rested her elbow on the armrest and bit her thumb nail as she was in deep thought. Charley took out his phone and looked onto the screen seeing a blackmail video sent from Ed. "Ah, I have to go."

"Charley, we're having dinner." Jane told him with a lecturing tone.

"I know, it's something that I have to take care of, I'll be back, I promise." Emma watched how Charley got out of his seat and hurried towards the door. The brunette narrowed her eyes suspiciously and her emerald eyes darted towards Amy then at Jane.

~Later~

Jane walked Emma and Amy out the door. "Are you sure you don't need a ride, Amy?" The girl nodded and smiled at the woman. She waved at them and smiled warmly. "Talk to you later, guys, I have to go," She said and went to her car. She stopped before her car and then turned around. "Say bye to Charley for me."

Emma smiled at the teenager and faced Jane. "Dinner was delicious, Mrs. Brewster."

"Thank you," Jane replied and looked towards the neighbor's house. "Emma, how do you like it here?"

"Quiet and sanitary, just the way I like it," Emma responded and followed Jane to the end of her yard. The brunette spotted a man walking out of the house and her face dropped slightly. Jane must've seen him walk out of his house.

Hey," She greeted and Emma watched as the man went to them. The women stopped at the side of the yard and Jane let out a warm smile. "You must be the new neighbor."

He walked towards them and smiled back at her. "Yeah, I am," He replied and Emma narrowed her eyes at him as she felt a sense of dismay grow within her. The man felt her stare and suddenly gazed into her emerald eyes. "I'm Jerry."

"I'm Jane Brewster."

Jerry faced the woman and nodded. He looked at the brunette and smirked. "And you are?"

"Emma." The brunette responded with a quiet tone and crossed her arms over her chest. He spotted her cross and gave her a slight dark look. She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips curiously.

She sensed a small hint of displeasure.

As he got rid of the dark look, he looked the brunette up and down. "What do you do, Emma?" He asked her with a charming smirk and she looked away from his hypnotic gaze.

Finding her courage, she looked back at him and scowled. "What I do is none of your business." Jerry noticed her snotty tone and had another dark look towards her.

"I hope I didn't say anything offensive."

"You might've."

Jane looked between the two as she noticed the insane tension. She wanted to say something to ease them. Luckily, she saw Charley walking towards them and she faced Jerry while she pointed at her son. "Jerry, this is my son, Charley."

"Hey." The boy greeted and stood next to Emma. He looked up at her and saw a dark tone in her emerald eyes. "Where's Amy?"

The brunette turned towards the teen. "You just missed her, she left." Charley faced her and nodded slightly.

Emma glared at the man again as he was still staring at her. "Ever been at the strip, Em?" The man suddenly asked her and she narrowed her eyes at the name he gave her. The woman felt fury rise inside the pit of her stomach.

She pointed at him warningly as she tried her best to suppress her anger. "Don't ever... call me by that name," She growled at him and saw an amused look on his handsome face. Jane and Charley faced her in shock. Emma noticed the odd stares and lowered her hand with a sigh. "No, I haven't." He remained staring at her fully pleased by her threat.

"Ok," Jane said breaking the uncomfortable silence and put a hand on Charley's shoulder. "It's getting late; we'll head inside and see each other tomorrow."

"All right," Jerry responded finally take his eyes off Emma and stared at the older woman. "I have to get going anyway."

"It was nice knowing you."

"Likewise," He responded and watched as she walks with Charley towards their house. He faced Emma once again and she stood her ground with her arms crossed. "You need to have better manners speaking to people, Em."

"What did I just say?" She replied harshly and he smirked as he knew rage was radiating off of her. The woman then felt a headache. "I don't want you calling me that."

"Why not?" He challenged copying her demeanor and smiled wickedly as she formed a dark look. "It's just a name your brother gave you," Emma glared deeper at him and he stalked closer to her. Her vision was going unclear from her rising fury. "Where is your brother, Em?" the brunette growled from the back of her throat and grabbed the front of his black shirt with a nasty glare. He remained calm and smirked impishly at her. She glared into his dark eyes and noticed Charley watching through the window. "What happened to him?"

Emma released the glare but narrow her eyes as she face Jerry. "You have no rights talking about my family." She warned him and let him go as she whipped towards her house. She went inside and slid down the door after slamming it. She sobbed into her legs and hugged her knees closer to her chest feeling like a lost orphan.