Note:

Everyone applaud the lovely, awesome hug worthy TOXIC PETALS! She took the surely strange job of being my idea bouncer. HUG HER DAMMIT! OR THE CAPS WILL TAKE UP PERMANENT RESIDENCE!

Slightly fluff (for Mila anyway) ahead and the inner ramblings of someone who has imprinted.

I asked my sister's fiancé what he thought when he looked at her. Big mistake. The man just didn't shut up for ages. So I wrote them as Embry's thoughts when he looked at Mila. Everything marked with an asterisk next to it is a quote from him. After a while, I wanted stab myself with a spork…

Remember people, it's great that you're in love, but when people's eyes start to glaze over or they grab a lamp, just shut up.

I am Trix and this has been a public service announcement.

Xxx

That same morning, Embry woke up at six. He had only slept three hours, but his body had adjusted to short sleep times. Jacob was still asleep, snoring away. If he was any louder, then the walls would come down around them. When his feet hit the floor, Embry heard the crinkle of a chip bag. The night before had turned into a small party. The floor was dirty, littered with chip bags, soda cans, candy bar wrappers, a bag of Goldfish crackers and a pudding cup.

At one point, while Nessie picked the second movie of the night, Embry had talked to Nadia about her sister. While Nadia knew little about her sister's day to day life, she had observed things that had been helpful.

After he dressed, Embry left the room. Everyone else was still asleep. The door to Nadia's room was open and he could see Nessie sleeping in Nadia's bed while Nadia was curled in a little ball on the floor, her cheek shiny with drool. The door to Mila's room was shut, but he could hear Leah snoring. He decided to go to the kitchen. Beth had told them that they could eat anything they wanted. The only condition was that they make it themselves. He took out a tube of roll and bake croissants, pancake mix, and the OJ. Over the years, Embry had learned to cook for himself. He wasn't great, but he hadn't killed himself or anyone else.

As Embry flipped the last pancake onto the serving plate, the back door banged open. Mila appeared in the kitchen, dressed in shorts and a tank top, her iPod blasting what sounded like Bon Jovi.

"You're up," she said, sounding surprised.

"Yeah," he replied. "Want a pancake?"

"No, it's cool. I have a couple Powerbars in the cabinet."

"C'mon. They're pretty good."

"Fine." Mila grabbed a plate and gave him a look that said she would save her energy for later battles. Embry followed suit and sat across from her.

When they had talked, Nadia had expressed concern for her sister's health. Apparently, Mila had been losing weight all summer.

She's been pushing herself all summer. She eats the same, maybe more, but she looks different. It's creepy.

Now that he was closer, Embry could see what Nadia had been talking about. Mila's face was thinner than it had been in the photos, her cheekbones sticking out. There were also dark shadows under her eyes. When she reached for the syrup, her fingers flexed and he could see every bone in her hands and wrist. The rest of her was still the athletic girl the photos showed. Nadia had theorized that her breakup had brought on a bigger exercise regime. She had showed Embry Mila's Facebook, and the only sign of her ever being with someone was a news item that announced the breakup. The rest were generic status updates and wall posts. The latter had been mostly from guys arranging various games. But Embry had read every word he could get, wanting know everything he could.

Even with the dark circles and prominent bones, she was still the most beautiful girl in the world*. His own angel*. As she ate, her ponytail fell over her shoulder, and some hair escaped, falling over one eye. Embry's fingers twitched, because he wanted to brush it back.

"So where did you go?" he asked, trying to ignore the pit in his stomach that was growing and growing.

"For a run. I run the mini-trail a couple times a morning," she mumbled through a mouthful of pancake. The only reason he was able to understand her was due to years of talking to his friends this way.

"That's cool."

"If you stick around, you can run with me tomorrow."

Her words hit him like a punch to the gut. Embry had forgotten that the visit had originally been for one night only. He was supposed to leave that afternoon.

"Crap," he muttered. "I have to talk to Leah."

"Look, I don't want you to ditch her."

"Mills, I have to stay here, at least for a while. I need to be around you. If I'm not…I don't know what I'm going to do. I'll be thinking about you all the time and I'll*-."

"And I'm done," she announced and grabbed her nearly empty plate. "Look, I have work until noon. When I get back, we're going to have to set some ground rules. And for the love of Merlin, don't call me Mills."

Xxx

Note 2: Yes I feel bad for writing the inner ramblings. I had to get it out of my head.

The last one was something I overheard when they were discussing her going to LA for a while. It ends with 'I'll miss you so much [insert pet name here]. Whatever it takes, I'll stay by your side."

*hands out sporks*

Next chapter…things blow up!