Hello everyone,

So I wrote this before my extended leave of absence from my account. It was never my intention to abandon my stories, but I have found it difficult to overcome this writer's block. I promise I am working hard on it.

Anyway, I thought I would post this. I recommended a story yesterday in Forbidden Alliance and a few asked for this update.

I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following.

Please review …

Emmett-

I heard a loud pop, and suddenly, I was swirling in a black vortex. Vaguely—way off in the distance, I heard a loud splash, and then, nothing but rushing.

All I knew after that was nothingness and cold. I was so fucking cold. The worst was my limbs felt leaden, and I couldn't move a fucking muscle. I wanted to rub some warmth into my upper body, yet I couldn't seem to will my arms to listen.

I had no strength. None. I'd never felt so weak in my life. Perhaps I died, and this was the aftermath of my life, frozen in time and place with nothingness as far as I could see.

I should be relieved. After all the shit I'd done in my life I'd expected something completely different to be my eternity. Hellfire and brimstone sounded more like the destination I'd be headed for. While the cold was preferable to spending an eternity in Hell, the everlasting cold was just as torturous.

I was just growing comfortable with the darkness—the nothingness when a faint light appeared. I tried to reach for it, but again, my arms were immobile, frozen. "Fuck."

As I focused on the light it became brighter and brighter until it was almost unbearable to look at. My retinas started to burn under the intensity, and I would've shaded my eyes, perhaps looked away, yet I couldn't move.

As I continued to watch, a form appeared before the light, a person. I felt the smile pulling at my cheeks as Irene came into focus. "What the hell are you doing here?"

My voice rang in my ears, sounding far away, almost like an echo effect. How fucking strange. Everything was so strange. Every part of my body was tingling and seemed to be leaning closer to my sister-in-law.

A soft smile played across her lips. The same smile Irene kept plastered on her face day in and day out. At this point, I don't even think she knew she wore it and didn't exactly speak to her state of mind. It was more like she'd become so accustomed to appearing happy, that she wasn't even aware that she was smiling half the time.

Her hair was long, blonde, and vibrant, seeming to glow because of the light surrounding her, and she wore the most beautiful white gown I'd ever seen.

I wanted to reach for her. I wanted to see if she was as warm as she looked, as warm as I remembered. The guilt I associated with the woman before me didn't penetrate my conscience this time, and for the first time in years, peace settled in my chest.

God bless the peace. It was so long in coming.

Then the angel whispered to me, the sound a wondrous melody. "I've come to take you home. You want to come home with me, don't you, Emmett? I've missed you so much these past years."

Her voice sounded like an angel. I chuckled, at the thought. Of course, she sounded like an angel, she'd been dead for years. But it went far beyond that—far, far beyond that.

She'd been an angel far longer than the moment of her death. Shaking the memories away, I studied her soulful blue eyes.

A part of me, a huge part of me wanted to let go, and float away with her. The bittersweet irony hit hard as I stared at her. I wanted to go, so fucking bad, but a fraction of me still clung to this life.

My brow puckered as I considered the benefit of each. If I let go, I could be with her again. Yet if I left this earth now, I would never know what my life could've been.

Regret pooled in my chest and I found myself, shaking my head. "I-I can't, Irene. You know I want to. I want to so bad, but I'm not ready. I'm not ready to go yet. I was going to Kansas City … starting a new life."

Her head tilted as she returned my gaze. "Are you sure? We could have a wonderful life together now. Leave this earth together, explore the universe, discover all of life's mysteries."

She made the journey sound so good. I tried to lift my hand and caress her cheek, yet my fucking arm wouldn't move. Gulping past the burning pain that ripped through my chest all of a sudden, I nodded, "Yeah, baby, I'm sure."

When she began to fade, and the pain intensified, I groaned, hissing through clenched teeth. Then when I reached for her, my arm lifted and the tips of my fingers tingled with feeling. "Don't go! Keep me warm. I'm so cold."

Her face faded from my view, but I heard her whisper, "I'm not going anywhere. Sleep, Emmett. We have much to discuss."

She did leave, however, the spot where her face had been returning to darkness. This time when the black invaded, I rested, truly rested.

-E-

I blinked rapidly trying to clear my vision but my surroundings were blurry as fuck. I felt something cold press against my lips, and obediently, my mouth opened. The cool water on my tongue was more than welcome, and greedily I gulped. When the last drop absorbed on my tongue, I croaked, "More, please. So, thirsty."

"Shhh," a voice whispered next to my ear. I could feel something stroking my head, yet I could only see the outline of a figure before me. "I'm not supposed to be here. I had to sneak out when my father fell asleep."

I turned toward the sweet sound of her voice. That wasn't Bella, and it definitely wasn't Irene. Confusion took me captive, as I tried to figure out where the hell I was. "W-where?"

I wanted to know where I was, but I couldn't manage to get out much more than that. Speaking took way too much energy, and the voice whispered once again to be quiet, I obeyed. To my relief, however, the cold touched my lips again, and I sucked in another mouthful of water.

The sudden moisture caused me to choke slightly as I attempted to make my throat work. I groaned in objection when she took the glass away.

"Thought you could do with a little nourishment. I brought you some chicken broth."

I felt the warm slide of fingers on my nape, holding my head up as she raised something warm to my lips. Greedily, I drank as much as she would allow.

"That's good. You are doing so good." She whispered, next to my ear. "I brought a pill for the pain. Daddy would kill me if he found out. Do you think you can swallow it?"

I think I grunted in confirmation, I'm not really sure because the allure of a full belly was pulling me under. Before I slipped off the cliff of reality, I felt the pill pressed on my tongue and the rim of the cold glass.

Warm fingers ran over my cheek, and I tried to lean into them. They felt heavenly on my cold flesh, yet all too soon they fell away.

"I will try to come back and check on you later. Hopefully, the pill does the trick and you sleep well."

I heard the soft tread of her feet moving away. I would've called for her to stay, but I was already sinking back into the dark.

I'm not sure how long this pattern continued. I would come awake only for a few moments before drifting away, back to nothingness, where Irene awaited my presence.

In those times I found the peace my soul craved, but I didn't allow myself to linger. If I had, I might have wanted to stay there forever.

When I managed to pry my eyes open this time, I came face to face with an unexpected foe. It wasn't the sweet, caring woman who visited me nightly with cold water and warm broth, and a blessed pill for the pain.

Fucking Liam Carter.

Liam Carter was hovering in my face talking about payoffs and blowing shit up. I heard the chains rattle every time I moved, and the weight of shackles on my wrist. Really barbaric if you asked me. This wasn't medieval times, but the people in my world reached far beyond the present for torturing methods.

"W-where am I?" I felt the cold-packed dirt beneath my bare feet and the unforgiving chill that plagued me, making me shiver.

Fuck. I just couldn't get warm. No matter what world I drifted to.

Except for when she came to visit. My secret healer. I almost asked for her. Almost. Just before the words left my lips I remembered her shushing me, telling me her father would kill her if he knew.

"Don't worry about where you are. You just worry about your brother forking over the money."

He reminded me of a viper. His gaze popped and snapped with venom, spitting poison as he glared at me. His angry threat about blowing me and Edward up in this shed played over and over in my mind as I slipped back into oblivion.

It could have been minutes, maybe hours after Liam left, but this time when I opened my eyes, she was there.

She smiled, placing a finger over her lips, warning me to keep silent. I think I nodded, hearing the chains clink, but slowly she came forward with the water I'd needed desperately.

When I depleted the whole glass, she patted my cheek with a hesitant smile. "I brought you something more filling today. I made venison. I hope you like it. I killed and cleaned the damn thing myself last fall. I don't want to overwhelm you, so right now, you can only have a little."

She proceeded to feed me. Small chunks. Chunks small enough that I would've cut for Lily. Still, the meat was the most appetizing thing I'd ever eaten. I ate and ate until she eventually stopped feeding me, placing the glass to my lips with a magical pill to carry me away.

As I swallowed the last, she stepped closer, her hand running down my abdomen. As strange as it was, I felt my blood warm.

The last thing I needed was to get hard. Groaning as she reached into my boxers, my head rolled on my shoulders, and her face blurred. "Baby, I'm no use to you now. Should come back later when the chains come off."

She simply laughed, her hand sliding my cock out, and she leaned in until her lips brushed my ear. "Chill, Romeo. I figured you wouldn't want to stand in your own piss."

Her simple statement brought my focus to a whole new problem. I didn't realize until this precise moment how bad I needed to piss.

Call me what you will, but the thought of having someone caring for those particular needs left me slightly embarrassed. Unable to meet her eyes, I stared at the wall behind her as I released that baser necessity. When I finished, she pushed my cock back inside my boxers.

Her fingertips caressed my jaw, and she whispered, "Don't be embarrassed. I do this for a living. You have nothing I haven't seen before. Sleep, tight."

I could do nothing but comply. I watched her leave, muttering something about staying with me right before the vortex took me under. Luckily when I closed my eyes, Irene was waiting on the other side.

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