Morning came and found Brennan still outside Emma's door. He should have fallen asleep or at least nodded off – his exhaustion was so great. But even that peace was denied him. Whenever he closed his eyes, he saw Emma's tear stained face, whenever he rested his head on his arms he heard her scream.
He was losing his mind – he wanted to help, somehow make it better but he did not know how. He had been trying so hard to be efficient, a true leader that he had forgotten how to be a friend. He had hurt his best friend with careless words and the inability to understand.
Once again, he leaned towards the door, hoping to catch the sound of Emma's breathing.
You won't be able to hear anything, she is asleep.
Brennan spun around to see Shalimar standing near him.
Are you sure?
Shalimar could have made some comment on how she was a feral or on how she was always sure – but she restrained herself. She could see the worry on the Elemental's face. Truth be told, she was as worried about Emma herself.
Yes. Her breathing is regular, she is asleep.
Brennan nodded and got up from the floor. I hope she is able to rest.
x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x
Emma knew this was a dream – it had to be.
She was walking on the beach, hand-in-hand with Tyler. The waves gently lapped at their ankles, and Emma knew she was happy.
*~ I thought you were dead. ~*
*~ I am. ~*
*~ Then this IS a dream. ~*
Emma let go of Tyler's hand and started walking away. Tears flooded her eyes and she could not see where she was walking.
It was only a strong pair of arms that prevented her from falling – Tyler's arms. Emma closed her eyes and breathed in his scent – it filled her senses and tore into all her defenses.
Tyler turned her around so that she faced him – then ever so gently her wiped the rears of his face. Emma tilted her head, leaning into his palm. His thumbs stroked her cheeks, making her smile despite the weight on her heart.
*~ You are not real. ~*
*~ I am as real so you want me to be. ~*
Emma shook her head, she could not take this anymore. She tore herself form Tyler's grasp.
*~ I saw you die. ~*
*~ Emma . . . please . . . ~*
*~ I saw you die. You left me. ~*
Emma spun around, feeling her heart break all over again.
*~ Emma . . . ~*
x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x
Emma woke up gasping to fill her lungs with oxygen. She looked around, desperately hoping that she would see Tyler lying next to her.
The bed was empty – cold
*~ You left me. ~*
x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x
Emma moved from the warmth of her covers and headed to her bathroom. Entering, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and swollen, her complexion drawn and sullen, and her hair...
God... what a mess... Her voice was withdrawn and dark. Her attitude this morning was anything but her usual cheerfulness.
Emma was in what Shalimar would call a Get the hell away and leave me alone mood. One that the feral frequented. Quickly running the comb through her hair and brushing her teeth, she turned back toward the direction of her bed. She stared at it. It looked so warm and inviting. She wanted to stay in bed, to hid away under her covers and just melt away into nothing.
No.... Emma vocalized softly. She would go down and have some breakfast, and then she would come back and hide.
x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x
"She hasn't left her room in ages, I think we should go and drag her from that bed of hers and hog tie her to this chair.." Jesse jabbed a thumb in the direction of Emma's kitchen chair. "And force some food down her throat!" his voice held a certain amount of annoyance with a bit of exasperation. Jesse looked at Shalimar and Brennan for approval, but none came.
"Leave her be, Jesse" Shalimar said in a solemn voice. "She needs time to grieve, she just lost the love of her life! She needs time to heal. Shalimar looked hard at the young Molecular, showing her disapproval of his words.
Brennan sighed deeply, as if it was his fault she was hidden away in her room, his fault she was hurting. He ignored Jesse. He really didn't think that hog tying Emma to anything would help. What she needed was someone to talk to, someone to confide in, but she was in so much pain he knew she'd never ask. She would keep all her feelings bottled up inside her heart and torture herself needlessly. He knew what kind of person Emma was, he knew her inside and out, and it hurt him to see what she was doing to herself right now.
Shalimar's ears picked up a subtle sound from the hallway, and cocked her head slightly to the side to listen.
"She's coming," she said quietly and the trio clamped their mouths shut.
Emma made her way to the kitchen and when she stepped inside, she saw the look on her companions' faces. The look was one of pity, and sympathy. The vibe in the room held what could be describe as Shut up she's coming. We weren't talking about her or as her hippy parents use to say Keep it on the down low.
Emma knew that the others had been talking about her, that they didn't want to say anything so as to not upset her. She hated it. She LOATHED that feeling. She didn't want to be pitied, didn't want the others to treat her as if she was breakable, as if she was a china doll. For God's sake, she was a powerful mutant! She could break into their minds and rip their memories from them, leaving them trembling and helpless at her feet. She had done it to Jesse when they were Kovecastan and the enemy soldiers were coming toward them. Thought she had done it to save them, she had removed the memory from Jesse's mind to keep him knowing the true strength of her powers. She had to keep him from telling the others, from telling Brennan...
Wait. Why did she care about what Brennan thought? Emma shook her head mentally and headed to the fridge.
Emma searched around the fridge for some melon to eat; she wasn't starving but knew that having something in her stomach wouldn't be such a bad thing. Finding what she was looking for, a bowl of fruit salad left over from a few days ago, Emma grabbed it and went to the drawer for a spoon and sat down in her place at the table.
The room had never been so quiet, the air was thick with a sense of confusion, or apprehension. Which ever it was, Emma didn't have the strength or will to differentiate between the two. So the foursome ate in silence, an uncomfortable one to say the least. All that could be heard was Jesse fidgeting under the table and Shalimar's soft munching. When Emma was finished she got up from the table and placed her dishes in the sink and headed back toward her bedroom, she quickly looked around at her friends, but they all had their heads in their plates, none looked at her. She sighed softly and headed back to bed.
Brennan had felt Emma's eyes on him before she left the room, his heart twinged slightly and he knew he should do something. Getting up from his seat, he repeated the same action Emma did and placed his dishes in the sink. "I'm going to talk to her, he said softly and before either Shalimar or Jesse could respond, he was out the door and heading to Emma's room, bumping into Adam in the process.
"Oh Sorry Adam... " Brennan said absent mindedly and continued on. Adam watched as the tall elemental walked away from him, leaving a slightly confused look on his older face.
