Hey y'all, sorry it took so long to update. I feel horrible about making you guys wait. Please forgive me?

I want to thank those of you who reviewed last chapter. Your criticism, compliments, and encouragement really mean a lot to me.

Anyways, here's the latest chapter. I hope you like it.

Chapter Seven

Edie sat silently in the wheelchair as the young candy striper, her blonde pigtails bobbing with each step, wheeled her down to the hospital's morgue.

She didn't know what to feel as the heavy metal doors opened and she was ushered into the bare, cold room. Goosebumps rose on her flesh, but Edie felt nothing. Her heart was empty of emotion, her mind empty of thought, and her body numb to any feeling. A shell of a person, that was what she was.

The mortician looked at her, his pale blue eyes a mask of sadness beneath his gray bushy eyebrows. He had a kind, grandfatherly look to him, and Edie could feel the sympathy radiating off him. She couldn't help but wonder, as he led the way to the steel cabinets which housed the bodies, how anyone could choose this line of work. To continually be surrounded by sadness and loss. Edie would have gone crazy a long time ago if this was what she'd had to do for the rest of her life.

The room seemed to fall silent as the mortician opened one of the cabinets and pulled out the shelf on which the body lay. Edie braced herself for the tears as the old man pulled back the sheet that covered her fiancé. But as the sheet was pulled away and Edie gazed upon Alex's face, so handsome and lifeless, no tears came. It was as if there was nothing left inside of her. Edie could feel her heart breaking into a thousand tiny pieces as she looked upon his face, but not a single tear distorted her vision.

Edie bit her lip, willing herself to cry; to feel…something.

I'm a horrible person. My fiancé, the love of my life, is dead, and I feel nothing

The realization of her lack of feelings flooded Edie. She had loved Alex with all of her heart and it hurt her to think that she could not conjure up a tear for him. Sure she had cried when she first received the news of his death, but that couldn't have drained all of her tears. Could it? It didn't seem plausible.

She turned her eyes away from the body. The candy striper took that as her cue to take Edie back up to her room. With her heart heavy and her soul empty, Edie wordlessly allowed the girl to wheel her back to the room. But not before one single, solitary tear escaped from her eye.

Edwina sat in her room, listening to her parents fight down in the living room. Their voices rose and fell like the ocean tide as they screamed and cried and screamed some more. She tried to concentrate on her school work, but it was no use. The loud voices were all she could hear, all she could focus on. It was too much for her to bear.

Slamming her history book closed, Edwina gathered all her school books and crammed them into her book bag. She rushed down the stairs and out the front door, slamming it loudly behind her. Running down the street it was like she couldn't escape the voices. They rang out behind her, dogging her steps. She ran faster and faster, until her calve muscles burned and her breath came in ragged gasps. Sweat dripped down her back and coated her forehead, but still she pressed on until she reached the one place that she knew she would be safe from the voices of her parents, from their constant bickering.

Bradin looked over the charts that sat before him. It would take hours to catch up on them all. But Bradin could barely even concentrate for a second let alone hours. His mind continually flew back to Edie.

She hadn't recognized him. Sure he had changed some over the years, but not so much that anyone from high school would be unable to recognize him.

Bradin had heard of people blocking painful memories from their past. Is that what Edie had done? Had she blocked him from her mind because what he had done to her was so horrible that sometimes even he had nightmares about it? It certainly was possible.

Bradin sighed and hung his head. He needed to stop thinking about Edie. He needed to concentrate on his work and his other patients. But such a thing was easier said than done.

Bradin opened the front door to see Edwina standing before him, her forehead bathed in sweat and her chest rising and falling with each harried breath. Her eyes were wide, just like Bradin's little brother's eyes were when he woke up from a nightmare.

"Hey, are you alright?" Bradin asked, quickly ushering Edwina into the living room where he had been watching television; the station tuned to the X Games.

"I'm fine." She assured him as she shakily sat down on the couch. "My parents were fighting and I just had to get out of there."

Bradin smiled sympathetically. They'd been friends for a little over two months now and Edwina had already confided in him about her parents' shouting matches. Bradin pitied her, having to endure that every day. He never could imagine what she went through listening to those fights. His own parents, God rest their souls, had been the picture of a perfect marriage. They had barely ever fought, and when they did it could hardly be considered a real fight since they always made up within ten minutes.

"It's okay that I'm here, right?" Edwina asked, her eyes full of worry. "'Cause I can go if you already had plans or something."

"No, it's fine." Bradin quickly assured her. Sometimes he wondered how Edwina got through a day. She constantly second guessed herself and was always looking over her shoulder as if waiting for someone to jump out and yell "boo." She was as skittish as a new born colt, the only difference was, colts eventually grew out of that phase, and Edwina probably never would.

She smiled at him, her fears absolved for that moment, and settled back into the couch as Andy McDonald headed down the vert ramp to begin his run.

The nurse handed Bradin Edie's chart to look over one last time before she was released. Bradin's eyes skimmed the information before them, not really taking in anything the chart said.

It had been five days since Edie had been brought in to the hospital. She had been an ER patient and, rightfully, should have been admitted to a regular room at the hospital. But Bradin had been unable to allow her to be taken away from his care. It was as if they were back in high school again and he felt the intense need to take care of her, to watch over her like he had done back then.

But then again, Bradin had let her down in the end. He had started out with good intentions, but then he had become the very thing that he'd been trying to shield Edie from. He had turned into someone no better than the bullies that had constantly belittled and tormented her.

It was time, though, to release Edie from the hospital, and Bradin couldn't bring himself to face that. The second chance that he had been given was slipping through his fingers. He could feel it. Edie would leave the hospital and he would never see her again, he'd never get the chance to tell her he was sorry for what he'd done. He'd never get the chance to tell her that he had actually cared for her, might even have loved her. But even if he told her all that, she wouldn't believe him. All she would remember was the horrible person that he had shown himself to be. And Bradin wouldn't have blamed her one bit.

"Alright, Miss Branwell," he finally said, after he had faked looking over everything he possibly could. "You are free to go home."

Most people who received that news were ecstatic to hear it, but Edie simply looked at Bradin through emotionless eyes as if not truly comprehending what he said.

"Miss Branwell? Are you alright?" He asked, concern edging his voice. What a stupid question it was for him to ask. Of course she wasn't all right. How could she be when her fiancé, who she must have loved very much, was dead? Bradin wished that he could wrap his arms around Edie and hold her until the hurt was gone. But he couldn't do that. He probably never would be able to do that again. And all because of his stupid mistake.

Edwina didn't remember much else about that night except for the feeling of Bradin's arms around her as she fell asleep. They were still on the couch, the television turned down low, and Edwina's eyes were heavy with sleep. Bradin had pulled her up against him so that her head rested on his chest and his arms were wrapped around her. One hand slowly stroked her back, as if she were a small child that he was lulling to sleep. And all she could remember thinking was how safe she felt within his arms. How loved and accepted he made her feel.

A small, sleepy smile pulled at Edwina's lips. If this was what happiness was, she didn't ever want it to end.

So, what did you guys think? Was it good? Was it horrible? Please review and tell me what you thought. Hopefully it won't take so long this time for the next chapter.