I heard the beeps get a little quicker before realizing that it was just a reaction to my stress. I had tubes coming out of my nose and an IV in my hand. Why? Did something happen that I didn't remember? What was going on?

I looked over to see a boy with crazy blond hair sitting in the chair next to me, his head down, but I didn't think he was asleep. Maybe just tired. Still, it confused me. Who was he? Where were Miles and Shane? Where were my parents, and my baby brother? What happened to me?

It all hit me like a ton of bricks. I gasped and my heart soared, making the beeps uncomfortably close together. The boy next to me jumped up at the noise, and we locked eyes. I'm sure he saw the shock and pain in my eyes because he immediately grabbed my hand.

"Charley, it's okay. Everything is going to be alright," He said slowly. "I promise. Calm down." For a brief moment, he even stroked my cheek. A stranger stroking my cheek in the hospital would normally have scared me, but this had the opposite effect. This technique actually calmed me.

I felt like I was going to cry, but no tears came. I remembered everything, so I assumed I'd cried all the tears I had in the last few days. "Dead..." I moaned, and pulled my fists up to my face, covering myself from him.

Jasper. The boy now comforting me was Jasper, Alice's boyfriend. Alice, whose brother was Emmett? More than anything, I remembered Emmett, I remembered cinnamon and vanilla, and the safest feeling I'd had in years.

He grabbed my hands away from my face. "The others will be SO relieved to hear you've come back to us. You've been an emotional void for the past five days. They had to put you in the hospital because you weren't eating or sleeping. They were worried. So the doctors put you on sedatives and have been giving you nutrients through the Iv." He sighed. I was thankful he explained without me having to ask.

I looked up at him. "Does everyone know?" My voice was raspy from not having used it, and from all the crying I assumed. I sounded awful.

He looked at me sceptically. "No, your brothers have made sure of that. We have no idea what happened. We just know that... whatever happened couldn't have been good. I've never seen PTSD in person, but I'm glad you've recovered." He didn't seem very worried about if he was bothering me or not, which I was thankful about. I didn't want people treating me like a baby.

I nodded.

He gave me quite possibly the most intense stare I've ever received in my life. "We've been so worried." He shook his head. "Emmett is a mess. He was with you the first two days. He stayed with you until Shane was forced to kick him out. THAT was a fight." He chuckled at the memory, and I almost regret being able to see the two biggest people I know fight. "Shane banned him from seeing you until you woke up as punishment for fighting him. Emmett is quite literally going insane."

I looked at him, confused. Why would Emmett care so much?

"He hasn't really eaten or talked. Alice said he hasn't been sleeping well. He's quite jumpy. He's terribly scared for you. It's not just this episode that has him scared. It's whatever caused the PTSD." He continued.

So, I had PTSD? Even I didn't know that... but I guess I did fit the symptoms... sort of.

Jasper cleared his throat and looked up at me from under his lashes. Was he trying to charm me? No offence, but he was no Emmett. It wasn't working. "Charley. Please, tell me what happened."

And why would JASPER care so much?

"Miles and you may not realize it, but you're our family. That doesn't happen. Ever. But we love each other no matter what. And we all care about you. So, if you want to talk, you can. If not, then don't. I just want to help."

I paused briefly. It might not help MUCH, but it COULD help. To have someone on the inside, knowing things about me? It would help make me feel more attached. It could quite possibly help us be better friends. And I could never refuse a good friend.

"Five months before my brother and I moved here," I started, "My..." I hesitated, but didn't feel any tears coming. Jasper had the most calming presence.

(A/N: In chapter 4, I think, I goofed and said it had been two months since the fire, but it has really been five since before they moved so six and a half-ish by this point. I'm too lazy to go fix any mistakes. Deal.)

"Miles and I were at a concert and after went to stay the night at a friends. Shane was a cop back home, too, and he was on duty. He got a call... about a house fire. When he got the address..." I sighed and stared at the window for a few minutes to collect my thoughts. Outside the window were a tree and the parking lot. So I was on the first floor... "It was ours. That night, Shane heard the screams of my mom, dad, and little brother. My little brother slept with them some nights that they were home. He was only five... They were..." I choked back tears and vomit. "They were trapped in my parent's room upstairs by a fallen beam from their ceiling."

He gave me a moment to continue collecting myself. Coincidence doesn't even begin to describe that night. Miles and I weren't there to help them get the beam out of the way, or to possibly detect the fire before it got so big. Shane was called to that exact house. My brother happened to be in their room. They happened to be home, for the first time in a month and a half. It was Miles and my birthday, too, if I hadn't mentioned. We were having fun at a concert while they were busy... burning... I shuddered, and was brought back to the reality of Jasper beside me.

"They all died that night. It was Miles and my eighteenth birthday. My brother... he didn't die right away. My parents tried so hard to save him, but all it did was keep him alive longer to suffer. He died in the hospital a few hours later from burns, internal bleeding, and overall exhaustion. And my brother was there for it all. We moved here to get away from the places that reminded of so much of them, but I don't think it has worked. Shane will have to live with those memories everyday for the rest of his life." I shook my head and looked directly in front of me. My voice was raspy and hollow. I sounded exactly how I'd felt before my "episode." I felt sounded dead.

But something was different. I told someone my story. I didn't cry. I didn't feel so empty. It was something Jasper had said... He said we were family, and he'd love us no matter what. They all would. Could they accept our baggage? And then I realized that foreign feeling that I hadn't felt in quite awhile. Hope. I, Charley Wallis, had hope that maybe one-day things could be better. And it was in that moment that I, Charley Wallis, saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

I saw out of the corner of my eye that Jasper looked traumatized, but he didn't say much about it. I was thankful for that. Mostly, he just told me he loved me (not like that) and thanked me for putting my trust in him. We talked about different things, like the weather and what I missed in school.

"I feel weak." I blurted. "Miles is much different than me. He's handled it much better. We both took care of our younger brother like he was our own kid, but it just... I feel weak."

He gasped. "Don't! Everyone handles things differently, Charley. Everyone."

I shook my head slowly, "Shane has been through so much more. And he handles it better than I do. Not as well as Miles, I'll admit... I just wish I could be stronger for them." I confessed.

Jasper actually pursed his freaking lips at me. "They don't want you to change who you are for them. I can guarantee you that."

I nodded slowly, ready for that conversation to be over. "Can I ask you something?" I said slowly, unsurely. I met his eyes for the first time since my story was told.

He nodded, "Anything."

And with that one word, I realized why I was so comfortable with him. Other than his calm attitude, he reminded me exactly of one of my guy friends from Colorado. One of my gay guy friends... But I knew Jasper wasn't gay. Alice must have taught him well, though.

"Why were you here and not Miles or Shane?" That had been bothering me since I woke up... Or rather, since I snapped back to reality.

(A/N: Oh! There goes gravity, Oh! There goes Rabbit. He choked, he's so mad, but he won't give up that easy. No, he won't have it... Lose yourself in the music... La la la...)

He smirked. "Well, we're supposed to be in school, you know? So, for Miles not to miss a whole lot at once, we've taken shifts in watching over you. We're supposed to call the school and let them know as soon as you're awake, so everyone can come. I haven't yet because I figured you weren't ready for everyone yet. It's just my shift. Everyone but Emmett got one. Alice, Angela, Bella, Edward, Miles, and I. Shane couldn't miss work, I guess..."

I sighed, "Thank you so much for not calling before, but you can now. I'm feeling much better." I cleared my throat and he sighed.

"You don't sound any better," he accused, but stood up. "I'll go get you some sprite from the cafeteria and call them while I'm there. I'll be back in a minute or two."

He exited the room, looking like he didn't want to have me alone, and left me to my thoughts. I didn't welcome the emptiness in my chest now that someone wasn't here.

But it wasn't unbearable. I thanked my lucky stars that my brothers had chosen (of all places) Forks, Washington. I found friends who loved me, no matter what. I found family. As I sat there and thought about what the difference was, only one thing came to mind. Well, one person. Emmett Cullen. He was carefree and sweet. He didn't just have good looks (which, of course he did have!) but he was also a genuinely good person. He was there to make people laugh, and to make their days better. I loved him for that.

In a jolt, I remembered what put me in the hospital in the first place. A kid's movie: A Series of Unfortunate Events. Over the last few months, I thought that was all my life had been. But I'd found my healthier place, and I could see the silver lining. I thought about that goddamned letter. "No matter where we are, know that as long as you have each other, you have your family. And you are home."

I had a family here. I had a family, and I was home. That made the light at the end of the tunnel shine all the brighter.

I was brought out of my reverie by a squeal, followed by the sweetest voice in the world's relieved words. "Lee, you're okay!"

"Yeah, Emmett," I answered, taking in the large group of teenagers now standing in front of me. "Yeah, I am." And for the first time in what seemed like forever, I meant it.