This was definitely one of my FAVORITE chapters to write. The next one will be very emotional as well. :D

I went back to the back room to relax and put my guitar away. God, that ws amazing. I mean, terrifying, but amazing. The door opened and someone joined me in the room. It was Richard.

"I didn't know you were here." I said, knotting my eyebrows together.

"I knew you were going to sing, so I had to see what you were like." He said, and took a few steps towards me.

"Oh." I said, suddenly feeling nervous. "Wh-what did you think?"

Richard moved so that he was standing right in front of me. "I was thinking that you're beautiful." He said, staring directly into my eyes.

I blushed. "What about the song?" I asked.

"Nothing compared to the singer, but it was amazing." He said, and tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear.

This was so random. I wasn't... I wasn't expecting Richard to be like this. I mean, he's hot, and maybe I had a little crush on him, but he was much older. At least five years. Possibly six. Yet when he pressed his lips to mind, I kind of didn't even think of the age difference. I was too busy thinking about how soft his lips were, and how gentle they were, pressed against mine.

I had closed my eyes, but at the sound of the door opening I opened them back up. And was faced with a wide eyed Jason.

"Jason-"

"Sorry. I thought maybe you'd want a ride home. I see you've already got one, though." He said, his eyes sparking with anger. " So don't bother me for one ever again."

He left the room. I was tempted to go after him but the look in his eyes when he left made me think he didn't want me to.

"I don't know what I did wrong." I said, confused.

"I think I do. I'm sorry Emma. I shouldn't have done that." He said quietly.

"What? No, no. I liked it." I said quickly. And I did. But I felt a little confused.

Together, Richard and I exited the back room. There was only a few people left at Common Grounds. It was dark outside.

"Great. I guess my ride left." I said with a sigh. I guess my protective bracelet might save me, but I'd really rather not chance it.

"Don't worry, I'll drive you." Richard offered.

"Thanks." I said, smiling gratefully at him.

We left and headed towards his truck. On the drive to my house we didn't really talk about anything person. Mostly just about what it was like in New York city and whether or not I liked Morganville.

"I do. Mostly. I mean, there are some parts I'd like to change but... I've met some pretty great people here." I said, and I meant every word I said.

We were almost at my house when I saw the smoke. It was everywhere. It seemed like the whole neighborhood was burning, but that couldn't be right. We drove slowly down the street, Richard being very cautious of the flashing lights lined up everywhere.

"What's going on?" I asked, starting to feel panicky.

When we pulled up in front of my house, the feeling of panick increased and I felt like throwing up. The smoke cleared a bit, and I could see the house. It was bad. Really bad. There was someone on a stretcher being taken into an ambulance. Without thinking, I jumped out of the still slightly moving vehicle. I dashed towards the ambulance.

"Who's in there?" I shouted.

"I'm sorry, but I can disclose that information to you." Said the man closing the doors to the ambulance.

"Please, this is my house!" I said, near tears. "Is my mom okay?"

"Mom? We didn't find any woman in the house... not yet, anyways. They're still searching. All we've found is a man." He told me. He gave me a sympathetic look, but I ignored it.

I ran towards the nearest firefighter. They were putting their equipment away. "I need to know if you've found my mother. Was she inside, is she okay?" I asked quickly. The man just shook his head at me.

What did that mean? That they didn't find her, that she wasn't in the house, or that she wasn't okay?

Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by another stretcher coming out of the house. There was a sheet under the giant lump on the stretcher. I couldn't resist. I ran to it and pulled the sheet down.

Nothing could have held me up at that moment. My knees buckled and my body started shaking uncontrollably. Yet the tears just didn't fall.

"Is this the woman you were looking for?" Asked the firefighter who I'd originally questioned. I nodded at him. Though you wouldn't be able to tell from looking at her burned body, I knew it was my mother. She was wearing the butterfly necklace that I'd gotten her when I was in grade four.

"We've got a body!" Someone shouted.

"Two." I said.

"What?" Someone asked me.

"Two bodies. She is... was, pregnant." I said quietly. I stood up and walked back to Richard's truck. I hopped in.

"Is everything okay?" Richard asked.

Instead of answering his question, I asked one of my own. "Can you take me somewhere?"

"Sure." He replied, looking confused. "Where?"

I gave him the directions to get to Jason's house. When we pulled up out front of his house, I said a quick thank you to Richard and got out of the truck. I ran quickly up the steps to Jason's house. Richard drove away as I was knocking on the door.

When Jason answered I immediately jumped into his arms. Instead of wrapping them around me like I'd expected, he pushed me away gently.

"Go away, Emma." He said quietly and shut his door in my face.

It started to rain as I walked away from Jason's house. My body, along with my heart, was hurting so badly. Yet the tears wouldn't come. Maybe I was in shock.

I focused my mind on the only problem I could fix at the moment, though. Where does a newly orphaned girl go when her house, with all her money and possessions and her... mother... is gone?

a/e So, there's something I should have done a while ago. Give a very, very special thanks to KitKat. First person ever to comment on my story. If any of you who read this have ever written one of these of your own, you know how great it is when someone reviews positively on your story. KitKat, you're awesome. :D