A/N: Hello, my lovely readers! Here is chapter two, and I hope you all enjoy it! You get a little insight into Embry's head here, and there will be more from him in later chapters. If you enjoy this please or have any questions or comments, review or PM me and tell me what you think! The National Suicide Hotline is: 1-800-273-8255, and I am always free to listen and be a friend if any of you need someone! Remember, you aren't alone!

WARNING: GRAPHIC SCENES AND MENTIONS OF SELF HARM, SUICIDAL THOUGHTS, SUICIDE ATTEMPTS, AND TRIGGERING IMAGERY. IF YOU ARE TRIGGERED BY THIS OR DO NOT ENJOY IT, DO NOT READ.

Chapter Two.

The living room was silent when I awoke, but the smell of fried chicken engulfed my senses and had my mouth instantly watering. It had been so long since I've eaten anything other than an apple at lunch and the smell had me salivating in my spot.

"Oh, you're awake. You hungry?" Embry's voice caught me off guard as he stepped into the living room, a grin on his face. All I could do was nod lightly, stripping off the jacket and the shoes that I still wore before following him into the kitchen.

The table was set for two, both with steaming cups of coffee and two plates plum full of fried chicken and mashed potatoes and country gravy. My stomach growled loudly and without another thought I quickly sat down, shoving the food into my mouth.

"Damn, Bella. When's the last time you ate?" He questioned, sitting down in his seat next to me. I shrugged but didn't answer, my taste buds exploding. Where did he get this from? "I found some chicken I'm the freezer and some potatoes, so I just whipped something up. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. Oh my gosh, this is so good. Where did you learn to cook like this?"

"Enjoy it, you deserve it."

In minutes I had devoured the chicken and moved on to the potatoes. Embry was already done by the time I was finished, but that wasn't surprising. Wolves ate a lot.

"You want to take a bath while I clean up down here?" Did he trust me up there alone, even after everything that had happened?

This could be your chance, a voice said in my head. Don't lose this chance.

"Y-yeah, I could use a bath." "After you're done we can watch a movie or something. Does that sound good?" I gave a swift nod before exiting the room, quickly jogging upstairs and into the bathroom. I stripped my clothes down, leaving my body bare. My stomach was flat, and you could almost see my ribs. When had I gotten so skinny?

My hands turned the nob and the water until it was warm, and I plugged up the drain.

The razors, where were they? With shaking hands, I looked through the cabinets and drawers, coming up empty every time. No scissors, no razors. Nothing sharp in sight.

Then it dawned on me; this is why he trusted me up here alone. He had already taken all the sharp objects and hid them somewhere. I cried out, hitting my hands on the counter.

Stupid Embry, ruining everything! Why couldn't he just let me go?

Having nothing else to lose, I slid into the tub until the water came to my neck.

Soon, I thought to myself. He'll have to go home to his mom sometime and I'll be able to get away with it. My eyes closed, and I let the water relax me for now. Soon.

Embry's POV:

I hid the letters in my pockets and went to work on hiding all of the sharp objects in Charlie's bedroom as soon as she was asleep, knowing they would be safe in there and away from her clutches.

It was by the grace of the spirits that I had caught her in time, pulling her up from the icy, crashing waves below.

Her eyes looked hollow, dead almost, and her body was stick thin. When had she last ate? In these three short weeks after the Jacob and Leah debacle, Bella had slowly started to kill herself.

Thank god I had got to her before she could finish the job.

After fighting me tooth and nail she finally gave up and let me take her back home, where she fought me until she lost herself to her exhaustion. With the letters and sharp objects hidden, I went to work cooking dinner or her.

A warm meal from the heart could heal the soul is what my mom always says, and I took the words to heart. I quickly fried up some chicken I found in the freezer and peeled and cooked some potatoes, mashing them before making some gravy. If my mom had given me one skill, it was cooking.

Bella woke up right as I finished up, and in no time had engulfed her whole plate before retiring for a bath. I knew she wouldn't be able to harm herself in the bathroom, so I let her go alone.

She returned in a white and black long-sleeved baseball tee and black sweatpants, a glare christening her face. With drenched hair, flushed cheeks, and a full belly she looked more animated than she had in weeks. Her chocolate eyes were still dim, but I'd try my hardest bring some light back to them.

We sat together on the couch awkwardly as she clicked through channels before settling on a DCOM about a kid cloning himself. She became invested in the movie and I glanced at her quickly, my pulse rising as she diligently bit her swollen bottom lip. I had seen her do this before, she had been doing it first at Jake's before we all phased and then at Emily's when she found out the secret.

She sure didn't bite her lip when she caught Jake and Leah together. Her face had dropped from an excited smile to heartbreak, and her eyes had filled with tears. They had never officially said that they were together, but it seemed Bella was finally ready to make it official with him. And then he imprints and forgets all about his best friend and former love.

In all honesty, I had expected Leah to fight the imprint since Sam had dumped her when he imprinted on Emily. But she did the exact opposite and left little Bella Swan with nothing.

I had always liked Bella, and she was pretty damn cute. But she had always been Jake's. I guess now that Jake had Leah, I could win her over.

That was the plan when I came over earlier that day, only to find a bunch of suicide notes. My heart had stopped, and I couldn't get my shorts off fast enough before I phased and set off to the Rez. And I had caught her just in time.

It made me sick to think about what would have happened if I hadn't been there.

Bella snored beside me, and the remote slipped out of her hands and onto the floor. She finally looked peaceful.

So damn cute.

I turned my eyes from her and looked back to the screen, not really paying attention.

What was I going to do when Charlie got home? I couldn't stay here forever. And I was going to have to tell him what happened with Bella. What she tried to do.

Fuck, this was all so stressful. Why did Jacob have to go off and imprint? Why did that bloodsucker have to mess with her head? Why did Bella have to get the short end of the stick?

It was almost as if life had out a large sign on her chest that said "Unlucky". Well, it was about time the sign came off. If I had anything to do with it, Bella would learn to love life again. She would learn to love herself.

I looked back over at her sleeping face and how cute it was. And maybe she would learn to love me too.

Bella's POV:

The next time I opened my eyes I was in my bed, tangled in my comforter and sheets. Rain pounded on the window, and something that sounded like a lawn mower bellowed from my floor.

It turned out to be Embry. With a roll of my eyes, I flopped back onto my bed and covered my head with my blanket.

Why was he still here? Didn't he have a home of his own?

With a sigh of annoyance, I looked over at my alarm clock and groaned. It was only nine in the morning!

No use going back to bed now, I was wide awake and ready for the day.

Out of nowhere a rush of anxiety filled my senses.

I'd have to go through another day of hell. Another day of living.

And all because of the brute on my bedroom floor.

A few seconds passed before the hyperventilating set in; I couldn't catch my breath to save my life, and it felt like I was having a heart attack. Then came the waterworks.

Thick, hot tears sprang from my eyes and flowed like waterfalls.

No, I couldn't do this. Live another useless day on this useless planet. There had to be some way to fix this, make things right.

The bane of my existence took this moment to wake up and ruin my privacy again, and on top of my panic attack, I felt embarrassment. The blanket that covered my face was slowly pulled back, and my eyes my Embry's. They held a deep sadness in them. "Bella, what's wrong?"

"You."

"What?"

"You're what's wrong. You ruined everything for me!"

"I couldn't stand by and let you do that." A sigh left his lips and I grabbed at my chest, taking a sharp breath. "What do you need me to do to help you?"

"Leave me alone!"

"Besides that, Bella." When I didn't answer he sat down on my mattress and took my free hand in his, rubbing circles on the back.

And then he started to hum.

It was a tune I knew so well it stopped me in my tracks. A memory flooded my mind.

Four-year-old Bella was sick again, the third time this month. Renee was at her wit's end. The haggard mother rocked her daughter back in forth in her arms, a soft song flooding from her lips.

I've been waiting for a girl like you to come into my life.
I've been waiting for a girl like you, your loving will survive.

Little Bella cracked her first smile of the day, and Renee chuckled before kissing her pale forehead.
I've been waiting for someone new to make me feel alive.
Yeah, waiting for a girl like you to come into my life.

"Bella, are you okay?"

"My mom used to sing that to me when I was little."

"Do you want me to stop?" I shook my head. Without thinking I crawled into his lap and lay my head against his chest. My eyes closed as soon as he started humming again, and I lost myself in the tune.

We enjoyed scrambled eggs, toast, and a glass of milk for breakfast, and then settled in the living room again to watch the television.

Since my outburst this morning, I hadn't felt the need to harm myself or even try. It was as if the song had put me in a trance, a weird state of normality.

Embry clicked through the channels until he found a weird lifetime movie and then turned to me.

"What?"

"So, your mom's a fan of Foreigner?"

"Yeah, since she was thirteen."

"My mom's the same way. She blasts Hot Blooded whenever she's cleaning the house."

"I'm the exact same, that song pumps me up when I'm doing the laundry." Embry burst out laughing and I couldn't help the blush that flooded my cheeks.

What was this feeling in my chest?

"You're so cute, Bella." He smiled at me so tenderly I felt my stomach drop. I turned to look at my feet, my face looking more and more like a tomato.

What was he playing at?

"T-thanks," I muttered before standing up and leaving the room, wanting to create distance between us. This was getting weirder and weirder by the second.

Me, cute? I'd basically blamed him for ruining my life this morning, and here he is calling me cute.

Teenage boys these days were so weird.

Nervously, I leaned against the kitchen counter and took a few deep breaths to calm myself. I was feeling so much better than I had in weeks, but bad thoughts had a way of filtering in when you least expected it.

I was just staying in place now; my life wouldn't get any better from here on out. No matter how many times Embry called me cute or made me dinner, I'd still be the same pathetic Bella that no one wanted. When he leaves I'll be alone again, so I needed to fix my mistake and fix it soon.

Embry may have ransacked the bathroom for sharp objects, but could he have hidden everything in the kitchen?

One swift search through a drawer proved that his plans had been flawed.

I stared at the steak knife in my hand and gulped before quickly lifting up my sleeve and dragging it across my wrist.

One, two, three.

Blood oozed from the cuts and I hissed in pain, but I kept going.

Three, four, five.

My clothes became stained with red, and I felt woozy.

It would only be a matter of time before it would be over.

I smiled with glee.

Finally!

"What the hell, Bella!" Embry was at my side at once, yanking the knife from my hands and holding a towel to my wrist. I smiled up at him and laughed. "I'm taking you to the hospital."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"You're not dying on my watch!" He drug me through me the kitchen and the living room, grabbing my keys on the way out the door. He lifted me into the truck like I weighed nothing. "Hold it there like this, press down hard."

Too out of it to think otherwise, I did as he said. We sped off like lightning speed to the hospital, but then everything became blurry. I don't remember much after that.

Embry's POV:

"Hello?"

"Chief Swan?

The other line crackled as the sounds of Harry and Billy laughing almost drowned out Charlie's voice. "Embry, is that you?"

"Yes."

"What do you need, son?"

"You need to sit down, sir."

"Is everything okay? Is it your mom again?" If only, I thought grimly. That would be so much better than this shit.

"I'm at the hospital with Bella."

"What? With Bella?" Charlie shushed the other two men again before speaking again. "What happened?"

"I went to your house yesterday to visit Bella, but I found some notes."

"You don't mean-"

"They were suicide notes. She was planning on jumping off a cliff on the Rez." I swallowed. "I found her at the cliffs and stopped her and brought her home. I slept on her bedroom floor last night to make sure she was safe. Today seemed to be better, she was happier. But then I found her in the kitchen."

"What was she doing in the kitchen?"

"There was so much blood. It was like a murder movie."

"Oh my god."

"You need to come home. They won't tell me anything or let me see her." Embry's voice cracked, and he wiped angrily at the tears that started to fall.

"We're on our way home right now. Stay calm, everything is going to be alright."

"Okay, okay."

"Does Tiffany know where you are?"

"She's staying with her boyfriend in Tacoma for the weekend."

"Just stay calm, okay? We'll be there soon. I'll call you when I'm close."

"Okay, Chief."

"Bye, son." The line ended, and all the emotions Embry had been holding exploded, and he started to cry.

He was bawling like a baby in the middle of the hospital, and he couldn't stop it if he tried.

How had it come to this point?

She was acting better, eating better. Sure, it had only been a day, but I thought I had been really getting to her!

Maybe I was, but a bitch named mental illness loved to walk back in and fuck everything up.

I rubbed my eyes again and put my face in my hands, breathing in and out.

Fuck, what was going to happen now?

Bella was worse than I realized. She needed professional help, better care than I could give her.

If Edward had messed her up, Jacob had broken her.

I only hoped that with the proper help, I could fix her. Maybe then, she would see her real worth. How cute she was. How great she was.

Sobbing again, I felt a few tears drip down my chin.

I hoped to God I could help her love herself again.