I sat in my sister's room staring outside the window for what felt like days.

It was days.

I hadn't left my chair, except to go to the bathroom, for days.

I was frozen in shock at how quickly life had turned upside down for me. From the moment the death of my alleged sister was announced on national television, everything had gone downhill.

I blocked out whoever tried to come into the room. My mother tried speaking to me a couple of times when she brought me food but when she realized I needed time and wouldn't budge, she always just came to leave a tray of food for me on the time behind me.

There was a gentle tap on the door despite it being open, "Sweetheart - I mean. I... Sorry, Em...?"

That one word made me stare in the face of my sister's killer and immediately transported me back to the day I woke up at the hospital.

-

The low hum of whispering voices and a deep beep echoed in my blank mind. As the low hum slowly formed words that I could hear but not understand, my eyes started opening as well. My vision wasn't blurry, it was just slightly sore to open my eyes completely. However, I forced them to open to see a pristine white room which made me flinch.

The words were also making more sense but the only thing I was now focused on was how dry my throat was.

"Wa - water... please." I croaked out to whoever was in the room.

"Sweetheart?" The voice was significantly different but that name...

The name brought memories flood through my mind and I flinched. My sister's dead body. My kidnapping. My sister being alive. Hunter. Hunter's dad. A knife. A gun. And blood. So much blood...

"Please." I managed to whisper again before the people around me jumped into action.

A straw was brought to my lips and I drank the water as if I hadn't drank anything in years.

The glass was taken away too soon, "We can't give you too much or you'll get sick, sweetheart."

I reeled back at the name, "Don't call me that."

"Wha - ?"

"Were they able to save her?" I felt panic rush through me and a loud beep filled the room, "Is Jams fine?"

The beep increased with the speed of my heart.

"Sweetheart, calm - "

"Don't call me that!" My scream was louder than any other noise in the room, "Don't call me that." I said slowly again in a whisper, "He called me that."

"Sir, we're going to need you to leave." A stern voice spoke over the beep.

"I'm not leaving my girl-"

"Hunter, I'll call you when she's better. Just go get some rest, son."

I shot up at the name, ignoring the pain that followed the quick movement.

"Hunter?" Our eyes met in an instant and I found myself staring at a man who looked a lot like like Hunter but so much more disheveled.

Dark circles under his eyes and a dark stubble covered his strong jaw. His hair was too long hair stood up on all ends as of the only thing he had done to it the last few days was pull at it. And of course the yellow-green bruised that decorated his cheek. But the worst were his eyes. The Hunter I knew always had eyes that looked so strong and happy but now they showed a broken man.

He turned and left without answering me.

"He'll come back later, sweetie. We just need you to take deep breathes and calm down. I hope you didn't rip any of your stitches." An old lady held my shoulders and gently pushed me to lie down.

"Stitches?" I repeated.

She looked over expectantly at my parents who I now realized we're in the room with me. It was probably my dad who comforted Hunter.

My mom was on the verge of a breakdown so my dad came over to me and held my hand as he explained.

I remembered most of it except for the fact that I was stabbed, the nurse told me it was probably the morphine. And then my dad told me about my sister...

"We were told the bullet went straight through her heart. There was nothing anyone could do, sweetie." I couldn't help as violent sobs racked my body.

My worse fear came true. I had found my sister only for her to be killed. I stared up at the ceiling and wondered if it would have been better if the first body we had found was hers and I didn't get to enjoy her last month with her only to have her ripped away from me.

"And the guy who did this to us?" I asked after the tears stopped.

"Arrested. He's going to jail... Listen, Em, we know he's Hunter's dad. Did you know before?"

I shook my head as I shut my eyes again, willing all the crying and pain to stop. If my injuries didn't kill me, this would.

"We can call him if you want? He probably hasn't gone yet just in case." My mom offered.

I was quiet for a long time, "I can't - I can't look at him without seeing the face of the man who killed Jaimie."

"Oh Em." My mom rushed towards my bed and placed a kiss on my forehead. "Maybe just get some rest and we'll be here tomorrow."

"Love you kiddo." Dad said as he kissed the other side of my head.

"I love you too."

Sleep was quick to follow.

Sky's humming woke me up the next morning. Her hands were holding mine and when she looked up and saw my eyes were open, she practically jumped up and hugged me.

"St - stomach." I choked out since most of her weight was on the side of my injury.

She slid off me but still wrapped her arms around my neck, "You're bloody lucky you are alive or I would have personally come and found you just to lock you up in a cage you could never escape for the rest of you life."

"What are you doing here, Sky?" I stared at her wide eyed.

"Paul came to fetch me when we heard what happened." She swallowed before grabbing my hand in hers, "I'm so sorry, Em. I should have come with you. Maybe this would have never happened. I was being so selfish with Ty - " She choked at his name and squeezed my hand tighter, "I'm the shittiest friend in the world. I'm so sorry. But when I heard that you were... gone. I promise I came back immediately. We searched everywhere for you... Poor Hunter he - I can't tell you how worried he was. He blames himself." my eyes widened in horror, "Have you spoken to him?"

I shook my head, "He looks so much like his..." I swallowed, "his dad. It hurts but I will, Sky. I promise."

-

I hadn't spoken to him yet and here he was trying to speak to me again.

I still couldn't.

It still hurt.

I was being a coward and I hated myself for it.

But I just couldn't.

So I ignored him.

And eventually heard his footsteps leave me to drown in my nightmares.

•

Yes I am back! I struggled so much to write this chapter and it completely broke my heart but stick around because updates will be more frequent as I am now on holiday (hallelujah)

It's super late at night or super early in the morning, depends how you wanna see it but this chapter is done and I'm so glad I could give it to you all. Again... I'm sorry...

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