North of Heaven (A Jared Leto Fanfiction)

ELEVEN

"I don't know man, I just found her like that."

That was the first thing Emily heard when she opened her eyes. She was still completely disorientated, her head was pounding as if it'd been beaten against a brick wall and she could feel her heartbeat in the side of her face. She could feel that her skin was swollen as she found it hard opening her eye to its full capacity. She didn't need to examine herself in a mirror to know she'd sustained some brutal injuries.

She felt dazed not only from regaining consciousness but also because she didn't recognise her surroundings. The room she was in was pitch black, the only source of light was a slither that filtered in under the door and the early morning rays of sun that peeked into room now and then from behind the thick curtains. She noticed that she was laying in a bed. A double bed. The sheets were soft and fresh like they'd just been washed. It wasn't her bed she was in because the mattress felt different. It was lighter, so much so that she almost felt like she was slowing sinking into it. The panic in her ignited like a flame, she felt so vulnerable and scared, coming back into reality to not remember how she'd been taken out of it and to not have a clue where she'd ended up. She quickly sat bolt upright in the bed, trying to get a different view of the room from another angle when she heard the faint voice from behind the door that woke her.

"Oh, I think she's awake. I heard the sheets move." Emily listened carefully, trying to pin point the persons voice. "No! Speak to her later, give her minute to full wake up man. She's probably scared shirtless right now." She strained her ears trying so hard to recognise the tone, but all she could her was her pulse in her head. "Look, don't worry. I'm here and I'm handling it. I'll call when she's back to normal, okay? Right, I'll call you in a minute Squirt."

The door slowly crept open, the light pouring into the room and directly into Emily's face. She felt the full scrutiny of the person who'd just entered. Them getting a full and well lit view of her bruised and swollen face. Her eyes were glassy with tears and her bottom lip was trembling. She looked like a child who was about to burst into tears, and that's exactly how she felt.

"Oh honey." The voice spoke in a soft and gentile voice. Emily watched as the person stepped into the room and took slow, almost delicate steps towards her. She watched as the shadow of the figure sat down beside her on the mattress and leant forward, flicking on a bedside table lamp she didn't know was there. The lamp wiped the darkness away, revealing her location, and she couldn't help but gasp in disbelief, confusion and relief as she knew exactly where she was. She'd been in that bed one time before. She knew the person say next to her also. She couldn't stay strong any longer after discovering where she was, her emotions were just too fragile and her facade crumbled. The tears flowed freely and her sobs were out of her control and it was then that Shannon shuffled forward on the bed and held her against him in his strong arms.

"You're okay. You're okay. You're safe."

* * * * * * * * * * *

He sat patiently with his arm around her shoulders, propped up next to her on the pillows of Jared's bed and let her cry for what felt like hours. He didn't push it, over smother her or pressure her into telling him what actually happened to her, he just sat there by her side waiting for the sobs to subside.

As she cried Shannon took in Emily's features. He'd never really looked at her before, like really looked at her face. Her skin was creamy and looked soft to the touch, her eyes were brown like autumn leaves and her hair was lush and extravagant. Even as she cried he couldn't help but understand why his brother was so attached to this girl, he would be too if he'd spotted her first. He also could tell that behind it all, Emily was as vulnerable as they come and he wondered if that was another reason Jared was so fond of this girl.