Emma's throat burns and is raw. The back of her nose stings and breathing is still painful. She can't lift her head, it feels like its weight has tripled. Using all her strength, she forces her eyes open. The curtains are drawn and letting in only minimal light. It provides her with some relief.
There's several texts on her phone and missed calls. She opens Peter's first.
Text me when you wake up.
Is Roman still there?
When did Roman leave last night?
Call me.
Emma squints her eyes. Roman was here? She doesn't remember that. She doesn't remember getting home. She only remembers being cold and the darkness. And the pain. After hitting the call button, the phone only rings once before it's picked up. "What's going on?" Emma asks and soon as she hears the other line.
"When did Roman leave-"
"I don't even remember him being here. What's happening?"
"There was an accident, Em," he sighs.
"What?"
"Apparently after he left your house last night he went home and I guess he uh- he overdosed." Emma feels her stomach sink to her feet. "He's in a coma right now."
"Is he..." she trails off.
"He's stable," Peter tells her. She can hear the sadness in his voice, the struggle to stay steady and strong.
"Okay."
"I'm gonna go see him if you want to come," Peter offers. Emma thinks it over for a minute. It feels like she should, but they're not friends. They're rarely even civil with one another.
"Just let me know how things are." They say their goodbyes and hang up.
Moving down to her next text message. It's just a thumbs up from Ally. She quirks her eyebrows trying to recall what might have happened last night. Scrolling up, she finds a plethora of worried texts that she doesn't remember reading. She must have read them, though. The best excuse she can come up with is still a pretty shitty one.
Hey. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Honestly, I was having a bad day and decided to have a drink and I went a little too far. Everything's okay, and I'm really sorry.
Ok.
She feels guilty lying after having already scared her friend. But it's not like she could tell her what truly happened, that she let people drown her the night before. More than that, she feels guilty over worrying her friends so much. Had she been that strange? Emma doesn't remember acting strange.
Maybe her behavior had been a little unusual, she could acknowledge that. Or maybe they could see things she couldn't. It's hard to recognize that you're not acting like yourself, because to you are yourself.
Dying and being brought back to life takes a lot out of you. She sleeps most of the day away, after getting out of bed and moving to the floor first. When she wakes up, it's to the sound of her phone buzzing. Peter gives her the update that Roman is still stable and he's home. Olivia had demanded he be treated at the mansion instead of the tower. Over protective as always.
She doesn't get up until it's time to cook dinner. There's no way she'll make it though anything that requires too much attention, but she can't not cook dinner. Throwing together something that could be called a casserole she sits down, out of breath.She messages her temples in an attempt to satiate the monster thumping inside.
"You okay, honey?" She hears her mom creaking down the stairs. "I just heard what happened."
"I'm fine," Emma glances up from the table.
"I know you and Roman weren't speaking, but-"
"I'm fine," Emma lies. "Don't worry."
"I just cannot believe his mother never did anything."
"She probably didn't know," Emma lies again. Olivia was very much aware of Roman's drug usage and while she didn't encourage it she didn't stop him.
"I don't know how she couldn't. He's her child! How couldn't she see something was wrong?" She moves to get plates from the cabinet.
"She's busy, I guess. Running a whole company and all. Roman can be a lot to handle sometimes."
"Still," Kay sighs and sits once the table is set. "How little of attention do you have to be paying to miss it?"
......
Emily Parker has done her fair share of dreading school, most of it has happened over the past couple months. Today was not dread so much as anxiety towards the unknown. Would people greet her with pity over Roman? Would they ask her about him? These were the questions she tried to anticipate answers too. She didn't have them.
Seeing Ally in the hallway with her lips pursed and arms crossed was not something she anticipated. "Hey guys," Emma smiles lightly approaches Ally and Kim.
"Hey," Kim mumbles unenthused.
"What's up?" She asks them.
"Nothing," Ally says sternly.
"Look, I'm sorry. I told you-"
"I thought you were going to kill yourself!" Ally cracks. She's livid. "Do you know how fucking horrifying that is?"
"Why would you even think that? I have one bad day and suddenly I'm a mental case?" Emma has no rational way to explain herself. "You just overreacted."
"Overreacted?" She scoffs back. "Do you know how goddamn weird you've been acting?"
"I'm not acting weird! Kim, please-"
"I'm with Ally on this one."
"Well," Emma scratches her head. "I'm sorry that I've been acting weird. I'll try and be more normal?"
"You know you've been acting weird," Ally demands. "That's why you're being all secretive and not spending time with us."
"I've been busy!"
"Busy with what exactly? Busy drinking alone? Busy pretending to study?" Again, she's left wordless. "Or busy fucking Roman then acting like you hate him?"
"So this is an intervention?" Emma laughs. "Yeah, let's do that at school, in the hallway."
"That's not-" Kim tries to elaborate but Emma continues on.
"Right in front of everyone! You're really helping me out here, guys!"
"You're being a bad friend!" Kim cracks from her usually kind and calm demeanor. "You've been so self-involved this year and it's getting real hard to stand up for you."
"Stand up for me?"
"Do you honestly believe people aren't talking about you?" Ally looks like she could pull her hair out. "That somehow you're exempt from repercussions? Well, we hear it, and I'm done making excuses for you." Emmas blood boils, and heat rises to her face and she tries to think of something to hit back with. "If you want to self-destruct go ahead, but I'm not sticking around to watch.
"Okay," is all that comes out. As much as she wants to yell and argue this out there is no where to run with it. They're right. Her response stuns the girls as they had expected full on nuclear warfare.
"Oh," Kim replies stunned. "Okay?" Emma nods and walks away. Making her way upstairs to class she feels relieved. Like a weight has left her back. There's no need to keep up appearances now. She finally can be left alone.
"Hey, Emma!" A small girl runs up to her in the hallway. Emma turns to face her. It's the girl from the party. "Can you give Roman this get well card for me? I don't remember the last time I talked to him, but I think I was a bitch for no reason."
"I'm not friends with Roman," Emma pushes her hand away. "And don't fucking talk to me."
Ashley remains standing in the middle of the hallway. Even if she was still friends with Roman- she wasn't going to carry his fan mail around.
......
Three long, empty days had passed when Emma finds herself back in Destiny's living room. Destiny's moving around in her kitchen and clanking pans. She sits awkwardly on the couch waiting on her to return. "You tired?" Destiny calls from the kitchen.
"Not really," Emma calls back. Her body always feels tired, and her mind is desperate for the sleep she can't provide. Destiny enters the living room balancing plates between her hands. She sets them on the coffee table and runs back to the kitchen. Leaning forward, Emma can see that they're three plates with a different pastry on them. "Pastries?"
"Yeah," Destiny returns with a pill bottle. "It's usually a cake, or bread, or something. According to my grandmother, the sweeter the offer the better the Ursitory treat you. Here," she hands her the bottle. "For sleep."
"Thanks," Emma mumbles taking a few. "How will you know?"
"I'll hear them."
"Hear them?" Emma sounds shocked.
"They whisper, I don't know how it will work with you being older. I've only been around for babies," Destiny holds a hand out to help Emma up. She takes her to the center of the room where there's an opening. "Lay down." Emma does as she says.
"What are they?" She asks, pulling a pillow under her head.
"Like I said, they're usually though of as faeries," Destiny brings her a blanket.
"They're not, though."
"No," she shakes her head. "They're spirits, little balls of energy." Destiny moves around Emma's laying body to form some sort of a circle out of a sand-like mixture. "They don't make mistakes, and they don't lie. Only the mother and the midwife will hear them."
"You're the midwife?" Destiny nods.
"In a way I'm acting as one," she finishes the circle and brings the three plates forward. "The fates cannot be annulled and the Ursitory cannot be bribed, I want you to know that."
"Okay," Emma nods. Destiny stands and goes to the kitchen. She returns with a bottle of wine and three wine glasses.
"I'm telling you that because if this doesn't work it doesn't work. It won't work. That's that, okay?" Emma nods. Destiny places the wine in their spots and stands. "Sleep tight, you have a long night ahead of you."
"What do you mean?" Emma asks hoping to hold her attention a bit longer. With the exception of her mother, this is the most human contact she's had in a few days. Sometimes she forgets how her own voice sounds.
"You'll see," Destiny laughs and retreats to her room.
Emma lays in the dark, looking up to the ceiling hoping to fall asleep soon. If she woke up and things were the same at least she'd know. Waiting for this nice had been overwhelming. When she falls asleep she falls hard.
When she realizes she's dreaming, she assumes she's back in the room with Roman. She's wrong, though. She's in the offie again. Well, not really. It's like watching a movie as everything proceeds. Things become a bit clearer and shapes begin for form into furniture.
J.R. sits kneeled in front of her younger self. She stares back down at him. "What I'm about to tell you has to stay between us," J.R. says slowly. "Do you understand? Not your parents, not even Roman can know." She nods. "Tomorrow you're going to come with me to work, would you like that? I'm going to show you around the tower."
"Okay," she nods.
"You're going to meet a doctor that works for me."
"Am I sick?"
"No," he smiles gently. "You're perfect."
"Then why am I going to a doctor?"
"Just a check up to keep you healthy and safe," he fidgets with his hands. "You trust me, don't you?" Emma nods.
She's riding in her seat in the back of a car, the sun hasn't even come up yet. She's tired and thirsty but J.R. says she can't have anything to drink until later. The car parks and the back door opens. He unbuckles her and carries her, still in her night dress, into a door and to an elevator.
He carries her through halls that require passcodes, and card swipes, and a maze of other verifications. The sleepy girl clings on to him with her eyes squeezed shut to block out the blinding florescent lights.
Sitting her on a table he pats her knee. "This is Dr. Pryce, he's here to help you, okay." Emma nods.
"Hi," the doctor smiles down at her. "I'm going to have to give you one little poke, is that okay?" Emma shakes her head violently. "It's going to sting then it will all be over. After the poke you can have something to drink and breakfast. Does that sound good?" She accepts these terms. Her throat is sore and she's so thirsty.
The doctor moves around the room grabbing things from cabinets. "Why don't you lay down?" She does as he suggests and waits for inevitable pain that will follow. Pryce returns and, and as gently as possible, pushes a needle into the back of her hand.
She winces at the pain, but it's not unbearable. Then there's nothing. Emma falls through limbo for an indescribable amount of time. It's not black, it's just blank.
Then there's pain, so much pain everywhere. She wants to scream but can't make any noises. Even with her eyes open there is only darkness. Nothing but pain.
"I want my mama," the hazed girl cries to no one in particular.
"Your mom and dad went on a trip, but I'm here with you," she hears a soothing voice say from above. "You can go home in a few days."
"I want my mommy," she wails again. The pain is intense, running through her like a flood. She can feel it in her teeth.
"I'm here with you," the voice says again and she recognizes it as Roman's fathers. A hand brushes over her hair only causing more pain. It's acute and it's everywhere. "You're okay, you are doing fine." This does nothing to calm her. "Pryce!"
"Yes, Mr. Godfrey?"
"Can we get something to calm her down?" The doctor nods and walks away.
Destiny is already there when she wakes up. Her body still feels as though it's on fire, the pain from the dream resonating through her a burning into her stomach. She can't move much, every slight shift causes a tearing sensation inside her. "The fates have... shifted a bit," Destiny tells her slowly.
"What do you mean?" She groans out in pain.
"They're the same," Emma feels the air leave her lungs. "But they're different. They've shifted positions."
"How so?"
"The good is the bad, the bad is the good," she struggles to remain steady. "I've only ever heard of people doing this, I've never even imagined this being the outcome."
"What does it mean?"
"I don't know," she looks distraught trying to explain the unexplainable.
"How would that be possible? Isn't it just the same?" Emma wonders aloud. "Why would dying under a full moon be a good thing now?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." Emma lays her head back down and closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.
"Why do we dream so much?" She looks at her with weak eyes. "I've never had this many dreams before."
"I told you, it slipped from Roman to you," Destiny begins gathering the now empty plates and glasses. "It woke something up that wasn't ready to be awake."
"What am I seeing? Memories? The future?"
"Emma," Destiny pats her hand softly. "I don't know what you're seeing. I don't have answers for you."
A/N: Ugh!!! We are so close to the end of season one!! Whaaaaat?!?! That's insane!As always thank you so much for all the comments and likes it's so amazing to me that people are even reading this, much less enjoying it!Much love!