"Crap!" I shouted, jumping backwards from the door. My heart pounded in my chest, as I nearly tripped down the back steps.
Emma snarled at me, stepping closer, as I stumbled backwards.
"Get the hell out. There's nothing for you here," she spat, gun still aimed at my forehead.
It was at that moment I remembered what I looked like.
She had no idea who I was.
"Please don't shoot!" I guess not the most convincing thing to say when someone's pointing a gun at you. I put my hands in the air for good measure. No weapons on me. Hopefully, she wouldn't kill someone in cold blood.
She wouldn't, right?
"Leave," Emma ordered, nodding her head towards the back door. "I don't have anything for you."
I took another step backwards. I guess I did look like a common thief trying to get at Noah's food or something. After all, I was still barefoot and covered in dirt and mud.
When she realized I wasn't leaving, she clicked the safety off.
She wasn't messing around.
"Wait, wait!" I shouted, praying to god I wouldn't end up splattered all over Noah's backyard in seconds. "Emma, don't!"
She froze.
I'd used her name.
"How the hell do you know who I am?"
"Um, I'm...," I stuttered. I just had to get the words out, but for some reason they felt stuck in my chest.
Because I wasn't myself. Not anymore.
Emma lowered the gun an inch. "Do I know you?" she asked, uncertainly.
"Yes...," I answered, trying to find a way to explain everything that had happened. I really didn't want to think about it. It felt like it'd been decades since I'd last seen her.
I didn't need to say anything else. It was like a lightbulb had clicked in her head.
"Oh, that little bitch," she mumbled, before grabbing my hand and dragging me inside.
_____________________
"I knew it. I knew it. I knew it," Emma muttered, as she locked the door up behind us. She flicked on a light switch and a yellow hue filled the hallway. "I knew it the second I knocked on his door."
I stood there, awkwardly, still not totally sure Emma knew who I was. "Um. Who?"
She made a face at me over her shoulder. "Noah. Who else?"
"Right," I replied, still not catching on. She turned towards the living room and dining room and I followed her, only to stop at the living room's threshold. The place was a total, utter mess.
Emma began folding up a blanket that had been chucked across the room towards the television. "I got here an hour or two ago and nobody answered. So, I let myself in. It looked like this. I had no idea what he'd been thinking. Noah often bottles up frustrations until they all just boil over like this." She gestured to the messy room.
I quickly tried to help her clean up. A good amount was already back in order, but there were still miscellaneous clothing items and utensils around the place.
"I'm guessing you two got into a fight, right? And he told you to leave so you did," she said, eyeing me.
I nodded. "Yeah, you could call it that." More like Noah just not believing me.
"And he never warned you about the businesses around here, did he?" she added.
I shook my head no.
"Well, I mean, I guess that's obvious. Otherwise, you wouldn't be looking like that. Sure, you're cute, but it doesn't really suit you. No offense," Emma stated, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "And I'm sure you're still adjusting."
That was one word for it.
I still felt like all of this was unreal. Like I was in a dream and would wake up any moment. I guess that's what it was like to have yourself thrust into another person's body.
I wondered who the girl had been before. Had she gone through the same thing I'd been? Been enticed off the streets, only to find herself body-less?
Or was she dead?
Was I just a walking corpse?
"So...do you have any idea where he is then?" I asked, changing the subject. I didn't want to think too long about where my real body was at that moment.
"Yes. I mean, I'm pretty sure. When he gets like this he goes to the wall. To Chance."
"Wait, I thought Chance was staying here for a while?" I wondered how much Noah had told him.
"He went back. Emergency apparently. And Noah probably went off with him."
I sat back on my heels, running a hand through my hair. God, what a mess. Not just the room. Everything.
"So, what now?" I asked. My plan was kind of screwed. I'd thought Noah would forgive me and help me get my body back. It was clear he didn't want to talk, and that I lacked any real way of getting back into my old self.
On top of all that, if I did want to try to save Ava and Asten, assuming they were still to be executed, I couldn't do that with a broken leg.
I was going to have to make some choices.
Emma just shrugged. "I don't know. You can stay here with me if you want. You don't look like some crazy fugitive anymore so you'll be fine just fitting in with everyone else. Get a job or something. Eventually, Noah will come back."
That sounded nice and all, but I knew it wasn't the only thing I needed to do. I needed to start planning. If I was going to sacrifice my old body, I had to at least get something out of it.
I needed to know what happened to Asten.
"Hey, Emma, would you be willing to do something crazy?" I casually asked.
Emma stopped what she was doing and met my gaze. "How crazy?"