Okay... Before you assume that I haven't added anything since your last visit... I took the added begining out of chapter 6... and put it in chapter 5... where it belonged

1 A shriek of pain roared throughout the room. The white room was crowded now, but nobody cared. Only the doctor dared to speak. “Just one last push and it’s all over,” there was fear in his voice. “You should know; premature babies are unusually small. Don’t be worried, though, many end up being enormously tall.” Another painful cry echoed through the room, fallowed by tears of happiness. The man next to the bed stood up immediately and ran towards the door. He opened it slightly, “Natasha! Natasha, come here! You’re a big sister!” His voice was filled with sheer happiness. A little girl rushed in with her gorgeous blonde hair swaying behind her. It was obvious that she had not seriously considered her outfit. She had chosen a red, sequined shirt with clashing tight rosy pants. “Where is she?” “She’s being cleaned up,” her father began, “then, the nurse will be handing her to her, your, mother.” The next to speak was, again, the doctor. “Of course,” there was an uncertainty in his voice, “we will want to keep an extra close watch on this one. You know, just to make sure everything works out correctly.” He was scared of the objections which usually followed that statement. Fortunately, no one said anything. Every person in the room was now deep in thought. The nurse placed the squirming baby in the arms of the woman who had just given birth. “Congratulations,” She whispered, “it’s a girl.” “It’s not just a girl,” It was the first time the mother had spoken since they arrived. “It’s Emily. Our little Emily.” The name Emily rolled off her tongue like a bike down a hill. The room was smiling at the little girl resting in her mother’s arms. * * * * * Not a sound could be heard throughout the room. Little Emily was sound asleep in her grandfather’s arms. The baby twitched before awaking. The old man sat in the chair beside his sleeping daughter’s bed, silently pulling a chain from his pocket. On it, a heart-shaped piece if gold glistened in the light above. There was a hole in the center of the heart. Above the hole sat her initials: E was on the left bump and B was on the right hump. “Now, this is not just an ordinary necklace,” the old man’s voice was shaky, yet calm. “It has a story behind it. See, many, many years ago, there was—“ “Grandpa, d’you wanna’ play Candyland?” “Maybe later, sweetie.” He turned back to little Emily, “Okay, well many, many years ago every girl in—“ “Dad,” The woman in the bed had awakened. “Could you get me a glass of water?” “Jonathon, get your wife a glass of water, please. Anyway, every girl in the land owned one of these—“ “What did you say?” “Oh, never mind.” The old man arose from his seat to leave the room, placing the newly born baby in her mother’s arms. He paused in the doorway, turning to face the baby. “You’re probably too young, anyway. I’ll finish the story when you’re older.” As he left, a baby boy, hardly old enough to stand, crawled into the room, quickly followed by a woman, appearing to be late twenties in age, at most. She bent down and picked up the child. “Matthew, you know not to leave us. Besides, your father will want to see you when he wakes.” As she lifted the boy, a chain fell from his shirt. It had a key-shaped piece of gold on it. * * * * * The bright green grass was cool and refreshing as an eight-year-old girl fell against it. No one except her grandfather had seen what happened and Emily was glad. It’s bad enough being tripped by someone else, but slipping while trying to trip your sister, that was just disgraceful. Emily’s grandfather raced to her side, kneeling to the ground and turning the knee of his pants green. “Are you alright?” he seemed overly concerned. “Yeah, I’m fine, grandpa.” Emily was angry with herself, but added a fake giggle to the sentence. “Where are you? I can’t see you! Everything is so bright!” “That’s because you’re blonde hair is in your face. Wow, I remember when your sister had hair just like yours. I suppose, yours will turn brown, as did hers.” “No! I like the color of my hair!” she turned her locket to face the front. She was staring at her sister. There always seemed to be a crowd of boys around her. Emily stayed away from boys. Yuck! They have cooties! She had been told over and over again. So why is it that her sister was always talking to them and playing with them? “Thirteen-year-olds are weird.” Her grandfather was used to hearing this. Like always, he answered, “One day, you will be thirteen and you will act the same way.” Emily was still fidgeting with her necklace. “Say,” her grandfather began, “did I ever tell you the story behind that locket?” She shook her head over-exaggeratedly. “Well, many, many years ago, every girl in the land had one of these lockets.” He paused before continuing, more mysteriously. “Every boy also had a key. Notice that there’s a hole in the center of your locket. Somewhere, if it still exists, a boy has the key that fits perfectly into the hole in your locket. Now, every key fits only one locket, and vice versa.” “What’s a visverse?” “Vice versa. It means ‘and the opposite’.” “Like, every locket only fits one key?” “Right.” He turned back to his mysterious voice. “The boy whose key fit a girl’s locket was said to be her true love. They were to be wed immediately.” “Does that mean that they will have a wedding? Those are fun!” “Yes, sweetie. But, if someone marries the wrong person, there is supposed to be a curse on their families forever.” Emily shivered at these words. “Oh, but don’t worry, I highly doubt that the key that fits your locket still exists. So, if you marry the wrong person, when you grow up, it won’t be your fault.” The old man sat up quickly, explaining that his back was in pain. Emily turned over on her back, watching as her grandfather walked over to her sister. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain on her leg and a boy fell on top of her. A chain fell out of his shirt, hitting the ground hard. “Oh, great!” she exclaimed. “Now I need another cootie shot! Natasha! Come here, I need you!” The boy sat up as quickly as humanly possible. He apologized before standing and strolling off. There was something different about this boy. He did not look like he had cooties. Actually, he looked nice, and a little cute. While walking off, the boy tucked the chain that had fallen to the ground back into his shirt. Emily stared up at the sky. It was dark now and the stars were bright in the black sky. The story of her necklace was still echoing in her head. She sighed, “I hope I find my true love.” 2 Emily twitched at the thought of marriage. She was only eighteen, and she thought she wouldn’t have to think about marriage for at least five more years. “Aren’t the stars beautiful tonight?” Steve laughed. “You always have known how to change the subject. Don’t worry, it’s not like I’m proposing. I’m just wondering if you think of me as a boy to have fun with while you’re waiting for the right guy or someone you could live with and wait for with the kids.” “What do you mean wait for?” There was anger in her voice. “You know, I’ll be working and you’ll be home with the kids. Cleaning, playing, and, hopefully, waiting for me to return from a hard day at work.” “So you want me to be a lonely house wife?” Her anger was growing. “In a way, yes.” “Well, you know what?” Her anger met its highest point, and she exploded. “We’ll see who stays home with the kids. We’ll see who makes the money. We’ll see who supports the family and brings food to the families mouths. Of course, my husband will work, but so will I. In fact, I will probably make more money than him. You’ll see. Actually, you won’t see. It’s over. Goodnight, Steve. I never want to see you again” After a breakup like that, Emily assumed she’d be devastated. Actually, she was happy. For eight months, Steve had been insulting everything she did. For eight months, she did not get any sleep because Steve was calling repeatedly, or not calling at all. For eight months, nothing was on her mind but what Steve wanted and what Steve would think. She was sick of it. For the first time in eight months, Emily Bennett thought for herself. It was on her fifth birthday that Elizabeth Barson received her locket. She had been looking forward to that day all her life. For days, she went around asking boys to try to fit their keys into the hole. Finally, her mother put that to a halt. “I do not want you to find your true love yet.” “Why not, mommy? It will be fun!” “Because then you will have to marry him. That is not good to do at such a young age, sweetie.” “Fine.” She sighed. “But I still want to know who my true love is.” Her mother disappeared into the house, bringing Elizabeth’s hopes with her. Emily stood in front of the door, scared to crack it open. She wasn’t sure what she was scared was behind it. Normal things were suddenly peculiar. “It’s because that boy isn’t bothering you.” Natasha had told her. “Everything is peaceful. Too peaceful if you ask me. You feel that everything is perfect. You know nothing can be perfect, so you expect something to be wrong everywhere you go.” Emily disagreed, but she would not dare to object. She knew never to question her sister. No one ever knew what would happen. Natasha had been overdramatic about everything ever since she started dating Vince. Vince is the kind of guy everyone wants, but is very hard to get. Natasha had a crush on him for ages before they started going out. Once they did, she began acting miserable. She turned gothic, and talked like she was the saddest person on the planet. Emily decided she had to go in. The last thing she needed was to loose her job, along with her life. “You never know,” she tried to convince herself, “maybe I’ll find hope today.” “Late again, Ms. Bennett?” Orlando sneered. He didn’t like Emily. The only reason he hired her was because he couldn’t find an excuse not to. But he would surely fire her the first chance he got. “That’s the third time this month. Now, as you know, I usually go by ‘three strikes your out’, but I’ll give you one more chance, only because I like you.” He coughed, sarcastically. “Thank you very much, Orlando.” Emily knew he was lying. He usually gave employees five ‘strikes’, but she did not want to give him the opportunity to dismiss her sooner rather than later. Emily rotated her eyes around the restaurant. Like always there were groups of ten, five, four, and two, and one person sat alone. Emily usually drifted towards the couples. Today, she was alone and unwanted. Therefore, she served the single first. The boy in the seat appeared to be nineteen. She strolled over to him. As she approached, his eyes curved towards her. Emily was sure they glistened in the dim light when they met hers. He wore a familiar black suit with a silver tie. “Nice suit,” she said in deep thought. “Thanks,” the boy was kind. “Some guy sold it to me for forty-five bucks.” He paused, took a breath, and added, “He said he had to get his ex-girlfriend away from him. I don’t know what he meant.” “I think I do.” She had remembered that she had bought that suit for Steve on their six-month anniversary. “It means that his girlfriend gave it to him and he wants to forget her but it’s holding him back.” A tear rolled down her cheek. If she was glad to be out of that horrible relationship, why was she crying? “Mommy! Mommy! I can’t find my locket!” Tears were pouring from Elizabeth’s eyes. “I’ll never find my true love, I’ll marry the wrong person, and a curse will be on my family forever, if I don’t find it!” “Now where did you hear that?” Elizabeth’s mom asked. “My teacher told me. This is a dister. By the way, what is a dister?” “I have no idea what a ‘dister’ is, but if you mean ‘disaster’, it’s what you call a time when everything goes wrong.” “That’s what I said, ‘dister’. D’you know where my locket is?” She could not find it. Her mother did not want her to. She would continue to ask boys to try and fit their keys into it. * * * * * Elizabeth complained about her missing locket every chance she got. “I want a new one if you can’t find it!” When exclaimed one day. Nobody spoke. However, everyone knew that it was impossible to replace a locket. The conclusion of the true love would be false. “From now on,” Elizabeth heard her mother speaking to her father. “In this family the children do not get their lockets ‘til their fifteenth birthday. And I’m not giving Elizabeth’s back to her until then.” Tears poured from Elizabeth’s eyes. Her mother had hidden it from her. She ran to her room and leaped into her bed, burying her face in her pillow. * * * * * The next morning there was nothing but a note on Elizabeth’s pillow. I foun mi loket end I runnd away [in child's handwriting in actual novel] 3 “Yeah,” Emily continued, “I think that was the suit I bought for my boyfriend, to be completely honest with you.” For some strange reason, she had the urge to tell this boy the truth. Only the truth. As if he was a lawyer, and she was under oath. The boy looked down, extremely embarrassed. “But, I don’t care,” she smiled, hoping to cheer this poor boy up, “he was a loser.” Who was this boy? He seemed kind. Too kind. “Oh, great!” Emily whispered to herself, sarcastically. “Now, I sound like Natasha!” She began to walk away, leaving the strange boy alone, when he called to her. “Wait!” He begged. This was it! He would ask her out. He would take out a key on a chain. She would lift her locket from her shirt. They push them towards each other. They would fit! They would live happily ever after. And~ “Aren’t you supposed to take my order?” That is it? Emily had gotten her hopes up for nothing! “Oh, sorry.” It was Emily’s turn to look down in embarrassment. “Hello,” she began her normal routine. “I’m Emily and I’ll be your server today. Are you ready to order?” “In a minute.” He glanced at his menu. “Umm…what would you recommend?” Emily blushed. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t like the fancy food on the menu. How could she be so stupid? He asked for her opinion, and what does she do? She points to a wine! “Oh, you drink?” The boy seemed disappointed. He did not drink. Another plus for him. “No,” again, she felt the embarrassment sink in. “I, well, I don’t exactly eat this fancy food. Actually, I usually just grab a Mac and Cheese for myself.” The boy turned to her and smiled, “Neither do I. I’ll take the Mac and Cheese. I’m Matt, by the way.” She was speechless. This guy was perfect. Matt… what a beautiful name. It is perfect for a beautiful man. What was she thinking? She was on the rebound, this was crazy! Emily began to compare Matt to Steve. He was very different from Steve. Steve would have asked her out by this time, whether he liked her or not, unless he had a girlfriend. He must have a girlfriend! Emily fell for a taken man. Wrong choice, again, Emily. Who could be stupid enough to pretend not to go to the fall formal? Emily… That is who. Matt had said “Oh, are you going to the formal at the end of the month?” Of course, Emily could only answer “No, I don’t believe in wasting money for a dress, when it’s not even for the senior prom this year. Well, my parents don’t, anyway.” He laughed, but Emily knew that he was thinking, ‘who is this loser?’ This boy may have been her last and only chance for the formal this fall, and she even ruined that. There was no hope left for her. She might as well kill herself. Emily scolded herself for thinking that. Molly’s boyfriend, Chad, committed suicide the year before. It was awful. Molly truly believed she was at fault and Emily had no choice but to sit by her best friend’s side and comfort her. Even the thought of Molly having the pain again was horrible, it was unbearable. This time, however, she would not have her best friend to support her and let her know that she did nothing wrong. Even worse, Molly’s misery would be because of Emily. To give Molly that pain for the second time in slightly over a year would be worse than anything Emily could think of happening. Nothing was worth it. Matt turned to her. He stood up. He brought his light, bare hand to her face. So close, she could see the paper cut on his index finger. Everything appeared to be in slow motion. Finally, his warm hand rubbed against her cold cheek. She felt chills spread from her cheek to her toes. He brought his hand to the back or her head, wrestling with her hair, with the tingle following close behind. Slowly, gently, he leaned in. Emily could smell his winter-fresh breath, just inches from her nostrils. He pulled her close. It was not until she could inside his almost metallic blue eyes that she closed her own, only to open them right away, with surprise. 4 The strange boy sat still, skimming through his menu. “Yeah, Mac and Cheese would be great.” Emily smiled. Had she imagined it? Had Matt been looking through his menu as she pictured a first kiss to remember? This was too much for Emily. She begged a random waitress to finish the day for her, and left the restaurant, heading home. * * * * * Who could explain what happened that day? Did Natasha expect her to pour her heart out in a matter of minutes? Emily stared into her sister’s eyes. They had an amazing shine to them. They looked as if the old Natasha had returned at last. But Emily knew this was not so. It was not possible. Not while Vince sat on the bed beside her, trying to pull her from Emily. He just sat next to Natasha… pulling at her, forcing red bruises upon her arms, trying to tear her from her sister, her whole family, and the world. Emily could not watch without defending her sister’s life as they knew it. “Stop it, you thief!” Natasha gave her an evil stare, threatening her into explaining the comment. Emily turned to her. “He is stealing you from your family, your friends, from everyone who cares about you, from the world!” She found herself scolding and pleading all the same. Vince slowly pulled his hand through his spiked, brown, overly greased hair. He looked at Natasha, and became angry after noticing that she did not look in his direction. She was in shock, not sure whether to be angry at Vince, Emily, or herself. Vince interrupted her confusion, “I’ve got to get going.” He was glaring at his watch. “No, wait!” Natasha was furious; not at Vince, but at Emily. She made her decision. It was Emily that said the wrong comment… Emily that ruined her life… Emily who did not deserve to have a sister. “Emily obviously doesn’t need our help. Wait! Stop! Don’t go! Vince!” He had already disappeared. Once again, she turned and glared at Emily, who was smiling to herself, but would not dare to show it. How could Emily explain why she said that? How could she sum up a year of feelings towards her sister in little enough as for her sister to hear it before storming out of the room? How could she explain that as she went got closer to Vince, she was leaving everyone else out of her life? Emily did not even know who she was anymore. She was a stranger, never seen in the world. It was impossible to explain. Emily decided that sometimes words were not needed. So, she sat, staring at her sister in hopes that she would understand. 5 Natasha stayed angry with Emily for days. Not a word was spoken between the sisters. Emily avoided any eye contact. She felt her sister was doing the same. Over these days, Natasha would go out with Victor, only to return in tears. Emily had ruined her life. Or did Victor? Victor needed all of Natasha’s attention. Victor was ripping her away from the family. Everything is Victor’s fault. Emily forced herself to believe that all the pain the family faced came down to Victor. How could a guy change a girl’s life so dramatically? Then again, it was Emily that found herself sitting by the phone everyday and night. When it rang, her heart did fifty summersaults, and Matt didn’t even have her number. * * * * * Emily awoke to the sound of a bell. Her hand rubbed against the alarm clock. The ring paused, and went off, once again. She presses the button again, a bit harder. It paused, and then rang again. This was no alarm clock. It was the sound of Emily’s telephone, ringing only inches from her ear. The still half asleep girl struggled to sit up. “Hello?” Her voice was shaking. Emily could feel her eyelids grow heavy as she struggled to keep them open. Silence came through the line. “Hello?” she repeated. She heard nothing. She was wide awake now, listening for any sign of a person on the other line of the telephone. Suddenly, a shriek roared through the line, forcing Emily into a leap above her mattress. After this came a horrible laughter of a man… A laugh like that of the murderer in a horror film. Click. The line went dead. * * * * * Two hours had passed since the strange call. Should Emily report it? It was probably some immature brat trying to make a prank phone call. Was the call even meant for Emily? No. It was one of Natasha’s freak friends, trying to scare her. The laugh… it sounded like a man. Emily decided to call the police. She reached for the phone. The telephone began to wiggle as her fingers touched it. Was she shaking? No, the phone let out a cry, similar to the one Emily had heard two hours before. She sat still, frightened to answer the call. “Emily, pick up the phone!” Her mother was cooking a family breakfast. She made the family eat together Saturday. Once again, Emily reached for the telephone. “Hello?” Again, her voice shook. This time, with fright. Silence. Emily’s throat tensed. “Ah-hem.” The man on the line cleared his throat. “May I please speak with Emily?” “This is Emily,” she attempted to speak, but the man only heard, “~s Em~y.” “Emily?” The man was no man at all. It sounded like a boy. Matt? Emily’s heart reached her throat. No. This voice was too low to be Matt’s. “Emily, it’s me, Steve. Listen, I wanted to give you one last chance. I thought you deserved it. Well, I thought I deserved you to have it. Meet me in back of the school at eight. Gotta’ go. Bye. Love ya’!” Emily felt sick. How could he assume she wanted him back? Would she go to the school at eight? Could she allow him to run her life into the ground once again? No. She would not allow him to trample over her, again. She had to ignore his request to take him back. Her future depended on it. * * * * * The wind lifted Emily’s hair into the air. The cool breeze sent a chill all through her body. “Cold, huh?” Brian stepped from the driver’s seat of the car. “Maybe we should go back.” His voice shook. Emily had never seen Brian so worried. Brian had been Steve’s best friend when Emily met him. The three of them, along with Brian’s girlfriend, Lindsey, double-dated every weekend. Lindsey’s father was sent away on a business trip and never returned. Lindsey was distraught. She did nothing but sob and complain. Everything in the school reminded her of her father. Her mother switched her from apartments, to houses, and back to apartments about seven times. Her father’s memories still surrounded her. On the nine month anniversary of his disappearance, Lindsey and her mother left Brian and ever other friend behind, and moved to Florida. Nobody, not even Brian, heard from her after her last day in town. “Why would we go back?” Emily never thought she would have to see Steve again. They had no classes together. She had to go out of her way to see him, as it was. He would have been easy enough to avoid. “I have to tell him it’s over, once and for all.” Together, they strolled behind the school. Emily grabbed the locket, hanging from her neck. “Stay here,” she told Brian. “Just incase. I shouldn’t need your help, but you never know, with Steve.” Brian allowed himself to stumble over to the bleachers and sit. His look of concern remained. “I’ll be fine.” Was Emily making an attempt to convince Brian or herself? Steve sat on the school’s baseball field. His legs were folded to his chest, like a non-born baby in his mother’s womb. Emily crept over, careful not to disturb his peaceful trance. Steve leapt to his feet after noticing Emily’s arrival. “Hey, Em!” He seemed so innocent. “I wasn’t sure you would come, but, then again, I knew you would. After all, everyone knows we were meant to be together.” He grabbed Emily’s shoulders and pulled her to his chest, pressing his lips against hers. Since Lindsey left, Brian dated no one. He felt that no other girl measured up to what he and Lindsey had. They were meant for each other. Everyone knew it. It broke the whole town’s heart to watch them split up. Steve decided he would not allow a similar split to happen to him and Emily. Before Emily knew it, Steve was kissing her. His grip was now tight around her back. Slowly, he rolled his hand down Emily’s back. He paused his hand under her waist. Emily could not think. She shut her eyes in disbelief. She was no longer locking lips with Steve. It was Matt that stood before her. Matt was holding her, protecting her, loving her. The scene caught Emily’s mind as she pushed her way off Steve. He would not let go. He remained holding her. His grip tightened as Emily struggled to get loose. She could feel the red marks appearing on her back side, as Steve pulled her tighter. This was not Matt. Matt was not pulling her, hurting her. Only Steve would do this to her. She managed to bring her arms to her own body, and brought her foot up. It crashed into Steve between his legs. He let out a cry and pushed Emily to the ground, making her hit her head on a rock and pass out. 6 Emily awoke, sprawled out on her own bed. Brian and Molly were talking in the corner of her bedroom. Brian’s look of concern still took control of most of his face. His expression was now joined by Molly’s. “Hey, guys!” Emily tried to sound enthusiastic. They both jolted to her side, without speaking a word. They were too quiet. They were making Emily nervous. “What’s wrong? Am I okay? It was just a hit in the head, I’m not really hurt, right?” A tear rolled down Molly’s cheek. “Yeah, you’re fine. It’s just, why did you go? You knew he’d try something. Now you’re hurt. You have to stray in bed for forty-eight hours, and with Natasha and everything~” “What’s wrong with Natasha?” Emily’s heart leaped as Molly’s eyes widened and her eyebrows rose to her hairline. “Did Vince do something to her? Is she okay? Where is she?” Molly and Brian exchanged glances between each other and Emily. Nobody spoke. Emily had not heard a more deadly silence since the day of Chad’s funeral. “Vince is a loser, Emily. You know it. We’ve always known it. He~ he got in a fight with Natasha. He ran away from home. She, Natasha found him in an ally.” Emily remembered the phone call she had received earlier that day. “What did he do to her?” She was screaming at the top of her lungs. Molly’s eyes filled with tears. “We’re not sure.” Brian began to speak. “Nobody can find her. Vince isn’t talking. The police are looking for her. Emily, she’s hurt. She’s hurt bad, but they think she’s alive. They think she’s in a hospital or under some sort of care, not under her own name.” “It’s my fault.” Emily knew what the call had been. It was Natasha calling to say that she was out looking for Vince and would be late. Natasha was stupid for being with Vince, but not an idiot. She knew to tell her parents when she would be late. She was calling to tell Emily not to worry. Then Vince did something to her. He did something to unbearable to think of. “It’s my fault. I got a call this morning. I~ I heard a scream, then laughter~ evil laughter. It was Vince. He was laughing at Natasha’s pain. I was gonna’ call the cops, but then Steve called. I can’t believe it. I hurt my own sister.” Brian and Molly stared at Emily. Both were wearing a look of pity and confusion. They all sat in silent thought. Tears still streamed down Molly’s face. Poor Molly. She had so much heartbreak in the past two years. Now, she chose not to relive it all, but to comfort her best friend through her own time of weakness. All her life, Natasha got to do everything before Emily. Emily hated it. She got her first kiss first, she was the first to go to school, and to loose a tooth. She got a boyfriend first. That, along with the first kiss, was what Emily hated the most. She wanted to be able to give her sister advice. Why did Natasha have to be the one with all of the experience? Emily was preparing for her first date, another first that Natasha had already experienced. Without practice, she was making a weak attempt to allow her makeup to settle. Her cheeks had huge red circles, covering her entire face from eye to chin, where is met her rosy red lipstick. Contempt with her appearance, she left the bathroom in a hurry to change into her dress. Natasha greeted her with a cry of horror, followed by the greatest laughter Emily had ever heard come from her sister’s body. After turning her around, destroying the work that had take almost twenty minutes of Emily’s time, and completely recreating it, Natasha forced Emily out of the bathroom and into her bedroom. Here, she insulted every outfit Emily owned and gave her a tight black skirt with an aqua tank top to wear. Once Emily reached the main floor, her date had already been at the house for ten minutes. This had been more than enough time for her father to scare the poor boy half to death and ensure that she never have another date. He had a look of disbelief on his face. Emily was afraid to ask what they had talked about. “Ready?” He nodded, and together, they left in silence, for the long walk down to the theatre. A warm breeze pushed against Emily’s face. She struggled to open her eyelids, which felt like they weighed ten pounds. It was four o’clock in the morning. She had just fallen asleep and hour and a half earlier. Now she saw a figure leaning over her weak body. The figure was in pain. It~ she was struggling with herself. “Natasha?” “Shh!” Natasha threw her hand over her sister’s mouth. An open gash sat to the side of her right eye. It looked as if she had gotten multiple stitches. “I don’t want you to wake mom and dad. I’m fine, don’t worry. I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry. You were right. Vince… he was a stupid idea. He was just ruining my life.” She was crying. Emily patted the side of her bed. Natasha bent her head down next to her sister, holding her the way she did when they were little. This time, however, the big sister was the one that needed the comforting. “I just loved him so much. I wanted it to work. I tried to make it work. It was stupid. I just~ I needed him to want me~ love me. Stupid, huh?” Emily rubbed the side of Natasha’s head until she fell to sleep. Emily swung the door open. It crashed into the wall, leaving a dent. She let out a sob and ran up to her room, stomping her feet as loudly as humanly possible as she climbed the staircase. In her room, she leapt into bed, digging her forehead into her own elbow. Natasha stood silently outside. It killed her to see her baby sister such a mess. Natasha crept to her sister’s side. She gently placed her arm on the back of the sobbing girl, as she lifted her own body onto the bed. “What did daddy say?” Emily talked between tears. “Why is he so mean? Now no boy will go near me!” She lifted her head up, and placed it on Natasha’s leg. Natasha remained silent, now stroking her sister’s head. “On my first date, dad tried to get us to double-date with him and mom. When that didn’t work, he placed a tape recorder in the guy’s pocket.” Together, the sisters chuckled until Emily fell asleep in her sister’s comforting care. There are times when it’s good to have a sister that was more experienced… for the bad things. It was not until the morning that Emily really saw what was wrong with her sister. The gash that she could see was black and blue around the edges. This was joined by basically her whole face of discolor. She had bruises up her arms and legs. She rolled over, revealing a cut through her foot, which appeared to still be bleeding. Her whole body was swollen. “What did he do to you?” Emily whispered, quiet enough not to wake her sleeping patient. * * * * * That day was possibly the most uneventful day of Emily’s life. She could not go to school. Instead, she sat at home studying for the majority of the day. Natasha, too, had locked herself in her room. It looked like she would never go to school again. Vince had, undoubtedly, told a false story of Natasha’s injury by the time school let out. Half the school already hated Natasha. The other half either did not know her or loved Vince, in which case they would never speak to Natasha again. In any case, Natasha was alone, with only Emily and her friends to care for her. Emily brought her necklace out from under her shirt. Gripping it tightly, she brought it up to her eyes. She slowly rubbed her finger across the indentation of the E and the B. How could something so small be so comforting? Emily realized that this little heart was what she came to whenever she was nervous in trouble or scared. It meant everything to her. She depended on it to cheer her up and to make everything better in the world. If only Natasha had something she could depend on. Perhaps her life would have some meaning. Emily reminded herself of the day her grandfather told her of the locket’s story. She remembered looking at her sister, surrounded by boys. Natasha had been popular. Come to think of it, she had always had tons of friends. Always, that is, until she started to date Vince. He had done more damage to Natasha than Emily had even seen. Emily had to do something. She had to make her sister’s life right, again. Emily needed an older sister to look up to. Without Natasha, Emily was bound to end up like her, lonely and afraid. So, she picked up a pink notebook and began to jot down ideas.