Voices |E. Cullen|

ELEVEN

It was bad. Screams, horrible screams echoed through the black nothingness that was my dream state. I couldn't even make out the words, all I heard were screams. Instead of full faces all I saw were flashes of people grasping at their eyes and fading into the background. They grew louder and closer, I could feel my heart racing. My eyes snapped open and I grasped at the surface under me- thankfully my bed. My sheets were drenched in sweat and my hair was plastered to my face. Tears streamed down the sides of my face as I snatched my headphones off of my night stand and connected them to my phone.

All I wanted was sleep, I knew I wasn't going to get it in my present state of mind. I grabbed my coat and threw on some sneakers, quietly moved down the stairs, grabbed a bottle of wine from the refrigerator and a brown paper bag, and walked out of the house. I know, I know. What was I doing drinking again after I had gone through detox? I hadn't been able to sleep for a week, all that there was was screams. At some point my physical health was going to deteriorate faster via lack of sleep as opposed to drinking a bottle of wine to pass out.

I couldn't be in my house, my mother would have found me and sent me right back to the psychiatric unit in Forks General Hospital. So instead, I walked down the sidewalk headed straight for the middle of town whilst taking small sips from the pinot nior that somehow tasted worse than it sounded. I hated anything that made my mouth dry, I didn't see the point in drinking something that would make you uncomfortable. Nonetheless, it was the liquid that just might kill the demons.

Dance music flowed through my earbuds and I moved accordingly down the pitch black street, coming up on the street light. No one was going to see me, hear me, notice me. I could let myself go without any repercussions. I could even sing without anyone looking at me like I was crazy, and so I did. A park bench to the side of a street light looked particularly inviting. It was placed right next to a dog waste bin, a perfect receptacle for the bottle of wine that would be empty in t minus two swigs.

One. Touched my tongue to the roof of my mouth. Two. The clink of the glass hitting the bottom of the bin was louder than I thought it would be. A tap on my shoulder scared the shit out of me. I turned, expecting to see Edward ready to yell at me for drinking but instead saw the man that rushed out of the school the other day.

"What are you doing out here all alone?" Emmett questioned and knelt beside me.

I shrugged and swayed a bit before leaning against the arm rest of the park bench. "Killing my demons."

He sighed as his face dropped, he grabbed my hand and pulled me up, "Come with me."

I stumbled around before he picked me up in a piggyback fashion. "Where arsh we goin'?" I laughed, "Arsh? What is arsh?"

We walked down the street and toward his Jeep. He carefully placed me in the passenger seat and buckled me in before getting behind the wheel and taking off. "Somewhere safe."

I looked over to him and placed my warm fingertips on his cool forearm, "Why're you bein' so nice tuh me?"

He didn't answer at first, just continued to drive down the winding road that made up the main street of Forks. I looked out the front windshield but my fingertips remained in place. The Jeep was quiet and comfortable for myself, I couldn't imagine how someone of Emmett's stature fit in the vehicle- the front was outrageously tight.

"You remind me of my sister," he sighed.

I nodded lightly and brought my hands back to my lap. "That's not the little girl, is it?" In case you aren't familiar with the effects of alcohol, it can take your filter away.

He shook his head. "Is she here?"

I looked around the vehicle and sighed from relief. "They don't show up when I'm drunk."

We pulled into the driveway of a large house that seemed so wonderfully light and open. We got out of the vehicle and he helped me up the stairs. I tried to kick my shoes off at the front door, but he had to help me before we could move up to the main level of the house. My socks were slippery on the wood floors, it made me giggle. Doctor Cullen was sitting on the couch when we came to the top of the stairs. His eyes connected with mine and he frowned. Somehow, that made me feel more guilty than I ever had in my life.

Tears began to well in my eyes once more, "I'm sorry. They were just so loud."