Flawed - First Draft

Page 1 Flawed - Prologue/London - First Draft London, Summer Back home in America every single person that Evelyn Irving knew was enjoying their summer off from the day to day agony that was high school. Back home in America her friends were spending hours talking about ridiculous and frivolous things whilst sipping on lattes at Starbucks by day and going to the movies by night. Things that normal teenagers with normal families did during their summers, but oh not Evelyn Irving. London is where she spent every summer. Dreary, wet, depressing, London. Where she knew no one and did not particularly care to get to know anyone either. Every year was the same and the only good thing about it was that it was predictable. For months before hand she would mentally prepare herself to be miserable for three months while having to listen to her dear father, precious mother, and warm hearted younger sister all gush and pour their hearts into their summer retreat. It certainly was not Evelyn's summer retreat and she often wondered how it was possible that three people she loved more than anything in the world could love such a horrid place so much. It completely baffled her. They would tell her that she just was not opening her eyes. Seeing the beauty around her. What beauty? A burning sunset over an awaiting cool blue ocean after a bright sunny day filled with laughter back home in California was beautiful. London just made her want to curl up in an over sized arm chair and read for three straight months. At least then she could transport herself to the places she would read about. She liked the characters in the books better than anyone she had ever met in London, as well. Especially that awful boy Aidan who was always attached to her sister Ember's hip all through the summer. Never was their a boy more obnoxious or one that she distrusted as he. She did not like the amount of time that he spent with her sister of merely fourteen. Granted the boy was only 15. A year younger than herself and only a year older than Ember but she knew how much Ember adored him. Adored him as she knew her mother adored her father. Dangerous. Evelyn loved her parents dearly but for as long as she had at all been able to understand that her parents had a love for one another that was as alive as any living, breathing, entity she had been plagued by fear because of it. Oh Ember was always telling her to see the beauty in that as well but Evelyn only saw the possibility of disaster. Of the destruction of the two people she loved most in the world. What good was love if you had to always live in fear of losing it? Evelyn could not imagine that it would feel like anything more to her than a ticking clock. Tick, tick, ticking by. Waiting for the opportune moment to strike and rip the heart right out of your chest. Staring out the car window Evelyn paused in her rather dreary train of thought to watch the drizzles of rain travel across the glass eying one in particular that seemed to moving slower than the others. This was what London did to her. She could almost be certain that it took the vibrant purples and oranges that comprised the colors of her soul and turned them to black as coal and to a ghostly pale white. Much as her skin would look by the time she left. Leaning forward she pressed her forehead against the cool surface of the glass and closed her eyes. "Evey..." The soft sound of her little sister's angelic voice made it's way into her bout of self-pity. "Evey..." She said again and then continued this time, "...I would love to see you smile just once this summer. Just one time. For me." "What is there to smile about around here? It's boring. The places are boring. The people are bori--" "What places? What people? You don't go anywhere or talk to anyone when we come here." Ember attempted to reason and Evelyn was hardly surprised by her sister's eloquence or beautiful, insightful thoughts. She had discovered long ago that Ember was simply something extraordinary. A piece of perfection made by her mother and father whom were equally extraordinary. Where she fit in? She was almost positive that she was adopted. Being the perpetual black cloud over their lightness as she always was. "Why can't you just let me sit and be miserable? I like it that way. I love our home. There is nothing that compares to it. Nothing ever will. Especially not London. We're just different, Ember." Evelyn said, turning her gaze from the window towards her sister. Sitting together they must look like something out of a whimsical story. Ember the ivory skinned, blue eyed, blonde angel and Evelyn the green eyed, golden flame haired, she devil with hardly a perfect complexion. They were as different as they appeared, as well. Ember was such an old, soft spoken, soul. Evelyn told you exactly what she was

Page 2 thinking when she was thinking it often at the price of being disliked. She hardly cared. While Ember was the eternal peace keeper. The angel on your shoulder. She voice of good. Evelyn often wished she would speak that voice louder and make the world a better place with it, but that just was not Ember. She was timid. Shy. But could bring you to life with a single touch and steal your soul with a single well versed phrase and she always knew exactly what to say. Brilliant at age 14 and at 16 Evelyn admired her yet knew she would never be anything like her. Evelyn was the bull in the china shop. Always would be. "Or you are just stubborn." Ember said with an edge of a smile tipping up the corner of her mouth. "You should make an effort this summer. I would love for Aidan to see my real sister. He has been calling you the red dragon for years." Ha. That made Evelyn smile with a short laugh. "The red dragon, huh? Whatever. He runs around like a savage. All bare feet and that crazy hair of his. Does he even wash it? You've even told me yourself that he isn't any good at any subject in school. He does nothing but play that guitar of his and it sounds like pigeons croaking and dying when he plays." Needless to say, Evelyn didn't have the highest opinion of Aidan Hart. Her sister's young heart was something she was fiercely protective of. Never one to get angry, Ember just shook her head and let out a soft laugh, shaking her head, "You just don't know him." She paused for a moment, then said something that was one of many things she tended to say that always made Evelyn stop and think, "And maybe you never will. You have it in your head what a man should be, apparently. Is dad so perfect?" "Yes." Evelyn said without hesitation. "What kind of question is that?" "Just a question." What an infuriating response. "Ember..." "Dad is a writer. He was never good at any specific subject either. And he runs around barefoot with us all the time. Is he a savage?" Little miss point maker was starting to get on Evelyn's nerves. "Dad is dad. He's a grown man and a good man. Aidan Hart is a child. A child that acts like the entire world exists as his playground. Does he ever worry about anything?" It was an honest sort of question. One that took on a very different tone in Evelyn's voice. An almost jealous tone. It was embedded into her genetic makeup that she could simply never be as carefree as an Aidan Hart. Too many thoughts plagued her daily. A slow smile crept up onto Ember's lips as she answered proudly, "Yes. He worries about me." That answer brought almost a growl out of the red head within Evelyn, "Well he does not need to worry about you. I can do that just fine on my own." She ground out between clenched teeth, "In the words of his people here. He can piss off." "Evelyn!" Her mother's soft, yet reprimanding, voice sounded from the passenger seat in front of them. The look on her face said it all and Evelyn instantly felt horrible. Not because of anything having to do with Aidan Hart but simply because she absolutely could not stand falling short of her mother's expectations. Evelyn's mother was the sun. Evelyn's father was the moon. They defied every rule of nature to be together. They came together and created the stars in the sky. The created the sunsets that she loved so much. This was how she had always seen them when she was little. When she had been five in her kindergarten class her teacher had asked her to draw a picture of her parents and she had drawn exactly that. The sun. The moon. The stars. And an eternal sunset that they seemed to forever live within. It had seemed so much easier back them. Magical. Now. It did not seem like reality. And it wasn't. Because in reality the sun and the moon are never together and could never be. And stars have no magic to them at all. They are just out there. Part of science. They certainly were not created by her parents. What a childish way to think. In fact, Aidan Hart probably would believe her. Hook, line, and sinker. "Sorry." Evelyn mumbled and then brightened when a soft smile touched her mother's lips before they spoke to her father, driving the car, her accent rich and British, "Does it get further away each year? It seems as if we've been

Page 3 driving for ages." Her mother was the only good thing that had ever come out of London. Evelyn was convinced. "You say that every year. Chill out, sweetheart." Her dad. Ever the American. "What do you think? That the road grows, or something?" He said with a laugh as her mother's hand swatted playfully at his shoulder. He was always trying to make her laugh and while he was almost never funny, Evelyn still found it impossibly endearing. Evelyn watched as her mother laughed softly and coiled her arm around her father's and leaned her shoulder against his, their heads angled towards each other as they sat in front of her. "I'm just very tired." Evelyn heard her say and continued to watch as her mother rested the side of her head against the side of her father's. It was plain to see that they almost seemed to occupy the same breathing space just to be able to breathe properly and while she loved them for it, Evelyn knew that such a kind of love was not what she wanted out of this life. She didn't want her heart and life to rely so completely on a man. Her happiness to be all wrapped up in something that could get taken away or even just walk away. She didn't mind being alone. She preferred it. Glancing over at Ember it was obvious that she did not agree. Her eyes were glued to the house that they were now passing. Aidan Hart's house. A humble little place. His family was not very well off. At least, not as they were. There was no sign of him, however, and Evelyn could see the trace of disappoint cross over Ember's flawless, child like, features. Evelyn let out a long sigh, and shook her head. She was the only sane one. It was official. The only one not wrapped up in romantic gibberish. "Don't look so stricken. It's not like you won't see him tomorrow." Evelyn drawled. "Him and that hair of his." "His hair is romantic." "You must be joking." She wasn't, though, "Hair can be romantic." Ember said, with a little shrug. "Anything can be. London is romantic." "London is tragic." "London... is magic." Evelyn groaned out loud. "Please. Enough. There are only so many rainbows and butterflies that I can take for one car ride." It was the tom boy in her pleading now for a few moments of sanity. She wasn't boyish, by any means, but simply not girlish, either. Unicorns had never appealed to her. Barbi was evil, she was convinced. Hello Kitty, as well. And she absolutely hated Titanic. Rose could have let the poor sap on that floating door with her. Why didn't anyone else see that? It was ridiculous. "A little magic would be good for you, Evey." Ember said, her gaze drifting out the window as the car swung around the circular drive, a fountain at it's center, directly in front of the huge house that her mother had gown up in. "Oh! It's even more beautiful this year, isn't it Mum?" She gushed, her eyes lighting up like her entire face like a ray of pure sunshine coming through the clouds. She turned to look back at Evelyn, and said, "How do you not see the magic here? Or at least feel it?" For a moment Evelyn felt a little pang of something. She was not sure what it was, but for the briefest of moments she wished she could feel that magic that lit her little sister up from the inside out. If anything just to better understand the brilliance that was Ember. Pushing her way out of the door Evelyn instantly shivered and felt the cold already trying to seep into her. It would get warmer. Hopefully. If she was lucky. The weather was so fickle here. Never predictable. She hated that. Never knowing what to expect. It was maddening. However, there was one thing about coming here that she liked. Loved even. Just one solitary thing that made it worth it. It was this moment. Standing by the car watching as her dad, mum, and sister all stared up in wonder at the house that seemed like nothing but old, cold, and dusty to her, but utter magic to them. She loved seeing their faces as they hurried up the over sized front steps, eager to be inside. She loved seeing how much they loved it here. And it was going to be the last summer that she would ever see it....

Page 4 Flawed - Chapter 1/Brothers & Sisters - First Draft London, March, 9 Months Later "Oh! You're a little devil, you are!" A peal of genuine, heartfelt, unique and yet, mischievous laughter came from Aidan Hart just as it always did as often as he could manage. In this particular case, he had just infuriated his eldest sister to the point of screeching by hitting her in the head with a snowball. Perfect hit too! How often was he called a devil anyway? How many times for ages and ages? It was no matter really as he would forever continue to live up to the name. Everyone had to have a purpose in life, after all. At age 16, this was his. He would wait a few moments to launch the second snow ball. Let his prey decide that she was safe enough to return to gathering firewood. Timing was everything! Lucky for him his sisters were great sports and actually possessed a sense of humor unlike most girls of his acquaintance. He hardly paid any of them any attention. Boring lot they were. Nothing like his sisters and certainly nothing like Ember. Ember. He missed her. It was the same thing he felt when he thought of his parents. It was the kind of thing he attempted to ignore and do things like throw snowballs at his sisters. Which reminded him... "Wait for it.... wait for it..." Aidan said softly to himself, pulling his arm back and preparing to fire. A few moments ticked by and when Megan Hart had just straightened herself back out and was preparing to head back to the house, he fired! Too late! Megan had turned around enough to see it coming! Blast it! To be able to dodge the rapidly approaching snowball she had to drop all the firewood into the snow and then came the pay off as she spun, slipped and fell face first into the snow! "YES!" Aidan cheered and jumped into the air feeling like he was nine years old again. For some reason he tended to act even more childish when he was at home with his sisters. They worked so hard to care for him and providing a little fun and entertainment was the only thing he knew he could give back. Another peal of his contagious laughter filled the cool, crisp, morning air and where he would usually hear Megan's reluctant laughter in return he heard nothing. Sobering from his mischievous workings he realized that Megan was still laying in the snow, unmoving. "Megan?" No reply. He waited and still nothing. A trick? She would think that she could outsmart him, now wouldn't she? Well, he would show her. "Megan!" He cried in mock shock and terror, balling up yet another snowball that he hid behind his back, in one hand, as he ran forward and fell to his knees by her side. "Oh how could I be so--" That was when she tried to do it. Tried to be oh so clever, the poor silly girl. Megan pushed up from the snow with an obvious intention to be quick about it but since he knew it was coming it might as well have been in super slow motion. Before the snowball in her hand was ever even launched his had already been fired, hit it's target, and was falling to pieces around her shocked wide blue eyes, sticking to and darkening wisps of her light brown hair around her face. "Oh! You... you... you are so..." "Brilliant? Yes, I know but what I do not know is how you came to be so gullible, sis? I'm good at most everything, as you know, but I am a terrible actor! I mean, did you hear me? I sounded like one of those God awful soap operas and you completely bought it. It is a very sad day for. You have my condolences. Sincerely." Aidan was trying so hard not to laugh but it was far too difficult with her sitting there covered in snow fuming enough probably to melt it. That was when he executed a most brilliant and strategic smile. It got him out of just about any bit of trouble he got himself into. Charming chap, he was and it worked now just as it did always. Megan smiled and laughed softly as she attempted to pick herself back up out of the snow. It was good to hear her laugh. Megan was much older than he was. Ten years older to be exact and had spent much of her youth working and caring for him and his other older sister, Emmaline. He certainly wouldn't be the kind of carefree chap that he was without her taking on everything serious in life for him. He cherished her for that.

Page 5 "Here," He offered, "Let me help you." Being that he was much taller than she, and still growing, he rose and helped get her up and situated without much effort. She gave him a little shove as they both straightened and he acted as if she had hit him hard enough to make him wobble. Ah, why not? It would make her feel like she could push him around. Might as well let the girl dream. "Oh come now. I just helped you up." He pouted. "As well as you should. Little devil that you are. Wouldn't have needed helping up if it weren't for you." Megan reasoned and it was a fair enough statement. "Now be a man and help me with this fire wood. You are getting much too old to be spending your mornings playing in the snow, Aidan." "Blah, blah, blah. Emma is older than I. Go bother her with your nagging. I get quite enough of it at school all bloody day long." Aidan whined. He didn't much like the idea of having to get older, gain responsibility, and all that rubbish. "Why is there any such hurry to grow up anyway?" He asked, gathering up all of the firewood and handing Megan one solitary piece to carry. So she would feel useful, of course. He could manage the rest. "It's just inevitable, is all. We don't have the means for you to be a child forever. You know that." "Yes. I know that but that doesn't mean that we all have to be so hum glum about it." Aidan replied, and then continued in his best 'hum glum' accent, "Oh... look at me. I am a grown up. I drink ridiculous loads of coffee, read newspapers and drive the speed limit. It's so great." He rolled his eyes. "I think I would rather shoot myself in the bloody head, thank you. It'd be far more exciting." Megan laughed, again as she opened the door to their little house. Aidan brightened, "Now see? Is that not so much better?" He asked, walking in. "Is not what so much better?" Emmaline Hart asked as she jumped up from the counter top she had been sitting on, sounding rather impatient. An irritable, tantrum throwing, teenager she was. Far more so than anyone could ever claim that he had been. "Laughing about--" Aidan stopped short as he turned and saw Emma standing there wearing boots, tights, a too short skirt, a way too low cut shirt, blouse, whatever the bloody hell they called them, and looked as if she was about to leave the house in all of it. Was that red lipstick, as well? "Let me guess. You have..." He stood there acting as if he was really contemplating her intentions. "...decided to drop out of school, move to America, and take up some of that pole dancing. yes? Well, good luck. Send a post card now and then. Actually, don't. Lord knows what kind of post cards would come out of an establishment such as that." He paused. "Wait... actually, no, I've changed my mind. Do send them. Often." "Aidan!" Emma cried, her hazel eyes turning an almost fiery brown, a red tint rising into pale skin that appeared even more doll like against the midnight color of her hair. Well, the midnight color of her hair this week, anyway. It could be orange next week for all they could predict with her. "Ok. Fine. Just like once a week." Aidan continued, ignoring Emma's insulted cry as he unloaded the firewood down by the fireplace. "What is wrong with my outfit?" Emma asked. She was all fire and angst all the time. It could get to be quite exhausting actually having to deal with teenage girl emotions all the time. "Is it that my outfit actually looks cute and you always look... look... just..." "Charming?" Aidan offered. "Dashing?" "Disheveled." Emma finally got it out. "You go to school every day looking like a homeless person. Half the time you are wearing the same bloody thing you've been wearing all week! Oh! And your hair! It hasn't been cut in ages and look at it... it looks as if it might attack someone at any moment." Her voice hit a bit of a comedic serious note. "We should not all have to live in this house in fear of when your hair might strike, Aidan." He shrugged. "What's your point?" He said it merely to see her shake and rattle with fury. It was just so amusing. Chuckling he picked up his school pack with one hand and his guitar case with the other. "And why does everyone always go on about my hair? It's hair. I would love for it to be able to attack people though. That would actually be a rather cool trick, don't you think?" He directed the question toward Megan, but she just shook her head and disappeared into her room leaving him alone with the melodramatic chaos that was Emmaline. The prospect of that seemed far more dangerous to him than anything his hair might do. Hearing a car pull up outside, Aidan felt a sudden wave of relief. Luckily he wouldn't have to do it alone as was their morning ritual. Fight. Then get in the car with Deacon Childe and listen to them fight all the way to school.

Page 6 It was an almost violent relationship between his sister and his best mate. Not physically violent. They had simply known each other for all their lives and fought like an old married couple. It was certainly something different then what he had with Ember. Whatever that was. He had never even kissed Ember. It was something that he was planning on when she returned this summer and was fully expecting that he would completely screw it up. No doubts about that one. Climbing into the backseat of what Aidan had long ago dubbed as Deacon's clown's car, he gave a little hello nod to Deacon and then grew a rather dark, irritated, expression when he happened to witness Deacon's reaction to what his sister was wearing when she climbed into the car as well. "You look nice." Deacon said. Emma gained a rather smug smile which she turned right toward Aidan. "Ah well, thank you. Aidan thinks I look like some kind of floosie." She said it with a touch of mock hurt in her voice. She certainly knew how to play the game. Manipulative little thing. Aidan didn't think she was expecting Deacon to laugh out loud as he did, though. "Aidan! You actually said that to her? Ha! You are brave, chap!" Uh oh. Emma's head snapped towards Deacon. Now he had done it. "And what is that supposed to mean, hmm?" It was a good thing it was a short ride to school. Aidan had forgotten mp3 player. What misery.

Jane. Jane was yet another woman in his life that forever made him want to bang his head up against a very hard and unforgiving surface until he was in so much pain that he couldn't tell left from right anymore let alone what she was doing. Deacon was his mate but Jane... Jane was his best friend. Would always be but would also always be that one girl that he could never quite have for one reason, or another. It just was not in the cards and no matter how many instances arouse to prove that very fact to him, it just didn't seem to change that appeal. That wanting of something that just was never meant to be yours. Maybe it was that he just did not understand why she wasn't. They were virtually the same sort of person and they never fought. He loved all of the same music, movies and plays that she did and they had the exact same sense of humor. It seemed that God had a better sense of humor because something about just never worked. Something had always been missing and it wasn't just that she had never once looked at him the way that Ember did. It was something else. Something that he didn't even necessarily have with Ember. In fact, he was certain that whatever it was he didn't have it with Ember either. Hence his kiss plotting. She would be 15 this year and he felt much more protective of her than he had ever felt of Jane. Had he ever felt protective of Jane? It certainly was not the same thing, if he had. He was torn on whether, or not, to even attempt a kiss with Ember. She was so fragile, perfect, and chaste. He had wanted to wait until she was at least 16. He felt like the biggest, bumbling, idiot around her. Afraid constantly of doing something that might cast a mark against her innocence. It was so very unique. He knew no other girls that had a light about them like Ember had. Not even Jane. It came from within her and when she chose to cast it upon you if felt like your entire body warmed from the inside out. What kind of man was he exactly that he could sit here eying Jane across the courtyard while in two months such a creature as Ember would be here blindly adoring him? Selfish. He was a selfish bastard. Wanting something he could never have while refusing to relinquish something else that came so easily and meant so much to him. If that were not in reference to two beautiful human beings it wouldn't sound quite so terrible. It would just sound as if he was torn between taking a holiday to Hawaii or playing his guitar at the local coffee shop. The difference being that neither Hawaii or the coffee shop had their feelings wrapped up in his decision making process. "Aidan?" Reality struck and the blurry figure in front of him crystallized into the exact shape and size of Jane Riley. All 5'5" of her, curved like a delicate pixie, long chocolate brown hair that curled up at the ends and bounced, with matching almond shaped eyes. He blinked once, or twice, and found himself at an odd loss for words. She very rarely went out of her way to come talk to him anymore. Not since they'd both decided that it was better for him if she

Page 7 didn't. hard.

"Aidan? Hello? Is anybody home?" She asked, with a soft smile, reaching a hand up to knock at his head rather

"Yea, I'm here. Hi. I would prefer you use the doorbell though. It hurts a bit less." Aidan said, smiling his own rather crooked smile, as he reached up and rubbed the side of his head. "Sorry." Jane said with a soft laugh. "What are you playing?" She asked, sliding her hands back into the pockets of her black button down coat. Aidan had completely forgotten that he even had his guitar in his hands he had been so lost in thought. "Oh, ah, nothing really. I hadn't really thought up something to play just yet." It was something of a lie. He used to play for her all the time. Now, the only time he ever brought out his guitar was in the summer to play for Ember, or when he thought of her enough to write a song. He supposed it was his way of dealing with her not being around all year and she was always so excited to hear whatever he had written when she came in the summer. "It's been ages since I've heard you play or even since I've seen you with your guitar out." Jane said with an almost hopeful look about her. He knew she cared. He just wasn't entirely certain that he wanted her to. "I saw you with it and just was wondering..." She trailed with a little shrug of a single shoulder. "Wondering why I didn't give up playing this ridiculous thing ages ago?" He decided to lighten the choking awkwardness with a bit of a joke. "I know... I know. It's sad really. You're absolutely right." He chuckled, flashing that brilliant smile. "Oh, Aidan. Don't be silly. You write beautiful music. And no... I was wondering what, you know, made you start again?" Her voice softened considerably. "I know it's been awhile." Oh no, was that pity he was hearing in her voice? Pity for his sad little love sick self? He knew that was exactly what she saw when she looked at him and he knew that there was some truth to it but not completely. She had been just as confused as he had been about what it is that they felt for one another. She had just come to the conclusion that they weren't right for each other quicker than he had and with more certainty. Jane also knew nothing of Ember. No one did. He kept her at a distance. Safely guarded away from anything and everything because he often felt like his time with her wasn't even time at all but more like a dream. Something like a sanctuary. Megan was the only one who knew anything at all about her as he had to explain his frequent disappearances in the summer and Emma was always too wrapped up in her own little world to ever notice what he was doing. Glancing up he realized that Jane was still looking at him expectantly awaiting an answer to her question and he hadn't even thought up an answer yet. "Um," He managed to get out, then came out with, "A girl, actually." He had said it before he even realized if he really wanted to tell the truth, or not. Probably better to tell the truth since he was a horrifyingly bad liar. If he had gone into some sort of grand lie it probably would have ended up having lions, witches, and pixie fairies in it. "A... a girl? Really?" Jane stammered, and then nodded. That reaction was troubling to him. Troubling and vindicating at the same time. "Yea." Aidan said a little more definitively. Oddly reassured and relieved to actually speak of Ember to someone other than himself. It made her more real when four summers hadn't done the trick. Interesting. A smile kicked up at the corner of his mouth, his eyes moving from left to right, as he let it sink in and it was then that another thought crossed him. He wanted to talk about Ember but only with Jane and he hoped that the reason was not because he wanted to make her jealous in any shape, or form. It didn't feel that way to him now. That was not where the need was coming from. It was that need to make her more real. What better way than to speak of her to Jane? Jane was almost a little too real to him, after all. Letting out a long sigh, Jane stepped forward and sat down next to him on top of the picnic table where he was perched, feet on the bench. She was obviously eager, yet wary, of having this conversation with him. It would be a step forward but a difficult and awkward one. "Um... what girl? Do I know her?" She bit her bottom lip. She was nervous. Aidan shook his head. "No," He paused. "She's American." That surprised her. Chocolate brown eyes looked at him and blinked rapidly in a purposeful manner. Yet, she said nothing... yet.

Page 8 "Are you surprised?" "Yes, quite. I don't think I could be more surprised unless I woke up with my head sewn to the carpet." Jane said, and he immediately recognized the reference. "Chevy Chase." He said immediately. "Come on, Jane. You can do better than that." "I never could stump you." She said with a laugh. "Seriously, though. An American girl? Didn't you once tell me that if English girls were filled with sugar, spice, and everything nice that American girls were filled with vinegar, bile, and everything vile?" He laughed. "Did I say that? Yes... yes, I did but only because I despised... what was her name? Sarah?" "Samantha. Samantha Noel." "Oh God, yes. I hated that girl. She was awful. Walked around school like she was better than everybody just because she was American and her daddy had a private plane." Aidan scoffed, and shook his head, "I've never felt a stronger urge to murder someone, I think, and that's an impressive violent urge for a ten year old." "But it seems that you have discovered that not all American girls are Samantha Noel." Jane seemed to ponder out loud, eying him curiously. Letting out a bit of an uncomfortable sigh, Aidan set his guitar off to the side of him and leaned his elbows down onto his knees tilting his head up to look at her, choosing his words carefully, "There is no one like Ember. American, or not. She kind of has her own little category. Her own little box." He drew a box shape in the air with his hands which made Jane smile. "Ember..." She said it like she was testing out what it would mean if she said it aloud and what his reaction would be. "Pretty name." She nodded. "Um, so, how did you come across an American girl?" "Oh, she summers here with her family. Mum, dad, and her awful sister. Now she is just like Samantha Noel. Her name is Evelyn and it's not that I don't like her. I don't know her. She constantly looks at me like I'm some bug that needs squashing. She's that stiff and cold sort of person. It amazes me that her and Ember are even related. Maybe she's adopted, or something." He shrugged. He didn't know what Evelyn's problem with him was and Ember did nothing but make excuses up for her behavior towards him and her constant nagging and complaining. "That's not very nice." Jane said, almost shocked. "I know! It's horrible. She brings out the worst in me. She's just that sort of person." Aidan knew that Jane would understand what he meant as he got along with just about everyone that could be reasonably gotten along with. It took someone pretty horrible for him to just give up. Jane knew that about him. He wondered briefly if Ember would know that. "She frustrates you rather effectively for someone you hardly know." Aidan's brow furrowed. "Well, I..." He paused. He hadn't ever really thought of that before. "... I just don't get it, I think. How two sisters are so different. It's not like they're just a little bit different. I'm telling you it's like night and day type different." He sighed. "Plus I think I'm a little afraid that she might rub off on Ember. I'm afraid I might rub off on her and I only see her for three months out of the year." "For how many years have you known her?" This would be harder to explain. "Four years." He narrowed his eyes, watching her carefully. "So, um, when you and I were trying to, well, figure things out, you were..." She trailed off, confused. "Yea, and no." What a horrible answer and she just looked more confused. "Ember is a year younger than I am. I met her when she was eleven so it really was much like it was between you and I when we were eleven. Friends, really. I mean... I think she's always had this kind of crush on me that is really adorable but it took me a little longer. It really wasn't until last summer that I really noticed some things about her. Like how beautiful she is." He stopped himself before he started becoming a complete bore. "I suppose I have a bit of a crush on her now." He said with a soft nervous laugh. "Wow," Jane said. "I can tell." She nodded and smiled. "And it's a good thing. Especially if you are playing music again. She's good for you and that's..." She trailed and then cleared her throat, "... that isn't the easiest thing for me to say." She looked down at her hands, spinning the ring on her right pointer finger. One of Aidan's more rare, serious, expressions creased his brow. A soft, meaningful, gaze. "What is it?" Jane looked up then and it had seemed for a moment that she was going to play it off as nothing but she looked

Page 9 at him looking back at her, and said softly, "You know that I always wanted to be that for you. I just... wasn't. And I knew that but it never changed that I wanted to be. It just wasn't there. That... something. You know what I mean?" Funny that she put it like that. "Yea. I know it." He didn't like that she seemed so distraught over it. "But hey I'm just fine. I lived. If you don't experience a little heart break then you can't ever appreciate something special when it comes along, right? I should thank you." "What? Thank me? You're daft!" "No, it's true. You have to think of things like that, Jane. Kind of like everything happens for a reason. Or else you will drive yourself insane trying to figure everything out all the time." Aidan said and felt a pang of disappointment as the bell sounded, signaling the end of their lunch block. Pushing herself up and off of the picnic table, she spun around to stand facing him. "Aidan Hart... there is no one quite like you." She let out a long sigh, and shook her head. "At least not any 16 year old. You are an old man on the inside, I think." "Is that a compliment, then?" He asked, giving her an incredulous look, as he pushed himself up, quite towering above her. Jane rolled her eyes. "Yea, sort of."

Music Appreciation was Aidan's favorite class but today he was barely paying attention as his conversation with Jane was forefront in his thoughts. It had been the kind of conversation that they had used to have before everything had to get so awkward. He remembered when it had happened and how frustrating it had been. Like suddenly they were too old to be just friends anymore. Like they had to figure out what it really was because a girl and a boy didn't spend this kind of time together without it meaning something. The innocence of being a child was such a fragile and beautiful thing. Ember was the same but seemed to be permanently locked into that state. Every year he expected her to come back having woken from that childlike innocence and she never did. It was an odd thing. Feeling so relieved that nothing had marred her perfection and yet almost frustrated since he already felt inadequate enough as it was. Every flaw he possessed became almost neon in her presence. Every time he caught himself hoping that she would come back having fallen closer to his level he hated himself for doing so. It was such a selfish thought and only a thought. It would break him to see her become anything close to resembling just another girl and less of an angel. "Aidan! Have you seen them?" The arm of his mate, Gavin, wound about his neck, curling into a headlock for a few moments before releasing. The big bear of guy plopped down next to him as the class had apparently broken up into groups without him noticing. "Seen who?" "New girls. Pair of them. Sisters, I hear." Gavin said, and the glint in his eyes said more than that. Gavin was the kind of guy that girls Aidan typically avoided swooned after. They had gotten to be friends when Gavin and Emma had briefly dated. Briefly being the key word there. Gavin really was not the sort that put up with someone like his sister. Despite her annoying habits she was a very strong personality. She did things her way and Gavin liked the passive types that just wanted to be seen with him and not heard. Needless to say it hadn't ended well. Aidan glanced over at his sister looking rather cold in her lack of proper clothing, and sighed, "I think that there's at least like a week waiting period on new girls, isn't there?" "Absolutely not. Someone has to break them in." Gavin was mostly talk he'd discovered. "Break who in?" Deacon asked as he sat atop a desk across from Aidan. "New girls." Gavin said with a widening, cocky, smile. "Oh right. Heard about them. Emma has a class with the older of the two. Said she wasn't very friendly and was crying the whole time. Mum died, or something." "That's horrible." Aidan said. "That is too bad. Sounds like baggage and who wants a girl that's crying all the bloody time." Gavin said then stalked off towards the teacher. More than likely to request a hall pass so he could disappear for the majority of the class. It hardly surprised Aidan, nor had his comment.

Page 10 "Deacon." Aidan said to get his mate's attention, waving him closer. Deacon leaned forward. "Go and give your coat to Emma would you. She looks frozen and she'll definitely forgive you for that bit this morning." He said with a reassuring nod. "Ah. Now that's a good chap. Always looking out, you are." Deacon said as he hopped up from the desk, shrugging out of his jacket. "Bloody marvelous idea. Oh, look at that..." He paused. Aidan glanced up at him, brow furrowed. "What?" "That's one of them." Deacon said, and nodded his head towards the door. Aidan had to lean to the side to see around him and when he did, his heart stopped and he said her name before he even realized what he was doing. "Evelyn."

Page 11 Flawed - Chapter 2/ Pale Blue - First Draft Nothing made any sense to Evelyn. Not even the simplest of actions or the easiest of questions. Days passed by in such a blurry state of wet, burning, tears that the clear vision of day or night was quickly recessing into her brain as a distant memory or a long lost friend. Where am I? She thought. School? She was certain of absolutely nothing that was happening to her, around her or even how she had gotten to wherever it was that she was currently. Was she home in California, or had her father been serious about dragging them all off to live in London? She was already in London. Yes, she remembered being awoken from her grieving by the sheer terror she felt when she flew. For once it had been a welcome distraction. Oh, but why London? Evelyn felt the now painful pressure of the tears as they threatened the very sanity of her green eyes--burning them red. Closing them tightly shut, she felt the spill over of hot tears as they streamed down her already slick cheeks. There was no other place on Earth that would remind her more of her... "Evelyn." A voice penetrated through the heavy rain clouds of her heart and mind. Honey... She thought it sounded like. In her state, she simply didn't register that honey didn't particularly have a sound, it was just the first thing that had made it through the haze of sorrow that enveloped her. The voice kept speaking to her but she only heard it as feather soft whispers and upon opening her eyes all she could see was watercolors. Colors that ran together, swirled and somewhere in the middle of it was this honeyed voice and then... then... hands gentle upon her shoulders. Thumbs that pressed into her flesh and the simple thing brought a gasp from her lips as it was the first touch she could remember feeling for weeks. "Evelyn... say something. Please. Why are you in London?" The clouds began to lift and she felt the soft pads of those thumbs brushing away the tears from her cheeks. Her eyelids blinked rapidly, fluttering, fighting away the burn of the tears so that a clear vision of the voice began to materialize before her. Aidan. Fresh tears sprang to her eyes and the pain of that brought on even more. Her breath rushed out of her and her head shook from side to side. Even something as simple as running into Aidan Hart was too much for her. Even the idea of having to put words into some kind of sentence to answer him was making her head swim and lighten as all the emotions rushed through her body like a painful gust of icy, cold, wind. It was excruciating and it broke her. Sobs racked her body causing her to shake uncontrollably. She couldn't be sure if she was making any sound at all or if she was screaming at the top of her lungs as the sound of the emotions in her head sunk their ice talons into her and deadened all senses. But then there was warmth. Warmth. Evelyn moved towards it, buried her head against it and felt it wrap around her. It felt to her as a hot bath did after a cold day. When your feet are so ice cold that when introduced to the hot water they almost tingle with a welcome kind of sweet pain. Her fingers curled into fabric heated by this warmth, holding tightly and it was then that sound finally registered causing such a shock that to her already hyperventilating body that everything suddenly went black. She was screaming.

This wasn't Evelyn. It was but then it just wasn't. As Aidan walked towards her he was almost certain that this was not the Evelyn Irving that he knew. He had been able to tell that just from the way she had looked when she had first walked into the classroom. Normally, Evelyn looked like fire and brimstone to him. Sharp, hard and unforgiving. Fierce green eyes and radiant red hair that he'd once told Ember had the devil's touch to it as it cascaded down from her head in unruly waves that seemed almost unnatural. Possibly beautiful if she didn't look so hostile all of the time. Like now when she looked so painfully human and broken. Aidan kept trying to talk to her but she didn't even seem to be understanding that he was speaking to her or that it was even him speaking to her. It was frustrating him to absolutely no end as he had no idea at all what was

Page 12 happening or what to even do with this sad, weeping, creature that had just walked into his life. He wished that she would just stop crying so that he could think properly. Those green eyes sparkled and brimmed with threatening tears and were worn red from an amount of crying that he couldn't even imagine. Raising his hands he attempted to brush the tears that had fallen free onto her cheeks and then watched as some form of realization appeared within her rapidly blinking eyes. It was then, that a sound came from her that nearly made his knees buckle and drop out from beneath him. It broke his heart right there and then because that was what it was the sound of. A heart... breaking. Shattering into a million tiny little pieces right in front of him. He heard soft gasps from the other students behind him but only briefly before Evelyn's head fell forward against his chest, her tears soaking into his shirt as she sobbed almost violently. Her entire body quaked against him and he didn't know what else to do but to wrap his arms around her and try to still her. The way she was shaking was unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was as if she was standing in the middle of the Arctic wearing a bathing suit. It was involuntary and it was worrying. He couldn't help but wonder if Ember was somewhere in a similar state. However that thought hardly had any time to sink in and cause panic before Evelyn suddenly went limp in his arms. He barely caught her before she hit the floor. Lifting her up into his arms, he walked forward out of the classroom and into the teacher's lounge across the hallway. Behind him he could still hear the worried gasps and mongering gossips as they followed him to the couch against the far wall of the room. He laid her down upon it and knelt down just to the side. Sitting back on his ankles, he ran his hands up through his hair and held them there, willing himself to think. He had absolutely no idea what to do. The voice of his teacher, Mrs. Chadwick, finally got through to him. "I've sent Deacon for the nurse. She'll bring salts to wake her." "Wake her?" Aidan nearly snapped the replied question. It was a knee jerk reaction to the thought of having to see her for even another moment as she had been only moments ago. "Maybe she needs this. A little peace," He let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, dropping his hands down to his knees to hold himself up as he whispered, "Maybe I need it." He was feeling just as he had when his parents died and all his sisters had done was cry. It was a helpless feeling of knowing that there really is almost nothing you can say to take the pain away. He hated feeling it. "Do you know this girl, Aidan?" Emma asked, her voice resonating that there was much more to her than outfits and hair color, as she came down onto her knees slightly behind him, her chin resting upon his shoulder. Drawing in a long, shaky, breath, he replied, "Yes but why is she here?" He wasn't particularly asking Emma the question, or anyone for that matter. It was just confusion spewing forth from his lips. He shook his head. "Mum died. Mr. Davenport told me. Some kind of cancer, I think. I forget the name." Emma said, and he could hear her swallow hard. "Have you ever seen someone so sad, Aidan?" "Megan. When Mum and Dad died." "You remember that?" Emma asked, blinking at him. "I hardly even remember." She paused and then pondered out loud, "I never saw Megan like that. She was always so strong for us." "Not always." Aidan whispered the reply. It was true that Megan had put on a good show for them but he remembered hearing her through the thin wall between their bedrooms at night. That heart breaking sound had been the same. Dear God, where is Ember? He finally allowed the thought to sink in before about a hundred others flashed through his mind, spreading like wild fire. How is she dealing with this? Does she look as broken? Does she need me? Is she wondering where I am? Is she really here somewhere? Is she really staying? That last thought made him feel like the worst kind of selfish, loathsome, creature but he couldn't help the thought. It was a thought he had only dared dream of. Having her close by so that he could see her whenever he wished to. He wanted to jump up and search the entire school until he found her but knew that the kind of man that he needed to be for her was the kind that wouldn't act so selfishly and would stay with Evelyn. He could only imagine what awakening to a bunch of strangers would do to her in such a state as she was in. "Aidan, she's waking up." Emma said, her voice tinged with compassion. When he let his eyes refocus on Evelyn, he noticed that she looked like the Evelyn he knew, once again. Sad

Page 13 eyes had reawakened as angry, hostile, eyes. They flickered about the ceiling above her and then flicked over to him. "Aidan?" She asked and then pulled herself up rather quickly. Too quickly. "'Ey, take it easy." He said, reaching out his hands to slow her. "I'm fine." Evelyn nearly barked at him, raising her hands up to keep him from touching her. He stilled and watched her chest rise and fall with quick, uneven, breaths before she repeated. "I'm fine." It sounded to him like she was trying to convince herself of that, rather than him. It didn't even seem like she remembered anything that had transpired back in the classroom. "Why are all of these people staring at me?" Evelyn asked, nervously raising her eyes and lowering them in rapid succession. "They're just worried." "Well, I'm fine. Make them go away." It was a demand. She was sounding more and more like her old self with every ticking minute. Although, Aidan did catch a slight hint of desperation in the demand. She doesn't want to be seen like this. A moment of clarity washed over him and the idea that he might faintly understand, if even for a moment, Evelyn Irving was a revelation indeed. Looking back over his shoulder, he asked, "Guys... can you..." He motioned with his hand towards the door. "She's fine." He reiterated mostly for her benefit of hearing him say it. It was what she wanted to believe. He glanced towards Emma, "You too." "But--" "Emma. Just listen to me for once in our lives, would you?" "Fine. You're explaining later." The stubborn little thing then stalked out the door. Aidan's gaze drifted back to Evelyn and he watched cautiously as she rubbed her palm against her head, her eyes clenched shut. "Are you--" He stopped. He didn't want to get another 'I'm fine' snapped back at him. "What is it?" He tried that on for size. "Nothing." Evelyn said, immediately. Then, "My head hurts." Her voice sounded miserable. "They sent for the nurse--" She quickly shook her head. "I don't need a nurse." "She might have something for your headache." Aidan was surprised when she didn't try to argue with him further. Normally, she would have. He figured she was much too exhausted at the moment considering that under normal circumstances Evelyn would argue with him about what shade of blue the sky was and she was never wrong, either. A few silent minutes crawled by as he just watched her. Watched her like she was some kind of bizarre, uncategorized species of female that needed to be closely observed and studied so as to determine exactly how lethal she might be. Aidan had been surrounded by women his entire life and she didn't fall into a single category that he had. When he was twelve he'd gotten it into his head that she was some kind of alien. An alien sent to this planet to devour laughter and souls. Looking at her now, of course, she looked every bit just a human girl. For a brief moment she glanced up and held his gaze and he wondered if she'd ever looked at him so directly before. As if hearing the thought in his head, she looked away, pulling her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "I... um..." Evelyn started to say before the door suddenly opened and a rather petite, brunette, woman with a warm smile came in. Not the nurse but the school's councilor, Emily Ashton. "Evelyn." Emily let out a long sigh and then came down to squat next to Aidan. "It's all right. We just tried this a little fast, didn't we? That's my fault, not yours." "How..." Evelyn started, glancing at Aidan almost uncomfortably. He suddenly felt like he was intruding and was going to push himself up to leave before he head the rest of her question, "...how is Ember?" Aidan's focus snapped to Emily sharply. "Where is she?" He asked and could feel Evelyn's eyes on him. He could always feel her disapproving gaze when it came to Ember. However, he paid it very little mind right now as the expression that crossed through Emily's features was nervous. As if she was trying to choose her words carefully. He knew that sort of look all too well. "We can't find her. That's why I'm here," Emily replied and then quickly continued. "There's no need to

Page 14 worry. I'm sure she's --" "What?!" Evelyn exclaimed, jumping up from the couch, beating Aidan to the punch. She stared down at the woman, eyes wide, harsh and accusing. Aidan couldn't help but think she was breath taking when she was angry. Breath taking in a way that meant you might actually never breath again if you really angered her. "No need to worry?! A child, my sister, is missing in this monstrosity of a school, sad and alone, and you think that isn't something to worry about?! What kind of councilor are you?! Don't you know anything about my sister? She's probably curled up in little ball somewhere..." Evelyn's voice broke and then suddenly reignited, "All while you're sitting here telling everyone not to worry!" Aidan completely agreed with her but was however, much calmer about it. "Evelyn, why don't you calm down. You're--" Green eyes flashed and glared at him, as Evelyn nearly growled, "Since when do you tell me what to do?" It was his turn for his voice to raise as he stepped forward, towering above her, looking down into her little vicious face. "Since now! Yelling at this poor woman won't help anything. Nothing." "Easy for you to say! It's not your sister lost now is it?!" Evelyn nearly screeched, shoving at him to move out of her way. "Easy!? Oh, you think you know everything! You're not the only one who loves her, you know!" Aidan snapped at her, stopping her dead in her tracks. Evelyn looked up at him, eyes narrowing into slits, her lips trembling from the anger that was about to erupt from somewhere dark within her, "Don't you ever mention love to me again, you... you... child. You leave her alone, do you hear me?! Keep away! Love..." Her voice hinted of disgust. "...is a disease. A soul sickening disease." Somehow he managed to hear the words as she spoke them but couldn't believe what he was hearing. He couldn't possibly understand how someone became this way. He had been through his own fair share of grief in his life and still couldn't fathom the place that it was taking Evelyn too. It stunned him to the point where he didn't even realize that she had ran from the room until Emily grabbed his arm. "I'll go after her. Do you know where Ember would go?" Emily asked him and the proverbial light bulb lit up behind his eyes as he looked up at her. "Yea. I know exactly where she is." He was running before he'd even finished the sentence.

Evelyn searched every hallway, empty classroom, quiet corner, and bathroom that she came across; not knowing at all where she was going. She was certain that even with all of her searching that she probably had only been through half of the mammoth, labyrinth-like, school. Having been so certain that she would find her fragile little sister hiding in the corner of some classroom or in the stall of a bathroom, she was now completely frustrated and disheartened. Panic slowly setting in. Pushing her way into yet another bathroom, Evelyn looked first left and then right. "Ember?" She called and her voice broke with exhaustion and false hope. The only reply was the flush of a toilet and then silence. Closing her eyes, she tried to will herself to think clearly but it was a task that was becoming more and more impossible as she only slipped further into the plethora of emotions that spun her around as if she were standing in the middle of a merry-goround. That same kind of dizzy sickness overwhelmed her and she backed up a few steps to slide down the wall behind her, down to the floor. From her jacket pocket she pulled out her cell phone, forcing herself to take deep breaths, as she flipped it open hoping that maybe she'd somehow missed a call from Ember. Evelyn had already left her at least ten messages but she called again. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she rested her elbows on them, burying her head in her hands as she listened to ring after annoying ring. She snapped the phone shut sharply in frustration as Ember's soft recorded voice began to play from the voice mail. "Are you... all right?" A concerned, yet uncomfortable, feminine voice sounded from just a few feet away. Evelyn raised her head and thought of how pathetic she must look sitting there on the bathroom floor. The girl speaking to her must have been in one of the stalls and looked at Evelyn curiously. Oddly enough there was a warmth to her eyes that didn't immediately set Evelyn on edge as would usually be the case. "Are you..." The girl began,

Page 15 pausing briefly. "One of the Irving sisters?" She asked, then surprised Evelyn as she took a few steps forward and then sat down just in front of her, never taking her eyes off of Evelyn. Evelyn could only nod. Word traveled fast, it seemed. "Um, ok. Well, are you Evelyn, or are you Ember?" Blinking a few times in confusion, Evelyn shook her head, "How do you... I mean, is the whole school talking about us, or something?" The thought was crushing to a hermit, bookworm, type such as Evelyn. "Honestly?" The girl gave a bit of a nervous smile. "Yea." Her smile faded into a mild expression of sadness. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." "It's okay. It's nothing in comparison to everything else." Evelyn explained, and then answered the girl's earlier question. "I'm Evelyn." "Oh." The girl said and Evelyn's eyes narrowed a bit in confusion at the almost relieved expression on the girl's face before she said, "I'm... Jane." Evelyn got the impression that this Jane was expecting her to know who she was but of course, she didn't, and simply stared back at her blankly. "Did Aidan never mention me?" Jane asked. "I... Aidan and I don't really get along. He spends time with my sister, unfortunately." Evelyn spat out the sentence almost as if she could hardly stand even saying the words. "Oh I know. I just thought that maybe he would have... never mind." Jane shook her head and rolled her eyes, "It's not important." She briefly paused. "He's told me of Ember and I spoke with his sister, Emma, just before I came in here. She told me what happened. I'm an old friend of the family, is all." She seemed to feel a need to explain why she would be let in on such delicate matters. "I'm sorry that you didn't take to Aidan. He's not so bad, really." Evelyn nodded slowly. It made sense enough and she decided that voicing her extreme dislike for Aidan would be disrespectful to Jane. After all, she was just trying to see if she was all right. "We can't all get along, I suppose. I'm nothing like Ember, so maybe that's why." She shrugged up a single shoulder to the simple explanation. She knew it was so much more than that but was hardly going to get into it with a perfect stranger. "Right. Well, can I help... somehow?" Jane asked. "I mean, I don't really know what help I can be but..." "I really just need to find my sister." Evelyn asked, pushing herself up from the floor. Jane rose as well, shaking her head, "Did Aidan not tell you where he was going? Emma said that he knew where she was." Evelyn recalled screaming at him and running from the room before he would have had the chance to tell her anything like that. Her breath caught. "No. I..." She started to explain and then immediately abandoned the idea. "Do you know where?" She asked, stepping forward eagerly. "Vernon's Hill." "I have absolutely no idea where that is." Jane lit up. "I can show you. It's not far."

There might as well have not even been ground beneath Aidan's feet he was running so fast. His heartbeat thrummed in his ears and the cold air burned in his lungs. He hardly noticed the quickly falling snow flurries or the cold as he lacked a proper jacket and was only wearing the long sleeves of his dark blue sweat shirt. The faster that he got to Vernon's Hill the shorter the time that Ember would be sitting alone, waiting for him, knowing that he would find her there. It was their place. Their little sanctuary between her world and his. A place where there was no Jane, no Evelyn, and no sisters. There was nothing but time and laughter. The hill was in an odd place. It was located right in the middle of an abandoned field set almost directly between Aidan's house and Ember's. It was a big lump that came up from the earth as if to say... I'm here. Deal with me. He had described it as such to Ember once, to make her laugh. It was the oddness of the hill that they both enjoyed and found beauty in. Ember was probably the only person in the world that wouldn't think him insane for finding personal relation between himself and a bloody hill. This hill was where they would always meet when she would come in the summer and it was exactly where

Page 16 he would find her now. He was certain of it as his feet carried him into the field where he would look up and be able to see her sitting atop the hill, as always. Except, Ember wasn't there. Confusion racked Aidan. It didn't make any sense to him. He slowed down to a trot and then slowly came to a stop, looking at the hill as if it had betrayed him somehow. Frustrated beyond comprehension, he had been about to turn and run in the direction of his house when a color caught his eye. A paler blue color that was blurred almost white by the snow and barely visible but he had caught it somehow. "Ember." Determination tinged his voice as he ran towards her. As Aidan grew closer he was better able to make out her tiny figure sitting in the snow at the bottom of the hill, the blue coming from the scarf wrapped about her neck and he knew from memory that it matched her eyes. Her jean clad legs were sprawled out in front of her, black boots upon her feet, as she sat slightly hunched over, staring down into the snow between her legs. The palest blonde hair laid about her shoulders, whisps blowing in the gentle wind, a stark contrast against the blue of the scarf and the black of her jacket. Suddenly Aidan's mad rush was stilled as he was overcome with anxiety. He didn't know what to do, or what to say, but all such thoughts froze in his mind as her perfect baby blue gaze rose and met his, swimming with unshed tears. He took a deep breath as he watched nearly purple-red lips quiver and take on a pained twist. "Sweetheart." Aidan breathed the word as he came down to sit beside her, his body turned to sit in the opposite way of hers but still facing her. He raised a hand towards the delicate features of her face but not too fast. He felt as though if he touched her she might just disappear into the snow flurries. Two of his fingers brushed her cheek and he hated the cold of London then for her cheek was as ice. Looking at her now, Aidan nearly forgot why he was even there in the first place. She was as white as the snow but she wasn't pale. No one could call her pale. Her colors rested beneath the surface of her flawless skin. Pale red tinged her cheeks to rose petal pink just beneath the blue eyes that could pull the devil himself right across the room. The word beautiful had never had more meaning to him than it did right now. "He's so sad." Ember's small voice choked out in a near sob. She shook her head and then said helplessly, "I don't know what to say to make him better." No words of her sadness over the lost of her mother. Only words of another's anguish. That was Ember. "Your father?" Aidan assumed. Ember's lips pressed together and then she gave a little nod. Her eyes lowered with sorrow. "How do you put someone's heart back together again?" She asked. "I don't know," Aidan replied. "But if anyone can, Ember. You can." Ember's eyes closed then, tightly and painfully. Aidan didn't understand what he had said wrong. "What is it?" "I think I remind him too much of her, to be able to do it." Ember replied. Aidan thought about that. If something were to happen to Ember, would he want anyone or anything around him that reminded him of what he had lost? He prayed he would never have to find out. How lucky he felt then and how deeply sad for Michael Irving, all at the same time. "For awhile, it might just be difficult for him," Aidan said. "Don't blame yourself." "I'm so afraid." "Afraid of what?" "That he will never be the same." Ember whispered the words as if saying them too loudly would bring them to life. "Evelyn thinks he's lost his mind." "Not his mind." Aidan disagreed. "His heart." Ember sighed. "Maybe it's the same. Maybe you can lose your mind without losing your heart, but maybe you can't lose your heart without losing your mind." Her expression grew pensive and troubled. It worried Aidan. "Has he been okay with you... and Evelyn? I mean... is he so bad off?" "He's just so sad." Ember replied, but it wasn't much of an answer. "He just isn't himself." She blinked her deeper thoughts away and raised her gaze to his, "You understand, don't you?" Aidan did and then he didn't at the same time. He gave a little nod, though, simply because he could tell that she needed to be reassured. "Of course." He replied and knew that he would just have to ensure that nothing happened

Page 17 to Michael Irving for the sake of Ember and even for the sake of Evelyn. There would never be anything more important to him than that. In that moment, he was certain. "He's just so sad." Ember said it again, closing her eyes, shaking her head. She dragged in a deep breath that caused her small frame to quake. "Hey..." Aidan said, picking her chin up with his crooked finger. "If anyone can cheer him up, I can. You know me." Ember's sad eyes conceded and lightly but barely. "Yea." She didn't sound convinced. "Ember!" Evelyn's voice rang from off behind them. Aidan's spine stiffened but he took a deep breath, looked to Ember to give him strength, and decided that it was about time Evelyn learn that he wasn't going anywhere. He mentally began to prepare to be yelled at and looked upon as if he should be anywhere else except within five feet of Ember. However, as his gaze turned and looked in the direction of where Evelyn was running from he had absolutely no mental preparation for seeing Jane there with her. As they approached, he looked at her and she just looked right back, her expression almost apologetic before turning curious as she glanced at Ember sitting there in the snow next to him now enveloped in Evelyn's arms. "What were you thinking, huh?" Evelyn scolded. "Running off from school like that? Are you trying to drive me crazy?" She asked, releasing Ember from the tight hug, sitting back a little, her gaze raising to Aidan's for only a brief moment. It seemed she was going to take the route of not particularly acknowledging his presence. Stubborn girl. He had found her sister after all and she couldn't even say thank you. Not to him. "Dad came to see me at school. I just..." Ember trailed. "He came to the school? When?" "During the lunch block." Ember explained. "He wanted to talk." Aidan watched Evelyn closely and was having the hardest time reading her. Ember was easy to read. Everything was right there in her eyes but Evelyn kept everything under lock and key. "What was wrong?" Evelyn asked, desperation darkening her tone. "He just needed me." Ember said softly. Aidan was slowly but surely piecing together the bits and fragments of everything Ember had said before Evelyn had arrived and what was being said now. The death of his wife was taking Michael Irving to place that Aidan could only imagine. A dark place where he was completely alone even though he had two beautiful daughters that, despite their differences, were vibrantly alive. If just for the moment, Aidan managed to catch a glimpse of why Evelyn hated the idea of love so much. This was her worst fears coming to life right before her eyes and they were killing her family.

Page 18 Flawed - Chapter 3/ Piano Man - First Draft One would think that Aidan would sit and stare adoringly upon Ember as she slept, but his expressions were more confused than anything else. There he sat in an arm chair just to the left of her bed, the room completely dark with the exception of the sliver of moonlight that trickled across her hair scattered across the pillow. He hadn't been sitting there long as she'd fallen almost right to sleep. Not surprising at all, given how exhausted she was. They'd had to fight the wind all the way back to their house and both Ember and Evelyn had been crying the whole way. Sitting now, in silence, Aidan had a moment to let it all sink in and think. Leaning his elbows down onto his knees, he pulled his fingers up through his hair and rested his head there in his hands. He'd walked them back to their house, holding his coat over both of them, as they'd huddled against him. While it certainly wasn't the happiest of times, Aidan couldn't help but feel like he was exactly where he was supposed to be. With Ember holding him tighter and Evelyn pushing him further, he knew that simple truth. He could deal with whatever would come next as long as he knew that truth. The part that confused him was where exactly he fit into their world. Aidan had no idea of what part he would play exactly. With Ember it was easy, and then extraordinarily difficult, at the same time. With her, it didn't feel like some summer love, or an attraction. It didn't have that kind of simplicity. It was an unexplainable need within him to keep her safe, make her laugh and smile, and constantly feel like he wasn't worthy of her attention. With Evelyn, it was never easy. Not even in those brief moments where he caught some tiny piece of insight into how the wheels in her stubborn, calculating, mind spun could he ever say that it was easy. It was an amazing thing really where he fit in between these two girls. He could calm and soften Ember in the same short few moments as he could completely enrage Evelyn and send her into a complete tantrum. Having that kind of power over them, despite how either of them felt towards him, was a fragile, important, thing. Something that he felt a great responsibility to protect and never take advantage of. If all of these thoughts in Aidan's head could take on a physical form, they would have been closing in on him in the space of the small room, then would have suddenly vanished into thin air when he heard the sound of footsteps in the hallway. His head shot up, eyes narrowing, before he pushed himself up from the chair and went to the door. Opening it, he glanced out into the hallway, a block of light illuminating his face. He saw movement at the end of the hallway, but glanced back to Ember to ensure she still slept before he slipped out the door. "Oh." Jane said, pausing as she was sliding her foot into one of her shoes, by the door. "I wasn't sure if you were going to come back out. I was just going to leave." Aidan didn't say anything for a moment. He just walked closer, nodding slowly, sliding his hands into his pockets. He stopped next to where she stood. "I tried to get Evelyn to talk, but..." Jane trailed off, pushing her other foot into her other shoe. "Well, she doesn't really know me." Looking up at him, she added, "I think you're wrong about her." Aidan shrugged. "She's very difficult, but I was beginning to think that myself." He sighed. "Really doesn't change the fact that she despises me, though." He laughed softly. "I kind of like her for that." Jane said with a laugh. "Everyone adores you. You put up a good front. She just sees through it." "And you know this from this one day that you've spent in her company?" Aidan asked, incredulously. "Yes." Jane said confidently. "Despite your charm, Aidan, you are very, hopelessly, flawed." "I think it's more than my flaws that she despises. It's the whole idea of me." Aidan said, hitting a more serious note. "You mean, because of Ember." "Yea. In a way. I think it's because of a lot of things." Aidan said and then let out a long, exaggerated sigh, as he shook his head. "Don't listen to me. I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about." He let out an exasperated laugh. For a moment, they stood in the comfortable silence of two old friends realizing that despite anything in the past, that they were meant to be there for each other in times like these. "You're not... put out with me, are you?" Jane asked.

Page 19 "Put out with you?" "I mean, well, I just kind of barged in on all of this. I didn't mean to. I found Evelyn in the bathroom at school, and--"

"Jane." Aidan said, stopping her. "You didn't barge in on anything. I mean, if it had to be anyone to have been there today, I'm glad that it was you. It would have been unbearably awkward had it been anyone else." "Well, I'm glad I could save you the awkwardness." Aidan shook his head. "You did much more than that," He said. "Come here." Reaching a hand out, Aidan pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Jane went, hesitantly at first, and then wrapped her own arms around his middle. "You have to understand that Ember and this family mean the world to me." He said, and then continued, "And if there's anyone I trust with that... it's you." Jane nodded softly against him, speechless. Pulling back from him, Jane let out a bit of a shaky sigh, before saying, "If you don't mind, I'd like to come back in the morning. Maybe I could show Evelyn around at school?" Aidan nodded. "That's a good idea. You're less of a threat to her. She'll be much less likely to run off in hysterics like she does with me." "Exactly." Jane smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow, then." "You will." Aidan nodded. "Oh, Jane? Where did you leave Evelyn?" "In the library."

"Are you all right?" Aidan's voiced asked from somewhere behind where Evelyn sat, perched on a piano bench, her fingers just barely brushing over the black and white keys. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw him standing there, leaning against the door frame. For a moment, she simply looked at him and thought that somehow it looked like this day had aged him considerably. She could understand, in a way. The past few months had certainly made her feel much older than seventeen. Evelyn didn't answer his question. It was an absurd question, really. Was she all right? Obviously, he knew the answer, therefore, it was a pointless, absurd, question. Normally, she would point that out to him, but she just didn't have the energy. Instead, she simply turned her attention back to the piano keys and hoped, silently, that he would go away. No such luck. She heard his footsteps come further into the room, coming up behind her, and wondered briefly why she had thought for even a breath of a moment that he might actually do something that she wanted him to do, for once. Well, she wasn't going to pay him any attention. The last thing she wanted right now was to get into yet another fight with him. The guy who thought he was in love with her sister. He was sixteen. He probably didn't even know his social security number, let alone if he was in love with someone, or not. Especially not her sister. Not Ember. Aidan sat down on the bench next to her, but Evelyn didn't look up from the keys. "This was your mum's piano, wasn't it?" He asked, and the question pulled on a heart string, deep within Evelyn. It pulled hard enough for her to answer simply, "Yes." "Yea. First time I met her, she taught me a song on this piano." Evelyn looked up at him, then, not knowing exactly how she felt about the idea that he'd had any form of relationship with her mother. She hadn't spent much time around him when he was with Ember, or her family. She would always lock herself away somewhere and read. Suddenly, Evelyn found herself wanting to hear more about these moments she'd missed with her mother. Time lost while she was off being stubborn, somewhere. Aidan looked down at the keys, Evelyn watching him closely, as he continued, "I told her about how much I love music and we just sat here and talked all day about it. Ember was over there, laughing about something in a book with your dad," He looked up and nodded towards the bookshelves that lined the wall to the right of them, "And I

Page 20 remember she was so excited to teach me this song, because it was one I hadn't heard before. She's been trying to stump me, you see." He smirked. Tears filled Evelyn's eyes. That sounded exactly like her mother. It sounded exactly like things that she would say and things that she would do. Things that she would never do, or say, ever again. Aidan looked over at her then, the small smile fading from his lips. Evelyn swiped furiously at the tears. She was growing so tired of them and their inconvenience, especially around him. She'd been about to open her mouth and ask him to leave, when he started playing. It was a song that she immediately recognized and it took her breath away to hear it, now. Helplessly, Evelyn watched as Aidan's hands stroked each and every note that she'd watched her mother play so many times before. Her mother had composed this song for her when she was born. She'd composed a song for Ember, as well, but this one was hers. Why did her mother play Aidan her song? Why not Ember's? Her mother had probably been trying to coax her out of her hiding spot, thinking she would hear the music from there. She hadn't and almost wished now, that she had. Bringing the back of her hand up against her trembling lips, Evelyn closed her eyes, tears falling from them and down her cheeks, as she listened. Listened and let memories of her mother wash over her. Her radiant smile that could brighten the moodiest of Evelyn's days. Her contagious laughter that always lit her father up from the inside, out. Her positivity and her kindness that radiated through her and into the hearts of others. Why did such a beautiful, amazing, woman have to die? What good did that do the world? Evelyn was certain that she would never understand. As the last few notes of the song were played, the memories drifted away and Evelyn opened her eyes, blinking away the tears, gasping. Aidan remained quite for a moment, before saying, "She never did tell me who it was by." "It was hers." Evelyn said, her voice breaking. "She wrote it. For me, just after I was born." Evelyn's response caused Aidan's brow to furrow considerably, before he asked, "Does your father know it?" "No." She replied softly. "He doesn't play the piano." "Then..." Aidan trailed. "You're the only one who knows it, now." Evelyn said, realizing that fact just as soon as she was saying it. "Odd. You would think..." Aidan started to say, and then shook his head. Evelyn assumed he was thinking the very same thing that she had thought. Why her song? "Funny how some things work out." He said, instead. "Yea." She replied, and brushed the remaining tears from her cheeks, attempting to pull herself together. "If you don't want to talk about it, I'll understand," Aidan lead in, then asked, "But, what happened? I heard it was cancer?" "Um. Yea. Pancreatic cancer." Evelyn replied. "They said she'd had it for awhile and just didn't know. If they had found it sooner, they might have been able to do something about it," She paused. "I really don't understand why they tell people that, though." Shaking her head, she continued, "It's hereditary. We found out that my grandmother died of the same thing. My mother hadn't spoken to her in years, though. She disapproved of my father." "Hereditary." Aidan repeated the word, softly. "Does that mean then that Ember, or you, might get sick as well?" Evelyn nodded. "We have to get tested. They wanted to test us, but Dad wouldn't let them." Aidan blinked in confusion. "Why ever not?" "He hasn't been himself. He yelled at the doctors and took us away. Maybe he didn't want to know. Maybe he really has gone insane. Maybe it's denial. Your guess is as good as mine." Evelyn said with a shrug. "That's absurd!" Aidan exclaimed. "I'm going to get tested when I turn eighteen." Evelyn said with a firm nod. "If he doesn't right himself before then, I guess." "I'll right him." Aidan mumbled. "There has to be some kind of law. He can't do that. We can go to someone and tell them that he's unfit to make decisions on the behalf of his children, or something." Evelyn let out a long sigh. "I've already thought of that. Ember won't allow it. She's very protective of him. Plus, where would we end up? They wouldn't let us stay here, Aidan. We don't have any other family. We'd be put into one of those homes, my dad would be alone, and Ember would be miserable without him." She could have added, without you, and the thought even brushed her mind for the slightest of seconds, but she shook it away.

Page 21 "I'm going to the library tomorrow to research it." Aidan said definitively. Standing, he walked around the piano in front of her, as he continued, "Maybe if I can bring him enough information, he'll listen. I can get through to him. I'll make him listen. He always seemed reasonable enough." Evelyn's gaze lowered then. Back to keys of the piano, as she said softly, "He always seemed like a lot of things to me that he just isn't now." She shook her head. "He just isn't the same. Try all you want to, but--" "I will try. Why are you giving up so easily?" Aidan asked, accusingly. "Easily!" It was then that a sound out in the hallway caught their attention. It was a dragging sound, the screeching of rubber shoes against the linoleum floors, and then the creak of a door being opened. Both Aidan and Evelyn made it to the library door at the same time, glancing at each other briefly, before they looked around the corner, down the hallway, to where Michael Irving stood just outside of Ember's room, his hand still raised from having pushed the door open. He just stood there, wavering back and forth, staring into the open door way. It was obvious that he was barely able to keep himself upright. "Dad?" Evelyn called softly, stepping out into the hallway, taking a few steps in his direction. She was certain that he'd been drinking. She'd never known her dad to be a drinker, at all, but that's all he'd been doing for a month straight. Michael Irving turned his head, looked at her, and then went clumsily made his way down the hallway, in the opposite direction without saying a word. Using the wall to hold himself up all the way down to his bedroom. The sound of the door closing made Evelyn flinch. Breathing in deep, she squared her shoulders, and turned hurt and angry eyes towards Aidan, as she asked, "What makes you think seeing my father like this, is easy?" "Evelyn, I'm--" "No, it's fine. It's what you've always thought of me, anyway." Evelyn viciously spat at him before she turned on her heel and marched towards her room, trying to keep her head held high, ignoring him as he called after her again. She was nearly racing and closed her door the second that she was inside of her room. It was until then that she cried. She didn't want Aidan to see any more of her tears. Not a single one.

The whole following morning had been very awkward, indeed. Somehow Aidan had found himself trying to take care of two grief stricken girls when he barely knew how to take care of himself. He'd stayed with Ember all night; sleeping in the chair next to her bed. Something that was going to have to change if he wanted to have use of his neck for very long. Then, in the morning, he'd woken before them and made breakfast. Him. Make breakfast. Aidan didn't even realize that he knew how to make anything. His sisters had banned him from the kitchen when he'd once attempted to make a stew out of just about everything he could find in the kitchen. The concoction probably could have eaten the paint right off of a car. However, this morning he had managed to make toast, bacon, eggs, and he didn't burn anything. It had been a proud moment indeed. The awkwardness came when the three of them had sat eating and he had a feeling that they were all having the same thoughts. It was a table that Ember and Evelyn had both sat at with their mum and dad, as a family, and now their family was torn apart. Leaving them to sit there with him somehow put in the middle of it all. To him, it was an odd feeling of being out of place, yet exactly where he knew he needed to be. Jane had picked them up for school. She really was being such a good sport about all of this. When they'd arrived at school, she'd told Evelyn she would show her around before classes and Evelyn had seemed thankful for the distraction. Maybe even thankful to get away from him for a little while, he could imagine. She was going to just have to get used to it. They didn't agree on everything, but after their talk the night before he was certain that they could find some kind of middle ground. Perhaps if she never spoke. He thought, and then smirked a bit, as he knew that would never happen. He'd never met a more opinionated, outspoken, girl. In a way, he admired her passion. Reaching up, he rubbed his thumb and middle finger against his eyes. He was tired. He'd been sitting in the

Page 22 school's library for over an hour, having told his art appreciation teacher that he needed to do research for the biography he was supposed to be writing about an artist. So much for that; he hadn't even chosen an artist. The table in front of him was stacked with Oncology books, but the words were all starting to blend together. He'd been so lost in his thoughts this whole time, in remembering every little detail about the day before, and in worrying about what the future might be like now that he'd only glanced over maybe a page, or two. "Aidan?" Opening his eyes, he blinked, and saw Emma standing there looking at him like he'd grown a second head. He'd been wrong. He did know a girl that was just as opinionated and outspoken as Evelyn; his sister. "Yeah?" Aidan said, rather nonchalantly. "You're in the library." "Astute observation." "Are you... evading the law?" Emma asked, smartly. "Funny," Aidan said, leaning back in his chair, "As if you read." "I read!" Emma screeched, and several shushing sounds came from all around them. Her voice quieted, as she came down to sit in the chair around the corner of the table from him. "I'm sure I've read more than you have." "Magazines don't count." Emma's eyes narrowed at him and she was about to open her mouth to bark something else at him when Deacon came strolling out of the same stack that Emma had just been in. He stopped suddenly when he saw the pair of them sitting there. "Oh hey there, Aidan." Deacon said with a rather sheepish smile. Aidan rolled his eyes. "Now it all makes sense. Reading." He smirked at Emma. "Is that what they're calling it these days?" "Oh, hush it." Emma snapped at him and Aidan laughed. Deacon stepped forward, "Oh come on now, Aidan. You know how it is." He said, before he leaned down and stole a quick kiss from Emma, before heading off again. "Barely." Aidan said, and then watched as Emma actually stared almost dreamily after him. When she turned back and saw the almost pained expression on his face from having to witness such a thing, her scowl returned. Putting up his hand in mock defense, Aidan pleaded, "Please, try to restrain yourself. I haven't had enough sleep to bicker with you." Emma's expression softened. Almost as if somehow her own life had somehow managed to fade enough into the background for her to remember what had happened with him the day before. "All right. So what's going on, then? Megan was furious that you didn't come home last night, or call." "I didn't know how to explain," Aidan said, shrugging. "I figured you would tell her what happened at school and she would know where I was. She knows a little about it." "How is it that everyone knows about this, but me?" Emma asked, then added, "Even Jane knew when I spoke with her yesterday. I mentioned the name Ember and I could tell she knew exactly whom I was talking about. But me, your own sister, knows nothing." "I didn't realize I was supposed to send you some kind of daily feed on my love life, Emma." Aidan quirked, the edge of his lips kicking up in that little smile of his. "I didn't know you cared." "Oh, rubbish," Emma rolled her eyes. "Of course I care. I care and then I don't care. Does that make sense?" "None." "Well, whatever. You know what I mean." She said, and let out a long sigh, watching him rather curiously. "So what was all that yesterday? That wasn't Ember, right? Her sister?" "Evelyn." Aidan replied, nodding. "But Ember is the one you fancy?" Emma asked. Aidan had always hated that expression, but he nodded, "Yes." "Could have fooled me." Aidan's brow furrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?" "You just seemed awfully concerned with her. I had never seen you like that before. Almost dashing, I dare

Page 23 say. Picking her up and whisking her into the other room, like you did." Emma explained rather melodramatically, and then smirked at his narrowed eyes. "I was not dashing," Aidan said the word almost as if it were an insult. "I wouldn't even know how to be dashing. If anything, it just shocked me. I had never seen her like that. The girl usually breathes fire at me, Emma. Worse than you are, I tell you." "Hmm. Didn't seem that way." "Exactly. Which is why I acted as I did. Because I knew something really had to be wrong for her to be crying and looking to me to help her, or something." Aidan sighed, and shook his head. The memory still fresh in his mind of Evelyn's face looking like some kind of watercolor painting. Clearing his throat, he continued, "She's back to hating me now." "And Ember? I'm guessing you found her." "Yeah. She was exactly where I knew she would be." "And you stayed over at their house?" Aidan nodded. "You cad." Emma gave an almost laughing, shocked, expression. Aidan glowered at her. "It was hardly like that, Emma. Their dad was in the house." "Even more scandalous!" She teased. "Fine, yes, Emma you're right. I took complete advantage of two crying girls grieving for their mum with their dad asleep in the next room," Aidan drawled. "You really should read a few less tabloids." "I was never insinuating that you took advantage of both of them." Emma smirked, and then hit him playfully in the shoulder. "Oh come on, Aidan. You know I'm joking. You're far too gentlemanly for all that nonsense. What are sisters for but if not to lighten the mood? It's obvious that you need it and it's what you always done for Megan and me." Looking up at her, Aidan gave a bit of a smile, "Yeah, well, don't look too much into it. Had to entertain myself somehow. Boring lot you are." He laughed, and Emma hit him harder this time. "Ow! That hurt!" "Good. I'm glad. I'll show you boring, you little toad." Emma stuck her tongue out at him. Aidan laughed. "What was that? Are you five?" "I wish. Being five was much easier." "Yeah." Aidan couldn't help but agree. "Right you are about that." "So will you be home tonight?" Emma asked. "Probably not." Aidan sighed. "Their dad is all messed up. He's not even taking care of them, Emma." "And that's your problem, how?" "It's my problem, because... it is. I care about them. Something could happen. He came home stinking drunk last night and probably will tonight as well." Aidan explained. "So what you going to do? Live there? You think Megan will allow that?" "I'll talk to her. She'll understand." Aidan said, nodding. "Hopefully their dad will get his wits back about him. Until then, they need someone there. I think that's why Evelyn behaved like that yesterday. They've been all alone. She actually had a conversation with me last night. Me. She despises me, and she did." "Why does it have to be you, Aidan?" Emma asked, shrugging in honest confusion. "Because..." He started, and then paused, "I'm all they've got."