What Is There Left For Me? (Private)

[Miss Gates]

Emma listened to him and then nodded. He was on the right track and since she had assaulted her verbally, she had tried to do better. Emma wanted to be the nice person, the kind person. It was why she gave up popularity and went to what she really cared about: people. She even had thoughts about becoming a psychologist. He was getting on the right track. Perhaps even closer than anyone had ever before. "You're right." She sighed. "I haven't been able to get close to people because..." Emma knew she couldn't say it. He wasn't the one to break the spell. She wasn't in love with him and for the spell to break, he had to admit that he was in love and then she had to say it back. If he was the one, which he clearly wasn't. "I can't tell you that part. Well, I literally can't."

[vacuusanimi]

Jarek nodded. He had it figured out. He knew what was going on, relatively. He'd help her with as much as he could, but he could only do so much.

"Emma, I'm glad we had this talk...but I think it's time for me to go," he said as he stood up. "I have a feeling that this curse is a little more complex than I thought. I'll need time to review my past teachings."

He stood there awkwardly, waiting for her to say something. But, then he added one last remark.

"You're not ugly...I mean that," he said before he averted his eyes.

It wasn't out of shame or embarassment, it was because he didn't want to see the look in her eyes when he said it.

[Miss Gates]

Emma looked at him and stood up as he did when he had announced that he had to go. She understood. Then he said something that made her blush. She hadn't known why he made her blush. Emma smiled a little. "Thank you." She said. "And thanks for the help. I mean it." She looked away. "I'll show you out." She walked to the door, her heels making soft clicks as she did. Emma opened the door. "I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked.

[vacuusanimi]

Jarek thought about it for a second. He really didn't want to deal with school tomorrow, but he didn't want to miss the chance to see her again.

"I might be," he said with a soft smile. "But I dunno."

The humming was giving him a headache, more than he anticipated. But, he forced himself to say one last good bye before he left her house without looking back.

[Miss Gates]

Emma smiled and nodded. "Have a great day." She said. It sounded stupid, but she hadn't known what else to say. "And thank you for your help, again." She was grateful for his help. He hadn't said anything about her being a bad person, which she liked. She hoped to see him tomorrow. Things were beginning to look up.

[vacuusanimi]

Jarek waved to her as he left but said not a word more. His mind was filled with the possibilities. What curse had been thrown upon her? How could it be broken? Could it be broken?

As he finally arrived at the corner of the block, Jarek stopped. There was something new in the air, yet, strangely familiar. Maybe it was just the residual sensation of the curse surrounding Emma.

"Yeah, that's all it is," he muttered to himself.

Jarek disappeared in a gust of wind and swirl of leaves before he appeared just outside his home.

[Miss Gates]

Little had Jarek knew that he was being watched by another warlock. Trenton Miles watched the other man disappear and then decided to make himself known to the world. He appeared by Emma's front door. Trenton was tall and handsome, unusually attractive. He wore a white shirt and khaki pants. His eyes were sea green and mesmerizing. Part of his abilities was that he was able to hypnotize. He had been invisible, but had watched the two for quite some time. He was there because the witch had sensed that Emma was going to get a lover; that the spell was about to be broken. The witch couldn't have that. Trenton knocked softly on the door with his knuckles and waited patiently for an answer. He knew she was home. If she hadn't answered then he would just appear in her house. Soon enough though, the girl had opened the door. Trenton had never seen a picture of her so her beauty was a surprise to him. Emma had long black hair that looked like it was soft and wonderful. He could almost feel the hair in his fingers. She had tan skin with a touch of gold and brown, chocolate eyes. Trenton looked up and down her body, which had made her uncomfortable. That hadn't mattered to him. She would forget this meeting anyway. "May I help you?" Emma asked. Trenton grinned and waved his hand in front of Emma. The girl closed her eyes and fell into his arms. He adjusted her body so that he could carry her in a bridal position and stepped into the house. He closed the door behind him with his foot and looked at her house. The floors were hardwood except for the upstairs and there were marble counters in her kitchen. He could tell that she wasn't rich, but she was decent. Trenton walked through the hall way and turned right into the living room.

The living room was plain; nothing really stuck out to him or appealed to him. The furniture was dull in his opinion and the family only owned one flat screen television which was in this room. Trenton shook his head and placed Emma's limp body onto one of the rather large sofas. He was going to cast a spell on her, but in order for it to work he needed human contact. Trenton knelt down by her side and placed the back of his hand on her forehead. He murmured a spell in her ear and let go of her forehead. Since he had free time and no where to go any time soon, he ran his fingers through her hair. She was so beautiful. Trenton wanted to make her his and his, she would be. The spell that he had placed upon her was a mind control spell. The witch wanted her hurt and she would be hurt. Trenton smiled. "Emma when I'm gone, you can wake up." He told her softly and vanished.

[Miss Gates]

Emma opened her eyes and found herself confused. She hadn't remembered falling asleep. She stared at the ceiling for a minute and felt like someone or something had called her. Emma sat up on the couch and looked around. No one was there. That was strange. Then she felt like someone wanted her outside. It was all very weird, but she felt like someone was pulling her. Emma decided to go with the pull. She walked out of the living room and into the hall way again that lead to the front door. The only sound in the house was when her heels made soft clicks on the hard wood floors. It felt eerie, but Emma continued on. She walked closer to the front door and put her hand out. Her hand wrapped around the door handle and she opened the door. There was a light breeze as she walked outside, not caring to shut the door. The eeriness of it all disappeared. Emma felt calm. She felt like she was going somewhere...Peaceful. Emma smiled as she walked out into the middle of the street. She was going to walk further, but her legs hadn't moved. She had tired to move again, but nothing happened. The familiar sound of a car filled her ears and she looked in front of her. A car was headed right for her. Emma's heart picked up speed. Fear engulfed her. She couldn't move! Emma leaned down and gripped her legs. She had tried to move, but she just couldn't. Emma looked up and the driver appeared to be in some sort of conflict as well. It seemed that the driver had lost control of the vehicle. The driver hit the horn several times, but just like the driver, Emma had no control. She put her arms up to cover her face and screamed as the car hit her and pinned her to a tree. The airbag popped out of the wheel and the driver passed out.

[Miss Gates]

Trenton appeared next to the driver's side and opened the car. He placed his hand on the driver's shoulder and healed them a little bit. He then closed the door and walked over to Emma. He was sure that she was bleeding internally. Trenton healed as much as he could for now, but he had used up too much magic today. He needed to recharge and rest. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed the police. Trenton explained to the person on the other line what happened and disappeared.

* * *

The next day the sun rose and Rachel got ready for class. She was so upset. Her best friend had tried to commit suicide and she never saw it coming. Rachel sniffled and drove to school. She parked her car and walked to class. When she arrived, she had seen Jarek already in his seat. Rachel tried not to cry, but she couldn't help it. Emma was in a coma. She walked over to teacher, passing Jarek and sighed.

"Um excuse me, professor," Rachel said and the teacher turned around in his chair.

"Hello Rachel," he said and smiled. Then he noticed her tears. "What's wrong?"

"I just wanted to let you..." Rachel swallowed her tears. "Know that Emma won't be here today. She was in an accident."

The teacher frowned. "I'm sorry Rachel. How bad is it?"

"Pretty bad." Rachel said. "She's in a coma, but the doctors think because of the person who called it in that she'll be okay."

"That's good." The teacher said. "Just let Emma know that if she comes back in time before this semester ends that I will do everything that I can to make sure she passes my course."

"Thank you sir, so much. Emma will appreciate that." Rachel said. The teacher smiled and nodded. Rachel walked over to her seat and sat down.

[vacuusanimi]

Jarek overheard Rachel and his heart skipped a beat. He'd just spoken to Emma last night and she seemed just fine. Had he driven her to commit suicide? No, it couldn't be. He had to have given her a little hope. He even told her they would talk again and they would figure this out together. Now she was in a coma.

He looked at Rachel as she took her seat and tried to keep his breathing normal. His fists were clenched, but not in anger. He slowly turned to look at Rachel and saw that her eyes were red with lack of sleep and probably endless crying for her best friend. He felt bad...no, terrible.

"Rachel, you and I need to talk during break," he said softly.

Jarek still couldn't comprehend why Emma would try to commit suicide, but he was thankful that she hadn't died. Still, the fact that she was in a coma wasn't much more comfort. The first chance he got, he would visit her and try to help as much as he could.

When break came he stood up and led Rachel out into the hall. He tried to stay calm, which was proving to be exceedingly difficult. He wasn't used to feeling this upset or torn apart by something. He hadn't felt this way since his mother...

"How is she?" he asked quickly.

[Miss Gates]

Rachel heard Jarek and nodded. She was surprised that he had spoken to her. During class, she was trying not to fall asleep. Her eyes were watery and aching to be closed. Rachel sighed of relief when the break had started. However, only more tears were brought to her eyes when Jarek had pulled her out into the hall and asked about Emma. She sniffled.

"She was in really bad condition last night." Rachel swallowed her tears, trying not to make a scene. "At first the doctors couldn't get her to stop bleeding internally, but they were lucky. Her leg is broken and her face is all cut up. She was pinned to a tree by the car." Rachel sniffled and uncontrollable tears came out. "It was so scary to see her like that...The doctors think that she tried to commit suicide...I don't know why! Emma was so happy...She would have talked to me!" Rachel looked down at the ground, away from Jarek.

[vacuusanimi]

Jarek's breath stopped as she explained how Emma was. He saw her laying the hospital bed, covered in bandages and hooked up to life support. Ventilators huffing and sighing and a heart rate monitor beeping her inactivity away. His heart raced as his mind reeled over questions of why, how, and what.

"Rachel, you know better than anybody that she wasn't completely happy," he said firmly. "She and I talked last night, I don't know if she told you."

He took in a deep breath. He knew that Rachel would think that he had caused a meltdown for Emma and that he was the reason she tried to commit suicide.

"When I left, she seemed like she was okay. I didn't pick up on anything that would hint toward her considering such an abrupt decision," he explained.

Jarek caught someone passing the hallway in a flicker of refracted light. He narrowed his eyes at it. It might have been a trick of the light in the hallway, but he was certain that he had just seen someone strolling past with an invisibility spell cast upon them.

"Are you okay?" he asked Rachel, trying to keep himself focused. "You look like you could use some sleep. I'm sure the prof wouldn't mind if you went home."

He placed a hand on her shoulder and added, "Go home, Rachel. Get some rest. Emma wouldn't want you like this."

[Miss Gates]

Rachel felt his hand on her shoulder and nodded. She had listened to what he had said, but hadn't blamed him for anything. It wasn't his fault. Rachel should have been there for him. "Thank you." She sniffled and wiped her nose. "I'm just going to freshen up and then go to the hospital to see Emma." She wanted to see how she was doing. "You should come," Rachel said. "I know Emma will be happy to see you if she wakes up."

[vacuusanimi]

Jarek forced a soft smile and nodded.

"I'll wait outside for you, okay?" he said as he watched her leave.

He wouldn't tell the prof that he was leaving. He had more important things to be concerned with than a class he'd taken several times before in his life.

Right now, he was concerned about Emma and that flicker of light he had seen. He walked to the end of the hall where he had seen it last and felt the residual energy of a spell. He knew it. Another witch was in the area. He had felt it last night but wrote it off all too quickly.

[Miss Gates]

Rachel nodded and walked to the elevator. She pressed the down button and waited patiently. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. She walked inside and the doors closed. She pressed the second button and the elevator moved down. Rachel stared at the ceiling. "They ought to have some elevator music in here. Its awkward when its just two people in the elevator." Rachel thought. The elevator stopped at the second floor. She was almost run over by people trying to get in the elevator. "Ope, sorry," she said as she walked through the crowd and turned right. The cafeteria lounge was empty at this time because people were supposed to be in class. Rachel was going to see her best friend and she wanted to see her when she woke up. The girl walked passed the cafeteria counter and passed the security guards on the left at the tables till she finally walked to the door. Rachel opened the door and walked down a set of stairs and outside. It was beautiful out today. She wished that Emma could be out here to enjoy the sun. Rachel sighed and waited for Jarek by the smokers patiently.

Meanwhile, Trenton grinned as he watched Jarek stare at him. He knew he was there. Good. It was what he had wanted. He disappeared and appeared in the hospital. Trenton pushed back a drape and stood by Emma's side. Her mother was calling him their savior. He grinned. He had won the affection of her parents, which meant that she was his for the taking. Trenton pressed the back of his hand on her forehead. "Emma, you will awaken when I tell you how beautiful you are in front of your parents." He whispered into her ear. Trenton hoped that he had more time before the other witch showed up. He hadn't wanted to be at war with him so soon.