Howl.

"Here," Embry said, helping me climb into my bed. He pulled my blankets over my legs and before he could get too far away, I took his hand. We had only exchanged a few words since I left the hospital, which was strange, even if we hadn't seen each other for six months. "What?" He asked, leaning slightly to accomodate our difference in height.

"Please don't leave," I whispered.

Embry sighed, and pressed his lips together. "I need to go, Lilly. I'm really sorry." I frowned, and turned my eyes toward the television that he had moved in front of me from the other side of the room. "I'll come by tomorrow, if that's ok."

"Alright."

I let go of his hand, and listened to him leave my bedroom. Embry had changed, that was for sure. Of course he had. It had been six months since I had last seen him, and his even his physical appearance had changed. His once long, wavy hair had been cropped short. He had grown a good six inches, and his body...

I shook the thought away, reaching for my cell phone. Mary was going to flip shit when she found out what happened. Dialing her phone number, I listened to it ring, trying to think over what I was going to say to her.

"Bitch, where the hell did you go last night?"

"Haven't heard that one yet," I said, smirking. "I've got something to tell you, and I think it would be best if you came over."

"Is it of utter importance?" I could hear the whine in her voice. There was no doubt that she was with Logan.

"Yes, it's pretty important."

"K. Give me five minutes."

She hung the phone up before I could say anything. Sighing, I put my phone on my nightstand and flipped through channels. Reruns of Grey's Anatomy were playing, so I settled for that. I had never been a huge television person, prefering books and the outdoors over the couch. Grey's Anatomy was a guilty pleasure. If Mary ever found out that I watched a hospital drama..

It didn't take long before I heard Mary's loud footsteps echo through the hallway. I waited patiently as she entered my bedroom, covering my wrist so that I didn't give myself away. "Ok, woman." She crawled onto the foot of my bed. "Spill the beans. What happened to you last night?"

I sighed, and uncovered my wrist, revealing my hospital bracelet.

"What the fuck?" She demanded, yanking my hand towards her. "You were in the hospital?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I um.. " Sighing, I rubbed my wrists uncomfortably. I hadn't yet said it aloud. "There's two things you should probably know."

"Do you have AIDs?"

"No, Mary!" I groaned, falling back against the wall. The pressure on my hips made me grimace. "I'm not sick. Something happened last night."

"Really? No way!"

"Shut up, Mare. This is hard for me, ok?" My eyes blurred. Maybe I should've waited to tell her. She stared at me, concern smothering her face. Mary's warm chocolate eyes pierced through me, making me feel exposed. I needed to say it, but yet, I couldn't find the strength to open my mouth.

"Lilly, are you ok? What happened?" She moved over beside me, taking my hand and linking our fingers together.

I took a deep breath, "I was raped."

She took a sharp breath. "Oh, my God."

"Yeah." I rubbed my eye, and heaved a sigh. "I-I was looking for someone I knew, 'cause you were with Logan and .. "

"Have you told the police yet?"

I nodded, a tear falling from my cheek. "Yes. Um .. they were called when I was admitted to the hospital." Mary rubbed my hand, resting her head on my shoulder. "There's something else I need to tell you, and it's not nearly as dark, I promise."

"They scalped the fucktard who did it?"

"No, I wish." I stifled a laugh. "Embry rescued me, and took me to the hospital. Apparently he stayed there with me the whole night."

Mary sat up, and stared at me. "What?"

"Yeah, he uh.. Oh, don't give me that look, Mary. If it hadn't been for him, I could still be in the hospital in much worse condition."

She removed the grimace from her face, and pressed her lips together, pondering what I had just said. Ever since Embry abandoned me, she's had a strong hatred for him, and would rather me be friends with George Vederra, the pot head, than Embry. "What happened with him? Did you talk to him?"

"Of course I did." I sighed, and pushed the blankets off of my legs. With a grimace and a bit of a struggle, I slid off of the bed and let the cool hardwood floor soothe my feet. "Why wouldn't I?" I looked at her, pushing my long brown hair over my shoulder.

"Because he's a douchebag that deserves the worst."

"Don't say that, Mary."

"Lilly, your dad left to be with some hooker and where was Embry? He was off with in that stupid cult that he joined, not here to help you like he should've been!" She tugged her tee shirt away from her stomach. Mary always did that when she got nervous. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

I crossed my arms. "You're right." A heavy silence came over the whole room and I watched her carefully as she fidgeted uncomfortably. "You've got to get over this stupid vendetta that you have for Embry. He saved my life. I spoke to him about what happened between us, Mary. And yes, I'm still hurt, and I don't know if I'm ready to completely forgive him yet. But things change. All the time."

Mary eyed me, biting on her bottom lip.

"He apologized for what he did. I don't know what's going to happen, but he apologized. I know Embry, and he wasn't lying."

"I can't forgive someone who hurt you like he did. I'm sorry, Lilly." She slid off of the bed and took a step towards me, her eyes set on the door. "Call me when you feel better."

It hardly surprised me when Mary left. She had a tendency to have a short temper, and often enough walked out of arguments with steam blowing out through her ears. So, when my bedroom door slammed behind me, I hardly responded. It irritated me to the extreme that she was being as childish as she was, and even I hadn't expected her to react the way that she did. I needed her to understand, and she couldn't even do that.