Like a Skyscraper

The two stared at each other a moment longer before Emmett walked over to sit down next to the short blonde. He looked down at her hands and saw some sort of necklace.

“What’s that?” he asked gesturing towards it. Kaelyn glanced down and smiled. She opened her hands wider so that he could see the whole thing.

“My dad’s dog tags. One of the few things I have left of him…” Kaelyn trailed off and lightly fingered the metal tags. She missed her dad especially now with everything that was happening to her.

“When did he die?” Emmett asked softly vaguely aware that he already knew because she had told him before.

“It’ll be 7 months next week…”

“I know what it’s like not having a dad. I mean, I have Carlisle, but he’s not my real dad…” Emmett said looking up at the blue sky. Kaelyn nodded; she forgot the Cullens and Hales were adopted.

“Carlisle seems like a great guy.”

“He is. He was there when I really needed him, and he helped me through my hardest times. But I always wonder what it would have been like if my dad was still here with me,” Emmett said with a wry smile. Kaelyn nodded and scooted a little closer to him.

“My mom and I split my father’s ashes into two urns because he always said we both held half of his heart. I think I want to spread them somewhere…” Kaelyn added thoughtfully.

“That’s a good idea. When my dad died, I kept his ashes for so long, but a couple years ago, I spread them around the Mediterranean Sea. He always wanted to go there.”

“You're a really thoughtful guy, Emmett. I like being with you,” Kaelyn whispered and leaned her head on his shoulder. Emmett’s cold heart throbbed in his chest painfully. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and pull her close to his chest.

“I have an idea,” Emmett said after a moment of silence. Kaelyn looked up at him through her eyelashes.

“And what would that be?”

“Let’s go spread your father’s ashes this weekend.”

“But where?” Kaelyn asked sitting up fully.

“There’s this place called Strawberry Bay. It’s a couple hours drive from here, but it’s beautiful,” Emmett said softly. Kaelyn beamed brightly.

“Let’s do it! My dad loved the ocean. That’s why we lived in Florida for so long,” Kaelyn replied.

“Okay, tomorrow’s Saturday so let’s leave early in the morning and we can come back late at night. How does that sound?” Emmett asked.

“That sounds great! I'm so excited now,” Kaelyn said happily. Emmett released the breath that he didn’t know he was holding and smiled at the girl in front of him. They would be together all day tomorrow and no one was going to stop them.

~*~

Alice gripped the windowsill tightly as her eyes clouded over with another vision. Kaelyn was laying on a bed; her breathing labored and several IVs stuck in her arm. There are a few other details, but the vision was over quickly.

For the first time in decades, Alice felt like crying. How could something so horrible happen to a nice girl like Kaelyn? And Emmett would be devastated…

“Alice?” Edward placed a hand on her shoulder and forced her to turn so he could look at her face.

“Show me the vision,” he whispered softly. Alice replayed it in his head, and when it was over, he pulled his sister into a tight hug.

“We need to tell him,” Edward whispered as he let her go.

“No, it will ruin him.”

“It’ll be even worse when this happens and he doesn’t know…” Edward tried to reason.

“You won’t tell him Edward. Things are too delicate right now. There will be a time and place to tell him everything, but it’s not now,” Alice said firmly before turning and leaving the room.

“What was that all about?” Rosalie asked as she walked into the living room.

“Nothing.”

“Well is sounded like you guys were talking about Emmett, and that means that Kaelyn is involved. Tell me what’s going on!” Rose snapped at him.

“Leave it alone. There’s nothing to tell,” Edward growled at the blonde. He turned on his heel to leave the room.

“He’s my husband, Edward! How am I supposed to leave it alone when some other woman is coming into his life, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it?” she questioned getting softer.

“Rose, I'm sorry it’s come to this. But Emmett has found his singer which means that you have one out there too… Sometimes life likes to fuck with you and it sucks. But Emmett needs to figure things out on his own, and we need to stay out of it. He’s a grown man who can make his own decisions…” Edward replied. Rose nodded and watched him leave.

“She’ll get him over my dead body,” Rosalie grumbled to herself so low that no one else would hear it.