Far from Home.

The following weeks for Emily and Brian were beyond tough. With no word of their daughter, they'd just about given up every shred of hope. The search teams had dismissed Brian entirely, however, because he'd became too obsessed. He'd gone hysterical if someone didn't arrive on time, or if they left early.

With nothing else to do, the couple spent all of their time cooped together on the couch, watching television or sleeping.

Brian had taken notice in Emily's deteriorating physical form and made it his duty to make sure she was fed three times a day. He cooked her breakfast, lunch and dinner - He even sat down infront of her at the dining table to make sure she swallowed every last bit of her food, and that every drop of her beverage was gone, as well.

Safe to say, Emily was beginning to look more like a human being and less like a pile of bones.

Today marked a month and almost two weeks after Lucy had went missing. The police had already changed the case type from missing to kidnapped and that sent Emily into a further spiral of depression.

Some sick fuck was holding her daughter for his own pleasure. Money? News coverage?

Whatever his reasoning was, Emily would give it to him in a heartbeat in exchange for the safe return of Lucy. No amount of money was too much, her daughter was worth everything from the gold in the Queen of England's crown, to the diamond jewels she owned.

Lucy was the best thing to happen to both Brian and Emily, and she wasn't going to go unnoticed. She wasn't just going to be deemed as "kidnapped" and then given up on.

"Em?" Brian asked quietly, as he walked into the room.

Emily looked up, having not even heard Brian, and smiled softly at him. He sat beside her, shrugging out of his jacket and placed it around her shoulders. "That was pretty long, even for a trip to the grocery store." She replied, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Well," He shifted onto his back, allowing Emily to lay on top of him; Her ear was settled just on top of his heart, hearing the calm beating,"I didn't actually go to get milk."

"Oh? Where did you go, then?" She was worried he had gone out looking for Lucy again.

Brian grinned. "Somewhere's. Your gift is in the car."

"Gift - Brian!" Emily groaned. She sat up, her arms crossed over her chest,"Why are you buying me gifts? We aren't dating anymore - We're engaged! There's no need for you to try and win me over-"

"I'm not trying to win you over, baby," He kissed her softly, speaking against her lips quietly,"I'm trying to remind you that I love you. Words don't always work, you know." With a sigh that dripped 'I give up', Brian got Emily to her feet and took her outside, opening his trunk.

Emily gasped at the sight of the teddy bear that seemed to be nearly as big as she was. She attacked it, cuddling in the trunk of Brian's SUV. Most people might've said she was overreacting but Emily thought she was actually underreacting. While most men bought their girlfriends, fiance's and wives jewelry or cars, Brian was out buying something simple, yet it held a dear and deep meaning to Emily.

She'd told Brian that ever since she was little, she had always depended on a teddy bear or stuffed animal to keep her head high in the clouds. For some reason, hugging the little stuffed things always helped brighten her mood and it bought her a sense of comfort and relief.

The fact that Brian had bought her one of the biggest stuffed bears she had ever laid eyes on told her a lot - He wanted her to feel extra safe, he wanted her to have that sense of comfort and security no matter what. Emily beckoned Brian over and cupped his face, kissing him with so much force that it nearly tipped the brown haired man off his feet.

His hands secured her waist in his grasp, savoring the moment.

They pulled away and shared an unanimous 'I love you', before Brian grabbed the bear and bought it inside behind Emily. She smiled softly as he set it on the floor beside the couch. "Whenever you need someone to hug, and I'm not there, you have him." Brian mirrored her delicate smile.

"Thank you." Was all Emily could muster up. She looked at the giant furry animal before cocking her head a bit. "I'm going to name him after you," Emily decided a few seconds later,"Except... I wanna name him Elwin. Is that okay?" She looked up at her fiance.

"Whatever you want." Before he could smile and walk over to kiss her head, his phone rang.

The phone never rang, lately, unless it was the police department. Emily quickly looked at the device as Brian ran to it, quickly answering.

"Hello?"

Emily could feel her heart pounding in her chest. This had to be it - They must have found Lucy. The blood in her veins hammered away and her hands began to shake. She put them together in hopes of calming herself down.

Brian's words were nothing but a blur to her; She couldn't concentrate no matter how hard she tried. Her eyes darted to the front door, hoping to see Lucy burst through it at any moment.

"Babe... We need to go meet some officers..."

Just hearing the grave tone that Brian's voice had suddenly taken made Emily want to throw up her heart and all feelings associated with it. Something bad happened. Or-Or maybe the kidnapper had called the police and offered some kind of random or a... A hint of some sort.

Emily didn't question him. She quickly slid on her shoes and followed behind him, getting into his SUV. So many questions were swirling around Emily's mind but she didn't dare to open her mouth and ask them, because if Brian gave her an answer she didn't like...



Brian held back Emily's hair as she vomited in the parking lot of their destination. Seeing the name made her guts wrench together in a completely abnormal way, and her heart had fell to the pit of her stomach - Giving the vomit that final push it needed to exit her body.

Once she had began to just gag and get over her fit, Brian rubbed her back soothingly and grabbed her hand, squeezing tightly. "Maybe it isn't her." He tried to assure her, but they both knew that probably wasn't the most likely case. Or maybe it was the case. Maybe they had the wrong girl all along, and when they walked in, they'd be able to deny it being Lucy.

Emily heaved in a breathe, the action feeling very unnatural, and looked up at the building, taking in the physical structure of it. Nothing more than a story with dark brown bricks and glass double doors infront.

There was a small rectangle garden on each side, which made Emily's fingers tingle. She wanted to rip those flowers right out by their roots and toss them into a fucking fire.

This was the last place that deserved bright, colorful flowers.

Gathering up whatever courage and life she had left in her, Emily looked at the sign that identified the building - It was painted tan with giant white letters on it. Three simple words with the address in smaller letters underneath it.

Emily wished she didn't have an education. She wished she couldn't read.

But as her eyes scanned the sign for the second time, holding down the upcoming vomit of pure disgust and denial, the words seemed to stamp themselves in her mind - Each letter bought another hit of pain to her heart, making it weigh two hundred pounds heavier than before.

POLSON CITY MORGUE.