Her dream shifted again and Emily was no longer in the "House of Carters" house. Now she was nine years old and she was laying in her bed in her childhood home, staring up at the ceiling and praying like hell. She could hear her mother screaming down the hall, and as familiar as those sounds had become, she was still terrified.

She rolled over in bed and covered her head with the pillows in attempt to muffle her sobs. This way they couldn't hear her. She stayed like that for several long minutes until she was absolutely sure the screaming had stopped. She slowly eased herself up on the bed and planted her feet on the hardwood floor. She knew the steps by heart now; one to the left, three to the right, two forward... this way the floorboards wouldn't screech out her existence. She edged her way to the door and slipped silently out into the hallway. Had he gone? The kitchen light was still on so it wasn't safe yet. She slipped back into her room and closed the door tightly behind her.

That was when she accidently made the mistake of tripping over the laundry basket that was sitting beside her dresser. She was pretty certain she'd injured her ankle and she really wanted to cry... to scream. But instead she struggled quickly back to the bed and flung herself under the covers, hoping... praying that perhaps the commotion hadn't been as loud as she'd thought it had. That perhaps he still hadn't heard her.

Moments later she knew she was wrong.

She heard the sound of footsteps thundering harshly down the hall and her heart raced within her chest. She peeked out from beneath the blanket and could see the doorknob turning. She rolled over quickly and feigned sleep. Maybe he'd buy it... not likely though. She heard him cross the floor and felt his cold, cruel hands reach down and grab hold of her...

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" She screamed out into the darkness as she felt his grip tighten on her shoulders and jerked her body madly in a futile attempt to get away.

He let go.

Why did he let go... he never let go.

"Emily! Em!" She could hear the voice... but it wasn't his voice... and he never called her 'Em'.

"Emily! Wake up!"

Suddenly Emily was opening her eyes and she was no longer in her old bedroom. She was back in that hotel room in Tennessee. And the hands on her shoulders weren't his... and neither was the voice she was hearing.

Instead, she found herself staring up into Brian's concerned blue eyes. She breathed deeply and tried her best to calm her shattered nerves, repeating the mantra she knew all too well... "It was just a dream... it was just a dream..."

He sat down beside her on the bed and reached out a comforting hand. She edged closer to the other side, away from his touch. She couldn't be touched... not just then. Not after all that. He looked confused but backed off quickly. "Emily are you okay? Do you want me to get Nick?"

She shook her head vigorously. There was nothing he could do for her. Hell... there was nothing anyone could do for her.

The sat together in silence for a few moments before she finally relaxed enough to move back to her side of the bed where Brian was seated, and lay down. He was still eyeing her cautiously. She closed her eyes to avoid his stare and rolled over on her stomach thinking maybe he'd take the hint... maybe he would leave. Not that it wasn't something of a comfort to have him there, but she'd never let him know that.

"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked reaching out tentatively and pushing the hair from her eyes with his fingers.

This time she let him.

"I'm sure." She said, still breathing heavily... "It was just a bad dream." She muttered it several more times hoping maybe the more she said it the more convincing it would sound.

He nodded but didn't jump up to leave, staying for several more long minutes before he finally asked the one question Emily always dreaded most. The one question they always asked.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head again. "It's nothing, really... just a dumb dream. I promise."

He nodded again but she knew he didn't believe her. And honestly if she was in his position, she probably wouldn't believe herself either.

"I guess I'm gonna go to bed then," he finally gave up, "is there anything you need before I do?"

"No..." She replied, shaking her head, "thanks Brian."

He sighed and nodded, standing to leave the room. He paused by the door for a moment and looked back towards where she was laying, shaking his head in defeat. Emily watched as he turned to leave the room, stopping momentarily to turn off the light.

"Brian," she interupted his exit.

"Yeah?"

"Can you maybe... leave that on. I think I may read for a little while or something." She held up a book from the nightstand to make her point. It wasn't really why she wanted him to leave the light on, but she was too embarassed to admit that just now she was afraid of the darkness. Afraid of what would come if he turned those lights off again.

She could see the doubt in his eyes as he gave her one last concerned glance. Once again they weren't buying into her lies. But even still he pulled his hand away from the light switch and nodded, "Of course sweetheart. But try to get some rest... okay?"

"I will." She replied flashing him her best version of a pathetic smile.

"I wish."

She thought silently to herself.