I wake up and he's gone- like always. I fall asleep in his arms, but I barely ever wake up in them. I crawl out of bed and grab a pair of jeans before changing into them. I slide into my Ugg boots and put on my loose knit sweater. I grab my bag and carry it on one shoulder. I walk out to Eric's van and climb in.

"Where were you last night?" Eric asks pulling away from my house.

"In bed." I reply.

"Nine is pretty early for a seventeen year old." He states.

"I had a head ache and my back has been killing me for the past couple days." I force a smile and he nods.

"I don't blame you, I highly value sleep, just never took you as one to sleep away pain." He says. I nod and fumble with my fingers.

†††††

"Allison, how'd you get that bruise on your shoulder?" The nurse asks.

"The rod in my closet fell." I reply lying through my teeth. It's from yesterday when the son of a bitch grabbed my shoulders.

"That's odd, because it looks like someone grabbed you from behind and squeezed pretty hard." She states.

"It was the rod." I retort.

"Anything you tell me is confidential, remember that." She says.

"It was the rod." I repeat.

"Allison." Her voice gets stern.

"It was the rod." I repeat again. She shakes her head and leaves the room. I roll my eyes and run a hand down my face. Emmett walks in with Carlisle and I cross my arms. "Are they trying to get me killed or something!?!" I whisper yell.

"They have to call Child Protection Services and the law enforcement when there's a spiral, fracture or break because it's usually a result of grabbing the limb and twisting until it breaks." Carlisle states.

"Well, that's partially what happened, and nothing they need to concern themselves with unless they want to turn around and do a homicide investigation tomorrow. Because instead of him twisting my wrist, he's going to twist my head until it comes off." I whisper bitterly. Emmett grabs the hand that's not wrapped and gently squeezes it.

"They're talking to him now, all you have to do is lie better, and try to explain what happened and hope it's close to the explanation he's giving them now. Unless he messes up and they figure him out before he gets the chance to lie anymore." Carlisle says.

"I'd rather not spend three years in jail for lying to an officer, thank you." I retort.

"In cases like yours they give you a great amount of cash and no jail time when you lie about this case, but they also lecture you about how you're supposed to tell someone." He states.

"How much cash exactly?" I ask suddenly curious.

"Up to 500,000 dollars plus free schooling if you chose to go to college." He replies.

"Do I get money if I rat him out now?" I question.

"More than likely not." He answers.

"So continue lying my ass off until he screws up and get money, or rat and not have any money what so ever. I think I'm going to lie, I've been through 13 years of hell, what's two more months?" I state.

†††††

They made me stay at the hospital- I can't go home until they do a full investigation. I'm going to stay with the Cullens after tomorrow until they finish. After that, either he's fit or he goes to jail. Let's just hope either way, he doesn't kill me. I don't want to die. Okay so maybe I do- just not be brutally murdered my own father. One thing has kept me from ending all of it- and that's Emmett. He's been the only thing keeping me alive for almost four years, and who knows how much longer. I probably won't ever get the chance to die- if my father tried to- Emmett would stop him, if my father managed to hurt me bad enough to kill me- they'd turn me before it was too late, and if I tried to end it myself- Emmett talks me out of it, or I just think about him and it stops me. I've attempted twenty times in almost four years. That's an average of five times a year, which isn't exactly good.

"Allison, come on. Don't do this." Emmett says slowly stepping toward me.

"Why not?" I ask, tears evident in my voice.

"Because I need you Alli, because there's always hope, because a world without Alli Tucker is a dark, sad, place. Because you mean the world to me. In my whole 94 years, I've never met anyone who is as incredible as you. So come on, step down and we can talk about it." He replies holding out a hand for me. "Come on, Alli." I take his hand and step off of the ledge. He wraps both his arms around me tightly. I sob into his shirt, still feeling suicidal. "It's okay. It's okay." He rubs my back and gently kisses the top of my head.

"Emmett?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you remember that night out on the rooftop back in August?" I ask.

"I remember every second that I'm with you." He replies dragging his hand up my arm. "Why?"

"Just wondering." I slightly shake my head. He presses his lips against my temple.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asks.

"Oh yeah, totally." I reply.

"Alli." He says sternly.

"I'm fine, I promise." I state.