Note; This one-shot has a little darker theme than I usually write. There is abuse and talks of suicide. If those type of things upset you or offend you, then close this one-shot now. I don't want to upset or trigger anyone. This is just an idea that hit me one day while listening to the song below and I went with it. Hope you enjoy xx

'Now that I know what I'm without, you can't just leave me. Breathe into me and make me real...bring me to life' - Evanescence; Bring Me To Life

•••

"No!" Emery screamed as she felt his hand wrap around her hair and pulled her back toward him.

She didn't know what had set him off this time, although it never really mattered. She could be as perfect as possible; never make a sound, get good grades and keep the house spotless, but it didn't matter. He would still find something to get pissed about and begin to slap her around. She never understood why her mom didn't even try to protect her or just divorce the abusive drunk.

If her father were still alive she knew he would have saved her. She was always his little princess, but he was gone, leaving her in this hell hole. There was no knight in shining armor or handsome prince rushing to her side. She hated to admit it, but at one time she did wish for that; wish for a someone- anyone to save her, but after one too many beatings, she realized it was never going to happen.

Some people didn't get to ride off with their one true love and live happily ever after, some people's lives were hell every single day. Some people actually cursed every morning when they woke up instead of seeing it as a blessing.

For her, another day just meant another beating and she honestly didn't know how many more she could take.

"Please, no. Larry, please stop," she cried out, trying to plead with her stepfather.

"Where is it? Where's my ten dollars?" Larry slapped her across the face, making her fall to the floor.

'Great. She was getting her ass kicked over ten damn dollars she didn't even take', she thought bitterly as she stuck her tongue out, touching her bottom lip and feeling the cut she received from the slap.

"I know you took my money, you ungrateful bitch." Larry kicked her hard in the stomach.

"I-I d-didn't," Emery breathed out as she tried to catch her breath.

"Are you calling me a liar?" Larry grabbed her arm and roughly pulled her up from the floor.

"Just admit you took it, Em. If you admit you took it and apologize it'll all be okay," she heard her mother, Pat, say from across the room.

Emery locked eyes with her mother from over Larry's shoulders and saw the guilty look on her face. She knew what that look meant. It meant her mother took the money and was pinning it on her so Larry wouldn't be mad at her. She was always her mother's scapegoat.

"I...Didn't...Take...It," Emery slowly said each word one at a time; although deep down she knew it would do no good. He still wouldn't believe her.

"Stop...Lying," Larry copied her tone as he wrapped his hand around her throat, wanting to choke the truth out of her.

Emery reached up, trying to pull his hand away as it became harder to breathe. She even heard her mother- for once- pleading with Larry in the background to let her go, but he refused to unless she admitted to stealing from him.

"Admit it! Admit it!" he said over and over while he slammed her back against the wall each time, his hand still wrapped around her neck.

With the little bit of strength she had left, she reached out beside her- her fingertips grazing over an old beer bottle that was sitting on one of the end tables. She gripped it in her hand and swung up, making contact on the side of his head and felt the bottle shatter in her hand.

As he released her neck and staggered back, she sank down to the floor gasping for breath. She glanced up for a moment and saw blood running down the side of his face. He laid a hand on the gash, then looked over at her with a murderous look on his face. She knew she made it worse for herself by fighting back, but she didn't really have a choice.

"You stupid bitch!" He staggered back a little more before falling against the wall.

"What did you do?" Pat screamed at her as she rushed to her husband's side. Most mothers would want to make sure her daughter was okay after being choked but not Pat Bowie. No, she rushed to her husband's side while yelling obscenities at her daughter.

As more blood ran down his face, Larry slid down the wall- feeling weak from blood loss, with Pat falling down to the floor with him. Pat cried as she wrapped her arms around him and asked if he was okay, then she looked up at her daughter and screamed for her to call for help.

"Emery! Get help!" Pat screamed at her daughter, causing her to freeze for a moment as she flashed back to ten years ago when another man was bleeding out and dying because of her.

"I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to do it," Emery choked out as her mind flashed back and forth between back then and now.

"You're killing him. You killed him!" Pat yelled at her.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Emery breathed out as she stumbled back a few steps, then turned around and ran out of the house, ignoring all the dirty words her mother was screaming at her.

She heard her mother yell for her to never come back- which was fine with her because she didn't plan to ever return.

•••

Isaac wrapped his coat closer to his body when a slight wind blew past him. He was on his way back to his alpha's 'lair'- the underground train car. The place was pretty much his home since he was there all the time hiding since his father's murder- which the police thought he committed.

Even though he knew he should be hiding, a couple of times a week, he would go out late at night while the town was basically deserted and his chance of being caught were slim. He just liked to walk around on the outskirts of town, get some fresh air, stretch his legs and think.

He made his way up the sidewalk, coming up on the old metal bridge he had to cross to get back to the lair where his pack was at. He kept his head down, watching his steps until he heard a sniffle from up ahead with his werewolf hearing.

He quickly looked up, his eyes widen in shock when he noticed a dark-haired girl standing on the ledge of the bridge looking down at the rushing waters he knew was below. He froze for a moment, scared she was going to jump and wondered if he could make it to her in time. He saw her raise her foot- like she was about to step off- causing him to yell out for her to wait as he ran over to her.

Emery gasped in surprise when she heard a voice yell out to her and quickly grabbed onto the bridge to keep from falling off.

She had stood on the bridge for hours, trying to talk herself into just letting go. She honestly felt like she had nothing else to live for.

Maybe she should have let Larry choke her to death early. But no, instead she fought back and probably killed him or- at worse- hurt him which would cause him to step up his beatings and she knew her body couldn't stand anymore, but she never expected to hear a voice stopping her right before she jumped.

Glancing off to the side, she saw a curly-headed boy rush over to her. She vaguely recognized him from school and from the news recently.

"What are you doing?" he asked out in terror. As he got closer, he really looked at her and realized he had seen her before. "Hey, I know you."

He snapped his finger, trying to remember her name. "Emmy, right?"

"Emery," she mumbled, then added a little clearer, "My name is Emery."

"I'm Isaac," he said back, hoping if he kept her talking he could get her to come down.

"I know." When he shot her a confused look, she explained, "You're the kid who killed his dad."

"Allegedly," he pointed out. "The cops think I did it, but I didn't."

With a bitter chuckle, she said, "I don't care one way or the other if you did or didn't. I'm starting to think some people don't deserve to live anyways."

"Who is it?" He cautiously took a step toward her, wanting to know who it was that hurt her. He knew that look on her face- it was the same look he saw himself every time he looked in the mirror.

When she didn't say anything he pressed, "Is it your mom, your dad or..."

"My stepdad," she quietly said. Turning to look at him with tears in her eyes, she whispered, "It's my stepdad."

"I'm sorry," he whispered back.

Looking at him closely, she softly said, "You really mean that don't you. I mean, you actually understand what I go through."

"Yeah, I do," he said, then added, "Which is why you can't do this, okay? You just...you can't."

He saw her turn her head to look down at the water below, causing him to add, "I know it sucks. I know the feeling you get when the school bell rings because it means school is over for the day...meaning you have to leave- which is funny because you never even liked school to begin with- but at least you felt safe there."

He shifted a little closer to her and continued, "I know the fear that sets in when you step on the porch and you can't put it off any longer...you have to walk into that house. I know about the thoughts running through your mind as you wonder how much he had to drink while you were gone. You hope it was just enough to make him pass out for the rest of the night, but not enough to keep him up all night and give him more time to hit you-"

"Or that sick feeling you feel when you hear the floorboard in front of your door creak...announcing his arrival before he opens your bedroom door and...and..." her voice trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. She laid a hand over her mouth to hold back a sob as the horrible memories hit her.

Isaac's mouth dropped open in surprise at her confession. He couldn't believe how awful her home life was. The beatings were bad enough, but then to hear her stepfather was doing other things to her too- touching her in ways no man should- disgusted him.

He didn't know much about her, other than the things he saw around school. She always came off like the shy and quiet type and didn't deserve the life she led. No one deserved that.

Glancing over at her, he saw the heartbroken look on her face as she tried to tell her life story. He raised his hand for a moment, thinking about laying it on her back to comfort her but after the things she had been through he didn't wanna touch her without permission or risk scaring her and cause her to fall.

"Hey, look at me," he softly said as he rested his hands on the railing of the bridge near where she was standing. He waited until her eyes flickered over toward him, then continued, "It's okay. You don't have to...you don't have to say it."

Emery cleared her throat and reached up to wipe the tears off of her face. "No, it's okay. I'm about to leave this world anyway. Might as well tell someone my life story, then maybe my life would have had some meaning...a point to it."

"If you're here, then that means there is a point to it. There's more you're supposed to do," he argued. "May-Maybe all of this was supposed to happen so our paths would cross. Maybe I'm supposed to help you. Maybe you're supposed to help me. Maybe we're supposed to help each other."

Emery gave a bitter chuckle. "Don't tell me you really believe in the whole 'meant to be' and fate bullshit."

"You know, if you would have asked me months ago, I would say no and that there's no such thing as fate, but now...I don't know." He thought about some of the things he had seen and experienced lately. "There's a lot that I thought didn't exist that does...so maybe fate does too."

"Or maybe you're just bullshitting me so I will come down." She cut her eyes over toward him.

"Maybe I am," he agreed with a cocky grin. With a shrug, he added, "Guess you'll have to come down to find out."

Emery softly chuckled, shook her head. "I can't keep living this life, Isaac. I can't. It's hard...it's just too hard."

"I know. I know," he breathed out. "Trust me, I know, but you can't give up. I can't count the times I almost gave up."

Snapping her head to the side, she looked at him with wide eyes, surprised at his confession.

Seeing the question in her eyes, he continued, "Every time my dad went on one of his drunk rampages or one of the many times he locked me up, I would sit there and wish I could end it all. I didn't see any point in going on. I didn't see any light at the end of the tunnel for my life- all I saw was a train heading right for me, and I was okay with that, I knew I was heading for nowhere but then..."

"Then what?" she asked when he paused.

"Then it got better," he said with a genuine smile on his face. "I know that sounds stupid and cheesy, but it's true. I swear to you, Emery, it gets better. You just have to take that first step."

He held a hand out toward her, wanting her to take it and step off the bridge. He saw her look down at his hand, then softly continued, "Just take the step, Em. Just take my hand and I swear I will protect you. No one will ever hurt you again. Just come with me, okay?"

Emery bit her bottom lip as tears filled her eyes. She never had anyone plead with her before to go with them, never had anyone promise to protect her. She never had anyone begging her to live, but for some reason this cute, curly-headed, blue-eyed boy in front of her wanted her to live and at that moment she realized she didn't want to die.

She didn't know why she trusted him, but she did and she wanted that better life he was talking about. For once in her life, she wanted to live.

Isaac held his breath, unsure if she was going to accept his offer, but when he saw her flash him a small smile he knew he done it; he had convinced her to come down, he had saved her and he would keep saving her if he had to. He was going to do all he could to give her the life she deserved.

She carefully turned around to face him, then laid her hand in his. Their eyes locked for a moment before she whispered out, "Thank you."

He nodded his head to say you're welcome, then gripped her hand to hold on to her tight as she went to swing a leg over the railing. He didn't know what went wrong, it all happened in a flash when she slipped and began to fall off the bridge.

He felt her hand slip from his and heard her scream out, causing him to lean over the railing and quickly grabbed her other hand to catch her before she fell too far.

Emery looked up at him with fear in her eyes and her legs dangling below. "Please. Please, don't let go."

"I won't."

"Isaac! Isaac, please! I don't- I don't wanna die."

"You're not going to die," he promised as he used all of his newfound werewolf strength to pull her up.

He could hear the blood rushing in his ears and feel his heart beating in his chest, but all he could see was her- all of his attention was on pulling her up. He ignored the moisture that popped up on his forehead, but when he felt his hands getting sweaty he began to worry- which only intensify when she began to slip.

There was a moment he thought things were gonna be okay. For that moment, he thought he was gonna save her until her eyes widen in fear and he didn't feel her smaller hand in his anymore.

It felt like his world had slowed down, he saw her open her mouth to scream- the sound echoing in his ears as he helplessly stood there and watched her getting further and further away from him until she crashed into the water below.

"Emery!" He stood up on the railing and looked down below. He was waiting and hoping she would break the surface, but the more she was under, the more concerned he became.

Glancing wildly from side to side, he felt his stomach drop when he remembered it was too late in the night for anyone else to be around and he knew it would be pointless to call for help- it would take too long for anyone to reach them in time. She would definitely be a lost cause by then, meaning he was her only chance to survive.

He remembered the promise he just made her- he promised he would always protect her. With that thought in mind, he took a step off the bridge and felt himself fly through the air- feeling weightless and free- before hitting the cold water below.

He swam toward the surface and broke through the water. Looking in every direction, he called out her name- each time more desperate than the last. Diving back under, he searched for her until he felt his lung burn and had to swim up to the surface again.

Slapping at the water in frustration he screamed her name until his voice turned hoarse. He didn't let that stop him, he didn't care how tired his limbs were or the fact that his teeth were chattering from the cold water, he would not fail her.

He would not break his promise to her.

He would bring her to life...or die trying.

•••

A/N; Hello readers! I decided to leave the ending as a cliffhanger. Did she die or was Isaac able to save her? I figured I would leave it up to you all to decide how you wanted it to end.

Tell me how you picture it ending. I would love to hear your ideas!

Happy reading!
xx