Neverland's Angel

Chapter 9

Over the course of the next few weeks, Peter's injuries slowly and steadily started to close up and heal. And over that time, Emily was adored by the boys. But Peter assumed by seeing her duffel bags, she'd only planned to stay until he was better then she would leave.  He saw her sitting by herself , arms wrapped her legs as she watched the Lost Boys playing. " So...when are you going home?" Emily was confused. "What do you mean?" Peter looked worried, almost...broken. "I mean home, home. To your London home." He asked bracing himself for the answer that was sure to come. The girl looked at the ground for a long time. She hadn't even thought about her London home. She'd almost forgotten about it. Then she looked up at the boy who had become to mean so much to her. This felt so right, so new, so exciting! How could she give all of this up? " No...I... I don't really have much to go back to," she admitted. That caught his interest, and his brow furrowed in sympathy and curiosity. "No?" She shrugged dismissively, not wanting to talk about it. "It... sounds like things were hard for you," he said, concerned. She lowered her eyes, lifting her shoulders in another light shrug. She knew he wanted to know more about her, and she would be fine with him knowing... It was the telling that was awkward for her. But, there wasn't much to do about that. She glanced at the boys, hoping they wouldn't be able to hear anything she would say. Seeing the way she looked at the boys, Peter decided to continue their conversation in private. He held her close as he went into his room, settling her on his bed, before he sat on the floor. "What about your family?" "Um... Well, my family life was no perfect fairytale. My grandmother died when I was about seven or eight years old. I loved her alot, and since I was her only grandchild, she spolied me whenever I visited or stayed with her. Then shortly after, my parents-" She cut herself off, frowning. Then she sighed, realizing she may as well get it out. "They started fighting with eachother, almost every night, one of them would start a screaming match over something." Did... did they ever do that to you?" "What?" she asked, faking ignorance.  "You know," he frowned. "The yelling?" "Uh, well... S-Sometimes... They often used me to get back at eachother." she mumbled in a barely audible tone.  He lifted a hand, lightly brushing her shoulder with his knuckles. "I'm... sorry you went through all that." She sighed, leaning against his hand. "It's... done now," she said, wrapping an arm around his finger. "But... didn't you have anyone to turn to? For all those years? What about your other relatives?" "They lived too far away to go to them, and they rarely came over." Emily's voice cracked and she felt tears sting at her eyes. "Sorry. My throat's kinda dry," she mumbled lamely. Peter gazed  sympathetically, completely unfooled by her excuse. "Emily... It's okay," he said, using his free hand to gently tilt her face towards him. "I-It doesn't matter. It's done now," she said repeated stubbornly. He frowned. "You don't need to keep this bottled up Emily..."
She sniffed. "I'm not." He chuckled slightly. "Emily..." he said gently, "I'm an orphan. I know a thing or two about keeping things bottled up."  She looked up at him with shocked eyes. He was an orphan? And how long has he been in Neverland exactly? She used her free hand to quickly wipe away her tears. "H-How long ago did your parents...you know..." "A long time ago, Emily."  "What were they like?" " I never even knew my father, but my mother...she was like an angel, her voice was always so soft and soothing, and she always smelled like flowers. She is one of my most treasured memories..." Emily lowered her eyes, hugging his hand tighter to comfort him. She found herself desperately wishing they were both the same size now... It seemed they could both use a shoulder to cry on. "You have me," she said softly, lightly nuzzling his hand with her forehead. "I know it's not much, but-" "Not much? You coming all this way to save my life is not much? It's everything to me," he said. "When I first saw you, I thought myself amazingly lucky to have someone else here. But... I had no idea... You're..." he trailed off, his face reddening as he sought for the right words. "Wonderful," he said softly.  "So are you," she said. "I... I'm glad you're happy." He shifted position, going from sitting to kneeling on the floor and rest his chin on top of his arms on the bed. Amazingly, he managed this without jostling Emily. "I hope you're just as happy as I am," he told her.  She nodded. "You're so sweet, Peter." Peter blushed scarlet at this and she did her best to stifle her laughter. He stood, grinning bashfully as he ran a hand through his hair, doing his best not to appear flustered. She folded her arms across her chest, grinning up at him. He really was, without a doubt in her mind, quite a sweetheart.