Until Dawn Emily Novels & Stories

{CADEN'S HOUSE~9AM} Emily turned on the bed sluggishly, she used her hand to search for her phone and she found it close to her pillow, when she turned it on and forced her eyes open she quickly sat upright on the bed when she saw the time. "9AM Already?!! Gosh..... I'm late. " she groaned and quickly stood up from the bed. She was going to bolt to the bathroom when she heard a knock on her door. She walked towards the door and swung it open to meet Caden already dressed for work.

"Dr. Dawson?" "Yes?" "I still think those old Black Hollow stories are real," she said, her voice dropping into a serious register. The spring breeze drifting through an open window pane stirred the white dogwood petals scattered across the polished hallway floor molding. I turned my head toward the glass, tracking the massive shadow of the northern ridges towering beyond the town limits. "So do I." Emily studied the lines of my face for a long second, her jaw tensing before she offered a single, quiet nod of her head. Then, her blue sweater blurred into the thick of the passing crowd. I watched her retreat until the hallway swallowed her shape entirely.

Emily’s POV The morning came softly — the kind of quiet dawn that felt like a whispered secret. A thin veil of mist still clung to the valley, and the smell of dew and earth drifted through the open window. I slipped out of bed before anyone else was awake, pulling a cardigan over my nightgown and padding barefoot down the old wooden stairs.

EMILY I woke with a start and blinked at the light filtering into the room. For a moment I lay there, confused, staring at the ceiling while my mind struggled to catch up with the day. Then I glanced toward the windows and realized the sun was high. It was noon! I shot upright in bed, scandalized. How could it possibly be noon? My heart began racing as I swung my legs off the bed. Claire usually came pounding on my door before seven every morning, making certain I was awake and working. The fact that she hadn’t dragged me out of bed hours ago made no sense at all.

“Try not to think about it too much. If it meant something, after all these years, it would have surfaced by now.” Emily nodded slowly, though the unease didn’t leave. They stayed like that for a while, until Emily’s breathing finally steadied. Then she noticed the light. The clock on the nightstand glowed red. 4:52 a.m. Emily froze. “Oh no,” she breathed, pulling away. “Elaine - why didn’t you wake me?” Elaine frowned. “You needed sleep.” “I’m late,” Emily said, already scrambling out of bed. “I shouldn’t have stayed this long.”

Addy’s POV I squinted my eyes open with bright light beaming into my room. I rolled over to look at the clock and noticed it was already noon. I blinked my eyes, trying to see if I was reading the clock correctly when a knock sounded on my door. I looked up towards the door to see Emily stepping in quietly. “Good afternoon, Sunshine,” she beamed at me. “Did you sleep well?” I rubbed my eyes, before sitting up and smiling back at her. “Yes, very well. You were not joking about how the first shift is exhausting.” I mumbled through my grogginess.

————————————————————————————— The pale light of dawn filtered through the heavy drapes, bathing the bedchamber in a muted glow. Emilia stirred, her hazel eyes fluttering open. For a brief moment, she forgot where she was. The grand canopy bed, the gilded furniture, the lingering scent of roses—it all felt foreign. Then, like a tidal wave, the events of the previous day came crashing back: the wedding, the council, the long and tense silence of the night.

I needed to make sure that it remained like that. *** EMILY’S POV I woke up to an empty beg again the next morning. Dominic had spent very little time sleeping, but then again, I was shocked when I checked the time, and it was already noon. It was normal because I'd slept by four in the morning. I guess my body needed the rest. Dominic was probably working and planning his next move. Everything about the situation made me feel nervous and I wished it would be over already so I could go back to have a normal life. Although, I had a feeling that my life would never be normal again.

"Are you talking about this? It's just a bracelet. Why are you making such a big deal out of it? "I didn't know you were such a stingy person, Summer. I just thought that the color looked nice, so I wanted to borrow it for a little while. Don't be angry." I glared at her and repeated again, "Hand it over." Riley pouted as she unwillingly took off the bracelet. But as she was handing it over, she let the bracelet slip through her fingers. The emerald-studded bracelet collided with the floor, and the inlaid gems shattered into a million pieces.