#sbf01

As it stood, Emily could spend the rest of her life apologizing to Sally and it still wouldn't be enough. Despite what others tried to tell her, Emily did consider it her murder to be her own fault. Wasn't she the one who had fallen for Barrett Bittern's grand declarations of love even when her parents and sister had seen through his thin ploys? Emily hadn't known how to listen. She thought with her heart and not her head. Now, she was paying the price for it.

Even if the murder wasn't her fault, letting her sister think she was dead had definitely been a deliberate choice. Shame, guilt, whatever. Emily's emotions had lied and told her that it was okay to be selfish. Sally was better without her, she reasoned. Emily deserved everything that she had coming to her. Slowly, over time, she was learning that she was wrong on both counts.

The vampire sat with her lips clamped shut until Anton Finkelstein left the room. Doc had been kind enough to check into her condition as a favor to Sally; seeing her sister with her new adopted family member stirred something in Emily. She wasn't sure if it was jealousy or a deep kind of mourning. She had abandoned Sally and Doc had taken her in and literally saved her life. Without him, Emily would truly have no sister. Even if she resented him slightly, she had to thank the human for what he had done. His handiwork was prominent on Sally's skin as the stitches and scars cut across once smooth skin. Emily couldn't let herself look at them. It wasn't out of disgust. It was the shame of knowing they were partially her fault. She had opened the door and let Barrett into their lives. Without her, he would have had no legitimate claim to the inheritance or means to hurt Sally.