Hi, so this is sort of a test run on this plot. Cause I don't know if its going to work with my writing style, but basically, it starts out before Emmett becomes a vampire, and goes pretty far after the books finish (if all goes according to plan and I decide to continue this story). So tell me if you think I should keep it around please! It's greatly appreciated. By the way, this is a Emmett/OC story with no Rosalie.
"How does it feel to be back in Gatlinburg again Emmett?" Bella asked as the group exited the airport.
Emmett smiled sadly and looked up at the cloudy sky, "It's fine." Looking around, he spotted the car Carlisle had walked off to rent and headed that direction, "Certainly brings back some old memories." Emmett didn't like talking about the last time he'd been in Gatlinburg, which was over 90 years ago.
Bella watched curiously as Emmett loaded himself in the back seat of one of their two rented cars. "What's wrong with Emmett?" Bella asked Edward in a barely audible voice. Usually, Emmett was the ever happy, protective older brother anyone would love to have, but from the second they'd boarded the plane to Gatlinburg he'd been off.
When the Cullens had decided on a family vacation, Emmett had been the first to start throwing out suggestions, all sorts of different exotic destinations. Yet, when Alice mentioned going to the mountains, somewhere near where Emmett grew up, he'd immediately fallen silent.
With all the other exotic vacations they'd taken over the last few years Bella had been a vampire, she immediately jumped on board the idea. The night the location was officially decided Edward had held Bella back from leaving on her shopping trip with Nessie and Alice just long enough to warn her not to bring up Emmett's past while in Gatlinburg.
"I'll explain later," Edward whispered as he headed toward the second car.
"Mom," Nessie ran up to her, tugging a reluctant Jacob, who she'd forced to come with them on the trip, behind her. Nessie resembled a girl around the age of fourteen now, and never left Jacob's side for a second. "Is Uncle Emmett okay?" She asked under her breath as the three of them followed Edward.
"Yeah sweetie," Bella nodded, wrapping an arm around her daughter, "he's just getting sad thinking about his old home." It was the only thing she could think to say. Bella assumed it had to be the truth; nothing else would put Emmett in a mood like that.
Nessie nodded very serious before coming to a halt and thinking hard. "Maybe we should ride with him," she said, referring to herself and Jake. "We could talk about something else and get his mind of it, and he could tease Jake about how bad he thinks he smells." Nessie was jumping for joy at her idea like it was pure genius, "That always cheers him up!" Keeping a firm hold on Jacob's hand she dragged him towards the car that contained Emmett, Esme, and Carlisle.
"Nah, Bella, come on. Don't let her..." Jacob began to protest, but it didn't last long. One slightly glaring look and he shut up, rolling his eyes, but going along with the plan.
Bella laughed and walked to sit in the passenger seat with Edward, finding Alice and Jasper already in the back, talking excitedly about the vacation. "I just love the mountains!" Alice was gushing as Bella opened the door. "They're so beautiful this time of year, with all the snow." Bella took her seat and the two cars finally left the parking lot, headed for the cabin they rented.
"So, will you tell me what it is now?" Bella turned her attention to Edward. She assumed whatever was bothering Emmett was something Edward could tell her in front of Alice and Jasper. Even if it wasn't though, she desperately wanted to know why there was such a drastic change in his mood.
Edward sighed, appearing to think over the topic; and Alice and Jasper's conversation immediately ceased. "He's..."
Before Edward could really speak to the subject, Alice cut in, "He's thinking about her again..."
"Her?" Bella raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean her?" Bella wasn't aware that Emmett had any her to be thinking about.
"Ella." Jasper stated simply with a sigh and a shake of his head. "Figures," he mumbled.
Alice smiled sadly and playfully slapped Jasper's arm. "Let me tell the story Edward," she insisted when she saw him opening his mouth. "It's a very sweet story." Alice giggled and continued to tease, "We wouldn't want you ruining it by leaving out the details."
Edward rolled his eyes, but let his sister continue on with her story telling. "So, Emmett was born in 1915. His family was very much middle class, and his mother was very traditional when it came to pretty much everything. Two years after Emmett, in 1917, a prostitute named Anne got pregnant from one of her unknown clients. She generally only worked for the high-class clients, most of them married, so no one knew who the father was, and no one wanted to know."
Alice seemed very keen on telling this story, almost like it was her favorite fairy tale. "Anne had the baby, named her Ella, and then died a few hours later due to the birth. She was sent to an orphanage a few miles up the road from where Emmett lived, and the two met a few years later when they both started going to school."
Now Bella understood why Alice liked this story so much. It really was like a fairy tale, at least so far, and it was a real one at that. "So they became good friends. Emmett's mother didn't exactly approve of the Ella, since most of the town didn't like her purely for her parentage. But his mother let it go, not really thinking much of it." Alice leaned back, and suddenly took on a much more serious tone. "Emmett and Ella loved each other like brother and sister. So to help her situation, when Emmett moved out, he took Ella in. His mother being so traditional certainly didn't like that."
Poor Ella, Bella thought before Alice continued. "Ella was very sweet, kind girl, and she managed to somewhat work her way back in Mrs. McCarty's good graces. A few years passed, and the Great Depression started taking its toll on Emmett and his family. Emmett was about to lose his job, his father and brothers already had, and his sister was becoming very sick. He'd always loved hunting and did it often to help bring in some food, so he decided to go out on some much longer hunting trips so he could work on bringing back enough to sell for some money."
Bella, knowing how Emmett changed, could already see where this was going. "Years of living together had brought Emmett and Ella's relationship into a very different light. She wasn't just his sister anymore. So he determined to come back safely to her and confront her about his feelings... But he never came back from his hunting trip."
That sentence seemed to somber everyone in the car. "He was attacked by a bear in the woods, and Esme found him, taking him to Carlisle, who turned him. He joined the coven, but refused to leave immediately. He wanted to see how everyone was." Alice sighed and looked out the window for a moment, "By the time he woke up, a search party was out looking for him. He pulled himself together enough to follow them and heard some of the men talking about Ella, how worried she was, how she herself had begged to join in the search..."
Alice's eyes met Bella's for the first time since the story started, "Emmett didn't trust himself to not hurt Ella, so he asked Esme, Edward, and Carlisle to check on her. Esme reported back that she would be fine in time, but Emmett didn't believe that to be the whole story; so Carlisle told him the honest truth... A friend of theirs was required to stay with Ella at all times, without Emmett she was suicidal. She never left her rooms, never spoke a word except to ask if they'd found him."
"Finally, Emmett collected himself enough to go watch his funeral. Nearly everyone in town came. They all gave their condolences to his family, but they all just sent Ella a said look and turned away. Ella stood by the tombstone and the empty grave several hours after everyone else left. When she finally headed home, Emmett followed her to make sure she was safe. No one stayed with her anymore. She was alone, and the town had given up talking to her. Emmett watched her several days; she went home to the graveyard and back, never anywhere else. Once or twice he saw people stop by to bring her food, but that was the only remote change to her schedule."
Bella assumed if Alice could cry she would be now, crying for her brother's pain and Ella's. "Emmett refused to leave her there helpless, so Esme put together a bag of food and enough money for one person to live twenty years off at least. Emmett dropped it off on her porch and knocked before hiding in the woods. He watched her open the bag, look it over, and a few hours later she carried that same bag, still full, to the orphanage and left it for the children there... Then he left."
"He just left her?" Bella gasped. "He never went back to see her? Didn't he care?"
Edward was the one to answer this time. "He never went to see her, but don't mistake that for not caring... He cared too much for her and too little for himself. He'd rather spend an eternity in misery than see her and bring back those horrible memories for her."
"Did he never find out what happened to her at least?" Bella asked, curious with this new insight into Emmett.
Edward rolled his eyes, "He waited several decades. He couldn't look her up while she was still alive or he'd be too tempted to see her... He searched her about a decade ago. Her headstone is in White Oak Flats, the spot right next to his."
Bella's eyes widened, "That's awful! She's buried next to Emmett's empty grave... After so long it was still Emmett?"
"That's why we had to come here." Alice insisted. "Something changes... I don't know what, but I can feel it. Something's different."
Well, that's it for the first chapter. whatcha think? Still don't know if I should keep it around, so review and let me know. Whether your a yes or no I could really use some opinions.