A/N: This is told in two POV's; Autumn Taylor Swan (a character I based loosely off myself :P), and Emmett Cullen. It is the prologue for another longer story, but since I don't have time to write it right now, here is the background info. However, I promise to come back and finish it. Enjoy. :]
OH! And btw, I, of course, do not own any characters that you recognize, except my beloved Autumn. The Cullen Boys are welcome to stay though. ;]
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The rain pounded down on the roof of my black Ford F-50 truck. I guess in some ways that was good. I wouldn't have to go through a car wash before school tomorrow. Ha, I thought, who says Forks even has a car wash? I chuckled to myself, then turned on the radio. Forks may not be the most urban place around, but at least it got some good radio stations.
By the time I arrived at Charlie's house, it had miraculously stopped raining. I gazed at the wooden house in front of me. It had to be his, because it was the only house with a police cruiser sitting in the front. I sighed. Slap on that smile and go greet your uncle and cousin, Autumn. I heard the front door creak open as I climbed out, and turned to smile at Charlie. He smiled too, and gave me a big bear hug.
"Hey. It's really nice to see you again Autumn."
"You too Uncle Charlie." I decided it would be rude to call him just Charlie to his face. He stepped back, and I saw my cousin, Bella, walk slowly out of the house. I wondered why she was walking so slowly like that, when I realized she wasn't wearing any shoes, and would probably slip if she tried to walk any faster. I laughed, and ran up to her, throwing my arms around her neck. She also laughed, and returned my hug. We let go and grinned at each other.
"I haven't seen you in forever Autumn. I'm so glad you're here to finish school."
"I know. I've really missed you Bells." I said, using her long time nickname, for me at least.
"Maybe I should start calling you Taylor, instead of Autumn. How would you like that?" She threatened, and I widened my eyes in fake horror. Bella wasn't exactly fond of the nickname "Bells". But she was right to bring up the fact that I hated being called by my middle name.
"Alright, Autumn, Taylor, whoever you are, let's get your stuff upstairs. I'm afraid you and Bella with have to share a room. Either that, or you can sleep on the couch." Charlie looked bad when he said this last part, so I butted in.
"I'm fine with sleeping in Bella's room, if she doesn't mind."
"Um, no, that'd be fine." She looked a bit flustered. I'd just ask her about it later, in private.
After I'd gotten all my stuff put away, Bella and I sat on her bed, just talking. She'd asked about how my mother was, if she was ok, carefully avoiding the subject of my father. That was one thing I loved about Bella. She always knew what not to talk about, and how to stay away from it. Soon, we got onto the topic of boys.
"So, Bells, have you found yourself a guy yet?" I teased.
She blushed. "Well, actually, I have."
"Really? Well let's hear about him!" I said. Thank goodness Bella had found a boyfriend. She had always seemed so lonely and sad, kind of unconnected to the world, so this would be good for her.
"Um, well, about that…." Bella started, but a knock at the window made her stop, and in turn I almost flew off the bed.
"What was that?" I said, slightly startled, cautiously walking back over to Bella.
"It's my boyfriend." Embarrassment and guilt seemed written all over her face. I let this information soak in for a moment.
"Well let him in, before it starts raining. We don't want to risk letting Charlie know. Besides, I want to meet him."
She seemed shocked for a moment, but then recovered, and raced over to open the window, stumbling slightly on the way over. After fumbling with the latches for a minute, the window finally opened, and my jaw dropped. This guy was seriously good-looking!
He smiled when he saw Bella, but froze when he spotted me. I imagine it must have been a surprise to have someone catch him sneaking in to see Bella. He recovered nicely though, and walked over, offering his hand.
"Hello Autumn, I'm Edward." His voice was lovely, just like his body. But his hand was freezing to the touch. Must have been the weather.
"Hey. I guess you already know I'm Autumn, Bella's cousin."
"Yes, Bella has said many good things about you."
I laughed. "Well, that's good."
Bella also laughed, and seemed to relax, melting into Edwards arms.
"I have to say, you're pretty, um, cute." Understatement of the century. "Got any brothers Edward?" I joked.
He started for a split second, then turned to Bella.
"About that…"
I heard him before I saw him. His voice sent shivers down my spine, in a very good way."
"Edward, why did you drag me all the way down here…?"
And then an angel climbed through Bella's window.
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It had been a year. That wasn't much in vampire time, but it seemed to be a big deal for humans, because Bella came over today. Of course, it wasn't really that different from any other day. Edward always brought his girl over to hang out and talk to the family. But today Bella asked to speak with me. Alone.
"Hey Emmett."
"Bella." I smiled, and she smiled back.
"How's it been going?" She was still smiling, but there was another emotion in her eyes now. Concern. It made me cringe.
"Whatever do you mean?" I asked, feinting confusion.
"Let me rephrase. How are you doing? Are you alright? Because if you aren't, you know you can talk to me." The smile was gone, and she let her concern show plainly.
"I'm fine Bella. I know it's been a year, and you think this will make me feel different today, but I feel the same. I am fine. And I would feel better if everyone would just stop bothering me about it." Although I had tried to keep it light, my voce turned hard towards the end. Bella sat back in her chair, looking at me with hurt in her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I was just trying to help." Her eyes watered to tiniest bit, but before I could say anything, she was walking out of the room. And that was fine with me. Right now, I just wanted to be alone.
No, that wasn't true. There was one person I would give anything to be with. Rosalie. My sweet Rose. I breathed in deeply, not because I had to, but because if I didn't I might let my emotions get control of me, and poor Jasper would complain. Jasper had been my greatest friend, and at the same time, the most annoying family member throughout this past year. Sometimes I feel bad, because my sorrow for Rose would overwhelm Jasper, and he would lay down for hours or days at a time. Jasper could often calm me down, or dull the hurt I was feeling, and for that I am eternally grateful.
However, other times, I got so angry. No one had to go through everything I am going through. Jasper hadn't lost Alice, so why should he be complaining. Alice loved Jasper, like Rose had loved me. Sure, the rest of the family had loved Rose, but not like I had loved and accepted her. When she was pissed off, I always made her feel better, not them. They had no idea what I had lost.
Edward approached me after he had taken Bella home. There was no way she had been that upset. My thoughts turned bitter, despite my efforts to be civil.
"Why'd the little princess go home? Its not often she ever leaves here until seven or eight at night. What sent her running back to her human family?" Edward visibly tensed with each word that came out of my mouth. The knowledge made me grin. Maybe I would finally have something worth while to take out my anger on. Edward would be a worthy opponent.
"Emmett, this has got to stop. I realize you miss Rose, we all do! But you have no right to treat us like this. Especially Bella. She was just trying to help."
I laughed, and I could hear everyone in the house stop and listen.
"You have no room to talk. You made us pack up our things and move just because you stand to have temptation in your way. You left Bella after saying you love her, and then left the family to sulk about and chase Victoria. You made us uproot our comfortable life here, just for her. Excuse me for not grieving the right way."
Edward froze, and I was sure there was going to be a fight. But then he turned, and walked out the door.
"Come with me." He said.
"I'm not some dog you can order around."
"Just come on."
I sat there for a moment, contemplating, then decided to follow him. He was supposed to be spending the night with Bella tonight, so he was probably taking me to apologize. And I would go, because I did feel bad about Bella. She had never done anything but try to help me. Plus Jasper had gone to lie down, and I figured I should give him a break.
We ran towards Bella's house, and soon it began to rain. We ran faster, and dodged the rain. Each drop was made clear, and I swerved left and right to avoid them. I could always get wet later. The rain was relaxing, and very nice to sleep in.
"Wait here for a minute." Edward said, then hopped up, and knocked on the window. It took a few moments, but finally Bella opened it and let Edward in.
I kept running, around the house and through the woods, rain falling all around me. I could hear three voices in the room, and I hoped Edward hadn't been caught. But the third voice didn't sound like Bella's father. So what was taking him so long? I decided to go investigate, and jumped up onto the windowsill.
"Edward, why did you drag me all the way down here…?"
I climbed through the window, and froze. Standing there was not only Bella and Edward, but another girl. She was beautiful. Not exactly thin, but she wasn't fat either, with brown hair that reached her shoulders, and brown eyes, that held a hint of green, something the human eye would almost never see. I was awestruck. She stared at me in the same exact way. I breathed in.
And then I smelled her, and lost all control.
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A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger. Don't eat me. :]