BELLA X EMMETT:
BELLA'S POV:
"You'll be back soon, wont you?" I asked for what must've been the zillionth time. He sighed and said, "Yes, Bella, I'll be back soon. We are going to be gone for about a week and as far out as we are going to hunt, that is a pretty short amount of time." "Okay," I said, feeling needy. "Be safe." I whispered as he walked out the front door of his house. I was being babysat by Emmett (the Cullen I was closest to besides Alice) for the week while the rest of the Cullen family went on a far away hunting trip. The story for Charlie's benefit was that I was having a sleep over with Alice, but Alice was going with them. It would just be me and Emmett in the big white house alone. For some reason it worried me. I didn't have any reason to be worried, Emmett was big and strong enough that he could protect us if anything went wrong. "So, Bells," Emmett said, lounging on the back of the sofa, "what do you want to do first?" I felt the need to be alone and reassess the worries in the back of my mind at Edward's seeming distant-ness and how he seemed to get annoyed fairly easily more often now. He seemed like he was used to my clinginess a month ago. Maybe my stupid questions and worries were finally wearing on him? "Umm…," I stuttered, realizing Emmett was staring at me with what must be concern, waiting for my answer. "I think I'm going to go take a shower first." "Okay, if you slip on the floor, don't hesitate to yell." He smirked, always taking playful hits on my clumsiness, but the concern was still there in his eyes, trying to be buried by his joke. Like he was afraid I was going to commit suicide in the bathroom of the Cullen's house. I must really look bad. I walked over to my duffle bag, noting Emmett's exaggerated effort not to peek as I grabbed undergarments from it then covered them in my hand with pajamas. I walked slowly up the stairs to the big bathroom and listened to Emmett changing the channels on the TV from FOX News to a baseball game to The Looney Toons. I check myself in the mirror. My eyes seemed depressed. It was probably a product of my overactive imagination. I let the warm water in the shower run over my body, relaxing my muscles. But surely it wasn't JUST imagination. It seemed like Edward had been spending an awful lot of time Rosalie. Every time she said she was going to hunt (which seemed way too often considering the bright golden color of her eyes) Edward volunteered to go with her. He would say goodbye to me and then walk away to Rosalie and out the door. Did I imagine the look in his eyes when he saw her that he never seemed to smother completely when I was around to notice it? But then, surely Alice would tell me if she had seen anything going on with the two of them… Wouldn't she? I got out of the shower, dried and pulled on my clothes robotically, staring at the counter top, but not actually seeing it. I walked down the stairs even more slowly than I had come up them. My shower thinking had not been very reassuring. I sat cross-legged on the wooden floor in front of the sofa, staring blank-faced at a re-run of Friends. I wasn't really paying attention to the show; my thoughts were miles away by now, with a handsome bronze-haired angel and a beautiful blonde woman… I felt Emmett's hands on my shoulders, rubbing them lightly, massaging them. I closed my eyes and focused on Emmett's hands working magic on my tense shoulders. "Thanks, Emmett." I could hear the smile in his voice as he said, "No problem." We were both silent for a while. Then he said, "Look, don't worry about Edward, he's a big boy, he'll be fine. And if he gets hurt, he'll have someone back here to kiss his booboos." He chuckled a deep, rumble laugh. 'Or maybe he'll get Rosalie to kiss it for him.' I wondered if Emmett had noticed any of the things I had been seeing between the two of them. "Umm… Emmett?" I asked hesitantly. "What is it?" he asked softly, sounding honestly concerned. "Have you… noticed anything… Different? Between Rose and Edward, I mean?" He stopped rubbing my shoulders and I could feel his tense posture behind me even before I turned to see the shock and hurt on his face. He composed himself quickly, then with a disappointed set to his eyes, said, "You noticed to, huh? I was hoping it was just me. Yeah, I have. At first I thought maybe they had just gotten over their aversion to each other and I thought that was a good thing. But, soon, it seemed like they had become a little TOO close. I thought maybe I was just being stupid and imagining things, so I made sure to keep my mind off it around Edward. But you bringing it up… I guess maybe… I was right." He sighed and rested his face in his hands. I moved up onto the couch beside him, gently rubbing my hand across his back, trying to make him feel better. We sat like this for quite a while, him being a vampire, he didn't have to move due to discomfort. I, on the other hand, was human. I eventually fell asleep, the circular motions of my hand eventually goading me into unconsciousness.
EMMETT'S POV:
I couldn't believe I had been right. I tried not to think about it as much as possible, but I kept my head down so Bella wouldn't see the pain this put me in. Maybe if she didn't see how much it hurt me, she wouldn't feel the need to be hurting. I concentrated on the steady soothing motion of her hand on my back, counting each rotation. After the 134th, the circles slowed and I heard snoring. I picked my head up, keeping my hands where they were, and looked over to Bella. She was curled up around a pillow, leaning on the arm of the sofa. I almost laughed. But something in her expression stopped me. It was too pained. It seemed she was concentrating very hard, even in sleep. She must have been dreaming about Edward and Rosalie. I knew I would be having the same nightmares, could I have dreamed. A piece of her hair fell to her face. She must have felt it because she frowned, twitching her nose trying to get it to move. I stood and moved the strand gently, tucking it behind her ear. She was very beautiful. I could now see what Edward meant when he said she was. Sure, she had been pretty, but she seemed too clumsy, too shy to be beautiful. But she was. I decided I should probably move her up to Edward's room. He might be annoyed if she didn't use the bed that was only ever used when she was here. She was the only one who was ever here that needed one. I tried to detach her grasp on the pillow and slid my arms under her body, lifting her easily. I walked up the stairs swiftly, her weight nowhere near enough to slow me down. I turned the bedside lamp on, but left the overhead light off, thinking she would wake if the light were too bright but not being sure if her clumsiness would be intensified by complete darkness. I set her down gently on the bed and started to pull my arms out from under her. "Edward." she said, sounding like her heart was breaking. She grabbed my arm and held tight to me. She must have been dreaming about him holding her as I was now. "Don't leave… Please." She started kissing her way up my arm, over my shoulder and reaching up for my neck. I didn't know what I should do. I probably should have pushed her down (gently, so as not to break her) but something in me knew what would happen next and wanted it. But it never happened. She woke up before she reached the tip of my chin. "OH!" she said, eyes wide with alarm. "Emmett… I'm sorry!" I couldn't think of anything to say to her, so I pulled my arms slowly out from under her the rest of the way. I began to walk out of the room, not really seeing what I looked at. Why hadn't I stopped her? I would have been able to. Physically, at least. But before I reached the door, I heard sobs coming from the middle of the large bed. That melted me. I turned and sat back down on the bed next to her, saying, "Hey, shhh… It's okay, no harm done." She tried to talk, but little sobs broke through her speech. "Its… Not you. It's… EDWARD!" She pulled her knees up with her arms around them, resting her head against the tops of her knees. I felt awkward just sitting there, so I eased my arm over her shoulder and leaned over, letting her rest her head on my shoulder. She continued to cry until she lifted her head, wiped a few tears off her cheek and smiled apologetically. I didn't need to forgive her, I understood why she cried. "Hey, listen. Any guy would be lucky to have you. I don't know why Edward would take his chances ruining something with you when he knows just how amazing you really are. Probably even more than I do and I'm telling you all of this." I raised my hand to wipe a tear away from her blushing cheek. "You are smart," I could feel my voice getting deeper, raspier. "funny," My vision was unclear with the closeness of our faces as we both leaned forward. "and extremely… amazingly…. Beautiful." Our mouths met then and I knew nothing but Bella. Her mouth, her voice, her taste, her sorrows. Most of all her sorrows. Because mine and hers were the same. My hand reached up slowly, resting on her cheek. I could feel the blood that rushed up there and it tempted me. I felt fire in my throat and I still wanted more. In the moment our lips were pressed softly together, I knew no desire but her, no beauty but her, no other soul but her. I wanted nothing more than Bella. What was I saying? She was Edward's and I was Rosalie's… But they were probably cheating on us with each other. And I wanted her so bad. No. I broke the kiss and we both pulled away, our breath ragged and shallow. I touched her cheek once more, feeling the warmth of her blush and then pulled my hand back down. "Sorry." I whispered, then dashed out of the room.