"EMMETT, I'M NOT GOING."
I had to respond as firmly as I could. Obviously, he still wouldn't take me seriously- him being about twenty times bigger than myself. But it was effort that counted. So it was effort I put in.
"WE WENT LAST TIME," I continued, nearly yelling to match my voice to his booming one, "AND IT DIDN'T TURN OUT GOOD. YOU DO REMEMBER THAT THE CLERK QUIT AFTER WE LEFT, RIGHT?"
I stared him down.
It didn't work.
"But BELLA," he whined, "I really want to go." His lips turned into a pout. I didn't know how Rosalie could handle this. I suddenly wished Edward were here to reinforce my decision, but he wasn't going to be here for another few days.
"Emmett, last time…" I trailed off.
"FINE, Bella. We won't go. And I'll just hate you forever." He turned around, so I got his side profile. I don't think he knew, but I could see his eyes peeking at me to see if I would relent. And I would.
"Okay, Emmett, I-" I really don't want to do this. "I'll go."
"Yay, Bella! Thank you! It'll be fun, I promise." He jumped up, and gave me a big bear hug. I felt my ribs crushing together, and I felt lightheaded.
"Emmett…can't…breathe," I whispered with what little strength I had in me.
"Oh," he said, sheepishly. "I forgot…me vampiro, you humano. Sorry."
I rolled my eyes, and giggled at his terrible accent. "Just give me a minute. I'll go get my purse."
We drove to Macy's, and with Emmett's car-crashing speed, we made it there within 5 minutes. I took a deep breath once we arrived in the parking lot. I got out of the car, and felt like kissing the good old terra firma. I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache coming on from the speed.
"Emmett, you nearly killed me. Edward would kill-" I turned around to face Emmett, only to find he wasn't there. I stood, speechless.
"Emmett?" I called out.
"RAWR!"
Emmett jumped out behind me abruptly, yelling in my ear, and sending the floor into a series of vibrations. 5 on the Richter scale, at least.
"EMMETT." I closed my eyes, silently counting to 10. "Don't…do…that," I exclaimed, between clenched teeth.
"Oh, loosen up, Bella, geez," was the only response I got from his uproar.
I swung my bag over my shoulder, without retorting, and made my way to the entrance of the mall. Emmett loyally followed, with vampiric speed.
"Where to, Bella?" he asked calmly, for once. "We can hit up Nordstrom's…or…"
"Or?" I prompted.
"Or…the PERFUME ISLE." He gestured towards the tidy rows of glass bottles, each filled with a unique scent.
"Not the perfume isle," I muttered under my breath.