I drove to the airport without even thinking about it… although the drive was really short enough it didn't require much thought… traffic is so much nicer when you're going the opposite direction of everyone else. I parked in 'long term' parking, I wasn't really planning on being gone 'long term' (what counted as long term anyway?) but I didn't know how they checked between the two lots. I never had made it into Walmart to wash my face, so as soon as I got into the airport, I dashed into the bathroom to clean myself up. I twisted my hair into a low bun at the base of my neck, tucking the ends back into it, hoping it'd stay back while I washed my face. A few places were already getting tender… I could tell I was going to have a few bruises. I wanted to scream as I looked at myself in the mirror – how could I have let him do this to me? There was a tiny, tiny part of me that figured I had the answer, but I wasn't going to acknowledge it, at least not yet. And it had nothing to do with Riley… it was all me.

I gingerly patted my face dry and headed out to the information desk, walking rapidly through the airport. Emmett had told me he'd have them page me with the info, but I had no idea how that would work exactly. I knew it wasn't going to be Emmett making the actual reservations, so I figured even if the info desk didn't have the actual info… it'd be the most logical place to start.

I walked up to the booth, interrupting a woman in the middle of eating a drippy sandwich. "Hi… I was wondering if I could find out if I've got a ticket waiting for me…"

"Your name?"

"Rosalie Hale…" I said, hoping they'd actually be in my name and I wouldn't have to play some guessing game over which combination of our names he might have dreamed up.

She looked around, like she knew she should have something. She reached for an envelope and handed it to me, complete with greasy fingerprints.

"Uh, thanks." I took the envelope and tore it open as I walked away. Nice, he'd managed to get the airline I liked best… and a flight that left in less than an hour … and a first class seat! Hell yeah! I'd so have to kiss him when I got to Tampa.
I stepped off the train and waited through the insanely long lines to get through security and ambled down to my gate. Just getting there had taken long enough that I only had a few minutes to wait before I got to board. I've never understood why first class passengers get to board first... everyone else has to walk through first class, banging around their carry-on luggage, so there all the first class people are, dodging the bags and musical instruments and gift bags so they can keep their heads.

I walked onto the plane and took my seat - by the window, whether by request or coincidence, I was thankful for that. As the rest of the passengers lumbered through the cabin, I flipped through the safety brochures - being that I was going to be flying over land, the need to use my seat cushion as a flotation device seemed unlikely. I wished I'd have had money on me to buy a book at the airport, I had no idea what I was going to do through this flight without something to read.

The flight wasn't nearly as crowded as I would have expected and I actually had the row to myself. Okay, this was looking better all the time. I flipped up the arm rests and stretched out. Who needs to read? I'm sleeping my way to Florida.
I sat back after a scowl from the flight attendent and began to wonder what was I going to do down there? I couldn't expect Emmett to really hang out and be my personal tour guide... I had no idea what he was doing and I wasn't going to interrupt it. If he had free-time, fantastic. If not, I guess I'll find someway to entertain myself. I could... shop. No one goes to Florida without shopping, right? That should keep me occupied for a day or two. Maybe by then I'd be ready to go home, feel strong enough to go back and kick Riley's ass all the way to the Dells.

Or maybe Lake Michigan.

I woke up, totally disoriented and more than a little surprised I hadn't fallen off the row of seats, as I had managed to slide rather close to dangling precariously off the edge. The flight attendent was tapping my shoulder, telling me I needed to sit in my seat, as we were getting ready to land.
Damn, that was fast. I'd waited until the plane had taken off to officially get comfortable after the test-stretch while waiting to taxi down the runway.

I stepped off the plane, not having a clue what to expect. Was Emmett going to be here? He told me to call, I guess that meant at home... and collect again. Forward thinking has never been our strong point.
I meandered around, laughing at tourists with their heads swivveling in a million different directions, and the obligatory businessmen engrossed in their PDA's and laptops. The sun shines awfully damn bright here.

I made another collect call and Emmett picked up, "Are you here?"

"Yeah, now what?"

"Just take a cab out here."

"Out where?" I asked, then listened as he gave me an address. Wow, I hope I remembered that. I hung up and headed for the door, trying to run and grab a cab before the address left my still-sleep-fuzzy brain.

I tried to take in everything around me on the way to Emmett's. It wasn't crazy city life, people were out here just aimlessly walking down the sun soaked streets, smiling as if the hardest part of their day was deciding what color bikini to wear. Just livin' the dream.

I could see my reflection in the window of the cab – what the hell were my dreams? I didn't know… and if I didn't know, no one else was going to be able to tell me. At one point, I'd been very sure of them, or well, at least one of two of them. But now… who knew? A few short hours ago I'd been berating myself for running away and now… I wondered if maybe this was what I needed. To get away, take a few days to step back and see who I was now.

As my thoughts began coming together, the cab stopped. I opened the door and told the driver I'd be right back, I had to get money. I slid out of the car and looked toward the house – it surprised me, but it didn't. It was one of the smaller ones on the street – Emmett maintained that he never did need much to keep him happy, and really, I knew that was true. I saw the door open, and he walked out, wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt, barefoot. He gave me a smile as he walked my way – I guess he'd been waiting for me and watching – and I was relieved. I didn't know it, but I'd needed to see him. I needed the familiarity, the comfort. He brushed past me to pay the cab driver and as the car drove off, he came back to me, wrapping his arms around me in a tight, reassuring hug.

"I'm glad you're here" he said quietly, squeezing me gently.

"So am I." I said, feeling so much better already. I guess he was just what I needed.

He took my hand and led me into the house. As he turned to lock the door behind him, he got his first good look at me in some light. "You look like hell, Rosalie."

I'd kind of forgotten about that, I probably did look terrible. I asked for a bathroom and he pointed me down the hall and I gasped as I got in front of a mirror. I DID look bad – the bruises I'd suspected had shown up – and he was right, I looked like I'd gotten the hell beaten out of me. Seeing the bruises made me suddenly aware of how much the rest of my body hurt. I guess I'd been ignoring it until something reminded me of it.

I saw his reflection in the mirror as he moved behind me and lightly put his hand on my arm to turn me around to face him. He reached for my face, his fingers gently moving over the bruises.

"You're going to have to explain this some time, but I'm not going to ask now." he said, his palm against my cheek.

I leaned into his touch, "I will… "

"I know… let's get you to bed, okay? Get some sleep… you're safe… we'll talk in the morning." he leaned into me, kissing my forehead.

I breathed an audible sigh of relief and contentment, and followed him into his room, changing into the t-shirt he tossed me and fell into bed.