Firstly, sorry about the mega wait on only the third chapter. I was in a show that finished last week, so I have a lot to catch up on. I am back for the moment though :)
Thanks to those of you who reviewed last chapter. Warm and fuzzies to you. And soon, a sexy cowboy.
RPOV
I held the silently sobbing Bella until her body shook so badly I was holding her totally in my lap lest she fall onto the floor and not get up. She seemed so fragile. She was like a china doll in how breakable she was to my kind. I suddenly had a greater understanding of how hard it must have been for Edward. I did not think this for long though, because an anger coursed through me like steaming poison. I wanted to hurt him for what he did to this girl. I had no idea what to do. Bella slowly but surely stopped shaking and moved to stand up. I looked at her face, puffy from crying and wondered how she had come this far. I had so many questions, but I could not decide whether she would answer, or if I would set her off again. She seemed so meek and yet there was a fire there, ready to explode at any minute.
BPOV
I could feel the pain starting to subside a little. I looked at the beautiful, icy Rosalie and saw so much emotion in her eyes, I was confused.
"Why did you hold me while I cried? You could have left. You hate me."
The goddess looked at me curiously, and then laughed. I could not see any reason for her to laugh at my situation. Quickly, I got angry, ready to tear some proverbial strips from this bitch.
"I should be an actress" She spoke quietly, with a sad smile on her face. I was now even more confused.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I never hated you, Bella. I just didn't want you with Edward. I could see he was treating you the wrong way, and I was angry at you for letting him. I laughed because I acted like a bitch in the hope you would not like the family and break up with him. I am sorry for making you feel I didn't like you. I actually do. You're smart. You're also pretty, loving and strong."
"I'm not strong", I mumbled to the floor. I was shocked by Rosalie's statement. A part of me wanted to believe she was being nice. The bigger part knew I couldn't trust anyone any more.
"Yes, you are. You're not self harming anymore, are you?"
"How did you know that?"
"Your sleeves may be down, but if you'd been cutting in the last few days, I would smell the fresh wound on you. That takes a strong person, Bella."
I had no idea what to say, so I stayed silent. Rosalie had no reason to be so nice to me, but at the same time, she had no reason to be nasty either. I was confused.
RPOV
I looked around the room for the first time in the silence. It was decidedly shabby. The paint was peeling off the walls, the furniture was old and the roof was sagging in places. I hated that she had to live like this.
"So. How did you end up living here?", I asked tentatively.
"Um…the apartment? I rent it. It's all I can afford on a waitress salary, so don't bother commenting on how awful it is."
Taken aback by her reply, I looked around some more.
"It's certainly neat"
"Yes, well I don't spend a lot of time here. The noise from the street…why do you care anyway?"
I wasn't sure how to respond to that at all. Why did I care? I felt a pull to her that I couldn't explain. I was torn between leaving the human to her sad life and whisking her away to live with Em and I. Oh…I would have to tell Em I found his baby sister. He was so sad when we'd thought she'd died. He wasn't even interested in our sex life. I'm sure he would want to see her, but after the reception I'd received…still, I was the bitch. Em was nice to her. I decided I couldn't, in good conscience, leave her in this dump. I felt close to her. I actually wanted her to be part of the family, even if that meant just Em and I after Jasper leaves. Jasper. What would he think about this? He would have to be told he was not responsible for Bella's death. No-one thought he was before, but now he has nothing to blame himself with. I needed to ask Bella about all this, but she'd gone. I wandered after her, finding her in a tiny bedroom.
"I care, because I care about what happens to you. I never thought the family should have left like that and I want to help you."
"I am sick of vampiric 'help' that only makes things worse."
"I can understand the fact you don't trust me. You have no reason to. But would you let me find you somewhere better to live, for the sake of my husband? I'm not going to be able to keep this from him, and I won't be able to keep him away if I can't say I've helped you. I would like to say we could be friends, but…"
"Emmett?"
"Yes Bella, what about him?"
She looked at me with so much pain I wished I could cry.
"He said I was his little sister. He left anyway. I don't want to see him."
Emmett would be devastated
"Will you let me help you?"
She looked at me again, with flashing eyes.
"No. I am independent now. I don't need any sparkly help from your stupid family. You have no idea what I've lived through and you have no right to assume you can just waltz in here, do your good deed for the week and run off again. Fuck you."
I stood there in shock. This girl was more bi-polar than Eddie-boy. Or, she was close. That vamp has serious problems. Bella had gone from heartbreaking to nose breaking in ten seconds. Impressive. There was still the problem of the family though. Em would smell her on me when I got home.
"Bella, I don't mean to be rude, but some of us have had just as much trouble in our lives as you. You've had a horrible time, but I've been there too and I'd like to help."
She looked at me with so much anger; I knew I would have to tell her about my past. My eyes started to sting and my head swam with emotion at the thought of it.
"Oh, I'm so sorry Rosalie. I didn't realise other people had it tough. Did you run out of your favorite shampoo once?" Bella said, sarcastically.
I sat down on the bed, ignoring the rudeness, and told Bella about how I was turned. To her credit, she sat and listened attentively. When I was done, she looked at me for a long while. Then, very carefully, she got up from her seat on the ground and shuffled over to me. She opened her arms and for a moment I didn't know what she was doing. Then, she gave me a hug. She hugged me. It felt…nice. She was warm, and this was a different hug to Emmett. It was one of two people who understood each other deeply because of their similar pasts. I stood up and wrapped my arms gently around the girl. I was impressed with her capacity to feel sympathy for me, without a second thought.
"Rosalie, I am so sorry. I had no idea. I guess we have something in common."
She shuffled her feet awkwardly and looked at the ground.
"Where is the rest of the coven? Why is it just you, Emmett and Jasper? Where is Alice?"
At the mention of her old best friend, her voice choked and Bella looked more like the lost girl working in the bar than the fiery woman I saw a minute ago.
"Alice and Jasper are no longer together. She broke his heart and ran off with some guy she met while at a fashion show."
I explained the issues the Cullen clan was having right now and Bella looked more and more upset the longer I spoke.
"I had no idea you guys cared that you'd left me."
"Of course we cared, Bella. It was only Edward who told us we had to. He was always the golden child, Carlisle didn't argue with him for long."
"You all still left though." The anger rose again in her voice, but she reigned it in. "I am still angry at the rest of the family for leaving. Especially Alice."
"Don't worry, we're all mad at Alice. She was manipulating us all with her stupid gift and I get the feeling there is a lot she's hiding. There will be some lost limbs when Alice and Edward get back in the picture."
"Um..so, what now? I've sort of given up on sleep so…", the poor girl looked terrified. Did she think she was going to become a snack?
"If you want, we could talk some more?"
"Actually Bella, I need to go home and tell Emmett and Jasper you're alive. They both took your apparent death really hard. Emmett has not been recognizable since it happened. Jasper, of course, thought it was his fault."
"I never blamed him. How could he not know that? I told Alice to tell him."
"She didn't. She was the worst. She treated him like he was a horrible person and the family splitting up was all his fault. I'm going to hurt the pixie for messing up my brother so much."
BPOV
So much had happened that night I had trouble processing it all. I had suddenly gained a new friend, one who knew where I was coming from. I had the opportunity to see Emmett, the teddy bear who said he was my big brother, and Jasper, who I didn't know very well. I didn't know how I felt about that. I somehow wasn't as opposed as I had been to Rosalie helping me, but I was still wary. Trust issues don't vanish overnight.
Not to mention your other issues, psycho.
I looked at Rosalie as she walked to the door.
"Are you coming Bella? If you don't come with me, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep them from coming here."
I continued to stare for a while until my brain kicked into gear.
Good stuff. Now she thinks your dumb as well as crazy
Shut up, brain. I didn't know what to say.
Say anything, she's waiting.
"Uh…sure."
With that, I took my jacket, my keys, my fuckton of issues and all my confusion out the door. I knew I was probably going to get burned again, but who cares? I must have a vampiric-sadistic compulsion or something.
Thanks for reading guys. Please review. It makes me happy, and a better writer, so you can read better stuff. :p
