The Adventures of Emmett and Rosalie – Roses are Red
Rated K this chapter, nothing of consequence, just talking mostly.
I don't own a damn thing, even with two jobs and no kids to feed. It all belongs to Stephenie Meyer.
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Later that night, after the hunt, I was seated in Carlisle's study, my least favorite place. Not because of Carlisle, or the decor, it was the pressure. I felt as if I were sixteen again and been called into my father's den for a punishment. This was not the case today, as I was here for more of an interrogation rather than a grounding sentence.
"Are there any signs of special abilities in him?" Carlisle was serious, yet calm. Calm was his specialty. It was a difficult emotion for me to read, as I always became suspicious when people were too calm for my liking.
"He's quite strong, but nothing out of the ordinary happened today. His sense of smell is accurate, as well as his vision. He is not rebellious or difficult, either. His hearing is normal, for us. I don't feel he possesses any abnormal traits. He is quite strong, however, even for a new vampire."
"There were no altercations? He did everything you asked of him?"
I was unsure of what Carlisle was driving at. I chose my words carefully. "There was a…misunderstanding, but it was worked out immediately. He learns rules and boundaries quickly and does not test them."
"Explain the misunderstanding you're speaking of, please?" He asked.
"When testing his sense of smell, he picked up his prey, but he also picked up the scent of my perfume. It must have triggered something, a memory, perhaps? He moved too close to me, so I put him in his place."
"Rosalie, we both know your temper can get out of hand at times. I just want to be sure you were responsible and did not go too far when reprimanding the young man."
"What's 'too far,' then?" I didn't mean to snap at Carlisle, but I was beginning to feel as though Emmett and I were not alone on the trail today. "I mean, I could wave my finger at him like a naughty schoolboy for violating me the way he did, or I could make it quite clear that he is not to touch me, ever."
"You're right. You did the right thing in that situation. I am sorry for my disbelief in your judgment, Rosalie. That is all. You may go now." I thanked Carlisle and went back to my room upstairs to be alone.
Early Sunday morning, Edward, Carlisle, and Rosalie all went to church for some type of fair or social event. Esme had stayed behind with me to make sure I stayed out of trouble. I helped her around the house with chores and things before going out for a quick hunt on my own. I didn't go far, so I could hear the car pull up when everyone got back that afternoon. As I was walking back, I saw Rosalie walking toward the garage from a distance. She was an absolute vision in a white sundress with yellow bows in her hair. My Angel. Something was in her hand on the far side of her body. I froze in place when I saw what it was she was holding and that she had put it in the garbage.
Esme asked me to trim her rosebushes. I saved a few of the roses and left them by Rosalie's bedroom door as a surprise. Now they were in the garbage and she seemed to be smiling about it. She marched back into the house looking proud of herself and slammed the screen door. If my heart were still working, it would be in serious pain right now. As I walked closer, I noticed she left the lid off the can so someone, possible me, would see what was there and wonder why.
"Strike one, big brother." Edward was passing me on his way to the garage and saw the flowers. "If that's your plan, you've got a lot to learn."
"Wait, what? What do you mean?" I followed him into the garage and saw him rooting through some boxes for something. It was odd at first being called 'big brother,' but I guess it was true. I was a lot bigger than him, and he looked about seventeen while I was twenty. It made me feel a little better about being shot down by my girl and I needed a pick-up right now. "Rosalie said something about you and her having something in the past. Is that what you're talking about? Do you know what I'm doing wrong?"
He dug to the bottom of a box and threw something heavy and brown at my chest. "Put on a mitt, we're going to do some male bonding. You need all the help you can get." He wanted to play catch in the rain? Something was off with this guy. He walked down the path behind the house to a large clearing and pulled a baseball from his jacket pocket. "Go over there and keep walking until I tell you to stop." I kept walking until I felt like I was in the outfield and he was way back at home plate. How can two people play catch like this? And why was I the only one with a mitt? "Okay, stop." As far away as he was, I could hear him clearly and he wasn't yelling. Within a second, he had thrown the ball toward me like lightning and if I hadn't caught it, it would have taken my head off. Luckily, I caught it, but the force of the ball knocked me around in a circle. If I missed, it might have ended up in the next county.
"Whoo-wee! I didn't know you liked baseball, Edward! We can have some fun with this! Make ourselves a few more Vampires, and we can have our own team!" He laughed at that, which relaxed me a bit, so I got onto more important topics. "So, you don't mind that I'm interested in Rosalie? Cause if it bothers you, I'll back off. You were here first." I threw the ball to him and was impressed with the added power I now had.
"Not at all. I really did make an effort with her, and I know she did the same, but it just…dissolved. She has the right to be with whomever she chooses and I have the same. I just want you to know it's not going to be easy." He returned the ball and we continued on like that for sometime. "She's got boundary issues. I can't tell you why, but just remember that."
"Why can't you tell me? You don't know why she's got issues, or you just won't say?" I felt like there was something he had to tell me, but he wasn't sure how.
"I won't. It's Rose's story, not mine. Things of that nature are too personal for me to go around sharing with the world. When she's ready for you to know, you'll know." I frowned at the lack of help, but appreciated his honesty. He was a stand-up guy for not spilling his sister's dirty laundry out for the world to see. "Just don't go sniffing her like you did. That was uncalled for." How did he know about that? If I could have, I would have turned bright red from embarrassment.
"Did she tell you about that? I admit it was stupid of me. I don't know what came over me yesterday."
"She didn't tell me. I saw it." I take it back; he wasn't a stand-up guy after all. He was a creepy, little stalker.
"What do you mean you 'saw it'? We're you following us? Did Carlisle tell you to do that? 'Cause I don't like being distrusted. I know it's unusual for a young girl like Rose to be left alone with a guy like me with no supervision, but there was no need to spy on us like that!" I was growing angrier by the second. How could be so casual about following us that way?
"Rose didn't tell you. I wasn't there. Take it easy, Emmett. When I say I 'saw it' I mean it was in Rose's head. I can read minds. I really can, I'm not joking or lying. It started happening when I changed. Look, think of a number." He had lost his mind somewhere on the way to this field. I decided to humor him, just to see. "Forty-two. Sixty-eight. A dollar-ninety-nine. It would help if you'd pick one and stick with it."
"Good Lord. You really can hear everything that goes through my head. I don't know what to say to that." I was dumbfounded. I wasn't totally shocked at finding out I was a vampire, or concerned about drinking people's blood, but this…was really something.
"It's true. She was thinking about it in church this morning. I shouldn't have been listening, but I was curious. She really gave it to you for doing that. I hope you learned your lesson." He laughed and we began throwing the ball again.
"I did. She's a fine teacher. So tell me, what can I do? I want to catch her eye, but she threw my flowers in the garbage. Where I come from, that's a good sign that she's not interested. I could ask her on a date, but where would I take her? I can't go to a restaurant or a movie with her. I'm at a loss, Edward." I let out a long sigh and threw the ball half heartedly back to him.
"First, you need to think about what Rose wants more than anything. What she thrives from. She's not interested in jewelry or gifts. And those roses were probably the worst mistake you could have made. Rose craves attention the way bees crave nectar."
I listened to him closely and processed the information. "So, I should shower her with attention, while keeping my physical distance from her. Got it."
"No." He answered simply.
"No? Wait, you just said..." He was confusing me now, that wasn't a good idea.
"No, you should do the opposite. She knows your trying to court her, so she's going to expect you to continue. If you stop, it will catch her off guard, and make her think about your motives more."
"So I should ignore her as if she has the plague. Alright." What a strange way of dealing with this. I really was beginning to think he had no idea what he was talking about.
"No."
"UGH! No? Well what are you telling me? First you tell me to show her how I feel, now you're telling me to avoid her all together! What should I do?"
"You have to do both."
"BOTH? How am I supposed to do that? That's insane!" He was insane, I was sure of it by this point.
"Listen to me. When you get back there, she's going to be in the garage. Don't let on that you know about the flowers. Just be casual. Ask her about church, what she did there, who she talked to, what we did at the fair today. Get her talking about herself; she loves that. Then avoid her for the rest of the day. She will wonder if you know about the flowers and if she hurt your feelings by trashing them and by tomorrow, she will be craving your company. Things will go from there."
"You're certain that load of hogwash is going to work? Fawn all over her, then avoid her, then keep doing that over and over till she falls madly in love with me? You belong in a padded room, Edward, really. But you do make some kind of sense. Oh! I smell a bear! Do you smell that?"
"Yeah, there are two of them. Come on, let's eat." With that, Edward and I flew off into the woods to feed. I was glad to know he was on my side and I could trust him not to tell my secrets to anyone else. I never had a brother, but I felt like Edward was as close as I could get. It was a relief to have him around, even if the mind reading was a little creepy and weird. I could be myself around him, and that meant the world to me.
The end!
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