I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! Unfortunately, no Twilight under the Christmas Tree for me. Oh well, maybe next year! Thanks to everyone who took the time to review so far.
I give you chapter 4…
"Hi, I'm here to pick up a rental." I tell the man behind the Rent-A-Car counter.
"Really? I never would have guessed." He smiles, his voice dripping in sarcasm.
"Yeah," I ignore his jibe. "I called a few hours ago. It should be paid for already." He rolls his eyes and clicks away at the ancient computer resting on a stack of phonebooks.
"Name?"
"Bella Swan." He types something in and nods.
"Here you are ma'am." He fishes out a set of keys from his pocket and hands them to me.
"Great," I inspect the dented Toyota keys hanging on the FORKS! keychain. "Um, which car are these for?"
He huffs and grabs the keys, hitting the panic button. A car alarm sounds in the parking lot, not too far from the building. "The blue Prius, right over there." He points to the car with the flashing taillights. "The one with the beeping noise and lights."
"Thanks." I smile at him sarcastically and head out the door.
"Have a nice day, ma'am."
Ten minutes later finds me pulled over on the side of the road, desperately flipping through my MapQuest direction sheets. Fuck, did I already pass Bernstein Avenue? I squint my eyes and search through the front windshield for a distinguishing sign to tell me where the hell I am. Leave it to me to get lost in a city with a radius of two and a half miles.
I jump at the knocking sound on my window and drop my papers. I huff in frustration as they scatter on the floor and reluctantly roll down my window.
My eyes widen in shock. "Oh, morning officer." I smile tentatively. "Is everything alright?" Fucking Rent-A-Car, they probably gave me a faulty Prius.
"Everything's fine, I just stopped to make sure everything was alright. It's not too often we see a car on the side of the road unless is filled with a teenage orgy party."
I wince at the mental image I didn't need. "No, no orgy here officer-" I glance at his badge. "Carol." Why does that name sound familiar? "Hey, you're Brad right? Brad Carol?"
He clears his throat and blushes. "Why yes I am. Do I know you? 'Coz I'm pretty sure I'd remember a body like that." He flashes me a slightly perverted smile.
"Yeah," I fidget in the seat. "Um, we went to high school together. Bella Swan." I introduce, suddenly regretting bringing it up at all.
"Holy shit," he gasps, "Bella fucking Swan!" he claps once. "My god woman, time has done you well!" I smile uncomfortably. "Man, I had such a crush on you back at Forks High! Hell, we all did." He laughs and leans down against the door. "But that lucky Cullen guy snatched you up, didn't he. Man, wait until I tell the guys back at the station."
"Oh, okay." I start the car, hoping he'll take the hint that I don't feel like chatting.
"Hey, if you wanna have some fun while you're in town, I'm recently single and sure as hell ready to mingle." He waggles his eyebrows.
"No thanks." I shudder at the thought. "I need to go…" I trail off.
"Oh, right of course." He steps away from the car. I roll up the window and pretend I don't hear him rattling off his cell number. I collect the fallen directions and pick up where I left off.
Okay, First Street to Candy Ave. Done. Take a left on Prince and drive 0.5 miles until you reach Bernstein Ave. Destination will be on the right. Sounds easy enough. I turn on my signal despite the zero traffic on the road and pull out onto the main street carefully. Hey, there's a cop behind me who looks bored enough to hit me up for traffic violations- sue me.
I spot the Prince Ave. sign and take the left, keeping my eyes peeled for Emmett's address he texted me earlier this morning during my free complimentary breakfast that consisted of stale fruit and doughnuts with straight black coffee. 255, 257, 259… Aha! 261 Bernstein Avenue.
I flip open my phone to Emmett's text to double check I'm at the right house. Wouldn't that be an awkward mistake? When I'm finally satisfied I'm not at some ax-murderers' house, I step out of the Prius and hike my purse up my shoulder.
Wow, is all I can think as I look up at the most beautiful house I've seen in a long time. The two-story stone house sits on a huge plot of snowy land with twinkling Christmas lights and a huge blow-up Santa. I look up and down the street, amazed to find similar beauty lining each side. Jeez, you don't see this in the big city.
"Aunt Bella!" a squeaky voice screams as a little blur runs at me legs, effectively knocking me on my ass. The blur jumps up and down on my lap and squeezes me, eventually becoming clearer. The little blonde curls and deep blue eyes are a dead giveaway.
"Emma, is that you?" I laugh and hug her to me. "You've gotten so big." I tell her.
"Auntie Bella!" she squeals. "You came! You really came!" I just smile, not quite sure what to say. A throat clears and my little nephew glares down at his sister.
"Scoot over fatty." He shoves her and jumps on me, throwing his arms around me.
"Hey!" Emma whines and punches her brother.
"Ethan," I warn, "Don't be mean to your sister."
He blushes and hides his face in my neck. "Sorry, Auntie." I smile. They're just like Emmett and I used to be. "You're so much prettier than the pictures." He whispers to me, like it's a secret. Pictures?
"She's the most prettiest ever!" Emma agrees. "You're like a princess." She tells me matter-of-factly.
"How come nobody invited me to the dog-pile on Bella?" Emmet booms. Emma and Ethan jump off my lap and Emmett pulls me up into his arms. "Are you really here?" he laughs.
"Yeah," I sniffle, relishing in his familiar bear-hug. "I'm here."
"Bella," Rosalie smiles tersely over his shoulder. "Nice to see you again." I smile and return her sentiment, picking up on her I'm-not-happy-about-this-situation vibe.
"Well, let's get out of the cold." Emmett flashes us a dimply smile and grabs the kids like rag dolls, running them into the house growling. Rose and I follow them inside in silence and she shuts the door behind us.
"It's three thirty now," Rose tells Emmett, "What time do you want to eat?"
"You guys hungry?" Em asks Ethan and Emma. They nod their heads excitedly.
"Chicken noodle casserole?" Emma asks and Rose nods. "Yes!" she does a fist pump and runs off after Ethan.
"Maybe in an hour?" He prompts. She nods.
"I'm going to go start it then."
"Do you need any help?" I call after her, trying to be polite but knowing I won't be much of a help. This chick right here can burn water.
"Help would be great." She smiles tightly. Em ruffles my hair.
"How are you?" he asks and I shrug.
"You guys look like you're doing great." I motion to the beautifully decorated house.
"I couldn't be happier." He tells me honestly. "You're here- now I have everything I want." He pulls me in for a quick hug before chasing after the kids. "Ethan! Emma! Where are you?" he calls out in a mock-evil voice.
I find my way to the kitchen, careful not to trip over Emma as she runs past me. I find Rose starting up the oven and bustling around the room. I take a seat at one of the stools against the wall.
"I'm surprised they even remember me." I say, trying to start a conversation as we watch Em and the kids race out the sliding door into the snow.
"I doubt they do," she squats down and grabs a wooden cutting board from under the sink. "They were only three when you left."
"Then how… how do they know who I am?"
She sighs. "Because of Emmett." She grabs an onion and starts to peel it over the trash. "He keeps pictures of you up and tells the kids stories about you guys when you were younger. He makes sure they know who you are." It's silent as I take in this new information.
I feel suddenly prouder of my brother knowing this. Many people would have just refused to acknowledge a sister that walked out on the family, but he did the complete opposite. "Why would he do that?"
"Because," she starts chopping the onion up. "He always had faith in you. He knew that one day you'd come back."
"He was the only one, wasn't he." I take her silence as an affirmative. "You don't want me here." I break the silence. Rosalie stops chopping and sets the knife down on the cutting board.
"It's not that…" she trails off and turns to face me, her blue eyes like ice. She pauses and looks up at the ceiling as if trying to find the right words. "I just don't want my family to be in pain when you leave again. It's not just Emmett this time, now you've dragged my kids into your little… game."
"My game?"
"Perhaps game isn't the right word." Her eyes cut to mine and I step back at the fire in them. "Your drama-fest that seems to follow you around everywhere you go."
I raise my eyebrows at her. "I never meant to hurt anyone."
"Well, you did. Emmett, your parents… Edward." I wince.
I look down at the tiled floor in shame. "I was nineteen, Rose. I was young, stupid." I shake my head. "I wanted a change, and then… the letter came. After that, it spread, like a disease. Everywhere I went, I saw little imperfections and I convinced myself that moving to New York would fix everything."
"If you want sympathy, you're wasting your time with me." She resumes chopping the onion murderously.
"The last thing I want is sympathy." I lean my head back against the wall. "I just want… forgiveness I guess. Although that's probably too much to ask."
It's silent- the only noise in the kitchen is the metal against the wooden board. "What changed your mind?" she pauses and waits for my reaction.
"I could… I could die tomorrow." I tell her bluntly, trying not to wince as I remember the x-rays I forgot to take out of my purse. "Anything could happen. And if it did… I wouldn't want it to end like this."
She turns toward me and searches my eyes. Eventually she nods and sets down her knife. "Just, don't disappear again." She whispers and comes toward me. "We all miss you, and it may be hard for us to accept that you're back… but they need you Bella. The family- it just isn't the same without you." She gently lifts her arms and wraps them around my waist. "We all need you."
"I'm so sorry, Rose."
"Sorry won't change anything." She releases me as a timer on the over goes off. "Just show us you've changed." She smiles, the first real smile she's given me today, and shoves a tray of garlic bread into the oven. "Will you tell Em and the kids we have ten minutes till dinner?"
"Sure," I jump on the chance to do something useful and mull over my conversation with Rose.
Dinner passes in a comfortable silence followed by the kids helping Rose clean up the kitchen. Em and I make our way into the living room and he shuffles through the cabinets for a DVD.
"Sorry, I know the last thing you probably want to do is watch a green animated dude steal presents from little kids." He apologizes and hands me a movie.
"The Grinch who stole Christmas." I read the title.
"Yeah," he chuckles. "It's a yearly tradition." I smile and hand him the movie to slide in the DVD player.
"I want to sit next to Bella!" Emma screams and jumps in my lap.
"No fair!" Ethan yells back at her. "She's mine too."
"Come here," I giggle and pat the spot next to me on the couch. He smiles and snuggles into my side. Rose comes in and grins at me as she walks by to sit on Emmett's lap. I give her a confused look and she points to the kids curled up on me.
By the time the movie's over, the kids are yawning and Rose is trying to motivate them to go up and get ready for bead by bribing them with presents. They immediately perk up when she mentions Santa and they jump up off the couch.
"Happy Christmas Eve Aunt Bella!" Ethan and Emma shout in unison as they make their way up the stairs to brush their teeth...
"I'm glad you made it Bells." Rosalie smiles and pulls me in for a hug. "We'll see you tomorrow?"
"Definitely." She nods in appreciation and follows the kids upstairs.
"Thank you, Bella." Emmett tells me in a voice more serious than I've ever heard him use. "You have no idea how much this means to me- to the kids."
"No, thank you." I tell him honestly and reach for his hand. "I just wish I would've pulled my head out of my ass sooner." I chuckle without humor. He pulls me in for one of his famous bear hugs and lifts me up off the ground.
"All that matters is that you're here now." He sets me down and sniffles.
"Emmett," I joke, "Are you crying?"
He sniffles and shakes his head vigorously. "No, I just got something in my eye." He smiles. "I'll walk you out." He follows me down the porch steps and to the Prius. "Nice car," he snorts.
I smack him on the shoulder and roll my eyes. "Mature, Em. Really mature."
"Well, alrighty then." He pulls open my door for me. "See you tomorrow."
"Absolutely. What time, you think?"
"Maybe around twelve or so?" he trails off and taps his chin. "We usually eat dinner around one-ish and open gifts after that… If you want to come earlier though, you're more than welcome."
"Emmett," I scoff, "When have I ever been known to be early?" I tease, remembering all the high school parties we were late to because of me." "I'll be there at noon?"
"Sounds good." He pulls e in for an awkward one-armed hug and kisses my head. "I missed ya lil' B." he smiles and shuts my door, waving as I back out of the driveway.
I missed you too, and I always will.
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