A/N: Thank you to littleclarestar for filling in as beta while BellaMadonna deals with RL issues (thinking of you Momma!!). She helped A TON and I am eternally grateful. Thank you to koDEA for making time for me and this little fic. A big part of this chapter was her idea – so if you hate it blame her – JUST KIDDING. Hehe. Thank you to Agoraphobiantic who I love with all my heart and soul. She pre-read this chapter for me and gives me lots of validation that I don't suck. She's the best ficwife a girl could ask for!

Oh - and please don't judge me for my choice in song related to this chapter..it fits! hehe =)

Disclaimer: It's S. Meyer's world, I'm just living in it.


Chapter 7 – Overprotected

Say hello to the girl that I am!
You're gonna have to see through my perspective
I need to make mistakes just to learn who I am
And I don't wanna be so damn protected
There must be another way
Cause I believe in taking chances
But who am I to say
What a girl is to do
God, I need some answers

What am I to do with my life?
(You will find out don't worry)
How Am I supposed to know what's right?
(You just got to do it your way)
I can't help the way I feel
But my life has been so overprotected

Britney Spears – Overprotected

- - - - -

BPOV

Thoughts of Edward Cullen invaded every single corner and crevice of my mind, pretty much the entire time since we'd been together. His voice echoed inside my head, and he controlled my dreams as I concocted images of how I thought he'd look.

My sudden obsession with Edward Cullen was startling, and in a lot of ways, down right frightening. I'd never fantasized about a boy so frequently – especially one I hardly knew. I tried to get away from it by immersing myself into my studies, hobbies, and spending more time than usual at the library. I composed more music on my violin – which only made me think of Edward more – and tried relaxing my mind through meditation and yoga. I often found myself meditating or doing yoga when I felt myself becoming overwhelmed from sensory stimuli. Both activities calmed me in a way no other activities could.

My weekend passed in a haze. I worked my usual shifts at the library on Saturday and Sunday mornings, leading story-times for young children, and spent the afternoons studying, and my evenings with Rose and Emmett, hanging out. Basically, it was a very typical weekend for me.

I didn't mind though, the monotony of my weekends. I enjoyed my time working at the library. I loved hearing the excitement in the children's voices over the books. They were always curious about me, and about my disability. I loved how curious and honest children can be. Their innocence and curiosity was what I loved most about children. Parents always got embarrassed and flustered when their children asked blunt questions, but I didn't mind answering their enquiries. The more questions answered the more people were likely to be accepting of diversity and disabilities. I'd found that even parents, who don't have the courage to ask what their children are thinking, becoming more accepting.

One of my fellow librarians, Shelly Cope, had become a close friend, almost like a mother figure, over the last several years. She was in her mid-forties, and had two small children, but we had still formed a close bond. Unlike most people, she'd never shied away from me and my impairment. She was warm and friendly and a great listener. Immediately, Shelly had noticed that I was a bit distant, making a joke about my day dreaming. I evaded her questions, not wanting to get ahead of myself by telling her about Edward. It was a little too soon for that. I wasn't even sure if he was going to show up. Although, aside from Rose, Shelly knew more about me than anyone else so it was very hard to keep this secret from her. I just didn't want to jinx the situation.

I found myself sitting nervously at the park waiting to see if he showed up. My confidence was high that he would, I had a good feeling about Edward, but I couldn't stop the butterflies that were taking flight in my stomach.

Playing with my hair as I sat, I begun to realize that I had been waiting there for quite some time, and wondered how late he was. Although, he wasn't really late, as I hadn't actually specified a time for him to meet me here, I never officially asked him to come either. I had more or less just hinted that I was going to be here and would like him to meet me here again. I thought that he had gotten that hint, but perhaps I had been wrong. Or maybe he just didn't want to come. Maybe he was scared. Just like everyone else that I had ever come across in my life.

Stop it, Bella! Think positively.

Then I heard it – the soft crunching of his shoes against the grass as he approached, and the light breeze blowing his intoxicating scent in my direction further identifying him.

"I thought you weren't going to come," I stated softly, surprising myself with my straightforwardness.

"I'm sorry. I.. I uh…fuck," he stuttered out, and I had to fight back a giggle, and instead, I arched my eyebrow at him. Flustered Edward was definitely adorable. The fact that I made him flustered like that sent my heart soaring, and the butterflies in my stomach swirling.

He took a deep breath, "May I sit down?" he asked softly. I nodded, and gestured to the space in front of me on the blanket.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. I don't have an excuse, or even a good reason. I'm here now, and there is no where else in the world I'd rather be," he frantically explained.

I thought about his words and tried to decipher whether he was being honest or not. I bit my lower lip as I contemplated his sincerity, a habit I had inadvertently formed, indicating that I was deep in concentration. I prided myself in my ability to listen to whether or not people were being sincere. Usually, when people were lying, or not being sincere, it was easy to tell because their pitch changed, usually becoming more of a soprano. Edward's voice remained smooth and fluid, despite his franticness.

I decided I had to give him a chance. I had no choice - my heart was telling me to.

"Don't let it happen again," I told him, partly teasing and partly serious.

As before, I was amazed by how easily the conversation between us flowed. I was hardly nervous when speaking to him and found genuine joy in hearing about him and his life. I wanted to know anything and everything that he had to offer me. I hoped that someday, he would want to share everything there was to know about him.

I wanted to squeal with joy when he offered to drive me home. He was so sweet, taking my hand and leading me to the car. The moment his fingers linked through mine, I felt a pleasurable sensation shoot up my arm and down my spine, causing me to shiver. His touch soothed me in ways I never thought possible. It was such an innocent and gentle touch, but it left me wanting more. Just the thought of this caused my cheeks to warm from embarrassment. I couldn't be having such thoughts about a boy I didn't even know!

I still used my guiding cane despite the fact he was leading me. It was a habit and a secure base. While a lot of the time I was genuinely naive and tended to trust people intrinsically, this was one thing that I could not trust some one with until they proved to me that they could be trusted. Not having my guiding cane left me vulnerable, something I was almost never comfortable with.

He opened the car door for me and helped me in, asking for my address. The ride in the car was easy, shocking me further that I could be so comfortable with someone I hardly knew.

When he asked me to go on a date with him, I nearly cried. I tried to fight back some of the enthusiasm, not wanting to appear desperate or over eager. However, I didn't know that I was all that successful in hiding it. Not only did the prospect of hanging out again with Edward thrill me, but a jazz festival was exactly the kind of thing I liked doing. Edward already knew me so well and we'd only met a few days ago.

Edward walked me to the door, taking my hand again. Taking a chance, I didn't open my cane. Instead, I clutched it in my hand, ready to open it if necessary. I was nervous, and felt slightly insecure but the feeling of Edward's skin on mine was enough to soothe me.

The way his thumb ran gentle circles over my skin ignited feelings I had never felt before with another person. A sense of security and even lust.

"I'll call you soon," he whispered to me, his voice that smooth as steel sound that I would never get old hearing.

"Thank you for the ride home."

"It was my pleasure," he responded, his voice depicting the smile that was sure to be on his face.

"Good night, Bella."

"Good night, Edward."

A smile spread over my face, stretching from ear to ear, as I opened the door and then promptly shutting it behind me. I leaned back against the door, my head resting against the cool wood.

I was going on a date! With a boy! I had to fight back the overwhelming need to let out a squeal of joy.

"You look really fucking happy."

I jumped, causing my head to smack back into the door with a resounding 'thud'. I hadn't heard anyone enter the room, or sensed anyone else there when I first entered the house. Obviously, I had been a little distracted.

"Jesus, Rose, you scared me." I placed a hand over my rapidly beating heart in an attempt to calm it down, taking a few deep breaths.

"So what's with the smile that's taking over your entire face?" she asked me, teasingly.

I sighed, dreamily, walking the rest of the way into our family room, finding the couch and plopping down. Rose's feet padded across the carpet bringing her to drop down next to me on the couch causing me to bounce lightly and sending a gust of her sweet sent of oranges and cream in my direction. I let out a loud giggle. I was just so happy that I was down right frickening giddy!

Rose laughed lightly at my behavior as I began to speak. "I just came from the park and I saw Edward again."

I couldn't stop the smile that permeated my face just from vocalizing his name. My cheeks were starting to hurt I was smiling so much.

Rose was silent for a moment, causing the smile to start to fade. "Rose?"

"That's great Bells..," she replied, trailing off.

"Rose!" I groaned. "Don't be like this. It's not that big of a deal. I just have a crush on a boy." I shrugged.

"Huh-huh. Just a crush? I've never seen you like this, Bella!" Rose's light hearted tone was back, causing me to breakout in a wide grin once again. "Bella, you know that I'm happy for you, right? It's just..,"

I held up my hand to stop her. I already knew what she was going to say. I knew she wasn't really mad about me seeing Edward. She was only worried about my brother's reaction. But really, how mad could he get? Once he saw how happy I was he was bound to lighten up. After all, I was a great judge of character. He knew that about me.

I let out a loud squeal and Rose laughed again.

"I don't know what it is about him, Rose. He just makes me so happy and content. He asked me out on a date for this Saturday." I stated confidently, but quietly, my voice holding a tone of confidence mirroring my happiness with the unexpected situation

"A date?! What! Where to?" she asked, excitedly. I was excited to hear the enthusiasm in her voice. This is just what I needed: My best friend to discuss this with, to gush about a boy with. We've never really had these kinds of conversations before. I've hardly ever crushed on boys and as she was dating my brotherso the last thing I wanted was for her to share the dirty details about them with me!

"The Ann Arbor Jazz and Blues Festival at Gallop Park."

"Oh, that's perfect! That will be so much fun," Rose responded.

"What will be so much fun?" Emmett's loud voice rang from across the room, the floor shaking with his heavy steps as he walked towards us.

I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

"I got invited to the Ann Arbor Jazz and Blues Festival on Saturday."

"That's great Bells! Sounds incredibly boring to me, but I know you'll love it!" Emmett responded, laughing lightly. Emmett found anything other than heavy rock completely boring. I was never offended when he said things like this; it was just how he was. He'd rather listen to System of a Down or Breaking Benjamin than Mozart or Vivaldi. "Who are you going with?" he asked, a tone of genuine interest in his voice.

"Actually, that's interesting. You know him," I started, trailing off a little at the end and whispering 'him'.

Of course, Emmett was as sharp as a whip, "Him?!" his surprised voice was a little louder than normal, but not all that angry.

"Yes, his name is Edward Cullen. He said he's in your fraternity," I finished in a rush and waited for the fall out. I didn't have to wait long.

"Cullen? Edward Fucking Cullen asked you on a date?!" he yelled, the couch skidding backwards violently as he jumped up, stomping his feet on the ground as he began to pace back and forth in front of us. "That little shit, I'm going to fucking kill him." I could hear the sounds of his fist smacking against his other hand.

"Emmett," Rose stated firmly, her voice a warning tone.

"I fucking told him to stay away from her and he fucking deliberately goes behind my back and asked her on a date. He's going to fucking die," Emmett mumbled quickly, his anger so great that his words were almost blending together.

"You did WHAT?!" I yelled, and I hoped the tone of my voice conveyed how livid I was as I caught the part of him telling Edward to stay away from me. What the hell was his problem?

Abruptly, a resounding crack echoed throughout the living room causing me to jump and my heart began racing out of control. What the hell was that? Rosalie gasped, and gripped my hand tightly. She intertwined her fingers with mine in an attempt to comfort and reassure me. Emmett let out a loud groan.

"Emmett! What the fuck?" Rosalie screamed, causing me to jump again. "That was completely unnecessary. Don't be such a barbarian. Now we're going to have to get the drywall replaced. What the hell is the matter with you?"

Get the drywall replaced? I let out a gasp. Did Emmett just punch a wall?

"You're not going out with him, Bella. That's fucking final," Emmett yelled, his voice rough, loud and angry, completely ignoring Rosalie's and my words.

My eyes began to prick with tears, and I quickly wiped them away. It was useless as more just overflowed to take their place. I knew he'd be upset about this, but I had no idea he'd be like this. Emmett had never raised his voice to me before, not once in my entire life.

"Emmett!" Rose yelled, scolding him. "You're being ridiculous."

"No Rose, Cullen is fucking trouble. She's not going anywhere with him. That's fucking final," he yelled back at her. Emmett had never raised his voice to Rose before either. He knew better then to do that. She started to yell back but he cut her off, turning to me. "You hear me, Bella?"

Squeezing my eyes shut tight, I attempted to push the sob back that was threatening to break loose. Rosalie gripped my hand tighter, rubbing soft circles against the back of my hand with her thumb, the sensation soothing me slightly.

I didn't even know how to respond to him. Was he honestly forbidding me from seeing Edward? It was so utterly ridiculous.

This wasn't supposed to be happening like this. Emmett wasn't supposed to be treating me this way, as if I was a broken child. He was supposed to be my rock, my support, my encourager. I should be gossiping with Rosalie and planning what I am going to wear on my first date with a boy, not sitting here struggling to push back tears and keep calm.

My first date.

I was twenty-two years old and I had never been on a date with a boy. I wanted to both laugh and cry with that thought. Finally having a chance to just be normal and it was being taken away from me.

"Rose, hand me my cane, please," I told her softly. My voice was shaky, with hurt and disappointment.

She released my hand, quietly bending over and picking up my cane. I heard the soft clicking of it snapping open and then she placed it in my hand, the cool metal providing me with an odd sense of comfort and security.

I grasped it firmly as I stood up and began heading in the direction of my bedroom.

"Bella?" Emmett asked, his voice softening only slightly.

I held my hand up quickly, to silence any further comments he might have. I shook my head minutely, not trusting my voice. I didn't want to breakdown out here. I wanted the privacy and comfort of my own bedroom.

My brother didn't say anything, the only sounds that could be heard throughout the room were his heavy breathing, and my feet brushing against the soft plush carpeting as I walked away.

Once the door was shut closed, I let the tears fall, a flood of emotions raking through me: loss, love, anger, sadness, confusion and longing.

It only took the short time between me walking to my bed and falling on it before a screaming match between Emmett and Rosalie ensued. I didn't bother listening to what they were saying. Their words were not important. The harsh tones flying between them were enough to send me further over the edge.

Emmett and Rosalie were all that I had. The fact that they were fighting about me was killing me inside. As much as it hurt, if he felt this strongly about me not seeing Edward, then I would respect that. Emmett was my world and I couldn't bear to see him upset. I was willing to sacrifice my own happiness for his. After all, there were countless times he had done it for me. I didn't agree at all with his assumptions about Edward, but I would respect his feelings and honor his request.

Therefore, I knew what I had to do.

I picked up my phone, holding it tightly in my hand.

Taking a few deep breaths, I attempted to reign in my emotions before calling Edward. I couldn't let him hear how upset I was, or I knew I'd never be able to do this. I knew he'd talk me out of it.

"Call Edward," I stated into my phone, and waited for the ringing to begin. My heart hammered in my chest as I waited for him to pick up the call. Please don't pick up. Please don't pick up. This would be so much easier if I didn't have to hear his smooth, sexy voice.

"Hello, beautiful," he crooned into the phone, the smile that was sure to be placed on his face was evident in his voice. My heart immediately clenched in pain. Bending over, I placed my head in between my legs, attempting to fold in on myself and ease the pain in my chest. How was I going to be able to do this?

"Hi, Edward." My voice coming out much quieter and raspier then I intended.

"Bella? What's the matter? You sound upset," Edward stated quickly, concern evident in his voice.

Oh, well I've just been sobbing my eyes out. Because of you. Because of my brother. Nothing big.

"Nothing, Edward," I cleared my throat, before continuing. "Um, listen, Edward, I just needed to talk to you really quickly."

"Okay…" he stated, hesitantly. "What is it?"

"Um, well, I uh," C'mon Bella, be strong. This is for the best. "I can't go out with you Saturday."

"What happened? Why not? Would you like to do something else, another time?" he asked me eagerly, but concern still laced in his voice.

I sucked in a breath, choking back the tears that were soon to fall again.

"I..I..just can't right now. I have to go. Bye, Edward."

"Wait-,"

I clicked the phone shut before he could say one more word. I closed my eyes tightly and fell back onto the bed. Lying on my side, I brought my knees up, hugging them tightly to me. Ignoring the aching feeling in my chest, I let the tears fall, and kept repeating to myself that I was doing the right thing.

But why did the right thing have to hurt so badly?

~*~*~

EPOV

I stared at my phone, confused as to what the hell had just happened.

My mind whirled with different emotions; hurt, confusion and worry. I was hurt that Bella was canceling on me, confused as to why and concerned about her. Something definitely wasn't right.

I contemplated calling her straight back, demanding some kind of answer, but something inside me indicated that probably wouldn't be a good idea. She seemed so damn upset.

I frowned.

The idea of Bella being upset, for whatever reason, made me want to get in my car and drive over to her house, to hold her and to make everything better for her. But now, there was nothing that I could do.

I ran my fingers through my hair, yanking hard on the ends, and letting out a frustrated growl.

Fuck.

I got up and started pacing back and forth. Well, shit. There was no way I was going to be able to focus now. I needed to burn off some of this frustration, and it was too late to go for a run, so I decided to do the next best thing.

I grabbed my car keys and decided to head over to the fraternity house. Even though it was a Monday, I was positive the guys would be around drinking.

- - - -

Not bothering to knock, I headed straight into the house and sure enough, several of the guys were gathered around playing beer pong.

"Edward, hey man. How's it going?" Jake called out, as I entered the room.

"It's been better. Let's just leave it at that." I stated, not really wanting to get into a lot of details. I just wanted to forget about everything that had been on my mind, which included Bella, and all the shit to do with my father.

He nodded his head in understanding before walking over to the mini-fridge and pulling out a beer for me.

I took it eagerly from Jake, giving him a nod of thanks. I cracked it open, tipped it back and sucked down nearly half the can in one chug. Jake stared at me curiously, obviously realizing something was up, but didn't ask any further questions. This was what I liked the most about my friendship with Jake – he didn't pry. He knew I'd come to him if and when I needed to.

For the next hour or so, I dicked around with the guys drinking beers, watching ESPN, and just joking around. I pounded through five beers during this time period and had started to get a pretty good buzz going.

Not surprisingly, the booze did not help clear my mind from thoughts of Bella. I wondered what she was doing right now, if she was okay, and briefly thought about stepping outside to call her.

Just as I was about to pull my cell phone out of my pocket and head toward a quieter area, I heard a angry yell and jerked my head up to see Emmett running towards me with his arm cocked backwards and before I even had time to blink, a sharp pain filled my skull and my head jerked backwards. The pain was unlike anything I'd ever felt in my entire life, causing me to stumble back. Instinctively, my hands flew up to my face, causing me to drop my beer onto the floor, the contents showering over my feet and ankles.

I bent over at the waist, clutching my head and screaming out. The pain shooting through my skull was disorienting. It felt like someone just struck me in the forehead with a two by four. I was briefly aware of a commotion going on around me, people yelling and standing at all sides of me. I felt one person standing in front of me and another one pulling at my arm, I think in an attempt to bring me back to my feet. I let out a loud groan as I finally managed to stand up straight

I attempted to open my eyes, but one was unable to open and quickly began panicking. It felt as though my eyeball had tripled in size in just a matter of a few seconds.

"What the fuck?!" I cried out, immediately regretting it, due to the fact my skull felt that it had just been cracked in half.

"You fucking piece of shit! I told you to fucking stay away from her! You deliberately went behind my back and you fucking disrespected me!"

Then the fog began to clear and I realized what the fuck had just happened.

Emmett had punched me in the motherfucking head.

Motherfucker!

Without thinking, I launched myself at Emmett and it was as if everything was going in slow motion.

Only seeing red, I swung my arm back as I approached him, my fist connecting with his iron stomach causing him thankfully to stumble backwards. I yelled out in pain as my hand crunched against him, but I didn't fucking care. I was too fucking pissed. It was his turn to bend over at the waist, clutching his stomach where I had hit him. He stood up just as quickly as he had bent over and glared at me, his face beat red. I could faintly see a vein in his neck pulsating.

He stalked towards me again, but before he could take another swing at me, two of our fraternity brothers grabbed him, holding him back. I felt someone grab hold of my arms and pull me backwards.

"Edward, what the fuck man? Calm down."

It was Jake who had grabbed me, so I settled a little bit. However, I was still seething.

"What the fuck, Emmett?!" I yelled, and I clutched my swollen eye. It hurt like a mother fucking bitch.

Emmett continued to glare at me with a look of disgust.

Demetri ran towards me, holding a bag of frozen vegetables that I quickly placed over the swelling eye. The ice cold package stung against my skin at first, but that quickly gave way to a soothing sensation.

"Does someone want to explain to me what the fuck is going on?" Demetri asked, his tone sharp. "Or do I have to suspend you both from the fraternity?" He looked back and forth between Emmett and I, his eyebrows raised high up into his hair line.

Emmett grunted and shook off the two brothers who were holding him back. He mumbled something to them about being under control and they reluctantly released him.

"This motherfucker here deliberately went behind my back and did something I specifically told him not to do," Emmett growled, glaring at me.

"Oh. get over yourself, Emmett. I didn't deliberately do anything. It just happened!" I defended. "What the hell is your problem with me?! What the fuck did I ever do to you?"

And before he could answer the pieces just fell into place.

Anger bubbled up inside me as I realized exactly what happened tonight, and why Bella canceled our date. "You told Bella she couldn't see me, didn't you? That's why she fucking called to cancel our date," I accused.

Emmett looked at me confused for a second then smiled smugly. "Damn right, I did. It's what's best for her."

I laughed bitterly. "What's best for her? You're not doing what's best for her! You're sheltering her. Stop being so fucking overprotective! You can't even tell me what the fuck I ever did to warrant this kind of treatment. You hardly even know me and just make up these wild accusations in your head about what kind of person I am. How about you actually get to know me before you start making accusations," I seethed.

He glared at me, his jaw clenched tight. "You don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

He glared at me one last time before turning around and walking out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

~*~*~

BPOV

I must have fallen asleep because I was jolted awake by a loud bang, followed by yelling. My heart hammered in my chest, and I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself down.

"Emmett!? WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?!"

Rosalie's voice ripped through the silence of my room with an angry fervor. My heart started beating erratically again, frightened by her outrage and curious to know what it was that Emmett had done.

Cautiously, I made my way out of my room and into living room where the overheated voices were coming from.

"Rose, I just couldn't control myself. I've never been so fucking angry in my entire life! I had to just fucking punch someone!" Emmett growled out.

"So you fucking punched Edward in the face?!" Rosalie shrieked.

I gasped and my hand flew to my mouth, causing my cane to drop to the floor.

"You did what?!" I half whispered and half shrieked, in disbelief. Rosalie had to be mistaken. Emmett wouldn't hit anyone. He was my big teddy bear.

"Bella-,"

"Emmett, you didn't really hit Edward, did you?" I asked, cutting him off, my voice firm and confident as I ran my hand along the wall of the hallway as I made my way into the living room. "Tell me, Emmett, that you didn't actually do that."

"Bella, I uh..,"

"Oh, my God! Emmett! What the hell?! Why?!" I screamed, a new fresh round of tears welling up.

He sighed. "Bella, I was just so mad. I told him not to do something and he deliberately went behind my back and did it anyway. I went to the fraternity house and he was there and it just happened. I was.., No, am, so angry,"

"Emmett, this is ridiculous, and has gotten way too out of control! You've actually hurt another person! Over what? Trying to protect me? And from what? Emmett, do you honestly even know Edward to make the kind of judgments you're making?" I yelled, throwing my hands up in the air out of frustration. "I cancelled my date with Edward, because you were so angry. So your barbaric behavior was unwarranted."

I was having a hard time believing that he actually physically hurt another person, and the fact that it was Edward made me almost physically ill. Edward was hurt because of me. He would not be in pain if it wasn't for me. Concern for Edward began to consume me, my heart ached and my stomach clenched. God, how badly was her hurt? I wanted to call him to hear his voice and know he was okay, but I couldn't do that. I'm sure he didn't want to speak to me ever again. First, I had cancelled on our date, now my brother had physically assaulted him!

"I know," he whispered, I could almost hear a small hint of regret in his voice. "Bella, you know all I've ever wanted to do is protect you. I love you. You don't have the most experience in the world with guys and I just worry."

I understood his concerns, and I loved him for it. But in a lot of ways, this was the last straw. I couldn't continue on like this and he couldn't keep holding me back. It wasn't fair to me.

"Emmett, I love you and I know you mean well, but how am I ever supposed to get any experience in anything if you treat me like a child? I understand your concern and I appreciate your protectiveness," I said, my voice softening, "but at a certain point, Emmett, you have to let me live. I'm not an imbecile. I'm fully functional. I'm blind, Emmett. I'm not severely cognitively impaired. Quite frankly, you treat me as if I am. I can't live with you and Rose for the rest of my life. You have to let me build a life of my own. You have to trust me."

"I do trust you, Bella. It's other people that I don't trust. It's so easy for people to take advantage of you, it scares me," he whispered, his voice sad but yet full of love for me.

"I know, Emmett. But you have to trust my judgment," I reasoned. I'd always been a good judge of character. It was like my fifth sense.

The room was quiet for several moments as Emmett, and even Rosalie, took in my words. Their breathing was steady and my heart began to calm.

The floor creaked as Emmett began walking towards me. "I'm sorry, Bella," he whispered as he approached, taking my hands in his and pulling me into a gentle hug. I wrapped my arms around his waist, holding him tight. "I love you."

"I love you too, Emmett," I stated gently, rubbing my hands up and down his back.

"I'm sorry," he whispered again.

I nodded. "I know. But I don't think it's me that you need to apologize to. I think there is someone else who needs your apology much more then I do."

He pulled away from me groaning, "Bella, I'm..,"

"Emmett, I'm not asking you to apologize today, or even tomorrow. But I think it's necessary. He's your fraternity brother. You owe him that much. If you step back and think about it, you'll see that you've been way over reactive about this whole thing. Edward did nothing wrong."

He let out a sigh.

"Just promise me you'll think about it," I urged, hoping he'd listen.

"Ok, I'll think about it, but I'm not making any promises."


A/N: Soooo.. thoughts? =)

Thank you to everyone who has put this on alerts/faves! I've had a ton of people add this little fic recently and it's made my heart just fill with love for all of you! Thank you to everyone who takes the time out to review and say HI. It's much appreciated! This time I think I'll be able to send out teasers in my review reply, as I have much of Chapter 8 already written. So if you'd like a little preview, give me some love! I also have posted teasers on The Fictionators in the past, so you can check there on Monday's to see if I've posted one. If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know. =)

LASTLY, Agoraphobiantic, LittleClareStar and myself wrote a little silly o/s for a friend of ours. The Tablecloth - it's posted on my page. Check it out if you want a good laugh and havent yet!