Pay Back

Many thanks to Stephenie Meyer for letting me play with her toys for a little while. I, of course, own nothing. They are all hers.


Chapter 7 –Things Get Out of Hand

Author's Note: I want to say a special thank you to KlutzLikeBella. She added a lot to making this chapter much richer and smoothing out the rough spots. If you haven't read her work yet, I would really encourage you to read "Monster and Man". It's brilliant! Thanks KLB. You rock!

Emmett's POV

Today was a nightmare – a waking nightmare. That damned stench! I couldn't get rid of it. Every time I thought I had, it would resurface. And Rosalie . . . she was pissed. Rose was my angel but she could be . . . unpleasant . . . when riled.

I swear, the next time I see one of those werewolves; I'm ripping out his throat. I don't care if his name's Jared, Jacob, or Jeremiah Puddle Duck. I hate those damned dogs and I hate that smell!

Growling, I shut off the water in the shower. I wiped the water from my face and grabbed a towel, as I stepped out of the shower – again.

I stopped for a moment to listen for the others. I could hear Bella moving in Edward's room, and I knew that he'd be with her. He never left her side for long – especially since I started pouncing on her every chance I got. Yeah, I knew it was the root my problem today; because if I hadn't gotten in her truck to startle her, I wouldn't be covered in werewolf pheromones. But it was just so much fun to scare Bella. I grinned as I thought about how much fun it was. The sound of her heart pounding, the startled scream, the blush, the smell of adrenaline as it belatedly rushed through her system (that was always my cue to leave – I wouldn't put her in any real danger by staying too close). But the best part was the evil eye she'd give me; she looked like a mouse trying to stare down the owl that was swooping down on it. The memory of that made me chuckle. Bella was my little sister in every way that mattered. I'd cheerfully kill anyone outside of this family who bothered her. And in the meantime, it was my job as a big brother to tease her as much as possible.

I knew that Edward did not want to change her. He fought against it with everything he was, but I also knew that he would not be able to resist much longer. They belonged together, and he was useless without her. She would be changed. And then it would be easier to have fun with her, but all her colourful human reactions would be gone. Which was why I needed to make the most of it now. She wouldn't have a human's reactions for very much longer. Really, I was working on a deadline! I was doing her a favor, showing her what brothers were like while she was still human. I laughed to myself with that thought.

Still smirking to myself, I got dressed quickly and toweled dry my hair. When I was done, I stared at the towel in my hand. Cautiously I smelled it. Thank God. The only thing I could smell now was the tomato juice. Maybe this had finally gotten rid of the stink.

I sighed as I thought about what to do about Rose. I debated whether to take the time now to thoroughly clean our room or go see her first. When she was in a bad mood, it was often a mistake to leave her alone too long. Leaving Rose alone with her thoughts when she was angry was never a good idea.

I decided to just give our room a cursory cleaning for now. Then I'd go see her in the garage and do what I could to make this up to her, before returning to our room to finish cleaning it. I walked around the bedroom, looking for where the scent was coming from. Yes, I remember touching the closet door handle. But honestly I couldn't believe I hadn't realized I was still spreading the smell. Shouldn't I have been able to smell the stink on myself? Something wasn't quite right about the whole situation, but I could not figure out what it was. After a moment, I gave up thinking about it. I needed to prioritize and Rosalie (that is, calming Rose down) came first.

Taking a cloth and some cleaner from under the sink, I attacked the worst of the problems, leaving a more detailed cleaning for later. Afterwards, I put away the cleaning supplies and washed my hands again.

I'd just throw out the tainted hairbrush. I wasn't taking any more chances!

As I made my way down the stairs and to the front door, I started to review my options with Rosalie and how I would handle her. Hmm. It was time to bring out the big artillery. I kept a small stash of gifts for Rosalie just in case she got upset unexpectedly – a precaution that has come in handy many times in the 68 years I have spent married to my volatile goddess. I had picked up a lovely pearl necklace that I hadn't given her yet. That might soften her mood a bit. I pondered how best to present it to her.

I closed the front door behind me and crossed the porch to the steps. The breeze shifted a bit, and the stench hit me again. Rosalie wasn't kidding. The stink coming off the couch was hard to miss. The smell seemed to curl in the air around the couch and front door.

That suddenly reminded me. My clothes and the stinky towel from last night were still in a heap on the laundry room floor. They were probably wafting smelly fumes into the air too. Making a last minute change of plans, I decided I should throw those in the washer before going out to the garage. If Rosalie came back in before I took care of the laundry room . . . well, it was better not to think about that possibility.

I turned around and went back into the house. I slowly made my way back to the staircase, still wondering how I was going to calm my angel.

I was distracted from my thoughts by the sound of Bella moving down the hallway on the second floor. Strange. There was really no reason for her to be on the second floor. The only rooms in that hall were Jasper's study, my room, Carlisle's study, Alice's room . . . Oh, of course! I shook my head at my own stupidity. Bella was getting something from Alice's room. And then I realized that her footsteps were too far down, and on the wrong side of the hall. She was in my room. Now why…?

After 70 years of living with a mind-reader, some things become instinctive. I started blocking Edward. I focused on visions of Rosalie wearing nothing but the pearl necklace and a playful smirk.

Where was Edward anyway? I couldn't hear him. I slowly climbed the stairs, listening carefully. It sounded as though two pieces of metal were scraping against one another, like something was being screwed together. Or unscrewed. What the Hell?

To continue blocking Edward, I thought, Maybe when Rosalie calms down I can get her to put on her new black corset with the thigh-high leather boots . . . I let my imagination run with that for a few moments. Sometimes, it was far too easy to keep my brother from listening to my thoughts.

I continued to listen carefully as I crept down the hallway. I could hear Bella moving in my bathroom. I heard the shower door close and the rustling of her clothing as she moved around the room.

I pushed open the bathroom door to find Bella standing in the middle of the room. In her hand was a plastic bag with a small piece of cloth in it, and she was holding my recently-used towel. I was hit by the distinctive smell of werewolf.

We both stared at each other stunned for a moment. Then with sudden clarity, I understood. My siblings were playing me! Those fiends! I couldn't believe they had convinced Bella to take a part in one of their plots! They couldn't even face me for themselves; they had to send a human to do their dirty work!

HELL!

I grabbed her around the waist, dropped her into the shower stall, and flicked on the cold water before shutting the shower door on her. I held the shower door shut with my foot as I put my real strength to hold the bathroom door closed. I knew Edward would be crashing through in another minute.

Bella pounded on shower door, trying to open it, yelling "Emmett, let me out! It's cold!"

"Do you have any idea how many showers I've had in the last 24 hours?" I asked her loudly. Then I laughed, "Besides, Bella, the taps are on your side of the door!"

"Oh crap." She stopped banging and turned to shut off the water.

I had only a brief moment to wonder why the smell of werewolf had increased, and then the door under my shoulder shattered into splinters as Edward hit it full force from the other side.

We both fell to the floor, Edward landing on me.

He then grabbed me by the shirt and dragged me out of the bathroom.

Bella emerged from the shower, dripping wet. She followed into the hall, her eyes wide as she tried to stay out of the way of the tussle. Both Edward and I tried to keep away from her as we wrestled – I didn't want to hurt her.

But I will dump her back in the shower first chance I get! I thought directly to Edward to piss him off.

Edward growled and pushed us both further down the hall, towards the stairs. My threat to Bella had succeeded in angering him, as I intended. That gave me a certain satisfaction.

You little bastard! It was you, wasn't it? This was all your idea! I accused him as I struggled to get him in a headlock.

And then he started shaking with laughter, unable to wrestle effectively any longer.

I'll teach you to laugh at me, you arrogant little . . . ! Still laughing, he managed to break free of my grasp. I jumped at him, but even hysterical, he was too fast for me to catch. He was past me in an instant. He grinned. It was then that I realized I had put myself in a very bad position. Crap.

With a final push, he sent us both tumbling down the stairs. I was vaguely aware of breaking the banister before landing on top of Edward at the bottom. I grabbed at his arms, trying to pin him to the floor. He never stopped laughing.

Alice rushed into the entrance hall from the back kitchen door, followed immediately by Rosalie and Jasper. Jasper took one look at Edward and me and burst into gales of laughter of his own. But he made no move to help Edward at all.

"It's your turn next, Jasper! Count on it! Just as soon as I'm done murdering Edward!" I snarled as I finally succeeded in pinning Edward to the floor.

Jasper just laughed harder.

Rosalie, her temper frayed to begin with, lost it completely. I'm pretty sure even she had no idea who she was angry with, so she just shouted at everyone.

Then the door opened. Shoot….