Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
I want to thank my tremendous beta, Emily Bowden, for making my words so pretty. Also, I want to thank all of you who reviewed, they all made me smile. I thought my face was going to break in half.
Revised 6/18: I changed a few things on this chapter. I should've added them from the beginning.
6. Consequences
Jasper POV
We were almost ready to leave. The only thing we were missing was the binoculars. I had a feeling Emmett built a bomb with them, or some other crazy shit. When I asked him about it, he looked sheepishly around for them. That was when I knew we would have to stop on the way to get another pair.
"Emmett, did you find them?" I had to ask again, just to see the guilty, panicked look on his face.
Where's a camera when you need one….
"Um, no; I don't see them anywhere. Are you sure you brought them back here after the last job?" he solemnly asked.
I should put him out of his misery…
"Em, did you break the binoculars?" I couldn't control the smile that was tugging at my lips. Emmett's shoulders sagged and he let out a long breath.
"Yes and no; I have them but we can't use them," he replied, looking like a lost puppy.
"And why not?" I just had to ask.
"Well," he started, scratching his head nervously, "I was watching this awesome spy movie the other night. There was a bad guy spying on the good guys, so I thought it would be a fantastic idea if when the bad guy pressed the zoom button, his head blew up into little pieces. So long story short, I am ninety percent sure that's what the binoculars will do," he explained, looking nervous and rather excited at that idea of someone's head blowing up.
He had rendered me speechless. Sometimes, the things that would come out of Emmett's mouth amazed us all. He was brilliant -no one could argue against that -but one would never know it. He never showed it. I don't think he was ashamed of it; he just didn't really care about what people thought or said.
"Emmett, you have some serious issues," I said through my laughter.
"Yeah, this is coming from the guy that shoots a load in his pants every time he fires a gun," Emmett replied.
Oh hell…
"Em, you do know that was just a joke. Get over it already. Anyways, do you know when Edward is coming home? I want to get this over with before eleven. There's an online auction on this antique gun and I just have to have it," I said while loading up the last of the things.
"Um, I don't really know. He said he was going to be back by seven so he should be almost home. On another note, how do you like Bella?" he asked.
I knew he had been dying to ask me that question. I had been the only one that hadn't really said much about Bella, besides sort of defending her when Alice was talking about shooting her. I knew Alice would never do that. She wasn't that type of person.
"I don't have a problem with her. She hasn't done anything wrong. And honestly, I thought she handled the news quite well. I thought she would at least attempt to bolt out the door, not go beat Edward up." I chuckled at the memory.
That girl had balls bigger than Rosalie, and that was saying something. Rose was the biggest cold-hearted bitch in our whole crew. I guess killing someone you loved did that to a person. I knew that if I was ever confronted with a situation where I had to kill Alice, I would become a deranged lunatic, killing everything and anyone in sight.
"Yeah, well, Edward didn't really put up much of a fight. She does seem like a feisty little thing. When I went up stairs to tell them about lunch, they were going at it or about to at least. I think Edward really likes her," Emmett said with a dreamy look on his face, and I couldn't help but call him on it.
"Em, are you crushing on Bella? Because that is all kinds of wrong right there; Edward just found her, dude. Let it marinate," I said, with a serious tone. I was just teasing him though. I knew there was no one but Rose for this big oaf.
"Nah, bro. I'm just thinking that we are like the six musketeers now. I wonder what Bella is good at," he said, tapping his chin with this index finger.
I could see the wheels turning; this was bound to be good.
"You do know it's the Three Musketeers, right?" I told him.
"No, I'm sure there were six of them," he said, scratching his head as he pondered this bit of information.
All right…
"Uh, sure, Em. Whatever you say. Just do us all a favor and don't do anything too drastic, all right? Let Bella come out of her shell alone," I said.
Just as Emmett was about to answer me, Edward popped his head in. "Is everything ready?"
"Yeah, we were just waiting on you, Romeo," I teased.
"Ha, ha, funny. Let me just say goodnight to Bella and we'll leave," he said, walking back in the house.
"He's whipped already and he hasn't even gotten any," Emmett commented with a chuckle.
"Emmett, how would you know that?" I asked in disbelief.
"I have my ways, brother, I have my ways," he responded, proud of himself.
"Alrighty then," I said, looking at him with my eyebrows raised and wide eyes.
Emmett looked at my expression and shook his head. "Nah, J. It ain't like that. Jesus, you act like I'm some kind of pervert," he said.
"Uh, huh; whatever you say, Emmett." He was so easy to mess with.
"You two ladies ready to leave or would you like more time to play with each other?" Edward asked as he leaned against the door
"Ha, ha, no we're done pulling at each others' dicks. Unless you want to come join the party, we can pull our pants down and you can pick which one you like best," I told him in a serious tone.
"I think I'll pass on that one. Maybe next time." Edward rolled his eyes. "Come on let's go," he said, moving towards the passenger side door. "J, how long have you known this guy?"
"Um, a few years; you know him. Remember Eric? Poor little rich boy? We did the jewelry heist for him last October," I replied.
"Oh yeah, that one was a killer," Edward remembered, getting this faraway look on his face.
"Were you thinking about when we had to jump off the building?" Emmett asked.
Last October, we had a contract job for a necklace worth over five million dollars. Edward and Emmett were inside when the police came. It was sort of weird because there were no sirens…no nothing. They were being shot at and they ended up having to jump off the building. Edward lost his pants in the process so he ended up having to walk three blocks with nothing but his shirt wrapped around his hips because Emmett refused to give him his shirt.
The strange thing was that Edward kept insisting that one of the officers looked like Royce. There was no way he should've been alive, but Edward was adamant that he'd seen him that night. Edward insisted that he would always remember the face of the bastard that put ten bullets in him. It had shaken him because at that point, we were all under the assumption that Rosalie had taken care of that fucking traitor. He badgered Rose over and over until he seemed satisfied with her answer, even though it had never changed.
The incident with Royce had placed a wedge between everyone in the house. The aftermath had long-lasting effects on everyone, but especially Rose. Edward wouldn't leave Rose alone for a long time after. Alice never really trusted Rose completely, and it took Alice a while to gain the relationship she once had with her sister.
In Alice's world, she couldn't understand how Rose could sit there and watch her brother bleed to death and do nothing about it. The arguments would become so heated that at one point, Alice actually pulled a gun on Rose. Rose's response was always the same: 'don't judge me unless you have been in my shoes.' She didn't even attempt to protect herself from Alice's weapon.
I had to intervene; Alice wouldn't listen to anyone. It got to the point that I had to ask Alice if it would have been me that almost killed Edward, would she have had the balls to kill me. She couldn't answer me, and to this day, she still could not give me an answer.
"Edward, we don't have to do it if you don't want to. I could always call him and tell him something came up." I didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable; we really didn't need to do it.
"No, I'm fine. I'm wearing underwear this time," Edward joked, attempting to smile. I could still see something was wrong but I didn't push; if he wanted to talk, he would.
We got to the museum forty minutes later. Emmett handed everyone an earpiece and tested the clarity of the transmission.
"Horny Bronze, No-Longer-Loner, can you hear?" Emmett asked Edward.
"Wow, that's the best you can come up with, Em? Try something a little shorter, will you?" Edward admonished.
"Copy that. Southern Gunner, do you copy?" I turned around to look at him.
"Emmett, I'm sitting right next to you," I told him.
"Yeah, but I have to make sure it works just in case we have to separate, smart ass," he responded.
"Whatever. Edward you should head to the west side of the building. There are some guards coming out the east side heading north."
"All right," he responded.
I watched numbly as Edward made his way toward the darkened building. Emmett had his communication devices set up and wired, keeping tabs on Edward's trajectory. I had tapped into the mainframe, watching the guards through their own security system. I watched as Edward made his advancement, keeping into the shadows and relaying the details back to our makeshift home base.
Something felt odd; I thought there would be a lot more guards, but so far, we had only seen five. Eric made it seem like this place was heavily guarded. An amateur could pull this off with the little amount of security detail.
A few more minutes passed before I tried contacting Edward. "Edward, there's a guard heading your way."
He didn't respond.
"Edward?"
Something was definitely wrong; Edward knew not to go dark when we were on recognizance. That was when we heard the first shot. Emmett and I stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before we both bolted out of the car. I had never run so fast in my entire life. Then another shot rang through the air. I could hear the gush of air leaving someone's lungs.
Shit….
"Edward!" Emmett and I screamed in unison.
It was strange how none of the other guards had come running from the sound of the gun shots. It was eerily quiet. Not a person in sight.
This was a fucking set up!
When we reached Edward he was on his knees looking straight ahead. I thought I saw a smiling figure moving through the trees but I didn't have the time to go chasing after it.
"Shit! Edward, man, hold on! Everything is gonna be okay. Just hold on. Jasper!" Emmett yelled pulling me out of the trance I seemed to be under.
Emmett picked him up and I held pressure on the wound as best I could. It was an awkward position to be in. Edward kept mumbling about Royce and Bella, then about Rose. It was all jumbled but we knew exactly what he was talking about.
Once we got in the car, Emmett kept the pressure on Edward's wounds and I was driving like a possessed man.
"Do you think he's alive?" I heard Emmett asked.
"Who?" I screamed, trying to look behind me and at the road in front of me at the same time.
"Royce," he said softly.
I looked back, Emmett looked defeated. He had been trying his hardest to get Rose to love him. To this day, he still didn't think he fully had her love. He thought he would always be in the shadow of Royce; which was ridiculous because Emmett is a billion times better than Royce ever was.
"Rose said he was dead. She said she shot him herself. Why would she lie? Even with what happened last October, why would she lie?" I asked him.
Things just didn't add up. Rose knew how Royce was. He was a vindictive asshole. She knew if she didn't kill him, he was gonna come back. He was going to come back and hurt everyone she loved, mainly Edward; he was always a thorn in Royce's side.
Edward never trusted him, but he trusted his sister's judgment.
"Because she loves him," I heard Emmett reply.
I didn't have to answer that; we both knew it. There was no point in throwing it back in his face. I wasn't going to be the one to put him down.
I took my cell phone out to call Rose, but luck seemed to be against us tonight because Alice answered.
"Hello?"
"Ali, baby, put Rose on the phone please," I tried to sound as calm as possible but I didn't think I succeeded.
"Jasper, what's wrong? What happened?" she frantically asked.
"Ali, tell Rose to get everything ready….Edward was shot."
"Oh God, Rose!" I heard her yell before the line went dead.
We made it to the house in twenty minutes.
I just hoped that was quick enough….
"Rose!" I yelled "Rose! Get your ass down here now!"
I heard running from inside the house and then a gasp at the door.
Edward POV
Fuck, I hated getting shot…
The tortured moments after were hazy and distorted, almost like a dream. I could still hear and feel what was going on around me. I heard Emmett telling me to hold on, that everything was going to be all right. I could feel the sharp pain as he pressed down on my chest, attempting to stop the bleeding.
But this felt nothing like the last time. I thought it was safe to say that the element of surprise made it hurt a bit less than it happening when staring down the end of a barrel.
I knew it was Royce; no one believed me last time. What angered me the most was that Rosalie sat there and lied to my face. No, anger was not the emotion I was feeling right then. Disappointment. That was worse than anger.
My own flesh and blood had once again chosen that scum bag over us. We were not safe. None of us were. And I had brought Bella into it. I knew Royce; he and I were a lot alike. He would have scouted out his enemy, learned their habits, comings and goings. And if Royce knew we were doing this job, then I was one hundred percent sure he knew about Bella as well. And that fact terrified me more than anything else.
What a better way to get someone than to hurt someone they care about. I knew that when he shot me, his intent was not to kill me but to let us know that he was back; I was going to be all right. And when I was, I would be the one to place a bullet right between his eyes.
Bella POV
I couldn't sleep. I just kept tossing and turning. My mind kept wondering about what he was doing. Was it normal to be this obsessed with someone you just met? I didn't know, and I sure as hell didn't give a damn.
I had resigned myself to wait until he came home to sleep, just so I could see that he was all right.
I was staring at the ceiling fan, going around in dizzying circles when I heard someone screaming and making a ruckus downstairs.
Edward…
I bolted out of bed and ran downstairs, surprised I didn't trip. I made it to the door where the noise was coming from and what I saw there was heartbreaking.
Emmett and Jasper were holding onto Edward. There was blood everywhere. Edward looked so pale, which was saying something considering he was pale to begin with; I could barely see his chest rise and fall with every shallow breath he took.
I stood frozen at the bottom of the steps until Jasper looked up and saw me standing there. Then I felt anger; I wanted to murder whoever did this. I wanted to gauge out their eyes with my bare hands. I wanted them to suffer.
"What happened?" I asked; I didn't even recognize my own voice. It sounded robotic.
"What did you guys do to him?" I yelled, suddenly feeling the panic well up inside of me.
I didn't even know how I moved forward -my mind was so disjoined from what was happening -but suddenly I was screaming and swinging from left to right. I heard Jasper in the background, telling someone to stop me. But I didn't want be grabbed or manhandled; I wanted to know what had happened. I wanted to hold Edward, to make him feel better.
I felt Emmett grab me from behind. I kicked and punched, but Emmett was stronger than me. His arms and chest were warm and sticky. I realized then that it was Edward's blood that had made Emmett feel that way. I stopped fighting, letting the sobs wreck through my chest as my legs gave out from under me. Emmett just held onto me and told me everything was going to be all right. He kept telling me that Edward was a fighter and that no little piece of metal was going to stop him.
All I could do was nod. I hadn't even noticed Rosalie leaning over Edward helping Jasper clean his wounds. I hadn't even realized Alice was standing right next to me. She looked broken. It was ironic, considering how she had been that morning. How strong and secure she seemed. And now, seeing her brother laying there broken and bleeding, she looked like a child. She didn't look scary; she looked vulnerable.
"What happened?" I asked softly.
"I don't really know, Bella. He was shot twice. But there was no one there once we reached him. He was just mumbling about you, Royce and Rose," Emmett whispered, looking over at Alice.
I turned my head and noticed that Alice gave him a questioning look. Emmett shrugged his shoulders and shook his head slightly. Right before my eyes, Alice went from a broken child to the fierce woman I had met yesterday. She locked up any emotion she was feeling and looked straight at Rosalie. If looks could kill, this one would have incinerated her.
I stared at Rosalie; she looked so worried as she helped Jasper work on Edward. There was a miniature heart monitor next to Jasper. It was beeping in a steady pattern, so I was guessing that meant Edward was still with us.
"Alice, don't," Emmett whispered harshly.
"She lied to us. To you; how can you sit there and tell me not to?" Alice whispered yelled.
"Get off your fucking high horse, Alice. We all make mistakes and you are no exception. Would you be able to kill Jasper, huh? Would you? Sure, I'm not happy, and she sure as shit should've been honest with us. But what can we do? What's done is done. Now let her be so they can fix Edward with some peace of mind. Because once he wakes up, hell is going to break loose in this house. So Let. It. Be," he firmly told her, his tone menacing.
I had only known Emmett for a day and a half, and in that time, he had always been so playful, his demeanor almost childlike. But in that moment, I was scared of him. I mean, Emmett was huge; he could probably break me in half and not even break a sweat.
Alice just stared back at him; she showed no fear. It was as if she had nothing else to lose. I was completely lost. I had no idea what they were talking about. Why was Alice talking that way about her sister? Was she going to kill her or something?
There were times that I wanted to kill Jessica but I never did it. And trust me when I say that I had many opportunities to do so. I would often wish she was dead. But when it came down to it, I was only human. Wanting my sister's death for her cruelty to me was one thing; her actual death at my hands was a completely different thing. I would cry anytime I'd catch myself actually wanting to kill her. I would feel confused and lost, having mixed emotions about my tormentor. She was my sister, after all, and I didn't think anyone could be that cruel as to end the life of their own flesh and blood.
I was beginning to really believe this family was fucking crazy. I mean, who in their right mind willingly aspires to be a bank robber? Why do they do it? How did it come down to this?
"Emmett," Jasper said. "Bella, are you gonna sit still or does Emmett still need to hold you? We need to move Edward and I can't do it alone."
Jasper looked tired and guarded. He was hiding something and he wasn't doing a very good job about it.
"I'm fine," I said, moving to sit next to Alice and hoping she wouldn't take out her frustration on me.
Emmett got up and went towards the back of the room bringing out a surf board. I looked at him funny. Why would he need a surf board?
Emmett lowered the surf board on the ground. Between him and Jasper, they slowly lifted Edward onto it and lifted him off the floor. They were very careful with their movements. They made it down the hall to one of guest room.
I got up to follow them but Alice grabbed my hand.
"Maybe you should stay with me, just in case I do something stupid," she said softly, looking back at Rosalie.
I thought about that for a second, contemplating what exactly I should do. One part of me wanted to go to Edward. I wanted to be there when he woke up. But another part felt bad for Alice, and maybe she could give me some explanation as to what was going on.
"Okay," I acquiesced, resuming my seat next to her.
It was quiet for a few minutes. I kept trying to rack up the courage to ask her about Royce and what exactly did he mean to this whole situation, but every time I just kept coming up short.
"Alice?" I whispered.
"Hum."
"Who's Royce? And why did Rosalie have to kill him?" I asked.
"Edward didn't tell you?"All I could do was shake my head. "Did he tell you anything?"
"No, well, he did say that Royce was 'taken care of.'" He really hadn't said much.
"I'm sorry, I know it's not your fault and you really haven't done anything to deserve the things I have said to you. But it's not my place to explain these things to you. What I can tell you is that Royce was Rosalie's fiancé. She met him when she was in college. We did a job together and he got greedy. Royce shot Edward. Rosalie said she killed Royce so I'm going to hope and have faith that Edward was just hallucinating," she said, but she didn't sound so sure.
Jasper POV
"Whoever shot him wasn't aiming to kill him because the bullets went straight through him. They mainly just hit muscle and tissue, bypassing major arteries and organs," I commented, looking at Emmett with a confused look.
What was he gonna do?
"Did you really kill Royce?" Emmett went straight to the point. He didn't think.
"What?" Rose looked at Emmett in disbelief. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"He kept saying Royce's name when we found him out there. So, I'm asking you again: did you kill Royce?" Emmett sounded defeated and angry.
Rose just stayed quiet. In her eyes, the truth shone clearly. Emmett laughed. He flat out laughed as if something was funny. Rose and I looked at him like he had gone crazy.
"I'm so stupid. I've never mattered to you and neither did anyone else. How could you be so selfish? What made you think that he wouldn't come back, Rosalie? What made you think that? If Edward dies this time, it's on you. If any of us dies, it's on you." Emmett shook his head and walked out of the room.
"Em, I-" but I didn't allow her to finish. He needed time to think things over.
"Rose, give him time. He'll come around." I tried to reassure her. But even I wasn't sure how Emmett was going to come back from this. "Prepare yourself for Edward. Because when that hurricane comes, most likely you'll be alone."
I left her there looking lost and defeated. Nothing good comes from keeping secrets.
Bella POV
It's been a week since Edward was shot. He still hadn't woken up. His coloring has come back, but that was about it. I sat by his bedside and talked to him, but still nothing. In the back of my mind, I kept thinking that maybe if I talked to him, he would wake up.
So much for wishful thinking…
Things around the house had been weird; Emmett and Rosalie were not talking to each other. Well, Rosalie attempted to talk to Emmett, but he would just walk away. He mostly disappeared to the wine cellar, or at least that was what Alice had told me. He was sad about something but wouldn't talk about it, at least not to me. I tried to joke with him as best as I could, considering the circumstances, but like Edward, still nothing.
Alice and I had developed a bond, which was kind of strange. She showed me her workshop. She designed clothes, and I was surprised to learn that she actually owned a boutique in downtown Seattle. It seems she only robbed things for the fun of it. I thought that was a little bit crazy. But then again, who wasn't in this house?
She still wouldn't tell me anything else that didn't pertain to her. Her response to everything I asked was that Edward would tell me when he was ready for me to know. I was dying to know. I didn't want to wait for Edward to tell me; that was if he ever woke up. Which I really do hope he did. I missed him.
I missed his stupid, crooked smile and his beautiful green eyes. I missed him walking away from me. I missed when he would find my ramblings or reactions amusing. Even if it was for him to laugh at me, I wanted that back.
Get over it, Swan. He is going to be okay.
I had enough time moping around the house, so I decided to go pay Edward a visit and attempt to talk to him. Hopefully this time, he would respond.
What I didn't expect was to actually hear his voice. He was arguing with Rose.
"Just answer the damn question, Rosalie. Is he dead?" I heard him say. He wasn't quite yelling but I could tell he meant business.
"No, I couldn't do it all right! I tried but I couldn't pull the fucking trigger. Is that what you want to hear? That I'm a fucking disappointment! That I left my brother to bleed to death alone! I'm sorry, Edward, I really am, and I tried but I couldn't. All I was able to do was shoot him in a knee cap and told him to hide and never come back. I was wrong. I trusted him," she yelled at Edward.
What the hell…
"He said he wouldn't come back. And I chose to believe him. I brought him here and I should have but...I couldn't. I loved him, Edward. I loved him," I heard her say.
She seemed to be crying, but in that moment, I didn't feel sorry for her. I was furious. I was looking for someone to blame and they were here all along, staring at me in the face. Edward almost died, twice, because of her.
I pushed the door opened, scaring her and Edward. He looked at me with a soft smile.
"Bella," he whispered, but I couldn't acknowledge him. All I saw was Rosalie's treacherous face.
"You did this," I saw Edward's smile fade. "It's your fault he's like this!"
"Bella, look at me," Edward told me.
I shook my head. "No, how can you even look at him? You are not worthy of any of them." Rosalie just looked at me with a raised eyebrow
"What are you going to do, Bella? Huh? You're here a week and you think you're all big and tough. Let me tell you something, little girl. This is real life. Don't you think I know it's my fault? Don't you think I've known? I know Alice hates me and I know I failed as a sister, but you are no one to me. You can't judge me; especially when you know nothing," she remarked.
"Get out! Get the fuck out of here." I felt my patience slip little by little. I didn't know what I would do next.
"You have no right telling me to leave. He's my brother. If anyone should leave, it's you. You think he's going to want you once he's done with you? You're his new little toy," she taunted.
"Rosalie," Edward warned "Don't do something you will later regret. You've already tested my patience enough."
But she ignored him and continued with her taunting.
"Do you know how many he has brought here? You will be nothing but a conquest on his bed post. Who would want a mousy little thing like you? You didn't seriously think someone like Edward would want someone like you, did you?" She laughed.
In that moment, I saw Jessica. I saw her laughing and taunting me. It took me back to the times were she had injured me and just laughed. I saw Renée telling me I was worthless. This all consuming anger flowed through my veins.
I looked down and slowly shook my head, trying my best to hold back the tears. I looked sideways and before I could change my mind, I grabbed a pair of scissors that were on the dresser and lunged at her throat.
So, I'm sorry. I just had to leave it there.
I am having a bit of a problem coming up with an Emmett 'nickname' for Bella. Any suggestions?
You guys can follow me on twitter at NelizMD. I'll try and update about how I'm coming along with the chapter. Also, conversations there can get very steamy! LOL Like always Reviews = Teasers C ya! Neliz
