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Overwhelmed
Rosalie only comes back to Forks — a place that only holds bad memories — once a year. This year she finds herself with an unlikely companion, facing a truth she thought she had buried years ago.
•••
Rosalie loved her family.
She did. Really. Deep, deep down, in the depths of her heart, she loved them. She might not understand them or have anything in common with them, but she loved them. Her father built her shelf after shelf for her books as she grew up, her mother comforted when she was bullied during her school years, and her brother, well, that was more the sort of relationship best left unanalyzed.
The fact of the matter, really, was that if she were in a burning building, she wouldn't save strangers. She would save her family. Maybe that was wrong. But it was the truth. And if that wasn't love, what was?
She didn't know much about the concept of family, besides the idea that you were supposed to love them. She knew Bella thought being someone's family meant being loyal to that person, no matter what. She knew Alice believed family were the people you loved because you were supposed to. She knew that Tanya, her best friend in California, believed family was something you put up with until you were old enough to run away and stay away.
The semantics of it all, the details and the questions and the eternal truths, wouldn't really concern her — wouldn't even matter — if everything weren't so messed up. But what did family mean when blood lines were confused and some of your family wasn't your family and some of your family were strangers and...it was just too confusing.
Most of the time Rosalie didn't think about it. But how could she avoid it now?
She spent Christmas morning opening presents with her parents and brother, then met Bella, Seth, and Leah for a brunch with their recently married parents, and Rosalie was beyond relieved to see that Edward had brought Emmett along, too. At least Rosalie wouldn't be the only one out of place. He waved in the most dorky way when he saw her, and she waved back half-heartedly, smiling despite herself.
Bella glanced back and forth between them. She smirked. Rosalie glared. Emmett trotted over to them, reaching out to pat Bella's stomach. "You'll have a bloody stump if you even try," Bella said. Emmett didn't seem intimidated.
"Your threats don't work on me, Thumbelina," he said. Bella did not look amused.
When Rosalie finally managed to escape the family madness, she wasn't alone for long. Bella slowly lowered herself to sit beside Rosalie on the steps of the back porch. "You went to see him, didn't you?" Bella asked softly.
Rosalie nodded. "It didn't go well." It was quiet. "I hate Christmas," she finally said.
"There's no Santa Claus?" Bella asked knowingly. Rosalie glanced at her, and she could see past bitterness in Bella's eyes. However happy Bella's life may be now, her past would always be there. Rosalie found a kind of sick solidarity in that.
"Doesn't look like it," Rosalie replied. It was quiet for a long time.
"For what it's worth," Bella finally said, "I was wrong. You were right to go see him. It was the right thing to do. Your situation isn't the same as mine." She paused. "I've been thinking, and maybe...maybe it doesn't have to be either or."
"What?" Rosalie asked, frowning slightly.
"What happened with your parents and the Cullens and you...They tried to do what they thought was best. Nobody is the villain. Maybe you don't have to choose one family over the other. Maybe all this means is that you get two families."
Rosalie had never thought about it like that. "This is sure an abrupt turnaround," she finally said. It was better to turn the focus on Bella. "What changed your mind?" She raised an eyebrow at Bella, who smiled, staring at her lap for a moment and then meeting Rosalie's gaze sheepishly.
"I've just been thinking about everything you're going through, and with all the changes that have happened in my life lately. The other night, Edward said — he just said something that made me think. You're given a family. But you get to choose family, too, if you want."
Rosalie nodded. She didn't really know what to say.
Bella snorted suddenly. "Listen to me. I think I'm spending too much time with Edward. He's such a bad influence on me. I'm so much less badass these days."
Rosalie laughed aloud, and she let Bella coax her back inside. If she could choose her own family, could she choose Bella?
•••
A/N: Thanks for reading!
