I still do not own Twilight....although I wish I did. Enjoy!
Chapter 8
Bella stayed with Jacob for two weeks, while his body healed up to almost good as new shape. Their friendship had grown to an all time high and she really came to appreciate him for what he had done for her.
Emmett had lived in Seth and Leah Clearwater's spare bedroom for the same duration and things had not gone as smoothly as he would have liked. Sure, he liked Seth….but he did NOT like his sister. Leah was obnoxious, rude and snotty. That girl was a bitch with a vendetta against anyone with venom. She didn't trust him as far as she could throw him and it didn't matter that Seth constantly tried to assure her that he was a good guy; she would not let up.
After that two week period was up, that was it. He had to get his ass out of there. He needed to get back home, get his things and hope that Rose had calmed down. And, what about Edward? Emmett hadn't seen or heard from Edward since it came out about him and Bella. He wondered what that all meant.
Jake had insisted on going with them to the Cullen's house to get Emmett's things. He waited in the car, while they went in, trying incessantly to get Bella to stay outside with him, but she was as stubborn as she always was.
They walked up the front steps and opened the door. When they walked in, nobody was there. That was strange. Bella looked over at him, "Where are they?"
Alice popped her head into the room, "I sent them out to hunt."
"Thank you." Bella took a couple steps forward but Alice put her hand up.
"I didn't do it for you." Alice was mad, that was obvious, "I didn't want Rose and Edward to have to deal with the emotional turmoil anymore and I didn't want my Jasper to have to be here when she destroyed you. It has been very hard on him to adjust to this lifestyle, you should know that."
Bella swallowed the lump in her throat. It was hard to believe that she and Alice weren't friends anymore. They had been close for almost as long as she had known Edward and had been the sister she never had. Life certainly seemed a lot less fashionable without her. She frowned, "I'm sorry, Alice. I never meant to hurt anyone, honest I didn't."
Emmett was instantly by her side, "And, it really was a lot more my fault. I am the man here and also a lot older. So, please, hate me, not Bella."
Alice shook her head, "I don't hate either of you; I just hate what you did. I hate that people I love have to be in pain. I also hate having to constantly watch Rosalie kill Bella over and over again."
Bella winced, she wouldn't care very much for that either. Emmett wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her forward, "I just came to get my things."
"I know." Of course Alice knew why they were there, but it still came as a shock to Emmett. After all the years they had been living together you would think it would have sunk in that she could see the future.
Bella folded her arms in front of her, "This would all be a lot simpler if someone would just change me."
Emmett looked her square in the eyes, "Maybe, but it's awfully permanent."
Bella let out an exasperated scream, "My God, Emmett, what the fuck?! What is the matter with you Cullens? Why can't any of you just let me make my own choices?"
"Maybe because you are 18 years old and clearly not mature enough to make a decision of this magnitude. You have no idea what life is even about or how precious it is. You don't even see all the things you will have to give up; how tough it will be. You have some romantic idea of what it will be like, but I am here to tell you that it won't be like that. Being human is the best chance you have at being happy; I don't understand why you are so quick to throw that all away."
She stared at him, completely dumfounded. Clearly she had thought he would have been an easier sell than Edward, but that just wasn't the case.
Alice stepped in, "You guys need to hurry, the others will be home soon."
Bella huffed, "I don't care. I don't want to live if I can't make any fucking choices for my own damn self!" What a potty mouth she was turning out to be, but she was livid. "Let her come back and kill me, I don't care!"
"You are acting like a child, Bella. You don't mean all of that. I know you don't want to die, you're just talking nonsense out of your ass."
Tears were rolling down Bella's face, "You are worse than Edward, you know that Emmett?!"
"What the hell is the matter with you, Bella, I give you what you've been craving forever and that's not fucking enough. Now you want me to rush right out and change you because it will make it easier. I don't want to change you out of desperation. That isn't right and I will forever regret how it happened. Don't you understand that this is incredibly difficult for me? I love you, Bella. I love you more than I have ever imagined loving someone and you aren't just anyone, you're the human girl that my brother had chosen for his mate. I have given up everything for you, but I don't want to have to give up you too."
"What the fuck are you talking about? You can't truly be with me if I'm human?"
"I don't care about forever, Bella. I spend my life having to think about forever, and for once I just want to live for the here and now. There is something so rare and special about you but you're too busy hating yourself to see it. If I turn you it will change everything. A part of me will die with your human self. Bella, I'm in love with you and everything about you. I'm in love with your clumsiness, the way you blush when you get embarrassed, with your tears. The most comforting, beautiful sound in the entire world is the steady beat of your heart. Bella, you are human, and everything about you is human. If I change you and you're no longer human, then I will lose you; I will lose all those things that I love. I'm sorry Bella, but one second of having you alive is worth a billion years with the immortal you. Maybe you can't understand that, but I hope that you can come to accept it and not hate me for it." He moved towards her, gently, "When I am with you I feel alive. I don't feel like some undead creature made of stone. I feel like a living, breathing, flesh and blood mortal who is vulnerable and helpless, just like everyone else. You do that for me and I can't imagine how painful it would be to lose that."
Alice frantically interjected, "You must go now!"
Bella folded her arms and planted her feet firmly on the floor, "No, I will not leave until I have been turned."
"Bella, for God's sake, I can't do that."
She glared at him and reached into her pocket in search of plan b. She pulled out a metal nail file and placed the metal point at her wrist, puncturing a line across her skin. The smell of her blood permeated the air and both Alice and Emmett staggered. She smiled, knowing he wouldn't be able to hold out now.
"Bella, no!" Alice screamed, in panic mode.
Bella watched as the color in Emmett's eyes changed from a warm liquid gold to black and riddled with desire. Perfect. She held out her wrist and flaunted it for him, trying to entice him to sink his teeth into it.
A loud, animalistic growl escaped his lips and he lunged for her, grasping her to himself. His eyes were fixed on the blood spilling out of her wound and he licked his lips, the venom oozing in his mouth. Once he was able to pull his gaze from the wrist, and his eyes fixed on hers, he found the resolve he needed to not take the drink. He quickly pulled off his shirt and wrapped it around her wrist to stop the bleeding. With the wound covered he found it easier to resist the pull it had over him. He sighed and released her, pulling back to a safe distance.
Bella couldn't believe her own eyes. How had he kept his cool in that situation? How had he not drunk from her?
They were too busy staring at each other to notice the rest of the Cullen family walk into the house. Rosalie's instants kicked in as soon as she smelled Bella. Quicker than lightning she was in front of Bella, her fangs barred and venom dripping.
"Rose no!" Emmett screamed, he ran forward, pulling her away from Bella. She shoved him away with strength that clearly came from adrenaline. His body went through one of Esme's windows, shattering it instantly.
The sound terrified Bella, but there wasn't much she could do, she had a vampire bitch standing in front of her, ready to sink her teeth into her and drain the life right out of her. In that moment she realized how stupid she actually was. She and Emmett could have been safely on their way to somewhere far away, somewhere where they didn't have to worry about Rosalie and Edward. But, instead of things following the plan, she had to go and fuck things up once again and put her life in danger. As her life flashed before her eyes, she realized how pathetic she really was. Of course she didn't want to die, nobody does. Of course there were things to live for; there was Charlie and Renee and there was Jake. There were others who loved her too and she knew that. Somehow in her insanity she had forgotten all the things she would have to give up.
She had loved Edward so much that she had wanted to spend the rest of eternity with him and therefore the sacrifice didn't seem so sacrificial at all. Or had it? Had she really wanted to be changed to be with him or was it more a quest for what she perceived as perfection? Maybe she had never intended to be turned for Edward, maybe it had always been about her. How could she be so selfish to want to throw herself in front of a bus and claim that she was doing it for someone else? Would she ever want anyone to kill them self to be with her? Of course not…so why would she think that they would want that from her?
All the sudden everything made so much more sense. Emmett was actually showing her how much he loved her by NOT turning her. It hurt him very deeply to know that he would never be able to truly be with her forever, but he wanted more for her life than what he had. He was the one making the sacrifice and she was the one being a childish moron.
Rosalie moved closer to her and grabbed her, sinking her teeth into her neck. It all seemed to be happening in slow motion, but in actuality it was quite fast. Before anyone could react to what was happening, Jacob charged into the house and wolfed out in their living room. Because she was feeding, her defenses were down and he was able to grab on to her, sink his teeth into her shoulder and fling her out the open window. Emmett quickly pinned her down; staring down into the red eyes of the vampire he had once thought he loved.
Carlisle was there instantly. He looked down, sadly, into the face of his beloved daughter. "Rose, you have to stop this. Killing Bella will not change what happened, you must stop now."
Rosalie growled, animalistic, "I will never stop hunting her!"
Carlisle looked as though he would cry if he was capable of it, "Very well." He turned his attention to Jacob and nodded, "She has broken the treaty; you have my blessing to do whatever needs to be done." With that Carlisle walked back into the house, unable to watch as his daughter was dismembered and set on fire.
Back in the living room, Bella was reeling on the floor, venom seeping into her veins. Somebody needed to do something or she would be like them in three short days. Alice looked around at her family and pleaded, "Someone please do something."
"Won't they both be happier this way?" Those were the first words Edward had spoken since everything had happened.
Alice shook her head, "No, he loves her too much to change her."
Edward nodded and dropped to his knees beside Bella's frame. He bent his head down and placed his lips to Rosalie's bite. Her blood tasted so sweet, he was instantly reminded of why he had been so drawn to her, but something about it was different. She wasn't pure, she wasn't untouched. Emmett had claimed her as his own and therefore there was nothing he could ever do to get her back. She did not belong to him anymore; therefore he found her blood just a bit less tempting than it had previously been. He was able to stop more easily when her blood was clean. She rolled over and looked up at him, her hand reaching up to touch his face. Tears were rolling down her face "I'm so sorry." Her words were a mere whisper, but he could hear her loud and clear.
He nodded, affectionately pushing her hair out of her face, "I know, love. I know things changed between us and I am sorry for that. I will not try to come between you and Emmett. I can see now that you were meant for him, truly." He bent down to place a very soft, gentle kiss on her lips and she reciprocated it, feeling nothing but peace and contentment in that special moment.
