ROSALIE POV

It was spring break. Emmett and I decided to go to Brazil to join Esme, Carlisle and Edward, where they had been for the past month. We owned a community center in one of the favelas and they decided that going there to help would be beneficial to Edward.

I didn't want to spend my vacation in the slum. The heat mixed up with trash and dirty humans was not something I looked forward to. But Emmett really wanted to see Edward. And he promised me that we would go on side trips to deserted beaches for skinny dipping, as well as hunting in the jungle.

And yes, even if I didn't want to admit it out loud, I wanted to see Edward too.

So off to Rio we were, while Alice and Jasper stayed behind to watch over the human girl.

The flight was long and boring. Emmett played video games the whole time, while I tried to ignore the snoring of passengers. The old fabric of the seats and carpet filled the plane with a horrible stench.

I started to count how many people in business class used fruity shampoos. And then went on counting how many people wore real diamonds on them.

Finally, the pilot announced that we were approaching destination. Emmett looked at me with the cutest baby face, full of excitement and wonder.

"Can't wait to see Ed again," he exclaimed.

"Don't have high hope, baby, Esme says he's still morose."

Emmett dismissed my comment. It was hard for him to understand people stuck in pessimistic thoughts. Emmett was a happy-go-lucky kind of creature. He never held a grudge against anybody and he always found something fun or enjoyable to laugh about. And that's why I loved him. He was my bright happy sun in an eternity of ennui and disappointment. He was the only reason I could bear this existence I didn't ask for. He brought lightness and joy to my otherwise dim life.

I brushed his tousled hair and he mimicked a satisfied cat. His purring made me smile.

"Stop it, Emm, there are people around."

He snuggled his head in the crest of my neck, rubbing his face against me. His purring was becoming louder.

I giggled and people looked at us. I pressed my hands on both side of his face and kissed him passionately to silence him.

"Honey, please behave now."

The plane landed.

"I'll play a more powerful animal later," he said, grabbing our bags. He gave me his full grin and wiggled his eyebrows.

I leaned close to him and whispered in his ear: "Mmmm, I look forward to it my big bear".

Instantly, Emmett was up and ready to get out of the plane so we can get to our destination as fast as possible. He was completely impatient with all the other passengers, and groaned a few times when people were stopping to take their bags out of the overhead storage bins.

Finally the line moved and we got out. We noticed Esme right away. She hugged us tenderly.

"Oh, I missed you so much!" She exclaimed, examining us. "How are you two? How's Alice and Jasper? How's the house?" Esme interrogated us all the way to the favela.

Carlisle and Edward were in the backyard of the Cullen center. They were working on used motorcycle. A few teenage boys were assisting.

"Rose, Emmett," Carlisle rejoiced when he heard us arrive. He wiped the grease off of his hand and hugged us.

I saw Edward working alone on one of the old motorcycles. Emmett followed my stare and saw his brother.

He ran up to him.

"Hey Edward, what's up, bro?"

Edward got up and faced my Emmett. He nodded, then looked at me and nodded again.

Then he walked away.

My heart tightened. Edward was worst than I'd imagined.

Carlisle walked up to Emmett and placed his hand on my husband's shoulder in a fatherly fashion.

"Don't take it personally. He hasn't talked in weeks."

I approached them. "Something needs to be done. He needs to snap out of it."

"Why is he not getting better," Emmett questioned.

Carlisle shook his head. "The only time we get any type of reaction from him is when Esme mentions Bella to him."

I threw my hands in the air, aggravated and confused. "Huh, it's always about her. What is so damn special about this plain human girl?"

We heard a loud piercing snarl coming from afar.

Esme ran to us, panic distorting her features. "Where's Edward?"

We all looked in the direction the sound came from, a few miles away.

"I'll go to him," Emmett said, already turning to leave.

Carlisle grabbed his arm. "Don't go. Give him time."

"Love, he's burying himself deeper and deeper in sorrow. We need to do something before he's completely under," Esme sobbed.

Carlisle wrapped his arms around Esme to console her.

"He needs to go through the pain to overcome it. He needs to come out of it by himself."

"I don't want him to suffer," Esme pleaded.

"Me neither, love. Me neither."

I took over Edward's work and repaired a few worn-down motorcycles in company of Carlisle. The teenage boys were not working much anymore. They were mostly staring at me. I pulled my sweater off and enjoyed their gawking while I rebuild their mode of transportations in a pink tank-top.

A little further away, I heard the laughs of kids and Emmett as they played soccer.

Little by little, all the humans left us to go home to sleep. It was getting very late.

Esme, Carlisle, Emmett and I sat at a wooden table in the backyard. The stars shone brightly in this part of the world. There were no clouds to obstruct their glow.

I decided this was the right time to inform them of the changes at home.

"Alice is spending a lot of time with the girl. They're friends now."

They both looked at me, intrigued.

"And how's that going?"

"Alice keeps on buying Bella clothes that she refuses to wear, which makes Alice so annoyed," Emmett chuckled.

"She's invited the girl to come over to our house a few times. She's even had a sleepover." I informed, hoping that Alice would be punished for that.

"It's so sweet that they like each other and have such a good time together," Esme replied, a small smile enlightening her face.

I rolled my eyes. "It's not sweet! It's endangering our secrecy. Jasper is outraged!" I shrieked.

"Baby, calm down." Emmett whispered, rubbing my back soothingly. "It's really not that bad, and Jasper has come around. He likes seeing Alice so cheerful."

"Has Alice mentioned any of her visions about the girl's future?" Carlisle asked.

I nodded. "She still sees the girl with Edward, the same two destinies enfolding."

Esme nodded. "Edward needs to go back home."

"Hum, there's something else you both need to know," I said but Emmett interrupted me.

"I hear steps. He's getting close."

We all listened and heard Edward's steps approaching. We stopped talking and waited.

Edward reappeared and continued walking towards the indoor garage, ignoring us. Esme got up.

"I'm going to prepare breakfast. The families will arrive soon," she announced before leaving.

During the day, I watched my brother from afar. We were both hiding from the bright sun outside. We were filing through boxes of donations, full of toys, clothes and books.

All the meanwhile, I tried to keep my mind occupied on different things. The stink and dust. The revolting taste of people's clothing. My goofy Emmett.

But I knew that my thoughts said what I didn't want to admit. I was sad to see the empty shell of my brother. His eyes were so opaque, they were dead. His marble face was carved in a constant painful sulk. His lack of words, of communication, scared me the most. Edward used to be witty, quick to analyze, fun to argue with. But now, there was nothing I could say or think that would sparkle a remark from him.

Later in the evening, Emmett ran excitedly toward us.

"Hey, Ed, the boys are going to play soccer. Wanna join?"

Edward shook his head without looking up and continued polishing a recently renovated bike. I could see my Emmett's pure disappointment radiate from his being. His lovable grin was eradicated. It made me feel sad for him.

Emmett walked away, sulking. I left behind the greasy pieces of metal I was working on and walked up to my husband.

"Do you boys need a bombshell on your team?"

His smile reappeared and sparkles shone in his beautiful eyes. "You wanna play? I thought you hated soccer."

"It's not as great as baseball but there's nothing else to do in this dump."

He gently tapped my behind and pulled me towards the street leading to the soccer field.

"Careful babe, Brazilians take soccer very seriously. The competition is way high," he exclaimed with joy.

"I think I can take care of myself," I laughed, relieved to see him happy again.

After a few days at the Cullen center, I felt antsy. Nothing was changing. Emmett and I had a few great nights alone in the jungle. But Edward was on both of our minds. I started to feel resentment against him. He was making the whole family suffer and he wasn't even trying to improve the situation.

I decided to go look for him wherever he was hiding every night to face him.

I found him sulking in the attic of the big Cullen center. The room was dark and empty, just like him. He was as still as a rock, in a corner of the room. I could see all his muscles tensed and flexed, as if he were trying to hold himself in place with all his power.

"Edward, you need to snap out of this!" I stated.

Of course, he didn't answer or moved.

So you only respond when we talk about the little human girl, right? I taunted.

I noticed his jaw clench harder. At least I touched a nerve.

"What do you wanna know about her?" I chided. "Do you wanna know how Alice is taking good care of her for you?"

I showed him the images from last week. Alice and Bella were in the living room, shopping bags around them. Alice was taking out all the different clothes they had bought at the mall that same day.

He finally moved and glared at me. I didn't back down and locked my eyes with my brother's glare.

I continued to show him the image from that day. Alice was begging Bella to try the new navy blue dress she had bought. Bella was blushing and giggling at the same time, pressing the dress against her body.

Edward's hands balled up. His lips curled up. He snarled painfully.

He closed his eyes and brought his fists against his eyes, and fell to his knees.

"Stop! I can't. I can't see her!"

I changed my thoughts quickly. I'd wanted a reaction from him, not to destroy what was left of him.

I stared at the pain my brother was in. I didn't understand what affected him so badly.

I thought back at the fear and pain that Alice expressed when she had the visions of the attack.

Immediately, I felt Edward's eyes on me.

"What attack?" He growled.

I concentrated and started thinking of all the cars I owned throughout the years. This story wasn't something Edward would be able to cope with right now.

"Rose!" He ordered

I stared at him once more. I knew the family would be angry at me for doing this. But Edward needed to know.

"Alice had a vision of Bella in Port Angeles. The girl was lost and found herself in a dark alley, where three men were about to… well, you know, so Alice -"

In a flash, Edward got up and disappeared. A horrific growl followed him up to the jungle.

The rest of the family rushed up to the attic.

"What happened?"

"I accidentally told him about how Bella almost got attacked," I said, full of regrets.

Carlisle's phone rang. "Hello."

"Edward is coming home," Alice's voice sang through the phone. "I just had a vision of it."