Chapter 9: Indestructible
AN: Woo thank you to everyone who reviewed. If I ever meet you, I'll buy you a cookie! And sorry I'm not updating sure frequently. I just started school, so I write when I can.
EMMETT
"Jim, how do I look?" Peyton asked, spinning around in my living room in her new gown. She looked like an angel. My sister always looked amazing, even if she only wore an old tee shirt, boxers, and no makeup.
"You look stunning, P," I told her.
"Are you just saying that because you're my brother?" she asked, staring at me with her blue eyes. Her blonde curls framed her face nicely while the silver gown hugged her curves perfectly. She looked like she belonged on the red carpet, not in my living room.
"Peyton Howard!" I said, looking at her seriously. "You are the most beautiful woman I know. You look amazing. Are you going to stay here, fishing for compliments, or are you going to get out of here and go on your date?"
"Where's Mark?"
"Upstairs, playing with his toys. Now get out of here before Noah thinks you stood him up!"
She grinned at me. Even though we were both adults now, I still acted like her big brother. She gave me a peck on the cheek before grabbing her purse and running out of the house.
I smiled—Peyton hadn't been on a date since Scott left her for his 19-year-old research assistant. I couldn't understand how anyone could leave Peyton. She was the perfect woman. Plus, he left their 10-year-old son, too.
I walked upstairs to check in on Mark. He had fallen asleep on the floor, playing with his Lincoln Logs. I gently picked him up and placed him in his racecar bed. I pulled his Mickey Mouse covers over him and turned off the lights. I quietly left the room and went downstairs to watch TV.
Around 11:30 that night, the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Is this James Howard?"
"Yes."
"James Howard of 435 Brookline Avenue?"
"Yes. Who is this?"
"Officer Wilson McIlvaine with the Beverly Hills Police Department."
"What can I do for you, officer?" I asked. Maybe Peyton had had a little too much fun with Noah tonight."
"We need you to come down to the crime lab to identify a body."
"What?"
"We believe we have your sister's body here. We think she was the victim of a hit and run."
"What? How did this happen?"
"Based on the scene," Officer McIlvaine said, "We believe she was coming home when she got a flat tire. Something must have rolled into the street, so she went to grab it. That'd when a car drove around the corner and hit her. They left the scene. She's pretty beat up, so we can't make a proper identification based on the picture found on the scene. We need you to come down to verify it really is her."
"I'll be right down," I choked out. I hung up the phone and sunk into my favorite chair, not saying a word.
I couldn't believe Peyton was gone. My baby sister, the most important thing in the world, was dead. Right then, I vowed I would find the person who killed her and make them suffer as much as I was suffering at this moment. They would be sorry they ever hit Peyton Howard.
********
EmPOV
"She's gone!" I shouted, peering into Eva's cabin.
"Gone?" Bella asked in disbelief. "How can she be gone?"
"Her cabin's empty. She must have heard us talking and snuck away," Leah reasoned. I cursed under my breath.
"Dammit!" Jasper shouted, slamming his fist into the wall of her abandoned cabin. "What are we going to do now?"
Alice said nothing. She put her hand on Jasper's shoulder as she passed by him and walked into the deserted hut. Jasper was more relaxed when Alice emerged a moment later with a sheet of paper in her hands.
"What's that?" I asked. She handed it to me. I looked it over before reading it aloud:
To the JAL 10,
Congratulations. You finally figured out my big secret. I'm surprised it took you so long. I guess you're not as smart as Jim and I thought you were. Now, before I leave you for good, I thought I'd make things a little more interesting at camp. Everyone here has a secret they're keeping from everyone else. Unfortunately for all of you, I know what they are, and I'm going to reveal them right now! Let's start with little Alice Whitlock. She tried to kill herself, so she went to rehab. When she was there, she hooked up with Mark Howard, my boss's nephew. She's the reason he's dead. Her husband, Jasper Whitlock, hasn't been going by his birth name for more than 20 years. Hey, Jasper, does Samuel Granger ring a bell? Leah Newton and her father used to have a lot of fun under the covers when she was a kid. Michael Newton, I have two words for you: statutory rape. Isabella Cullen is white trash who got knocked up when she was 14, then worked at a stripper club for 3 years. Her husband was screwing her while he was still married to another woman. Emmett Cullen killed a woman in a hit and run when he was a teenager. As for Rosalie, Emmett had better watch out. The men she ends up marrying tend to wind up dead. Well, I guess murderers stick together.
Ta ta,
Eva
Everyone was staring at each other, unsure of what to say. Alice decided to break the silence first. She turned to her husband. "Samuel Granger?" she asked.
"My family was killed when I was a kid. My name was changed to protect me."
"Why didn't you tell me? Don't you trust me?"
"Of course I do, Alice. It's something from my past that I don't want to remember. And anyways, what did she mean by 'she's the reason he's dead?'"
"I have no idea. I thought Mark died from an overdose."
They were cut off by Leah's earsplitting screech. "Statutory rape!?" she screamed at Mike while she hit him in the chest with her fists."
"Leabug, let me explain!" he begged, trying to push her off him."
"Don't call me that!" she spat at him. Explain to me why I shouldn't kick your ass right now!"
"I was 19! She was 16! It was a long time ago, and I thought it was expunged from my record! I'm sorry I never told you! I put it behind me once it was cleared from my record. I'm so sorry I never told you."
She surveyed him with accusing eyes. "Okay, I believe you." She kissed him lightly on the lips.
"You don't need to explain anything to me, baby," he told her, referring to the accusations Eva made against her. "I know what happened, and I don't want to bring it up for you again. I love you." The two of them kissed again.
Edward and Bella were standing there, watching everyone. They already knew each other's secrets. After all, their dirty laundry had been all over the tabloids.
Now was the moment of truth. Rosalie and I turned to face each other.
"Murder?" I asked her. She nodded.
"Hit and run?" she asked. I nodded. I might as well be honest now.
"Why didn't you tell me?" we both screamed at each other. We glared at each other for a moment before we stormed away from each other. I went to sit by the fire pit while Rosalie sat on the beach. Edward, Jasper, Newton, and Seth came over to sit with me while all the chicks went to check on my murderess of a wife.
"Cullen, what was that about?" Newton asked as he took a seat next to me.
"She lied to me," I said, looking up at my four best friends. "I knew she was married. I knew her husband died. Why didn't she trust me enough to tell me she killed him? I've been married to a murderer for the past 7 years." I put my head in my hands.
"Well, didn't you kind of do the same thing?" Jasper asked. I glared at him. "Hear me out!" he said, raising his hands. "She killed someone and didn't tell you about it. You did the same thing. You're even."
"Don't even compare me to her!" I shouted at him. "I never planned to kill that woman, but she planned to kill her husband. She killed him in cold blood. How do I know she wouldn't do the same thing to me?"
"Emmett?" a voice asked. I looked up and saw Alice standing there, looking at me with cautious eyes. "Will you go and talk to Rose? She's really upset."
"We need to get going so we can find the kids," I snapped, ignoring her. She looked at me, but didn't say anything. I picked up my gun and shoved it in my pocket. We all gathered together and headed into the jungle. I saw Rosalie's eyes were red, but I didn't care. She would die right now, and I wouldn't care. I walked in the lead with Edward right behind me. He was smart enough not to talk to me.
How could she lie to me like that? How could she never tell me she killed her ex-husband? Rosalie, the love of my life, mother of my two daughters, had been lying to me ever since I sat next to her on Japanese flight 2232. I couldn't believe a word she had ever said to me—they all were a lie. She was a heartless murderer, and I was happy I found out now before it was too late.
"Emmett," Bella said, coming up next to me.
"What?" I growled at her. She didn't seem to be fazed by my tone.
"You need to talk to her."
"Why would I do that? You heard what Eva said—she killed her ex-husband!"
"First of all, why would you believe Eva over your wife? Secondly, you killed someone too."
"I am not discussing this with you. You can tell that—that—that skank that I don't have anything to say to her."
Bella glared at me. "I'm not acting like your messenger! If you want to tell her something, grow a pair and tell her yourself!" She turned and started walking back to Edward. "Oh, Emmett?" she said, turning back to face me. "Remember, there are two sides to every story."
Two sides? What did she mean, two sides? Did she mean Rosalie didn't kill her husband? No, Bella pretty much confirmed she actually did in the conversation. I shook my head. Murder is murder, and there's no forgiving that.
********
Mark and I sat in the front row at Peyton's burial. Mark was crying next to me, so I tried to comfort him. After all, he had no one but me left. His mother was dead and his dad had left years ago.
"It's okay, doc," I said, putting an arm around his shoulders.
"Jim," someone said, coming up to me, "I'm terribly sorry for your loss." I looked up and saw it was my old friend, Dr. Carlisle Cullen, with his wife, Esme. I didn't see his two sons with them.
"Thank you, Carlisle. That means a lot coming from you. Where are your sons? Edward and Emmett, right?"
"Edward's with a friend while Emmett's being grounded. He was in a car accident by our house a few nights ago after playing a few drinking games with some friends. Kids these days," he muttered. "Once again, we're very sorry for your loss. I know Peyton meant a lot to you." Esme nodded and the two of them walked away.
I sat with Mark, thinking about what Carlisle had just said.
Emmett was in a car accident a few nights ago by his house. Peyton was hit by a car a few nights ago over by the Cullen's. Emmett had been drinking and driving. The police thought the person who had hit Peyton was drunk.
It was too big a coincidence—Emmett Cullen had killed my sister.
After the ceremony, Mark and I drove home. He went upstairs to go lay down while I sat at the kitchen table and planned.
Emmett Cullen had taken away my sister, the love of my life, without a second thought. He obviously felt no remorse for what he had done.
I knew what I would do. One day, when Emmett was older, when he was married and had his own family, I would take it all away. I would take away the love of his life so he would know how I felt in this moment. He would know how I felt when he killed my sister.
********
By the next morning, we had reached the native's old camp. Eva had obviously been lying to us since it was still standing. In fact, some of the buildings looked like they had been rebuilt.
Around the perimeter, there were no guards. That was a good sign. If the place was heavily guarded, it would be impossible to sneak in undetected.
I locked my eyes with Edward, and the two of us led the group up to the edge of the camp. I pressed my finger to my lips, telling everyone to shut up.
"What building to you think they're in?" Edward asked in a whisper.
"I bet it's where James took me when he kidnapped me," Bella said quietly.
"Why?" Alice asked.
"Don't you remember all the cages that building had? It would be the perfect place to hold the kids so they couldn't escape. He could watch them easily, and there would be no way the kids could escape."
"It was back there," Jasper said, pointing to a dirt path. We walked down it and found the building Bella was talking about. Signaling to everyone to follow me, I led the group inside.
"Daddy!" I heard a small voice cry. I looked around and saw Charlotte, my eldest daughter, with her face pressed against the bars of a cage used to hold animals, looking at me. Next to her, Evan Newton was standing there, trying to look for his mother.
"They're here!" I shouted. Everyone else came rushing in. I ran over to the cage and grabbed my daughter through the bars. I felt her tears hit my skin when I pulled her into a hug. "Shh, baby," I soothed. "It's okay. Daddy's here—nothing's going to happen to you." All around me, I heard my friends comforting the other kids in the other cages.
I pulled my gun out of my pocket and shot the lock off the cage Charlotte was in. It fell off and I swung the door open. Charlotte bolted into my arms and I held her close, finally reunited with my daughter.
I looked over and saw Rosalie, holding Gisele.
"Where's David?" I heard Alice shriek. I looked around and saw both David and Maribel were missing.
"The mean man brought them in there," Charlotte said, pointing to a door. Alice sprinted through it, desperate to find her only son. I held Charlotte close, never wanting to let go of her again. I stood her up in front of me and looked her over, making sure she wasn't hurt. I saw she had some blood on the inside of her right leg. I went to clean it when she pushed my hand away and started shaking
"Honey, what's wrong? What happened?"
"I don't know," she said sadly. "I woke up and there was blood on my legs and it hurt in between them." She wrapped her little arms around my neck and started sobbing.
That bastard! How could anyone do that to my daughter? How could anyone do that to Charlotte?
"Help," I heard a small voice squeak. I looked over and saw Alice holding David and Maribel in her arms with a gun pointed at her head. I felt Charlotte tighten in my arms out of fear.
"Well, well, well," a voice sneered. The man pointing the gun at Alice was looking at all of us. "So, you finally found them. Bravo." He had an evil look to him, like he didn't care if everyone here lived or died. He pushed Alice away from him and turned his gun and eyes on me.
"Why are you doing this?" Bella cried.
"Why?" he laughed, looking at her. "Well, I don't put much faith in the justice system. After all, OJ Simpson walked away scot free, didn't he? An eye for an eye, that's my motto." He looked at all of us, but continued. "Edward, did you care how Tanya felt when you left her for another woman? And Bella, did you care Edward was already married when you started fucking him? No! Do you know why? Because you're terrible people. I don't care about you two right now," he said, turning his glare on Rosalie. "Ah, our Playmate of the Year! How wonderful. Tell me, Rosalie Cullen, is it common practice to poison your husband's dinner, watch him die on the floor, then leave down and start your life over?"
Rosalie stood up and pushed Gisele behind her. She looked at him helplessly. "I—"
"Save it. Bitches like you don't deserve to live." He pulled the trigger, and I watched the bullet pierce the air before disappearing into Rosalie's abdomen. She collapsed onto the ground, blood spilling out of the place the bullet had just entered.
The man looked at her for a moment before running away.
Gisele was screaming, trying to make Rosalie get up off the ground.
At that moment, I didn't care what Rosalie had done. I didn't care that she had murdered her ex-husband. I didn't care that she had poisoned his dinner and watched him die. All I cared about was that Rosalie Cullen, my wife, the woman I had been in love with since she sat next to me on Japanese Airlines flight 2232, the mother of my children, was dying on the floor.
"Rose!" I shouted, putting Charlotte down and sprinting over to my wife. "Rosie baby, say something!" I begged, pulling her into my arms. The blood was pooling out of her and onto my. I saw the color start to drain from her face.
"Emmett," she croaked, putting her hand on my chest. "I'm sorry I lied to you."
"Rosie," I said desperately, "I don't care! I don't care what you did! I love you! Do you hear me? I love you! You're the woman of my dreams and always will be! Please don't leave me!"
She coughed, and a bunch of blood flew out of her mouth and onto my shirt.
"Emmett, I need you to listen to me," she whispered. "I want you to promise me something. Promise me you'll take care of Charlotte and Gisele."
"Baby, don't talk like that! You can pull through this!"
"Em, be realistic. I'm dying, and you know it. I know you want to go and kill the bastard who did this to me, but I want you to be there for Lola and Gigi." She coughed again, and her face was almost pale white now. I knew her time was almost up. I grabbed her face and pulled her lips to mine, kissing her for the last time.
When we parted, I whispered in her ear, "I'll never stop loving you."
"I love you, Emmett. I always have, and I always will." She shivered and I watched the life drain out of her eyes. I felt her body drop because there was no one left in it. It was just a shell. A reminder of the woman who I loved. I looked in her eyes and saw she was gone. She was never coming back.
I pulled her close to me and started sobbing. My wife was dead. I couldn't believe it. Ever since I had met Rose, she had seemed so indestructible. It seemed like nothing could ever take her down, but now she was gone forever.
Slowly, I laid her body on the ground. She seemed so peaceful—like she was only sleeping. Perhaps death was peaceful.
I grabbed my gun off the ground and shoved it in my pocket. I gave Lola and Gigi each a kiss before I headed for the door.
"Emmett, what are you doing?" Edward asked. I ignored him and ran out of the building into the jungle, determined the kill the man who ruined my life.