Of Lions and Lambs

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight. No copyright infringement is intended.

The rest is mine though.

Thank you everyone for continuing to read and review. You guys are awesome :)

I apologize in advance for any mistakes you may find…

Chapter Eleven

"You don't have to stay, you know," Edward told me, glancing at me sideways.

Matt had gone to get something to drink and Rosalie was with Emmett in his room as we stood in the doorway, watching them together. Emmett's surgery had gone well. He was a bit banged up, but he was already awake and cracking jokes again. He was back to his old self and Rosalie was falling hard. I could see it, but I knew better than to think she'd admit it.

"I want to," I assured Edward although I don't know why I felt the need to. I could leave. Matt and I could leave, and Rosalie and Emmett would be fine here without us. We didn't have to stay.

He gave me a small, half-hearted smile. He'd been acting off since the day of the accident. Although Emmett was fine, his stepmother was another issue. She had yet to wake up. The doctors didn't think she ever would. Well, Dr. Gerandy didn't think she ever would, at least. Carlisle was seeking other opinions.

"How is Carlisle holding up?" I asked carefully. I wasn't sure if their relationship had improved or not. Knowing Edward, I was betting on the latter.

Edward's tensed up beside me, and he slipped on a protective mask void of emotion. "He's fine," he replied shortly.

I resisted the very strong urge to roll my eyes. Even now, with everything going on they couldn't put anything aside and be there for one another or at least for Esme and Emmett.

"What about Esme?" I asked, watching his reaction closely.

"The same," he sighed. "She's not going to wake up."

"Doctors can be wrong," I said quietly, trying to find some hope in the situation, but Edward didn't look convinced. He never was an optimistic one.

"She's not going to wake up," he repeated before his voice took on a bitter tone when he spoke again. "But rest assured that Carlisle will obsess over it."

I shrugged, trying to act casual about it. "It's his wife."

Edward's jaw tightened and I saw his hands form tight fists at his sides as he uncrossed his arms, and I knew why. We both knew why, but it remained unspoken between us.

I sighed. "Edward," I began, "I am so sorry. I wish I would have known everything back then. I'm sorry."

He relaxed a little, letting out a shaky breath. "It isn't your fault. It was mine, remember?"

"Yeah, but obviously you didn't feel comfortable enough to tell me. I'm sorry you felt like you had to find someone else," I said honestly. "I would have been there."

He glanced up at me, and there was a certain sadness in his eyes that spoke volumes of regret and pain.

"I would have," I affirmed. "I'll still be here for you."

He opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it when Matt appeared at my side. He handed me a bottle of water as he took a sip from his own. I noticed he hadn't asked Edward if he'd wanted anything beforehand.

I looked ahead at Emmett and Rosalie talking to each other, all smiles. I hoped Matt hadn't heard anything we'd just said. I knew it was ridiculous and childish. It was immature of me to feel like I had to sneak around. I didn't think I'd done anything wrong. Edward and I could be friends. There was nothing wrong with that, and he desperately needed one right now.

So why did I feel like I should hide it from Matt? Why did I feel like it was best to keep it a secret?

I shook my head slightly and took a large gulp of my water. My throat felt dry.

I could feel two pairs of eyes boring holes into me. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Edward staring at me, and I could feel Matt's eyes roaming over my face. Perhaps Matt was looking for evidence of the mood of what Edward and I had talked about. He was searching my face for clues. Maybe he could see the expression of conflict on my face or the guilt beneath it. God, I hoped not.

EPOV

Rosalie had been glued to Emmett's bedside the moment since he'd gotten out of surgery. Now don't get me wrong…I was glad Emmett had someone who cared that much about him, and no doubt the fucker loved every single minute of it, but I needed to talk to him.

So, I was ecstatic when Rosalie finally had to leave for a while to go home with Bella to get a shower and retrieve a change of clothes and some toiletries. Now might be my only chance. So as soon as they were out of sight I jumped at the only chance I might possibly get.

"Emmett," I said quietly as I entered his room.

"Hey, Eddie," he boomed, grinning like a fool. The intimidating white bandage wrapped around his forehead looked more serious than it really was, thankfully.

"You're in a pretty good mood for someone who got run over," I said.

He grinned from ear to ear. "Yeah, Rosalie's amazing, huh?"

I resisted the immense urge to scoff and spit a sarcastic remark at that, but I somehow refrained.

His smile slowly faded off though, turning into sadness. "How's Esme? Any changes?" he asked eagerly, hopefully.

I shook my head. "Carlisle is trying to get a second opinion from someone who will tell him what he wants to hear."

Emmett rolled his eyes at me. "It's Dad, Edward, not Carlisle. We're his sons, so we call him Dad, remember?" he asked sarcastically.

I glared at him. "Don't start with me."

He sighed tiredly. "Wait till I'm out of this bed, Edward," he warned. "I'm going to force you two to reconcile this mess you've both created."

Just like that my temper began to boil red hot under my skin, and it was dangerously close to surfacing. I wanted to tell him it hadn't been my fault at all. I wasn't the one who had betrayed his family. I wasn't the one who had created this mess, and I sure as hell wouldn't be the one to clean it up.

"I'm your brother. Aren't you supposed to be on my side?" I demanded, annoyed.

He frowned. "You're not supposed to pick sides when it comes to family. It's not right."

I wanted to have Em on my side, backing me up. He was supposed to be on my side. I thought about telling him how Dad hadn't even fucking asked or cared about him. No, instead, our loving father was far more concerned about our lovely stepmother who had run Emmett over in the first place. Carlisle was through worrying about Emmett the second he learned Esme was involved in the accident.

"I'm sorry, but you're my brother and he's our father. I love you both," he said. "And we're his sons. He loves us, too."

Hah! I seriously wondered how Emmett could be this blind. Or maybe he just didn't want to face the truth. He never spoke about our father's affair with Esme. He never talked about Mom. He just…buried it, I guess. Emmett was never the type to dwell on the past or hold grudges. Well, I, however, was different.

I sighed, closing my eyes briefly and pinching the bridge of my nose to regain some composure over myself and my temper. I knew I was short on time before Rosalie got back, and this wasn't what I'd wanted to discuss with him. "Look, I didn't come here to argue. I need your help."

"With?" he asked curiously, raising an eyebrow at me.

I took a long, deep breath before beginning. "Please don't scold me like a child or try to convince me not to do this because I'm doing it with or without your permission, but I could really use your help because I'm an idiot and I can't trust myself not to mess it up without someone smacking me upside the head along the way…" I rambled.

"Spit it out already, Ed," Emmett laughed.

I put up a finger to tell him to hang on, that I was getting to it. "I want you to know I'm determined, and I'll try with or without your approval, but I really want your approval." I paused, exhaling. "I'm going to get Bella back."

Emmett groaned, pushing his head back against his pillow. "Not this again. I thought we had already decided this was not a good idea."

"Emmett," I growled at him. "First of all, no, we didn't decide anything. You decided that on your own; I never agreed. Second, I mean it. She's supposed to be with me, Em. She was always supposed to be with me. And, yes, I was an idiot to push her away. I wasn't ready for her back then."

Then he stared at me and stared at me for I don't know how long. I began to wonder if he had any intension of responding.

"Edward…" he began. "I know you don't want to hear this, but Bella has moved on. Wake up. She has Matt now. Remember Matt, her boyfriend?"

I rolled my eyes and glared at my shoes at the mention of him. "Bella doesn't love him," I grumbled.

His eyes widened almost in disbelief. "Oh, and she loves you? Is that it?" he demanded almost mockingly.

I shifted my glare from the floor to Emmett. "She did at one time. Maybe she still does."

"That was a long time ago, Edward. We were kids."

"I don't care. You said yourself I would have to fight for her for the first time in my life, and I'm ready to do that now. Will you help me or not?" I demanded, growing irritated.

He narrowed his eyes at me but said nothing for a long time. I began to think it was his way of denying me his help, and I stood, preparing to leave, but he finally spoke, stopping me in my tracks with his words.

"I swear to God, Edward—no, I swear on our mother's grave that if I help you with this and you fuck up again..." he said, letting his threat hang in the air.

My eyes widened. "So you're saying you'll help me?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him almost in disbelief that he was agreeing. Well, this was easier than I thought it would be.

A slow, evil smile spread across Emmett's face. "I'll help you…"

I wanted to hug the bastard.

"…under one condition."

I wanted to shoot the bastard.

I groaned. Of course, there was always a catch with this jackass. "What?" I practically hissed at him.

He laughed, a mischievous glint shining in his eyes. Shit, I knew there was no way this would be that easy.

Emmett began pouting as he spoke his next words. Yes, pouting like a fucking two-year-old. "I don't like going behind my Rosie's back, and since Bella is Rosie's best friend…"

"Oh no," I said, already catching on to what he was thinking. "No! We are not telling her."

"Ah, ah, ah," Emmett taunted. "You came to me needing my help."

I grimaced, gritting my teeth together.

"So, if you really need my help as much as you say then you'll play by my rules. If you can get my Rosie on board with this little scheme of yours then I'll help you," he said, giving me a shit-eating grin.

"And what if I don't?" I sneered at him.

He shrugged, stretching his arms comfortably and putting his hands under his head. "I guess you're on your own then," he sneered back.

Fuck. Damn it. Shit!

"Fine," I said through my clenched teeth.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you say something Eddie ole pal? I couldn't really hear you. I guess this accident has left me a little…hard of hearing," he smiled, cupping a hand behind his ear.

"I said fine. I'll do it," I snapped at him.

It's a wonder I didn't smother him with a pillow when he was a baby.

So... what did you think? Good, bad, or ugly?

I know some of you will not be happy with Emmett and Edward, but Edward still has to go through Rosalie ;)

Add me on Facebook if you'd like. The link is on my profile or you can simply look me up. My user is Angie Fiction

Thanks everyone for reading!