Rosalie sat, with her legs crossed, as she watched the peaceful flow of the stream water. Her fingers picked at the small grass shards grown around her. Her mind was clear, and her gaze was distant. Her fingers sunk into the dirt as her butt sunk further into the soiled ground. She felt a presence next to her, without turning to look; she knew who it was, "Who called you? Bella or Emmett?"

"Whose ass am I kicking?" Aro sat down beside her.

Her head rested upon his shoulder, "Mine? All of the thanks are owed to me, for all of the messes I've seemed to have gotten myself into." She lifts her head up and stares at her father, "I have a problem. My problem is that I don't give a crap about being politically correct. If it comes to my head, chances are it's coming out of my mouth too. Dad-"

"Why are you here Rose?" He turns to face her.

"I-I don't know. I guess because it's the place where my life changed."

"…the stream where Garrett found you."

She nods as she draws her legs up to her chest. Rose wraps her arms around her legs and leans her head against her thighs, "It's a good place to think. It's quiet. It's peaceful. I know I won't run into anyone here. Ever since my attack, people have steered clear of the forest."

"Why didn't you call to tell me where you were?"

"Just because you're my father doesn't mean you need to know every detail of my life."

"Ouch," Aro chuckles, "that was a bit harsh. Want to tell me what the snippiness is all about?"

"I went out with Bella like you and mom suggested, and Emmett was there."

He runs his hand against the back of her head, "And how did that go?"

"Dad, I tried to be strong. I tried to ignore it. I tried to smile through it, but my smile lied. It says I'm strong, but my heart says I'm fragile."

"Are you okay?"

"Oh yeah," Rose sarcastically nods, "I'm cool. My heart has been broken many times before; it's almost like a game to see how fast I can put it back together again."

Silence falls between father and daughter. The only sounds heard between the two are the sounds of mother-nature purring in the night. The water from the streams are hitting against the dirt walls of the pond. The leaves are blowing in the nightly spring breeze. The moon was illuminated over their heads, and if Rosalie wasn't so distracted, she would have embraced the moment and enjoyed the night. As her arms tightened around her legs, she began to rock forwards, and then backwards, once, twice, until it became a repeated occurrence, "I have come to realize that certain people are only in my life just to piss me off. Life sucks."

"Maybe it's not life that sucks; maybe it's just the people you let in your life that suck. Listen Rosalie, look at it this way, every person you know is a character in the movie of your life, all you need to do is figure out who you want to be the stars and who you want to be the extras." Aro's voice is barely above a whisper when he responds.

"I know I shouldn't let them get to me, and if I had a choice, I wouldn't! If I could change anything, it would be how others have made me feel…but I can't change that, no matter how hard I try. I know I'm a work in progress, but I like myself the way I am! I'm so torn because I know we should always strive for change, but at what point do you say, you don't want to change yourself for anyone. You want to be yourself. Life has too many rules to live by."

"Yeah," her father mumbles along, "and by the time you learn the rules, you're too old to play the game. I'm 49 and I still don't understand this little mystery called life." Rosalie chuckles.

Rose unravels her arms from around her legs. She stretches them out, and turns her body to face her father completely, "So, who called you? How did you know I ran off?"

"Don't look too much into it, but Emmett called. He was worried. You both may be temporarily separated, but-"

"We're not separated."

"He called because he was worried. You two may not be on speaking terms, but he's still your husband and he still loves you. And he'll still protect you."

She looked at him with hope in her eyes, "Did he say that?"

"…in so many words." Aro chuckles.

"Well, dad, what did he say?"

"Who cares?"

"…I do. I hurt him. I have no idea where he stands with me."

Aro frowns, "He left you after you made a mistake. I understand that he has every right to be mad, but he left. He left and ignored you when things got hard. We all do things we aren't proud of, and we all do things that hurt others, and you owned up to it. You can't go back in time and change it. What the hell does he want you to do? Beg and grovel. I'll be damned."

"Dad, calm down."

"These last few days you've been a wreck!"

"Well thanks." She rolls her eyes.

"You've been a wreck because of the guilt you've felt; well now it's time to move on from it. You don't deserve to feel guilty anymore. You deserve to move past it. You've said your apologies, you've cried and you've pleaded. There's nothing else left for you to do Rosalie. The mistakes you have made weren't deliberate attacks to hurt him or any of us for that matter. No matter the choices you make, someone won't like it. So don't worry about making anyone else happy. Focus on yourself. Being selfish is okay every once in a while. It is okay."

"…then why do people act like it's not?"

"I don't know, but sometimes we have to put ourselves first. That's why I didn't want you to get married so soon."

"Dad, don't start with that."

"No," he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "let me finish. I didn't want you to get married, not because of my personal feelings towards Emmett or because I'm extremely protective of you, even though that did play a part in it, I didn't want you to get married because you're so young. Your twenties are a time for exploration, for fun and adventure. It's not a time to be tied down. It's a time for selfishness. You're supposed to think about yourself. You're supposed to do things that are in your best interests, not the best interests of you and your spouse. You're a twenty-two year old living the life of an adult."

"I am an adult-"

"…maybe you are legally, but mentally and emotionally, you are not. No twenty-two year old is…they still need their parents whether they realize it or not." Aro's voice pleaded with her.

"Last time I checked, I was a big girl. I can make my own decisions dad. I am capable of managing my own life and I can deal with my own issues. I made the decision to marry Emmett and I've never regretted it. Jasper and Alice were married a year before me and Emmett, and you have yet to shed your opinion on the matter."

"Well, Jasper and Alice aren't my children. I have one kid." He tapped her nose jokingly, "And that's you."

"I'm not a kid," her arms crossed.

He smiles genuinely, "…in my eyes you are."

A single tear rolls down her cheek. Rosalie wanted to just let it go and move on, but every part of her wouldn't allow it. By letting go, she would be giving up on her husband and the chance of forgiveness from him. Moving on would cause for her to forgive herself, and therefore not yearn for the forgiveness of those she hurt.

"Penny for your thoughts," he nudges her shoulder carefully.

"I want to take your advice."

"What's stopping you?"

"I don't want to lose my husband in the process."

For the last couple of days she's been living in a state of grey depression. It was a feeling that she could not figure out a way to get out of. It felt permanent. A mist that surrounded her constantly and wouldn't rise no matter what she did. It felt like a weight was pressed down upon her shoulders. She wanted to cry harder. She should have been sobbing, but her emotions were too numb to even fathom the idea of breaking down in her father's presence.

"You deserve to be happy," his voice was the calmest she has ever heard it be, "and in order to be happy, it means you have to be free. It means you need to let everything that bothers you go. You have to smile…and you have to let everyone know the real you, the new real you. The new and real you that wants forgiveness and will strive to get it, but also the you that knows when to stop seeking what won't be offered."

Her puffy eyes glanced to her right in order to glance at her father, "You don't think he'll forgive me? You don't think he has any intention of forgiving me?"

"…I just want you to be prepared if he doesn't."

"How do you and mom get over patches like this?"

"We compromise," Aro drops his arm from around her shoulder, "I usually admit I'm wrong and she agrees with me."

Rose smiles softly, "I already admitted I was wrong."

There's a hollow hole forming in her heart. It was a hole that only Emmett could possibly fill. The whole world around her was crashing, but all she could focus on was the dwindling aspect of her marriage falling apart. She didn't know how much time had passed, but it felt like a lifetime since she walked off.

"It's dark and it's getting late. We should head back."

Rose rises to her feet, "You go on. I want to stay here a little longer." She begins to brush sprinkles of dirt off of her behind, "Despite popular opinion, I'll be fine here. I won't get into any trouble." Aro chuckles at that. He follows her movements and rises to his feet.

"You may not go looking for trouble, but it does seem to find you. You need a ride back anyway, so I'll wait with you."

"Why can't I just be alone for a second?"

"Because that's not what you need," Aro nudges on her arm in order to turn her around, "what you need is to talk to your husband. You need to clear the air-"

"I already tried that."

"No, you tried pleading for forgiveness. You tried giving him space. You tried texting and calling him with apologies. It's time you try a different approach. It's time you try a more confrontational approach. You tell him straight up how sorry you are, but allow some of the Rosalie that I raised to shine through. Lay down the law. Tell him what you will do, but remind him of what you won't allow. The ball has been in his court for days, it's time for you to get your chance to play."

"This isn't a game."

He begins leading the way, "I didn't say it was. It was simply a metaphor. Come on, I'll give you a lift there, and I'll be by your side every step of the way."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" She abruptly stops walking, "Dad, you're a little intimidating. And if I do this, I don't want the pressure of you hanging over Emmett's head."

"Don't you worry about Emmett's pretty little head," the two continue walking out of the forest, "Emmett's not afraid of me. And this isn't about me. All you need to do is be honest."

"Everyone wants you to be honest until you tell them how much they suck."

Aro chuckles as he pulls out his car keys, "Well when you put it like that…"

The two continued walking along the path out of the woods. Her father was parked along the side of the road. Aro unlocked his car from his position in the clearing of the forest, and watched as his daughter walked ahead of him. The older Hale sighed as he watched her slide into the passenger side, and shut the door. Aro approached the driver's side, stared off temporarily into the distance, before slowly opening his door and sliding inside, "You weren't the only one affected by your attack. Directly you were, but indirectly, we all were impacted." He catches her side eye as he continues, "The changes in you are obvious. You're impulsive. You're full of anger. That's not normal for you, me, yeah, but not you."

"Now you're sounding like James…" she rolls her eyes.

Aro starts the car, but doesn't change gears, "I was arrested seventeen times since you moved away."

"Wait…" she turns to face him, "WHAT?"

"Are you really that surprised? I mean…I already had anger issues; your attack just intensified them. I seem to have the habit of jumping into fights when people mention you in a negative way. It's my downfall. And staying in a town where majority of the people think you're lying, I seem to have come across a lot of people who think lowly of you and your ability to tell the truth." Aro changes gears, and pulls onto the main, desolate road, "With you no longer living here, I guess I had no reason to play it safe. I defend you whether you're beside me, in another state or country. I'm telling you this because I want you to know that regardless of who you think has your back, just know that I always will."

"You and mom never mentioned it."

"Yeah, well, when I mention your former step-father to Brady, the handcuffs suddenly come off and the charges unexpectedly drop. I don't know what he does, but he managed to pull it off seventeen times. Brady sure knows how to cover things up."

"Don't I know it?"

He makes a slow turn, "I'm sorry. That was insensitive of me." Aro temporarily pulls his eyes off of the road. He takes in her expression before focusing forward, "You scared?"

"…maybe."

As the car pulls into the small, crowded parking lot of Jacob's bar, Aro reaches over and pats his daughter's hand, "I'll be beside you every step of the way."

"There are a lot of people here," she whispers as her father parks the car.

"Since when are you afraid of a large audience?"

"I'm not afraid," her hands fumbled together against her lap, "I just don't want all of their judgmental eyes on me."

He waves them off, "Screw them. You're perfect."

Rosalie scoffs, "Dad, you can only make excuses for me for so long before you start doubting me too. You'll eventually wise up," she pats his upper arm, before opening up the car door.

"Hey," he grabs her wrist before she can step outside, "I loved you since you took your first breath, and I'll love you until I take my last. Who cares what they all think of you? If Emmett doesn't wise up, then it's his loss."

"Thanks daddy."

Aro takes a hard grip of the steering wheel, sucks in a long breath and sporadically releases it. He hops out of his car, slams the door and locks it as they walk away. People smoking and drinking were lined up against the outside of Jacob's bar, talking loudly to one another about work, sports, and family, anything that came to mind. At the sight of Aro, most of them straightened up their stance, lowered their voices, and put out their cigarettes. Aro simply smiled.

"What are you doing?" Rosalie whispered as her father pulled the entrance door open.

"I was smiling at them."

Rose walked inside, "Why? Most of them don't like you."

"Well, that's why. I smile at people who don't like me because I am an asshole." She chuckles at his retort, "Want to see something cool?"

"What are you about to-"

Before her full question could be stated, Aro shoved two fingers into his mouth and whistled. Every single head turned to face him. And at the sight of him, Rosalie could positively say that every individual stopped talking; waiting to hear what Aro had to say. He dropped his hand, "This started happening after the sixth fight. I think they think that I have anger issues."

She set her hand against her forehead, "You don't say?"

"Alright everyone, where's Emmett?"

Once the question was posed, every finger raised and pointed towards the back of the bar. Seated at the furthest table from the front door was Emmett, drowning his misery in a glass of scotch. When Aro whistled, he didn't bother to look up. He was too focused on the fact that his glass was slowly losing contents of alcohol and Elizabeth had yet to come back with his refill.

Rosalie walked around her father and approached her husband. She pulled the chair out and took a seat, "We need to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you," he swallowed his last drops of scotch.

"When I first met you, I would have never guessed that we would become what we are."

Emmett shoved his empty glass away, "There are a lot of things we never would have guessed would happen, but they did."

"Don't do that."

He angrily smirks, "Don't do what?"

"Don't shrewdly bring up the negative. I know what things you are referring to and that's not fair of you to bring it up, especially because every time I mention it, you yell at me, get mad at me or ignore me. Do we have any chance of fixing this?"

"I don't know Rose," Emmett whispered, smiling up at Elizabeth as she set down another glass of scotch, "I want to, but I can't."

As Emmett brought the glass up to his lips, Rosalie reached forward and snatched it away, "No, we don't need this interfering in our conversation."

"He can have a little drink."

Rosalie ignored Elizabeth's comment, and continued speaking to her husband, "Em, sometimes I make the wrong decisions, sometimes I say the wrong thing and sometimes I blame the wrong person, but my intentions are always good." She sits the glass down and extends her free hand to rest over top of his, "Emmett, I've said my apologies, and there are only so many number of times I can say them before it becomes meaningless. Every apology that I have told you I meant, but I have to draw a line somewhere. I've always said that I'm not perfect. I have made some pretty bad mistakes, I've done stupid things that I will never forget, but at the end of the day, no one needs to judge me. I judge myself enough!" He slides his hand from under hers.

"Are you done?"

"I think," she nods.

"Good," he lifts his glass, "then you can leave."

Once again, Rosalie reaches forward and snatches the glass out of his hand. She heard Elizabeth scoff as she pulled a chair up to their table, "Rosalie, he wants you to leave."

"And I want you to stop taking advantage of the situation and making passes at my husband."

"I'm here as a friend," Elizabeth crossed one leg over the other, "Emmett's a big boy. He can make his own decisions. He can do what and who he wants to." The venom in her voice pulled Rosalie from her seat, "You easy, imprudent, desperate whore, I'm sorry that you've already screwed every guy in this town, but you stay away from mine!"

"…like I haven't heard that before."

"Why are you putting all of this energy into my husband? Won't you find a man and actually do something that normal people do? Have a nice, long relationship."

"I have had one before."

"Girl please, my phone battery last longer than your relationships"

"Alright," Aro walks over, grabs Elizabeth by the arm, "You're coming with me. We need to have a little chat outside." Elizabeth wasn't an idiot. She quietly rose to her feet, yanked her arm free of Aro's hold and followed him out of the bar.

"Emmett," Rose turned to face him, "I've made mistakes and so did you. I've forgiven you for all of yours. Can't you do the-"

"You lied to me. You went behind my back and betrayed me. You did the worst thing imaginable."

Her voice whispered, "the worst thing imaginable Emmett? For most people that's murder."

"…and it was because of you!"

"Why is it, when I try to talk to you about something you did, it always ends up being my fault? How did that happen? When did that happen?"

"When I realized how twisted and manipulative you are…"

"I made a lot of mistakes in my life, but you were never one of them, but yet, you treat me as if I was. What happened to you?"

"I'm glad to see you are okay. I'm happy that your father found you, but I'm done talking. Can you just go please? I want to be alone."

Rose looks around the bar, "Ha, you want to be alone. Here? Elizabeth will probably come back inside and bother you."

"I don't care."

"…of course you don't."

"None of these people remind me of what we did. She doesn't remind me of what I did."

"You know what, fine." Rosalie rises to her feet, "You want to use Elizabeth to get back at me, just remember that a troubled marriage is still a marriage. If you are that unhappy, you have two choices; fix it or finish it. Cheating isn't a valid option." Emmett looks up to meet her angered eyes, "I can't waste time begging for your forgiveness because I need to worry about getting us out of this mess. So, if you want to talk to me, you can start the conversation. I'm tired of giving the effort if all you are going to do is ignore me. I'm done being the bad guy. I'm out of here."

In her haste to leave, she bumps into the chair and it falls over. She pushes her way through the crowd, leaving a baffled Emmett in the distance. Rosalie pushed the door open, "Dad, let's go." She waved him to follow her, and without question, he did. He left Elizabeth and she reentered the bar, "How did it go?"

"I actually do feel a little better."

"Is it over between you two yet?"

She glares at him, "No dad. I simply said what was needed and I stormed out. I didn't really give him a chance to respond. He probably would have just asked me to leave again. Anyway, I needed to get that over with so I can focus on fixing this mess."

"How about you let me help? My method of getting things done actually works." Aro throws his arm around her shoulders as the two walk to his parked car.

"What did you have in mind?"

Aro grins down at his daughter, "Before I tell you my idea, you have to tell me everything. Start from the beginning and leave nothing out."

-Tiffany.