I parked in my driveway, wiping the tears that had fallen during the ride. Honestly, I was such a mess.

The townhouse was silent when I walked in. Dante was sitting on the stairs, his phone in his hands, as if he was waiting for someone to call. He seemed relieved when he saw me, his tense shoulders relaxing.

"Hey, we need to go," he said urgently, standing.

"Go?" I asked, confused. "What do you mean? I just got back from-"

He shook his head, taking the keys from my hands. He winced as I took my glasses off and I knew my eyes looked bright red and horrible. "Just, get in the car. We have to go to the hospital."

"Wait... hospital?" I asked, confused. "Dante, what's going on?"

"My father is in the hospital," Dante spoke, taking my hand and pulling me from the townhouse. My heart stopped.

"What!? Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's stable... Heart attack."

I got in the passenger side of my Fiat, my breath leaving me, "When? Just now? Why didn't you call me?"

"I tried but your phone's off," Dante told me. He slammed the driver's door shut and immediately started the car, zooming off towards the local hospital.

"Do they know how bad it was?" I asked.

He shook his head, "He just got there about ten minutes ago. Mama was freaking out, couldn't stop hyperventailating."

He nearly hit a few pedestrians, but we got to the hospital. Despite looking like I just woke up, I went to the front desk, before Dante could scream at the lady.

"Giovanni Giorezzi."

"Are you family?"

"That's his son," I gestured towards Dante. Her eyes lit up in appreciation of him, before nodding.

"Sir, follow me."

I took a step to follow, but the girl glanced at me in confusion, "I'm sorry, only family members."

"She's like a sister to me, and my father's daughter," Dante spoke up.

"I'm sorry, sir, but strict policy."

I gave Dante a smile, "That's okay. You go on. I'll go back to the townhouse. Give me a call, okay? I want to know what happened."

"No, you can come-"

"Dante," I warned. "Go."

He gave me a tight hug, breathing in my scent, "I'll talk to Mama. I'll get you to see him."

"He'll be fine," I promised, letting him go. "I'll talk to Alice and them, okay?"

He nodded, catching my drift. "I'll call you when I learn everything."

I nodded and took my keys from him before leaving, him walking in the opposite direction.

The townhouse was still silent when I arrived. Only the entire Cullen family was in the living room. I must not have noticed them before.

"So... today's a shitty day," Emmett spoke first after we sat in silence for ten minutes.

I nodded slowly, "Yup. I told my father he'll never see my children, and Vanni's in the hospital. Karma's a bitch."

"He's going to be fine," Alice told me. "Just a minor heart attack. He's in his seventies and he still functions like a fifty year old man."

I swallowed, glancing at my manicured nails, "I know. He just seemed invincible. This won't have lasting damage on him, will it? He'll be back to how he was before?"

"He'll have to take it easy for a few months," Carlisle gave his doctoral advice. "But he should be fine."

I nodded slowly, "That's good news."

Alice gave me a sobering expression, "Your brothers are arguing about you and Emmett now... Apparently your mother called them all up and told them what happened. They want to march over here and beat him to a pulp."

I felt my jaw tremble, but glanced at my lap to keep it from being seen, "My mother shouldn't have involved my brothers."

"Well one of them is calling you now."

I reached for my phone and turned it on, as it had turned off on its own earlier today. As soon as I did so, Ambrose's name appeared.

"Ambrose," I greeted, standing and walking from the room for privacy, but I knew they could still here.

"Grazie, is he there right now?"

I glanced at the living room, "Yes..."

"Is he in the same room?"

"No... I'm in my room. I just got back from the hospital, so I haven't run into him."

"Hospital?" he cried. "What happened?"

I winced, my voice trembling as I climbed the stairs, "Vanni had a heart attack. I drove Dante there as soon as I got back from the bakery... it's not that severe, so he'll be alright..."

"Oh, Grazie..."

I gave a helpless laugh, "Today just isn't my day."

"Look, the family wants to see you before the dinner tomorrow... Do you think you could get rid of the big guy for a few hours? We don't want a fight or anything..."

"Right now?" I asked. "Ambrose-"

"Look, I'm just giving you the warning. The rest of the family is already getting the van and getting ready to head over."

I nodded, "Yeah... just... hold on. I can call you back."

"I'll stay on the line."

Crap. I walked down the stairs, getting a real work out. Dang... I stopped in the doorway of the living room. "Hey... um..." I hesitated, seeing Emmett's smirking face. Jerk. "A few of my siblings are coming over..." I thought of Snape dying, and got the desired effect when my voice wobbled, "Think you could get lost for a few hours?"

"Yeah, sure."

I gave a bright smile, turning around and walking up the stairs, "Yeah, sure?" Ambrose cried. "That's all he had to say!"

"I told mama we haven't spoken!" I cried. "What did you expect?"

"A little compassion! He just dumped you! He could at least make you feel better."

"Then the desired effect wouldn't happen," I muttered.

"Alright, we're on our way."

"You really don't have to do this."

"Too late."

I groaned and hung up, flying down the stairs. The Cullen's were still seated there.

"Alright. . . You can maybe stay in your rooms? Or go out on the town? But it's sunny... crap. Okay... I have to act like a mess in front of my entire family that know me far better than..."

"At least you aren't pregnant," Alice quipped.

I shot her a look, "How do you know?"

"Psychic, silly. You aren't pregnant yet. So you can get drunk, when they ask. Oh, and we're going to go hunting, so we won't be back until tomorrow morning."

I nodded, "Now, say something really mean to me."

"You look ugly, human," Rosalie spoke first.

"Thanks," I said dryly.

"Oh, I got this," Emmett spoke. "Okay, ready?"

I braced myself, "Go."

"You are a slut." He paused and I gave him this look.

"That was it?"

Jasper sighed, "I'll do this. I'm the professional here, obviously."

And I was hit with a wave of heartbreak.

Immediately tears filled my eyes, "I hate you!"

Jasper just laughed and headed up the stairs to his room, "I'll keep the feeling going, darling."

"Thanks, Jasper."

Why didn't we do this earlier? The rest of them left to go hunting. I kinda felt bad Jasper had to stay, but he was hiding out.

When my siblings arrived, it was all of them. All the in-laws included. Except for Daniella - who was seven months pregnant. I didn't blame her. All this stress wouldn't be good for her.

I had a box of tissues on the couch with me and I was watching FRIENDs... Half the box was gone, a few sugary items I shouldn't have been eating were around me as well. I was horrible when it came to break ups.

"Oh my goodness... she's a girl?" Riccardo whispered.

"Shut up!" Emiliana, his wife, scolded. She rushed to my side, "Grazie... it's alright."

"No, it's not," I sniffled.

"Okay, it's not," she amended.

"I'll tear him apart," Riccardo swore.

Tears leaked over, "He's so God damn stubborn! I told him we could still see each other, even if we couldn't get married... But he... he said, no, because Papa would still not like him and Papa would still never agree to us being together. And I mean, he's right. Papa doesn't like divorced people and-"

"But that guy didn't get the divorce himself, his ex-wife did, right?"

"Well, yeah! She's a cheater! I mean, she slept with loads of guys while I was in America."

"And he signed them?"

"Well, he wasn't going to stay with her if she didn't want to be with him," I defended. "And I just... I don't care that he's divorced. I told Papa that I'd pay for the wedding, of course I would. And I told him that it would be small. Just in the church down the road. Of course, he didn't like that very much. I love Emmett... I really, really do. More than I've ever loved anyone. I know it's fast, but we really just clicked! I've known him for years now. And I really think he's the one."

"Are you sure it's not just a crush?"

"Would I want to marry him if it was?" I snapped.

"Well..."

"I've never been the girl to fantacize about my marriage. I've never wanted to get married," I reminded them. "For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to stay single forever. But... well, it all changed when I met Emmett. I wanted to call him mine, and I wanted him to call me his. I wanted to show him off to the world. And I want to have kids with him. I want to do these things."

"Are you sure it's not just because Papa's sick?" Sophie asked from my other side.

I took an offered tissue from her hands and wiped my eyes, "Of course not! I mean, that's why we wanted to get married now, and not wait, but... It's not why we wanted to get married. It's not why we wanted kids. We're both young... but... I don't know, I just... I want to be with him. Now he won't even-"

"Well, that's a simple fix. We get you guys married."

I shook my head, "He'd never agree to it. And I want Papa to be there. He'll never agree...And Emmett wouldn't do that. He's convinced Dad would disown me."

"Maybe he will," Sophie shrugged. "But that doesn't mean he doesn't love you."

I dabbed my eyes, feeling another wave of heartbreak hit me. "I just... I don't want Dad to die. And I guess, with the Vanni thing today, it's all just getting really real. I'm terrified of when I get the call that Dad's in the hospital..."

"It won't be for a while," Alonzo insisted.

"Yeah, I mean, he's doing great so far," Camelo insisted.

I shook my head, "He wants me to get married. He wants me to have kids. And then when I have the opportunity... when I have the chance to give that to him, he denies it."

"He doesn't want his baby to grow up," Theresa insisted. "You know how much he's attached to you."

I rolled my eyes, "Please, I'm far from that. He hates my career, and while he loves the opportunities it gave me, we all know he's not comfortable with my modeling. He feels like Vanni is his competition. And he loves Dante."

"Would you quit modeling?" Amelia asked. "Would you stop for dad?"

I sighed, knowing the answer, "I'd stop. I'd hate every minute away from the job, but I'd stop if he really, really wanted me to. I'd stop if Emmett asked me to, but he supports it. Says it's my dream and I shouldn't give it up. And that's one of the reasons I love him."

"Does Emmett work?" Alonzo asked.

I nodded, "Not at the moment, but he does work."

My phone chimed at that moment, and I dove for it, knocking over a pile of used tissues. "Dante?" I asked.

"He's alright, just a minor heart attack."

"He'll be fine, then," I sighed in relief.

"What did Alice say?"

"The same," I spoke. "When can I visit him?" I sniffled, grabbing a tissue and blowing my nose.

"You sound horrible. I'll talk to the nurse. Soon."

"Thanks... And my family's over."

"I won't be home for a while. Estelle just got here and we're just talking to mama. I'll let you know when I'll get home."

"Alright, bye, Dante. Give your father my best wishes."

"Will do, and he says hello."

I smiled softly, before hanging up. "Vanni's fine. He'll be okay."

"That's good," Emiliana smiled.

I nodded, "One less thing to worry about."

"Well, here's what you do. You show Emmett what he's missing," Aurora said slowly. "You tease him. And he'll realize, forget what everyone else feels, I want to be with her. And you show him that you want to be with him."

"We haven't slept together... I'm not going to have sex with him just to make him realize he needs to be with me."

"No! Throw a party," Aurora smirked. "Get drunk and make sure he's there. You have some really hot friends-"

I grimaced, "They're mostly gay-"

"He doesn't know that," Aurora continued. "And you make him have to go after you."

I raised an eyebrow, "When would I do this?"

"Tomorrow night, silly! After the family dinner!"

It was a good idea, a little elaborate, but good.

"But that doesn't change Daddy's mind."

"Doesn't have to. He sees you together, in love - the other dinner doesn't count, you hardly talked - then he'll see how much he means to you."

I considered it, "Did Mama put you guys up to this."

Riccardo avoided my eyes, "Of course not."

"Liars. This was all her idea!"

"She wants you happy," Emiliana shrugged. "Besides, she likes Emmett. Couldn't stop gushing about him after you left."

I grimaced, "I didn't even tell them we were together."

"You didn't have to," Alonzo shuddered. "It was so obvious, it hurt to look at."

What? But we didn't even work out the plan... "Oh... I should have told you then."

"Nah, Mama figured it out," Amelia smirked. "I think that's why she was ranting to the copper head one."

Oh god... I said it was complicated with Edward... "Papa thinks I cheated on the copper head one, doesn't he?" I groaned.

"Well... a little bit."

"I didn't!" I protested. "It was only complicated because he had this huge crush on me, and we kind of dated while I was in America. And he still loved me even though I broke up with him. And then Emmett and I started to see each other, he got all 'you're just dating my brothers now' and it was weird."

Sophie gave a relieved sigh, "Good. I think that's why Papa really didn't like him, too. Not only was he divorced, but he made you adulterous."

"I told you I hadn't slept with him!" I cried.

She shrugged, "You never can believe something-"

I rolled my eyes, "Honestly? Why would I lie about that? I've never cheated on anyone!" A wave of heartbreak hit me from Jasper upstairs. And tears flooded my eyes. "I never will! Emmett's far too kind to do that to! I love him..."

"Have you told him that?" Riccardo asked.

"Of course," I insisted.

"And he's said it back."

I nodded, "Yeah... and it was before I told him I was a model too. The family didn't know about that until Marie knocked on my door one day."

"I bet he was pretty surprised."

I gave a heartbroken laugh, "Of course he was. He thought it was pretty cool, though. And he said, 'You're not only my superstar, but you're the world's superstar.' It was really sweet..."

"He ask you to sign anything?"

I giggled, "A few posters, and I did. I told him as long as they aren't hanging in the living room or anything, he can keep them hung up."

"What pictures were they?" Emiliana asked.

I blushed, "Uh... beach ones."

Sophie whistled, "Kept these from Papa then?"

I sighed, "Sort of... Mama knew. It was very last minute. Literally hours before my plane to America."

Riccardo sighed, "No wonder Papa doesn't like it when you model with Dante."

I blushed, "That's not why you're here though." A wave of heartbreak hit me once more. Jasper had excellent timing. "Papa will never like Emmett... let's just face that. Even if I managed to make Emmett be back with me, we'd never be able to get married."

"That's where we come in," Amelia insisted.

"We talk about how kind Emmett is," Emiliana spoke, continuing the thought.

"And we tell him," Gabriella, Alonzo's wife, continued, "That Emmett is amazing. How we should have married him."

"And then Papa will realize how much of a great guy Emmett is," Fiorenza smiled.

I sighed, "Maybe..."

"Look, we'll deal with dad. But first we need Emmett in our grasp."

I nodded, "Right... the hard part..." I toyed with my phone, sending a text to a few of my modeling friends - mostly human, and few vampires.

Party at my place tomorrow night at ten. Be there with some alcohol! We're getting wasted! Grazie xoxo

"It's not that hard. You can do it," Sophie insisted. "Now, let's get drunk now."

I let out a breathless laugh, "In the fridge and the cabinet above it."

My eldest brothers rushed to the kitchen, pushing and shoving. I relaxed into the couch, sighing.

"You really do love him, don't you?" Theresa asked.

I nodded, taking a new tissue and dabbing my eyes, "I really do... I don't know what to do. We can laugh, we can cry, we hate the same things, we love the same things... Family is so important to us..."

"Make a list," Fiorenza, Ambrose's wife, insisted. She handed me a piece of paper and a pen. "Things you love," she pointed to a column on the paper with her messy handwriting. "Things you hate." The other column.

I nodded slowly and took the paper. In my equally messy scrawl, I began. "He has dimples. And he's so funny." In the hate column, I wrote, "He's kinda loud when he's excited."

Emiliana laughed, "That's not always a bad thing."

"It is when you're trying to sleep," I giggled. I continued in the hate column, "He plays video games more than he reads. I like a studious person, you know?"

"And the love?"

"He's cute. He has a delicious build. He knows what I feel and why. He can relate, I guess. And he can get me motivated. If I feel like having a lazy day, he'll have a lazy day with me. If I want to go to the gym, he'll go to the gym with me. And we can talk about anything. I never have to hide anything. And he's got this funny little twitch he does. When he plays video games, I just watch him play, and he like opens his mouth like he's going to shout, and he closes it after a moment and just stares at the screen intently. It's so cute. And ... Well, I hate how he ..." I paused, what else did I hate about Emmett?

"Does he smoke? Drink?"

I shook my head, "Drinks as much as me, maybe less," I admitted. "Oh! Okay, here's one." I began to write, "He acts like he's stupid. I mean, not like zero brain cells, but he acts like he's not good enough. It drives me crazy, because he's a great guy and he just acts... dumb. And he's so smart. I don't know what degrees he has... But he has a few."

Mainly from repeating college and high school over and over again.

"Is there anything that doesn't make him perfect?" Emiliana sighed.

I giggled, feeling hopelessly romantic, "No. You can see why I love him, right?"

I randomly filled in some things - making up a few of them - before passing it back to Fiorenza. She looked over the list, "Dang..."

"I was teaching him Italian before... before the..."

"Break."

"Yeah, and he's learning. It's so funny, his accent. It's like he's from the South, but it's choppy and twisted around..." I laughed. "He's such a fast learner."

"Well at the party, you can get him back to you," Riccardo said. "But now, we have to get drunk."

"What about your kids?"

"Mama's watching them," Riccardo passed me a cold beer. "Drink up."

And so I did. It must have been well past midnight before the door opened and a drenched Emmett, Carlisle, Alice, and Rosalie walked through. Esme came through with Edward just a second later. "Grab a drink!" Sophie called.

I giggled, "No way, they're horrible drinkers! Especially Rosalie. God, she's such a bitch. I mean, she hated me for months."

Riccardo laughed, "No she didn't."

I nodded, taking another shot, grimacing at the burn of my throat. "Totally, she could not say anything nice about me. It was like I was a blood bag to her. Not my fault I'm pretty."

"You're gorgeous," Alonzo insisted.

I giggled, "Shut up, I am not. I'm pretty, but not gorgeous. Kate Moss, Heidi Klum, now that is gorgeous."

"Your self-confidence astounds me," Gabriella insisted.

I shrugged, taking another shot of vodka, "It's true. I'm not beautiful. Anyway, so that Rosalie girl hated me. I don't know what I did to her... Maybe I hurt her precious car. I don't know... But whatever it was, she was a bitch to me. Now... I don't know. She's alright at some points. I think it's just because she knows who I really am. I mean, apparently she's this huge fan of mine..." I rolled my eyes, reaching for a shot, "I hate it when people are two faced."

"My ex-boyfriend was like that, absolutely rude to me," Gabriella spoke. "Before I married Camelo, that is. And when he found out I knew you, he totally changed. Insisted I take you to meet him. I dumped him shortly after."

I grimaced, my fingers grasping the shot, "Ew."

"Bella, I think you've had enough," Carlisle said firmly, taking the shot from my hand.

"You're not my Papa," I giggled. I reached for the shot, but ended up toppling over Riccardo's lap. "Oops!"

"No," Carlisle agreed, "But you've had enough to drink."

"Lighten up, she's upset," Theresa laughed. "Here you go, baby-Grazie."

"Don't call me that!" I blushed brightly, taking the shot from her hand. "Thanks."

I downed it and then stuck my tongue out at Carlisle.

He sighed in defeat, "Alright, fine. You'll regret this when you have a horrible hangover in the morning."

I giggled, "Whatever. I'm a great drunk."

"So, what were you saying? About Emmett?"

"Oh," I giggled suddenly, "We have to burn that list. He can't find that!"

Sophie giggled, "No way. I just emailed it to Mama."

"Sophie!" I cried, then dissolved into laughter, finding this hilarious in my drunken state. "She's going to be freaking out when she sees it!"

"It's a little late," Ambrose observed, glancing at the large clock over on the wall. "Can we crash here?"

I giggled, "Of course, silly! There's plenty of room on the couch. I can get a few blankets from the closet-"

"I'll get them," Alice chirped.

I turned off FRIENDs and stumbled as I stood, bumping into the coffee table. "Ow!" I fell back onto the couch, groaning. "I forgot how clumsy I was on flat feet."

Emiliana laughed, "Oh, come on! You can walk! Can you make it to your bedroom?"

"Fifty euros," I giggled, challenging her.

"Deal."

I stood once more and gripped the coffee table, a lot harder than necessary, and concentrated as I stepped over my siblings feet and into the hallway.

"Made it to the foyer!" I called.

"You're so drunk!" a few laughed back.

"Goodnight!" I stumbled, my tunnel vision dangerous on the stairs. The railing was a lifeline as I took another step. "I'm going to murder myself..."

And then I was picked up and before I could comprehend what was happening, I had been deposited in my bed.

"You are so drunk," Emmett chuckled.

"No, I feel queasy," I murmured, squeezing my eyes shut. "That made my stomach turn. Don't do that again..."

"Do you need the bathroom?" he asked immediately. "I don't want human puke on me."

"No," I breathed after a few minutes. "I'm good. Thanks... Hey, I'm supposed to be very upset with you. Why are you in my room? I told Sophie the party was tomorrow... The party isn't right now, is it? Oh, no! I'm missing the party!" I tried to climb out of my bed, but Emmett pushed me back into it.

"Party's tomorrow," he assured me. "Get some sleep. You're going to need it."

"Sleep with me?" I yawned, pulling my sweatshirt off and thankful for the cool rush of air on my hot skin. My bra was black and lacy - matching my black sweatpants. Hot, I know.

"Uh, I don't know, Bella."

"Please? I'll have nightmares... I always have nightmares when I drink too much."

He sighed, "Alright. Scoot over."

I giggled and did as he said, giving him room on my large bed. I pressed my forehead against his cool shoulder, "You're hot."

He chuckled, "Thanks, you're hot yourself."

"No, no, you're handsome," I returned.

"You're beautiful."

I blushed immediately, "Shut up..."

"You really are."

I closed my eyes, my arm tightening around his bicept, "Lying makes your nose grow."

"Go to sleep, human."

I didn't need telling twice.