Disclaimer: If I owned it I wouldn't be doing my own laundry or cleaning. owns all these amazing characters.
Bella's Angry Music -Linkin Park Meteora
Edward's ringtone for Emmett – Smokey The Bear search it on Youtube if you can't remember what it sounds like!
Huge thank you's to my Beta Kelly :), and to Nicole (NicWise) for the Amazing banner she made for NJAG! More notes at the bottom because I know you just want to see the shit hit the fan!
BPOV
"Stupid... Selfish... Idiotic..."
I couldn't help the string of derogatory terms coming from my mouth. Each one punctuated by the sound of plastic hitting asphalt.
Emmett had thoroughly fucked up this time...and his little toy collection was paying the price.
Transformers, G.I. Joes and Lego were littered across the driveway below Emmett's window. The entire set of Lego police vehicles he had collected and built when he was 12 lay scattered.
I watched as Edward's car pulled to a stop at the curb. He was obviously cautious as he exited the driver's door and looked at the carnage.
I had just lifted Em's large Lego police station building onto the window ledge. I paused to watch Edward for a few seconds.
He finally looked up and met my angry gaze. With a smirk, he just shook his head and made his way inside. With a little nudge the building went falling to the ground. The sound of Lego blocks breaking and scattering very satisfying to my ears. I heard him enter Emmett's room a minute later.
I was engulfed in warm arms as I felt the wet tears slide down my cheeks. The reflex to cry when angry just made me angrier but Emmett's toy shelf was already empty.
"I've got you. It'll be alright Bella. He'll be fine." Edward was whispering calming things into my ear.
He gently picked me up and carried me to the living room. How he managed to make it down the stairs, I'll never know.
"Ok, have at it. There's nothing left to throw so you should probably start talking." Edward leaned back with me in his arms waiting.
"Em...em... he went ...he went c-c-climbing." I managed to choke out between sobs. Apparently I was still crying.
"I know baby, he called me." Edward was combing his fingers through my hair soothingly.
I balled my fist up on my lap, anger shaking my arms and the tears starting to fall down my cheeks again.
"How could he?" I ground out through clenched teeth. "How could he try to go without telling me?"
"Up." Edward held my hips while I balanced on one leg. He picked me up and carried me to the workout room setting me down on the mats.
Pulling his iPod out of his pocket, he docked it in the speaker system. Linkin Park poured from the speakers a minute later.
He sat behind me pulling me back against his chest between his legs. Even as angry as I felt, I easily melt into him for comfort.
"Look." He grabs my chin and forces me to look forward. "Now say what you need to say."
A picture of Emmett grinning ear to ear and holding his wakeboard is right in front of me. My heart clenches as I realize what Edward has done. My angry music, a place I feel comfortable to be aggressive, and his physical support. He's given me a safe outlet to be angry.
"Jackass... idiotic... irresponsible asshole." I almost whisper at my brother's image.
"Louder!" Edward yells over my head.
"Pathetic... no good... son of a bitch... motherfucker....ahhhhh!" I scream as loud as I can and have to catch my breath after.
"Better." He mumbles closer to my ear this time.
I turn my head to catch his lips in a kiss. I feel him smile against my mouth, obviously happy that I'm not shaking in anger anymore.
"Smokey the Bear, Smokey the Bear. Prowlin' and a growlin' and a sniffin' the air..."
"Just a second." Edward mumbles reaching into his pocket to grab his phone. He takes a second to text back to the person then pockets the phone and looks at me. "What?"
I'm staring wide-eyed at him. "Is that your ring tone for Emmett?"
He smirks and may even be blushing a bit. "Maybe."
"You used the Smokey the Bear theme song for him?" I'm giggling a little manically as he nods. "That is awesome!"
"Surprisingly there are not a lot of songs with the word bear in them; Well none for anyone over the age of five."
"No there aren't." He has moved to stand and is helping me up off the floor. I realize my crutches are upstairs at the same time he is scooping me up.
I notice he's wearing sweats and a t-shirt. He must have been ready for bed when Emmett called him.
He runs upstairs and grabs comfy clothes for me to change into before we end up on the couch as he puts in Nightmare Before Christmas. He texts my brother one more time; I'm assuming to let him know I'm done throwing things. I'm exhausted and fall asleep just as Jack is falling from the sleigh.
I woke up in my bed still in the yoga pants and top I had put on after my freak out yesterday. My leg brace was resting on the chair beside the bed along with my crutches. I must have fallen asleep on the couch with Edward.
A warm feeling filled my body as I thought of my boyfriend. How one person could make me feel so special, so wanted, was inconceivable to me. He must have carried me to bed.
The clock read seven o'clock. What was I doing awake so early on a Saturday. I should be asleep for a while longer given how drained I felt last night. Oh but I'm still pissed. Brother Bear may not survive the fit I'm going to have when I see him today.
Voices filter under my closed bedroom door. Charlie never yells, I mean never. He has a total scare you to your bones quiet angry thing that is worse than any yelling. But the voice I hear is definitely his.
I try to listen while I'm putting on my brace. It would be stupid to try and move closer to eavesdrop; I'm not exactly stealthy on crutches. I manage to get myself braced and vertical in only a couple of minutes. I haven't managed to make out what is being said but I have a good idea.
"You will not be leaving this house without telling me where you are going. You have lost all freedom for the next week. I trusted you Emmett. I trusted you with your sister, with Rosalie, with yourself. You will have to earn that trust back and it won't be easy. Have I made myself clear?"
I don't hear any response so I'm assuming Emmett has acknowledged Dad's punishment somehow. It is silent as I make my way carefully down the stairs; it's kind of spooky.
I turn the corner and am immediately brought into the standoff. Well one sided standoff. Emmett is hunched over the table with his hands on his head. I'm pretty sure his eyes are closed. He actually looks kind of pathetic all curled in on himself.
"Well it's your sister's turn to let you know how badly you screwed up last night. I'm going to work." He turns and puts his coffee cup into the sink. "Bella you have a physical therapy appointment at ten correct?"
"Yes Dad." I know I'm not in trouble but he's still in cop mode and it's a little off putting.
"Emmett will take you there and back. I want a text when you get back so I know everything is alright." He emphasizes the point of wanting to know everything is fine.
"Of course Dad, Edward is coming along. I'll have him meet us here."
Dad nods to acknowledge the information. As he passes, he gives me a small smile to let me know there is no anger toward me. He's out the door and Emmett still hasn't moved.
"Can you wait until I go to the bathroom to yell?" He asks quietly not even bothering to lift his head.
"Oh I'm not going to yell. Charlie yelled plenty. I'm going to make my breakfast and call my boyfriend. No yelling from me." I moved to the fridge and grabbed a muffin and some fruit salad I made yesterday before all hell broke loose.
Emmett disappeared and didn't make another appearance until Edward knocked on the door at 8:45.
I notice a box beside the door containing toy parts. Someone must have swept the driveway this morning.
"Sorry Em." I mumbled. He deserved crap but he didn't deserve my misplaced aggression.
"I deserved it lil' sis." He responded in an equal mumble.
"Charlie thought you should have thrown Em's CD collection instead of his toys." Edward says while wrapping his arms tightly around my waist. "Everything ok?" He whispers so only I hear.
"I'm leaving my anger to brew, putting on a happy facade at the moment. It'll get to him more than anything I could say."
Edward smirks cheekily and helps me into my coat.
The drive to Port Angeles is quiet. Edward and I take turns selecting songs from my iPod. Emmett isn't making eye contact with either of us. He must be going crazy beating himself up mentally. Good...saves me doing it later.
"Good morning!" A chipper bleach blonde wearing not enough clothing calls out as we enter the door. She's only looking at Emmett and Edward. Great.
"Hi, Bella Swan. I have a 10 o'clock appointment." I don't bother making eye contact since she hasn't looked at me yet.
"Yes of course, let me just get Henry." She mumbles obviously not wanting to leave her front row seat for ogling the guys.
"Hello Bella, so nice to see you again. Although I was hoping you would be on two feet." the cheerful older man comes through a set of glass doors beside the reception desk.
"It's good to see you again Henry. I agree totally; I was hoping to be staying off these." Edward moves beside me and rests his hand on my lower back reminding me he's here.
"This is my boyfriend Edward and the giant sulking in the chair is my brother Emmett. They help with my home routine."
"Come on in. I was just going over Dr. Cullen's notes from your most recent accident."
I feel Edward tense up beside me. I know he's still upset with me about Lauren; he thinks I went easy on her. He and I are going to have to talk about it. I had my reasons.
"Alright, let's see how your leg is looking." Henry helps position me on a high therapy table. I shimmy off my sweatpants having put on a pair of shorts earlier. I've done this so many times; I've learned a few tricks.
He is very gentle taking off the brace. I watch Edward out of the corner of my eye. He's never had a close look at my scars, I'm nervous of his reaction. Then I realize, it's Edward; he likes me scars and all.
My leg is a mess of green and yellow bruises. A few spots are still a darker purple. The long pink scars still stand out. For how bad it looked, it didn't hurt, just ached from lack of use.
"Okay we'll start with some range of motion stretches. You boys watch closely, these are two person exercises." Henry bends my knee almost to 90 degrees. I feel the pull in my thigh and hamstring but it's not painful.
Edward and Emmett both move really close not wanting to miss anything. Edward looks concerned, Emmett just looks serious.
An hour later, we have lots of stuff to work on at home. I'll be on the crutches at least until my next appointment, although now I'm allowed to try and put weight on the leg.
"Emmett seriously, suck it up. You made a shitty decision. I broke your shit. Get over it." I say once we're on the road.
"That's it. You're just going to let me off?" He catches my eye quickly before focusing back on the road.
"Yeah, I mean, you don't need to give up on climbing just because I'm done. I should have been more aware of what you've given up for me since June."
"You are not done climbing Bella." He says firmly.
"I'm with the dumb bear on that. You'll be back climbing. We'll help you." Edward adds his two cents from the back seat.
"Yeah well, it's nice that you two think so. I'm not sold on the idea, so good luck." I turn to focus on Emmett. "Oh and I'm not done with you, I just haven't thought of anything I want in apology for you withholding information from me." I tune both of them out for the rest of the trip.
We're sitting in the living room. Emmett has made his mandatory call to Charlie letting him know we're home. Edward is snuggling into me while we sit on the floor, I'm pretty sure he's smelling my hair. God, everything this boy does makes my girlie bits tingle.
"I want you to meet my parents. Come to my house for dinner tomorrow?" He mumbles right beside my ear while he runs his nose up and down my neck.
"I've already met your Dad, remember." I whisper back not wanting to distract from his gentle touches.
"Not the same. I want him to meet my girlfriend, not another patient." He's still nuzzling me and now he's started running his hands over my stomach. I don't need persuading to meet his folks but it seems he's trying.
"Ok, dinner? Shouldn't you ask your mom first?" I'm leaning into him now, really wanting this conversation to be over so we can move on to kissing.
"She's been harassing me for a couple of weeks, no need to ask." He moves his hand to grab my neck running his thumb back and forth across my jaw while gently turning my head.
The kiss is gentle and consuming. We easily loose ourselves to the sensation. An untimely knock at the door breaks us from the moment; we both smile and take a calming breath before one last little kiss.
"I'll get it." Edward mumbles jumping up from the floor. I'm beyond jealous of his easy movement but forget it as I watch his firm ass move out of the room.
He reappears a moment later with Rosalie on his heels. He helps me move to the couch and sits close as Rose takes a chair.
"I wanted to talk to you before I go see Em." She whispers conspiratorially while leaning forward in the chair. "I wanted to apologize."
I feel Edward jump a little beside me. Turning, I see a look of awe on his face. Obviously Rose apologizing is a surprise to him.
"You have nothing to apologize for. My brother is the idiot who thought it was a good idea to hide things." I keep my voice low to match hers.
"I knew about his plans and didn't say anything. I pushed him to tell you but I should have said something when I knew he wasn't going to have the balls to do it himself." She gives a tight smile.
"Well I accept. Although I don't think you did anything wrong." I smile at her.
"Oh and I'll be giving him shit for his little stunt. Let me know if you need help reprimanding him." She stands and starts to make her way to the stairs.
"Thanks Rose! I'll let you know." I call out as she disappears.
"So where were we?" I turn and grab Edward's cheeks in my hands quickly pressing my lips to his; I can feel a smile before he's begging entrance with his tongue.
EmPOV
I stare at the empty shelf above my desk. When I got home last night, Charlie was sitting out on the front step. He was nursing a beer and looked more serious than I think I've ever seen him.
He stood and silently passed me a push broom and cardboard box. I remember being so confused by the gesture and it must have shown on my face.
"Your toy shelf had a run in with your sister's temper." He points to the driveway with the beam of his cop issue maglite.
The sight of plastic parts strewn across the driveway didn't surprise me. The fact that my clothes and other stuff weren't involved surprised me.
"Edward managed to stop her before your room was totalled. I'm a little disappointed she didn't get to your CD's to be honest. Clean it up then go to bed. We'll talk in the morning." He turned and walked away. I hadn't said a word.
I had swept up what was left of my collection. I threw it all in the box and went to bed. I didn't sleep much, tossing and turning trying to fight the disappointment in myself.
I'm the brother bear, the protector. I'm supposed to defend lil' sis against the world, not cause her pain, and not bring sadness to her world.
The next morning Charlie did as he said. His words were loud and cut me deeply. I had disappointed not only my sister but my dad. The man who I respected more than anyone now distrusted me. I had made a horrible mistake.
I waited for Bella's anger to come crashing down on me. The spooky happy mask she had when she talked to me this morning creeped me the fuck out.
Hopefully when she does go off, it's verbally not physically. I can take the hits but I'm pretty sure she'd hurt herself.
I focused on what the therapist was showing Edward and I. The exercises are similar to the ones she had a few months ago; only pushing her a little more to get off the brace and crutches. I could see that this therapist didn't want her to get to comfortable relying on the support of the brace. It's a good thing.
Her defeatist attitude about climbing really hit me. I'd heard her occasional comments about how she would never do the things she use to. But I'd never really listened. Its good Edward is on the same page and wanting to get her back to those activities.
A knock on the door pulls me from my mental analysis of the past 24 hours.
"Come in."
A sight that relaxes my entire body walks through my bedroom door. I take a moment to get a good look at her, knowing she is as unhappy with me as everyone else.
The tight dark jeans show off her firm long legs. My hands twitch a little knowing what her tight ass feels like through the material. She's wearing a hoodie that is just tight enough to get a sense of the perfect curve of her waist and swell of her boobs. Her hair is hanging straight down her back. I finally get to her face and my appreciative gazing comes to a dead stop.
She. Is. Pissed.
Her hands are balled at her sides. Her mouth is twisted in a scowl, and her eyes are glaring through me. This is not good.
"What were you thinking?" She grounds out through clenched teeth.
My mouth opens and closes a bunch of times trying to find a response that doesn't get my ass kicked.
"That's what I thought. You weren't thinking." She closes the door and moves to stand in the middle of my room. "The next time you are too chicken shit to tell your sister something, I will be telling her." She crosses her arms, tapping her fingers against her forearms.
"I'm sorry." It's barely audible but at least I managed to say something.
"You're sorry?...You're sorry? That's all you've got?" She comes to stand between my legs and leans into me. "Just so you know. You're grounded from Rosie this week too. I will see you at school and that is all. No touching. No kissing. Nothing. Do you understand?"
I gulp because honestly I'm a little frightened at the moment and eekkk out a yes.
"I'm taking Bella shopping after school on Monday. I'll need to use the Jeep because my car isn't big enough. You can get a ride home with Jasper after football." She pushes off and walks away with a little extra sway in her hips.
I take a really, really cold shower after she's gone. It's going to be a long fucking week. I'm still waiting on Bella's wrath and I'm pretty sure Charlie's not entirely done with me.
I run to grab the phone ringing in the kitchen. I'm not sure where Bella is but she doesn't exactly move quickly these days.
"Hello."
"EMMETT! Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" Oh shit. It's Renee. This is not going to be pleasant.
"Hi Mom." I say in a small voice.
"I get a call from your Father saying you've gone climbing without telling anyone. You didn't even tell your sister. What were you thinking?"
"Uh, I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry." I try to sound remorseful but I don't think Mom's hearing it.
"Don't pull anything like that again, understand?" Renee can never stay angry, thank goodness.
"I understand."
"Good, now you need to tell me all about Rosalie." Her voice sounds all wistful and curious. Shit, I kind of wish she was still yelling.
I spend the next 10 minutes telling my mom all about Rose and our relationship. She's so scatterbrained, it's kind of funny to listen as she jumps from one topic to the next. She does manage to remember to ask how Bella is doing. She tends to only want to talk about the happy things in life; ignoring the harder to deal with ones.
So now I've had Dad, Mom, Rose, and Bella in a way give me shit for my stupid choice. I feel it's time to go sulk in my room. I don't think there's anything I can do to make amends at the moment anyway.
So after spending the weekend avoiding actual contact with anyone, I'm now at school. Edward came and picked up Bella before I was even out of the shower this morning.
Apparently Jasper and Alice have been fully informed of my less than stellar behaviour; given the glares they send my way whenever we're close. At lunch we sit together at our normal table, but I'm firmly ignored by everyone. Oh and Rose sits beside Bella leaving me to sit between Jasper and Edward.
I need to come up with something. I need to fix this. I know earning their trust back will take time. But if I can figure out how to make amends in the short term it could only help.
A/N
Two important pieces of information :) Promise this won't be too long!
1) I've put myself up for auction :) I'm participating in the Fandom Gives Back -Eclipse edition, for details check out www thefandomgivesback com/. On the block is your choice of a continuation of any of my current O/S, or an alternate POV of any part of NJAG! All of you asking for some Edward POV here's your chance.
2) NicWise has chosen to host a readalong of Not Just A Girl on May 13th! Check out the ficbridge website for details, theficbridge blogspot com/ .
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