I do not own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.
Ch 20
EPOV
I have been out of the hospital about a week. I still got headaches, but otherwise I felt back to normal. It was a warm day for Forks and we had set up an old sprinkler for Masen to run through. After a few minutes, I needed to sit down, even though he wasn't the least bit tired yet. Since I have been out, Masen has barely let me out of his sight. He was having nightmares and was even wetting the bed at night. The thumb sucking seemed to have stuck too. The therapist said it was a comfort method, and once he felt secure again it should disappear.
I looked at the seat next to me where Rose was sitting and watching Masen wistfully. She was paler and looked aged more than she actually was. I wasn't sure if that was from the stress or the drugs that she had been taking for so long.
"How are you doing, Rose?" I asked. Things have been strained between us. She was never my favorite person, even in high school. She was a bitch, though she was a good friend to Bella most of the time. That is up until the end of senior year.
"I want a drink to tell you the truth." She grimaced, I frowned at her. "Don't worry I won't, I just wanted to be honest. Some days it's just harder than others." She looked down at her hands.
"Anything I can do to help?" I offered.
"Just make sure I don't slip." She was picking at her nails that she had worn down to the nubs.
"None of us will let you if we can help it." I promised.
"Edward?" she said my name cautiously. She looked nervous but determined.
"Mmmm." I answered looking back at Masen, who was kneeling on the grass looking at something too small for me to see.
"I never got a chance to say I'm sorry for everything." She gulped and looked at me out of the corner of her eyes. I heaved a big sigh.
To be honest, I was angry at first. Bella explained to me what Rose told her in private. I realized that Rose was no more to blame than any of us. In fact, much like Bella, she was a victim too.
"You're forgiven, Rose. Bella is right. Royce manipulated you. This situation was far from your fault." I answered.
"But because of my jealousy, you lost so much time with Masen. I can't get that time back for you." She looked out at Masen as he hopped along the grass like a frog.
"No, I lost time because of myself and Alec. It would be unfair to blame you. If you want to do something for us, get better and stronger, Rose. Don't let them bring you down." I turned to her and gave a genuine smile.
She gave me a watery one. "Has there been any word on Emmett?" she asked.
"They started to wean him yesterday off the medicine that is keeping him in the coma. Soon it will be all up to him. But if he wakes up, he still has a long recovery ahead of him." I shared with her the information my father told me this morning.
"He just has to make it." She closed her eyes and trembled slightly. She obviously still loved him.
"Emmett's a fighter. If there is a chance, he will make it." I answered.
The door behind us opened and Bella stepped out onto the patio. She had returned from a therapy session and looked tired. She held a white envelope in her hand. She looked out in the yard and smiled when she saw Masen.
"Hi, Mommy." He waved and side-jumped through the sprinkler.
"Hi, sweetie. Just a few more minutes, okay?" she called back.
She headed over to me, pecked me on the lips then sat on my lap. "Oh, you're wet." She went to jump up but I held her to me.
"How did it go, angel?" I nuzzled her hair.
"Good. Jacob asked me to stop by the station. He had this for me." She held up the letter.
"Who's it from?" I asked suspiciously.
"It's in Alec's handwriting, but I haven't opened it yet. I have something else I need to tell you." She bit her lip. I placed my finger gently by her mouth and pulled it out.
"Okay," I wanted to tell her to just throw the letter out but I'm not sure it would be that easy.
"Rose, would you mind distracting Masen for a little bit? Jasper and Alice are trying to put groceries away," Bella asked.
Rose's eyes widened in surprise. "Sure."
"Masen, time to go in." Bella called. He ran over, and Bella wrapped the towel around him. "Auntie Rose is going to help you get changed, and then maybe you can play a game together."
"Okay." He took Rose's hand and he pulled her into the house.
Once the door was closed Bella turned to me.
"Alec is gone," she muttered.
"What he got away? Are you kidding me? Why are you so calm?" I blurted out. How did that fucker get out? He was supposed to be in a high security prison.
Bella flinched and then shook her head. "No. I guess I didn't say that right. He took his own life. He's dead."
I still wasn't pleased; the fucker deserved to suffer for what he did to my Bella and Masen. Not to mention he killed Charlie and almost Emmett. The fucker got off too easy if you ask me.
Bella was watching me with uneasy expression. "Are you okay?" she asked cautiously.
"I just think he got off too easy. What's that?" I pointed to the letter.
"I'm not sure. I didn't want to read it alone." She eyed me looking like she had made a mistake.
"Angel, maybe you should toss it out. He's dead, so why bother." I suggested trying to take the letter from her.
"I thought about it, but at the same time, I'm just a little curious as to what it says." She looked down at the letter in her lap.
"Fine, but if he wrote just to say shit that isn't true, and you start to get upset, I'm tearing it up." I informed her. She gave me a tiny smile and kissed my cheek.
"Kind of why I wanted you to read it with me," her voice was soft, but still determined.
"Let's get this over with." I nodded and she slid open the letter.
Dear Gabriella,
I'm not sure if you would read this, but I had to try. You may not believe me, but I am terribly sorry for all the harm I've caused you and Jason. When this originally started, I had no bad intentions towards either of you. I figured if you helped me then I could help you.
The day I first hit you was my lowest point ever. I never had been violent before, and it made me sick that I struck you. Even worse, it made me feel empowered that I could control someone.
That day was easily the start of my downward spiral. The man who raised me to take his place was a horrible man. I witnessed how he treated my mother like crap and fucked with my sister until she lost her mind. That is why I kept you and my son from meeting him. I told myself even though I needed you, I had to keep you safe from him.
When I found out he killed my real father and couldn't accept that I loved a man opposed to a woman; I wanted revenge. I like to think that he was worse than me, that is why I swore I would destroy his empire, but instead I only destroyed myself.
I'm sorry, Gabriella, that I caused you such pain. I hope that you can find the happiness that you deserve. I won't ask for your forgiveness, since I don't deserve it. I lost everything I love in this world as I should have.
This will be the last time that you will hear from me. To give you peace of mind no one will be able to find out about your true identity. The only ones that knew the truth was myself and Royce. Even Aro didn't know the whole truth. I kept no records of your true identity for anyone to find. You and Jason are safe from my family and my enemies, that's the best that I could do to protect you.
Sincerely,
Alec Volturi.
Bella let the letter fall to her lap then wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face in my neck. I felt her hot tears against my neck. I rubbed her back soothingly and kissed the top of her head.
"Well, the letter was better than I expected." I pushed her back slightly so I could see her face clearly. I wiped the tears off her cheek with fingers.
She nodded and sniffed. "You know I actually feel slightly sorry for him." Bella sniffled.
I looked at her incredulously. "You've got to be kidding?" I scoffed.
"I'm not excusing what he did or even forgiving him, I don't think I'll ever forgive him; but he was so messed up. If you had seen him in the kitchen that day, it was as if he had snapped. I honestly think he went crazy with his need of revenge and wanting to be himself," she explained.
I just shook my head, maybe he did go crazy, but the fucker still had abused and used her, which is unforgivable in my book. But at least he did give her some sort of protection in the end. We won't have to constantly look over our shoulders.
I leaned down and kissed her lips lightly. She shifted in my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck. We kissed again, she took control of the kiss and licked my lower lip. My lips parted and her tongue slipped into my mouth entwining with my own.
We haven't gone further than kissing and light touches. She needed us to go slow and I understood that. It was still progress in our relationship.
We were sharing the same bed since I got out of the hospital. Each night I fell asleep with her in my arm, to wake up in the morning with her still cuddled into me. We couldn't do much more anyways, since Masen slept in a cot in our room. A few mornings I had woken up with him asleep on top of me. It was the best feeling in the world.
My father's ring tone went off causing me to pull back from her.
"I have to get that," I apologized as I lifted my hips so I could get my phone out of my pocket.
Bella nodded and stayed on my lap. She rested her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes.
"Hello," I called before kissing her forehead. She smiled lazily without opening her eyes.
"He's awake," dad's jubilant voice told me.
I sat up straighter and smiled. "That's great news." I replied.
Bella opened one eye and looked at me. I mouthed 'Emmett's awake' to her. She smiled and slipped off my lap then went into the house while dad gave me more details.
"He's been asking about you all. Can you guys come down and visit it him? He even asked for Rose." he asked.
"Yeah, of course, we will be right down." We said our good-byes and I headed into the house. Jasper and Alice were in the kitchen with everyone else. They looked up when I entered.
"Bella said that Emmett's awake," Jasper asked looking for confirmation.
"He's is. He will be in the hospital for a while more though. He's breathing, but still needs a little help while he gets stronger. He's been asking about us. Anyone want to go visit him?" I looked at all the smiling and relieved faces around me.
"Me! Me!" Masen started hopping up and down in a circle. "I want to see him, please! Can I, pleeeeaaaasssse!" Masen asked excitedly. Bella made a grab for him and stopped his jumping.
"Yes, but you need to calm down. No jumping or running off, you need to be on your best behavior," she told him.
"Yay, I'll be good. I promise." He made a beeline for the door.
"Use the restroom first." Bella shook her head in amusement, watching him do a U-turn and run into the bathroom.
We all moved around starting to get ready. With the exception of Rose who was sitting quietly on a stool staring at the countertop.
"Rose, aren't you coming?" I asked.
We had all took turns visiting, at least once a day, but she hadn't been back since the first day.
She looked up looking very uneasy. "I don't think he would want me there. I think it's best that I stay here, so I don't upset him." She gave me a half-hearted smile. "I'm just glad he's awake."
"My father said he was asking for you," I told her.
Her eyes widen and she shifted nervously. "How did he know I was here?" she gulped before she whispered.
"I know that I could hear people, here and there, while I was in my coma, perhaps he heard you." I shrugged.
She paled and nodded. "Then I guess it better to get it over with sooner than later right?" I nodded, I still wasn't used to seeing Rose so unconfident. In high school, nothing seemed to phase her.
"I'll be right back, I should change into something dry. It will work out, Rose." I headed out of the room to get dressed quickly.
LB
I carried Masen in my arms into Emmett's room, to avoid him jumping on Emmett the second he saw him. As it was, he was already wiggling, like a puppy to get down. I held Bella's hand with my other hand.
Masen held a big balloon that he got for Emmett, in the gift shop, that said Get Well Soon with the Sesame Street gang on it.
The others followed behind us with Rose bringing up the rear.
Emmett was sitting up in bed. Looking tired, but alert. He was still attached to some monitors, but not as many as before. He still had something to help him breath, but nothing covered his mouth.
"Glad to see that you've decided to come out of hibernation." I greeted him. He grinned when he realized I was joking.
"Daddy, bears hibernate. Not people." Masen pulled at the collar of my shirt.
"Well, your Uncle Emmett is part bear." Jasper snickered. He entered the room with Alice in tow.
Emmett laughed weakly and then coughed and wheezed.
"Really?" Masen's eyes went large.
"No, they are just teasing the both of you." Bella shook her head.
"Can I give Uncle Em his balloon?" Masen tried to get down from my arms.
"Remember what we've talked about. No jumping or climbing on the bed, okay?" Bella reminded him.
He nodded quickly, and I set him on his feet.
He started to skip then slowly walked to the bed. "Uncle Em, this is for you?" He held out the balloon.
Emmett reached for it with a smile. "Thank you," he grinned, when he saw Masen's hand out in a small fist. He gave him a small fist bump making Masen smile.
"Uncle Em, I missed you. Guess what, I named me frog EJ for you and Uncle Japer. And I fished. Mommy is better at it than Daddy. She taught me so I'm no longer a virgin, just like Auntie Alice," he announced.
Emmett blinked a few times before, he started laughing. Which only seemed to hurt him. Alice groaned from behind us, and I heard Jasper laughing too.
"I don't know whether to laugh or cry." Bella mumbled from beside me.
When Emmett calmed down he glanced at us. "How long have I been out?" his voice rasped.
"Too long." Bella stepped away from me and went over to a small table. She poured him a glass of water and handed it to him. He took a small sip before placing it on the table that she pulled closer to him. She said something quietly to him and he nodded. She leaned over and gave him a small hug and a kiss on the cheek. He said something that made her smile.
She came back over to me and wrapped her arms around my waist.
"Thank you." I hugged her back, but looked over her head at him.
He nodded his head. "It was the least I could do." He shrugged.
I stepped away from Bella a moment and gave him a one armed hug. "I'm sorry for the things I said that day you left. What you may have done was messed up, but I forgive you. Friends?" I offered him a fist bump.
He nodded looking a bit emotional. "Of course." He smiled and relaxed some.
Jasper and Alice stepped forwards and gave him hugs too. We caught him up briefly, promising more, when he was up to it, and when Masen wasn't present.
"Rosie, are you going to come say hi?" Emmett looked past us to Rose.
She was standing barely inside the door, looking ready to run at any moment. I was surprised that he called her Rosie. He hasn't called her that a very long time, he usually referred to her as 'bitch'.
"Hi, I'm glad you're better." She smiled weakly.
Emmett frowned as he studied her. "Come here, Rosie." He beckoned her with his hand. She eyed him looking bewildered. He sighed and put his hand down.
"I could hear what you said. I know this isn't the first time you've been here. I think we have a lot to talk about, don't you?" he encouraged.
"You heard me?" she squeaked, paling.
Emmett nodded patiently. "You could've told me then. Rather than lied," he stated calmly.
"You would've ki…" she glanced at Masen who looking at them curiously. "You would've been angry."
"True, and I believe that I did." Emmett nodded, his eyes narrowed a bit. He reached over and ruffled Masen's hair.
Masen shook his head, pulling it away as he scowled.
Emmett smirked. "Hey, you got your daddy ice cream when he was in here. Any chance I can get some?" he asked Masen.
"Okay?" Masen nodded eager to please. He started for the door and turned back. "I need an adult to go with me." He remembered looking at the rest of us.
"I think we will all go, so Rose and Emmett can talk." Bella agreed looking at me.
"Oh, Uncle Em, when you feel better, will you play hide and seek with me? I learned after I saw Uncle Japer playing with Auntie Alice. He was hiding in her bed." Masen asked innocently.
Alice groaned again and Jasper looked a bit sheepish. They were never going to live this one down, especially now that Emmett knew.
Emmett's face twisted in amusement as he shook his head. "I see the running for favorite uncle is still open." He smirked.
Jasper gave him a dirty look.
"We will give you two some time." I grabbed Masen's hand before heading out.
LB
We arrived back to the room a half-hour later. I poked my head in first, Rose was sitting by the bed. She had been crying but they seemed to be holding hands.
"Alright, if we come back in?" I asked.
Emmett looked up and nodded. Masen entered right behind me, and brought over the small bowl of ice cream. He placed it on the table and looked at Rose.
"You're crying again." He commented, looking up at her.
"I am. But I'm all better now." Rose managed a small smile for him.
"Can I sit with you?" he asked. She nodded and scooped him up on to her lap. He gave her a hug, she looked startled before she hugged him back. He settled in her lap.
"Is it good?" he asked Emmett.
"The best. Thank you." Emmett smiled at him. "So how many fish did you catch? I've never been so you're going have to teach me."
"I caughted lots. It was fun, 'cept when I knocked mommy and daddy into the water." Masen explained.
"You got them both?" Emmett smirked. "You take after your mom then."
"Funny," Bella rolled her eyes leaning into me.
"So where to next. Are you guys staying around here, Chicago, or what?" he asked.
"We know we aren't staying around here. We might visit Chicago but we won't stay." I squeezed Bella to my side. That was a conversation that was awkward with my parents…well mostly my mom.
Bella and Masen had left for the day. I would see them again tomorrow, when I got out of here. My parents entered looking more refreshed.
"How are you feeling, sweetheart." My mother came over and kissed my forehead.
"Better and ready to get out of here." I admitted. She took the seat next to me.
"Well we can see if we can get the room next to ours for when you are released. We aren't staying at the house. The kitchen needs a good cleaning, even then I'm not sure if I could be comfortable there again.
Then once you're ready, we will fly you guys out to Chicago, and you'll stay with us until you find your own place. But you're welcome to stay." My mother explained things that she had decided without my or Bella's input.
"Hold on. When I get out of here, I'm staying with my family. Right now, they're comfortable at Alice's, so I'm going there."
"That's fine, dear. Of course, you should be with them." My mother nodded, still not understanding.
"Mom, we aren't going to Chicago. Maybe one day to visit, but not to live," I stated calmly.
Her face dropped, and she looked confused. "Why not? Where will you go? We're family. Family supports one another." Mom insisted.
"They also don't turn their backs on one another."
She looked contrite. She sighed heavily. "I know I've messed up. I'm trying to make up for it." She lowered her head in shame.
"The evidence was convincing. I did some looking into it, it turns out he paid off a lab tech. for the picture. The tech. has since then been fired and may be looking at criminal charges," dad spoke up. At least that was one question answered.
"Granted the evidence he gave you was damming, but you knew Bella. I can't understand how you could think something so low of her." I shook my head. "She's willing to let Masen be part of your lives, thinking that's what I would want; but she isn't comfortable around mom. I think that's more than understandable; I'm not going to ask for more, by having us live with you." I told them firmly.
My mother looked upset, but dad nodded in understanding.
"Where will you guys go?" he asked.
"Not sure yet. We need to talk about it more. I know Bella would like to go back to college. I wanted to support that. She also doesn't want to stay around here, and I don't blame her. Jasper mentioned going to his parent's ranch. We may do that. Whatever we do, we will decide together." I answered.
"We might take a cross-country trip. It's maybe a good time for one, since Masen will be in school in a couple of years. We can go to places like Disney," Bella said softly.
"I can meet Mickey?" Masen eyes lit up. "Can I meet Grover too?" He started to get all excited and bounced in Rose's lap.
"I don't think he will be at Disney," I explained and hated the disappointment in his eyes.
"If you're doing a road trip, there is a place in Pennsylvania that has Sesame Street characters." Alice spoke up. "There's also a lot of historical places too."
"Are you going to come?" Masen asked them.
Jasper and Alice exchanged a look.
"The more the merrier. I think we all need a vacation," I stated so they didn't think they were intruding.
"We're going to have to rent an RV probably. So all seven of us can fit." Jasper mentioned seemingly on board.
"Seven?" Emmett questioned. He looked at me, but didn't seem sure we were including him.
"How can we go to Disney, and not bring one of their biggest fans." I smirked at him. "That meant you too, Rose."
She looked up in surprise. She looked down at Masen then over at Emmett.
"I'll fund it. I have more money than I could ever want," Rose announced.
"You don't have to do that," Bella told her.
"I insist. It's the least I could do." She waved her had dismissively.
A/N:
Emmett is awake. He did overhear what Rose said to him. So I wasn't going to rehash it.
A reader mentioned last time she wondered why Bella didn't visit Emmett in the hospital. Since she wondered, I'm assuming others did too. I didn't mean for it to come across that way. Since the last few chapters had been in others povs, I can see how it appeared that way. Therefore, I have written a short outtake of her first visit. That should be posted next. I'm not going to do a preview because of how short it is. I'm going to hopefully get the outtake up on Monday and then next Friday will be the epilogue.
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