***A/N: What's this? Another update so soon? Wow, thank you KC, you are awesome!…Just kidding…Well, I am awesome, but you don't have to thank me LOL.

Actually this was originally supposed to be part of the last chapter, but I really thought it needed to be divided up to give everyone a moment to breathe. Too much heavy! Anyway, this is the second thing that I ever wrote for this story, the first being the prologue, so basically I've been planning this conversation since the beginning, and I hope it doesn't disappoint!

And yes, the story is definitely still wrapping up soon. It may seem impossible because of how much left we have to cover, but trust me, it'll all be good, and I don't think you'll feel it was rushed because I have taken all the time I need for it. John Hiatt's "Have A Little Faith In Me" is playing in my head right now….In fact, I think I've decided to make that the theme song to this entire story ;)

Chapter 24 – Faith

The next day I heard Charlie get up and leave the house before I even got out of bed…an hour later I heard a loud rumble in the front, so I looked out my bedroom window and saw Emmett getting out of an old VW van.

Wonderful.

I swallowed hard and tried to mentally prepare myself for Em's fury. I got dressed and then slowly went downstairs, but was oddly greeted by a super chipper Emmett.

"Hey there little sister, how are you this morning?"

"Um…ok…I guess. What's going on?" I asked, unsure why he seemed so happy. Maybe he and Edward talked it out and Em is just grateful I'm not going to be a single mother…One could dream, right.

"Nothing…Dad asked me to hang out here with you today, so here I am."

"Uh…he didn't tell you why?" I asked confused.

"No…does there have to be a reason for me to hang out with my favorite sister?" he joked.

I scrunched my face and then went to go sit next to him on the couch. "So…dad just called you and asked you to hang out here…like all day?" I asked incredulously.

He shrugged. "He didn't really give me a specific timeframe…but I guess, yeah."

The only explanation I could think of for my father's actions was that he wanted to give me a chance to tell Em myself…I suppose I was grateful…terrified, but grateful. Then again, perhaps Em was my babysitter - an ignorant rat that Charlie planned to casually ask if Edward had been around that day. Both scenarios were probably accurate.

"And…did Edward say anything to you this morning…or last night?" I asked, surprised Edward didn't tell him either.

"No…Was he supposed to? Actually, I didn't even see him," he said unexpectedly.

"You spent the night away from the apartment, or he just didn't come out of his room?"

"Neither. I was home pretty early, but he wasn't there and never came…Lucky son of a bitch!"

"What do you mean?"

"Well he was out getting laid!"

I almost rolled my eyes…almost. "Why do you think that?" I asked, slightly annoyed. With Em, it was always about sex.

"Where else would he have been all night? The dude has been working far too much, and every guy needs a good stress relieving fuck every once in a while. I almost hope that garage does shut down. Fucking Waylon takes advantage of Edward's mad mechanic skills and overworks him."

I took a deep breath. "Well, the garage did close…Yesterday was the last day," I said slowly, still wondering where the hell Edward went after leaving the house last night. He did not look good, and I was really beginning to worry about him..

"No shit? Well, I bet he went out to a bar to celebrate and went home with some chick."

"I don't think so," I said absently.

"Why not? Bella just cuz you roomed with him for a while, doesn't mean you really know him. Chicks are crazy for that guy…When I'm out without him, they all want to know where he's at. Of course, Garrett's pissed because Edward rarely wants to go out anymore, but now that he's unemployed I'm sure he'll be back in the game."

"Uh-huh, and how will you guys pay for that fancy apartment now that he doesn't have a job?" I pointed out.

"Oh shit, I didn't think about that…We'll think of something," he said unconcerned.

I took another deep breath. "Emmett, I have to talk to you about something."

"Ok, shoot," he said, taking cues from my heavy tone and becoming serious as well. "What's going on?"

"Well, it's about Edward," I said slowly.

"Speak of the devil!" Em said excitedly while looking out the window behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Edward's truck in the driveway, and then he got out and walked towards the house. Em got up to let him in, but judging by Edward's expression Em immediately became serious again. "Hey, bro, what's going on?"

"Hey," Edward said quietly while walking past him into the house. My heart flipped when we locked eyes, and a bittersweet feeling washed over me. I was not expecting to see him again that soon, so I was beyond thrilled by that aspect; so thrilled, in fact, that it took every bit of will power I had to not throw myself at him and hold him until someone physically forced us apart. But he looked absolutely horrible like he just had the worst night of his life, and I knew he was there to confess everything to Em, which would surely be one of the hardest things he ever had to do. My heart sank for him…but all I could do was pray Em would listen.

They came in and sat in the living room – Emmett plopped down on my dad's recliner, and Edward purposely took the seat on the couch right next to me. He was so close that I wanted nothing more than to wrap myself around him, or at least hold his hand, but it wasn't the time for that…at least not yet.

"So…Bella said the garage closed?" Em started awkwardly. I was pretty sure he could tell Edward was searching for the right words to tell him something big, so he was trying to help him out by initiating the conversation.

Edward nodded absently. "Yeah…but I have a couple plans, I think it'll be ok."

"That's cool… So what's up?"

"Um…" He reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, like he often did when he was stressed, so I leaned back on the couch and subtly began rubbing his back…I was fairly certain Emmett couldn't see the display of supportive affection from where he was sitting, or at least he didn't notice it. "I need to tell you the truth about something that I've kept from you for a while…"

"Ok…Just say it, bro."

Edward nodded. "I'm…the father of Bella's baby," he said slowly.

Emmett just stared at him in utter shock, and then….laughter. "Oh my god, you're fucking hilarious. Good one, Eddie. Now what's really going on?"

Edward and I weren't laughing. "I'm not joking," he told him.

Em's laughter stopped abruptly, but he still didn't believe us. "Bella, what is going on? How the hell did you convince Edward to take the fall for that shit? And what the fuck is in it for you?" he asked Edward angrily.

"Damn it, Emmett, I'm not lying about this. Bella and I….we're together…well, at least as together as we can be right now. Your dad found out the truth last night, and now I'm not allowed anywhere near her."

"If you're not allowed anywhere near her, then why are you here?" Emmett asked, his tone was somewhere in between stunned belief and ridiculous disbelief.

"Because you weren't at the apartment and Garrett said he dropped you off here. I wanted to tell you myself before you heard it from Charlie…and…" he let his sentence trail off.

"And what?" Em asked impatiently.

"And I know you're going to be pissed about this at first, but I was hoping that after some time, you'd forgive me enough to talk to Charlie for me," he said in almost a rush. Emmett was far too calm and that couldn't have been a good thing, so it made sense that Edward was trying to say everything he could while Emmett allowed him to speak. "I know I don't have any right to ask you anything, but I'm desperate here. I can't just stay away like he wants. I need to take care of Bella and be a father to our baby. No matter how much you hate me, surely you can understand that?"

Emmett just stared at him blankly. He was in shock, and I just wondered what it was going to take for him to finally snap. It made my nerves spike, and I couldn't handle it anymore so I did the one thing that was sure to push him over the edge, I moved my hand into Edward's lap, and wove my fingers into his.

Emmett watched this action absently, and then – "WHAT THE FUCK!"

His outburst made me jump, but Edward didn't even flinch because he was fully expecting it.

"Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Em continued. "You have the nerve to tell me that you got my sister pregnant, and in the very same breath you ask me to talk my dad into letting you back in her life. You're fucking delusional!" He stood up from the recliner and began pacing the room. "How…I don't even get this. What the fuck, Edward? How the fuck could you do this?"

"I can explain," I said quickly. I then took a deep breath to prepare for the same speech I had given my father. "It all started because I asked him to…"

"No," Edward interrupted me unexpectedly. "It doesn't matter how it started because it would have happened regardless. The truth is that we were alone together…a lot, and I didn't expect it but that doesn't mean that I didn't want it." He paused, and then seemed to change directions. "There's no excuse; it was wrong on so many levels, but we love each other, and I swear to you, I will always take care of her and our baby…"

But Em heard enough, and everything Edward was saying just pissed him off even more. "And what the hell makes you think you could ever be good enough for my sister?" he seethed. "You are nothing. You'll never amount to anything; you're actually just a pathetic waste of space. I honestly regret the moment I ever befriended you, you fucking loser. Go back to the fucking trailer park where you belong. Better yet, get the fuck out of town before my dad arrests your sorry ass!"

Edward nodded slowly. "You're right, I'm not good enough for her and never will be. And maybe someday she'll realize that and move on to find someone better suited for her…but he couldn't possibly love her more than I do. No one could."

Emmett laughed again darkly. "You don't even know what love is. Anytime someone shows you the least bit of attention, you think it's far more important than it really is and end up following them around like a lost puppy. You're a fucking leech. You latch onto people and don't know when to let them go. It's no different than when we were kids. I brought you a fucking Twinkie so you actually thought I wanted you shadowing me for the next decade. I just never had the heart to tell you to leave me the fuck alone. And Bella. She's a kid. She doesn't know what love is either. Of course she thinks she loves you. Girls her age are infamous for their melodramatic love lives. She'll get over you. My dad and I will make sure of it. So go back to what you're best at - wrenching on clunkers and banging whores. That's as good as your life will ever get!"

I could not believe the horrible things coming out of my brother's mouth. I knew he was going to be mad, but to be that hurtfully cruel went far beyond what I thought he was capable of, and I was worried sick about the impact his words would have on Edward. And I was right to be concerned…

"I'm not leaving her," Edward said shakily, suddenly losing all his confidence. "She's my family, we're having a baby"

"She is not your anything. Just because you fucked around with her, doesn't mean she belongs to you. Do you really want her to end up like your mom? Stuck with a kid too young and turning to drugs to cope with a lying cheating abusive idiot of a husband until she just can't take it anymore and runs away to probably off herself somewhere. I always knew you were going to repeat history and end up just like your dad, but I'll be damned if you drag my sister down with you. If you really care about Bella the way you say you do, then don't do that to her. Just go. We'll make sure she and the baby are taken care of."

My heart was beating out of my chest like a Native war drum, but I couldn't even imagine what Edward was feeling at that moment. I needed to do something - put Em in his place and tell him that there was no way they were going to separate us.

"Emmett, Edward isn't going anywhere," I told him strongly. "Because if he does, then I'm going too. We're staying together."

"How are you going to stay with him if he's in jail, Bella?" Em said coldly.

I bit my bottom lip. "We'll go somewhere that it's not illegal to be together," I replied anxiously.

"You cross state lines, then it's a federal kidnapping case. Try it, but don't think for a moment you won't get caught. His ass will end up in jail where he belongs either way."

Edward dropped his head into his hands while resting his elbows on his knees. He was running out of ideas…and so was I.

"Em, please," Edward said desperately. "Charlie will listen to you…Please don't take Bella away from me…I need her."

"You'll say anything to keep your ass out of jail, won't you?"

"No, god, I don't care about that shit. It's not about jail, I just can't lose her." Edward was close to tears, and for the life of me, I didn't understand how Em could see him like that and still be so cruel.

"Not that she was ever your to begin with, but you've already lost her. Didn't you say that my dad told you to stay away from her? I wonder how he's going to feel about you being here now."

Then I got scared again. "Don't call him," I begged. "We just want to raise our baby together."

"Bella, he is no good for you," Em said a little softer, assumedly trying to make me understand where he was coming from. "He's only going to break your heart."

"Emmett, I will always be faithful to her," Edward told him with conviction.

"Faithful? Like you ever could be monogamous, even if you wanted to. You don't even know the meaning of the word."

"Maybe that was true before…but I'm not like that anymore," Edward tried assuring him. "Nothing has ever mattered to me more than Bella."

"Right, and that's why you were fucking around with Tanya a few weeks ago," Emmett said, taking me completely aback.

I glanced at Edward and for a moment he looked shocked as well, but then his features melted into defensive anger. "Don't even go there, Emmett."

"You mean, don't tell Bella that you've been a fucking douchebag?" Em said scornfully.

"Nothing happened with that bitch, and you know it!" Edward yelled at him.

"No? Could have fooled me. She even came back for more a few days later. In fact, she told me you guys had plans this weekend as well. Like I said, you're a fucking man-whore and I'm going to make sure you don't hurt my sister any more than you already have."

Edward shook his head slowly. "You're lying," he seethed. "You know that shit never happened, you're just making it up."

"Unlike you, I have no reason to lie. Bella, don't worry, a few years from now Edward will be nothing more than a horrible mistake."

"Emmett…even if you're pissed at him for this, that doesn't give you the right to make something like that up," I told him slowly, lacking the strength in my voice that I intended to have.

"I'm not making it up, Bella. Call the bitch, she'll tell you. Edward fucked her just a few days ago, and I was stupid enough to actually encourage him."

If it had been anyone but Tanya in question, I would have dismissed it all immediately. But how could Emmett have known that she was the one girl that I ever worried about Edward with. The woman was perfect, and he did seem enthralled by her company when I saw them together before…I was really starting to feel sick.

"You're a fucking liar!" Edward said furiously. "It doesn't even matter what you say because it's not going to work - I'm not going anywhere."

"Nowhere but jail. And you certainly won't be going anywhere near Bella again. I'm going to make sure she knows the truth about you, and then my dad and I will help her forget and move on."

I felt numb, and there was a loud whooshing sound coming from deep inside my ears. Then the room started spinning…And it was Edward's turn to erupt.

"You have no idea what the hell you're messing with right now!" Edward said irately. He jumped up and got right in Emmett's face. "I swear to god, if you weren't sick I'd fucking beat the shit out of you!"

"If I wasn't sick you'd be dead already, you fucking son of a bitch!" Em shouted back, and then he shoved past Edward and walked over to me. "Bella, I'm your brother, you have to trust me. Edward is a lying, cheating jackass, and he will only bring you misery."

I wasn't sure what expression I was wearing, but it must have been one that convinced Edward that I believed Emmett…Did I believe him?

"You know what Emmett, Fuck you! You may get her to doubt me, but deep down she knows the truth." Edward walked over to the front door, and then opened it before looking back at me. "I have no idea how, but I swear to you, I'm going to prove myself to you, and then I'll figure out a way to get Charlie to change his mind about us."

"Don't hold your breath, prick…or you know what…do!" Emmett shut the door in Edward's face, and then walked back over to me. "I'm sorry you had to hear all that…But it's better that you know now before you sacrifice the next several years to him."

I didn't realize until that moment that I was crying, but I was also strangely frozen, unable to move a muscle in my body to even wipe the tears away.

"Someday, after you've had time to grow up and find someone worthy of you to have a real family with," Em continued, "you're going to cross paths with Edward again, and then you'll understand. He'll be strung out and living in his car or in the trailer park, and you'll understand why I did this. I just saved you from that life."

And suddenly I came back to life, except without the numbing sensation I was left feeling more pain in my chest than I ever felt before. What the hell just happened?

I forced myself up as fast as I could, and then I darted out the door.

"Edward!" I shouted after him, but he was already driving his truck down the street and rounding the corner out of sight. It was the worst thing I had ever done. My moment of doubt had certainly caused Edward pain, but that moment was now long over and I knew in my heart that Emmett had lied. Despite my repeated bouts of jealousy towards Tanya, I was sure that Edward would never hurt me like that. He loved me, and he had spent so many days and nights telling me so…And then I became angry. I was pissed at myself, but I was livid at Emmett so I stormed back into the house and immediately began shouting at him.

"How could you do that? What the hell kind of person lies about something like that?" I screamed at him with angry tears flowing down my cheeks.

"I did what's best for you!" Em said defensively.

"What's best for me? You don't care what's best for me otherwise you'd be trying to help me convince dad to let me stay with Edward. We're having a baby together. I need him with me!"

"For crying out loud, Bella. Listen to your gut; the guy is no good for you."

"I am listening to my gut…I've been doing that from the beginning, and my gut is telling me that you're a fucking liar!"

"Even if he hasn't been with anyone else yet, it's only a matter of time, and you know that. I saw your face when I first mentioned that he had fucked Tanya; you believed it because you don't trust him!"

"I do trust him...I just never really trusted myself," I admitted. "I've never trusted that I was good enough for him or that he could possibly want me more than someone like Tanya. So maybe when you mentioned her name it was my fears realized….but that's all it ever was…my fears. Edward has never given me a reason to not trust him, and what you did wasn't fair."

"You don't know him, Bella."

"No, you don't! You think you know him, but obviously you don't because he is so much better than you'll ever understand. He's not some loser who can't escape the vicious cycle of his family's legacy - He's already beaten it…"

"By knocking up a high school chick?" Em scoffed. "He hasn't beaten shit; he's following down the same path his father took. And look, now he's even unemployed."

"He wants to be a father. He wants to take responsibility. He already loves this baby more than his father ever loved him, and I know he's going to do whatever it takes to make sure we get everything we need. He's not afraid of it…He's not running away - if anything he's running to us. And if we do end up living in a trailer park on food stamps, I can guarantee he won't be spending what money we do have on drugs and alcohol…And we would still be happy because we'd be together, and that's all that matters because we honestly love each other."

Emmett shook his head stubbornly. "You're delusional. He's got you so fucked up in the mind that you actually believe all this shit."

"He's not the one who lied."

"Oh, he's not?" he asked disdainfully.

"Not to me, anyway."

"He's going nowhere but down…and I'll be damned if he brings you down with him."

I shook my head at him angrily.

"I swear Bella, stay away from him otherwise I'll make sure he spends the next few years behind bars with a sex offender sticker plastered right on his permanent record. Try to run away out of state, and he'll be arrested for kidnapping. I will not allow you to ruin the rest of your life for him…and one day, you'll thank me."

"You're not even planning to live much longer," I told him harshly. I didn't even think before saying it, but I was so beyond upset that thinking wasn't something I could do clearly anyway. "I could tell you that this baby started out as a plan to create a tissue donor to save your life, but you probably wouldn't even care about that either."

He took two steps closer to me and leaned in so that he was towering over me. "I would rather die tomorrow than have you get pregnant to save me…especially by that fucker."

"I guess it's true what they say then…that you can't save someone if they don't want to be saved," I said with a new round of tears, hoping he understood the double meaning to my comment. I didn't want him 'saving' me from Edward any more than he would have wanted me to get pregnant to save him. Perhaps we were both right…or perhaps with time, he'd come to realize just how wrong he was and that I was more intuitive than he could possibly imagine.

He just shook his head and walked past me up to his old room, and I was left standing there alone again, praying for some kind of miracle that would fix everything. My baby gave me one hard kick to reverberate the thought…