The Adventures of Emmett and Rosalie – Confrontation

T to be safe

Stephenie still owns it all, its her world, I just sparkle in it lol.

--

The remainder of the day at school had passed without incident. When we arrived at home, I was surprised to see Carlisle's truck parked halfway in and out of the garage. The sight of it was ominous and worried me deeply. The door was still open and his jacket was lying on the front passenger seat. "Edward? What's going on?" I whispered and looked to him for help.

"I'm not sure. I don't like this. Something bad has happened." He pulled me along with him after closing up the garage and looked around for anyone who might be home. "Esme? Emmett?"

"We're up here." Emmett called from the top of the stairs. "Wait, before you go in there, you have to know something." He whispered and tried to stop us from getting any closer to the bedrooms. Edward saw what he was thinking and immediately pushed past him in a fit of worry. "It's Esme. She's been hurt."

"Hurt? Oh, Emmett! What happened to her?" I pushed my way past him as well and stopped at the doorway to my parent's bedroom. Esme was lying on her bed above the covers with Edward and Carlisle sitting on either side of her. She was incredibly still and had a thick bandage strapping her arm to her body around her waist and shoulders. "Mom?" I whimpered, but couldn't bring myself to go into the room.

Carlisle pushed me out gently and stood with me in the hall. "Shh, she needs to rest. I took care of it." Emmett came up beside me and pulled me against his chest. I had never imagined anyone could ever lay a hand on such a good person. Nobody deserved to be harmed like that, especially Esme. I was upset now, mostly from worry, but I could feel a hatred building inside me for whoever did this. I prayed it was some kind of horrible accident, no fault of anyone specific. "Her left arm was totally severed at the shoulder, but it will heal without a problem."

"How long, Carlisle? How did this happen?" I whispered. Emmett pet my hair and tried his best to calm me down, but it wasn't working.

"A few days and she should begin to regain use of her arm. She has to remain completely still for it to reattach properly." I wasn't entirely sure how vampires could regenerate themselves after an accident, but I knew it was absolutely possible. That was why we burned the pieces and separated their ashes once one had been dismembered. Carlisle began to explain the process, but I cut him off. The details were too gruesome for my delicate ears.

"But she will be fine? Who did this? Answer me, Carlisle." I had asked him several times, but he still hadn't told me who was responsible for ripping my mother's arm off. "Was it an accident? Was it an animal when she was hunting? Was she hit by a car, Carlisle? Tell me." I knew it wasn't a car, or she would still be walking around. The car that hit her, however, would have been unrecognizable.

"She was bringing in the wash and a wolf snuck up on her. He dragged her off and kind of played with her for a while, testing her strength. The way that bear did with me." Emmett spoke up. Carlisle looked unable to answer for himself. I had never seen him so angry or worried. "I went to look for her and found her arm. Her body was down in the ferns about twenty yards off. The stupid dog was a coward. Sneaking up on somebody that way.."

"Quil. Quil is his name." I whispered.

"It doesn't matter what his name is. He's a horrible creature for doing something like this to a woman." Edward growled from the doorway. He was livid and nearly shaking with anger. "Esme hasn't done a thing to anyone, ever. She's practically a saint. How can they justify tearing apart an innocent woman this way?"

I noticed Esme was alone in the room and slowly went to her bedside. "Mom? It's me, Rosalie." I whispered and took her right hand. "Are you in any pain? Is there something I can do?"

"Carlisle's done what he can. I'm going to be fine, dear." She wasn't fine. I could see the pain in her eyes, but she was trying to be strong for her children. "Where is Edward? I'm worried about him. He's so angry right now. I don't want him getting into trouble by not thinking."

"He's in the hall. I can hear the boys talking about how to handle this problem. Just relax and clear your head. You shouldn't be worrying about us right now. It's our turn to take care of you." For the remainder of the night, we each took turns sitting with Esme and helping her when she needed it. Carlisle took over for the rest of the night once he was certain Edward was not going to take off toward La Push looking for revenge.

--

The weekend passed without seeing any of the wolves near our home. Edward and I arrived at school earlier than normal, early enough that we were one of the only two vehicles in the lot. "Their truck is there at the end. They're sitting there waiting just like we are." I sighed. I knew what was coming. There was going to be a stand off at some point between the two small groups. Girls didn't handle things this way. We took care of disputes with more dignity and pride, while boys tended to growl and make a scene for the world to see. I was angry for what they had done to our mother, but I wasn't going to cause a riot or begin a war over it. "I'm going to handle this my way." I left the car and crossed half the distance between the two vehicles. Edward had his eyes on me the entire way with an unyielding scowl.

"Meadow?" I half yelled. "Can I speak to you for a moment? Girl to girl, please?" I waited for her to nod in agreement before walking toward the steps in front of the closest building. "Hi. We need to talk."

"Yes, we do." She turned and looked back at David and Quil who were waiting for her in the truck. Every so often, one of them would look at Edward, but they kept their eyes on me for the most part.

"Do you know what's happening? Any of it? I'm going to try and be civil with you, as you aren't one of them, I don't think." I hoped she understood what I meant by 'them.' "Why are your people doing this to us?"

"My people are a tribe of Quileute Indians." She corrected my mistake, but she was right. Referring to a group as 'you people' was rude. "We don't believe in the same things, Rose. Our tribe has been here for centuries and is built upon legends we take very seriously. Our ancestors descended from the wolves. I won't go into it, because it is a long story that I am bad at telling. The elders believe that when your family arrived here at the beginning of the month, it set about the changes that are occurring as we speak."

"You think this is my family's fault? We caused your tribe's children to transform into giant wolves? How is that possible?"

"We call your kind the Cold Ones. I know what you are, Rosalie, and Edward, and your mother and father, and the other boy, Emmett. Just like you know what Quil and David are, and several other boys on the reservation." She whispered the last part and looked back to the black truck. The boys had gotten out and were leaning against the hood. Edward had assumed the same posture on my car at the opposite end of the lot.

"How many are there, Meadow? What are their plans with us?"

"I can't say. It seems as though someone new turns every other day. The legends say that they will continue to grow in number as long as the Cold Ones are a threat."

"I don't understand why you consider us such a threat. We haven't ever come onto your land, but you come onto ours like it's perfectly fine." I nearly growled. "We consider you a threat because your friends tried to attack my brother, and did attack my mom just yesterday."

"You eat people." She spat. "You kill people and drink their blood. My village was nearly wiped out by your kind at one point in history. It's a matter of survival and maintaining our culture. And as for coming onto your land, that's not entirely true. Just because you own a home here, does not mean you own the land that house is built upon." I looked away from her to see that other students had begun to arrive in the lot. "We have to leave. This is our last day here."

"Is your school finished construction?" I asked quickly. Edward was coming toward us on one side, and the La Push boys on the other.

"No. We've chosen to leave school. It isn't safe here so far from home. Good bye, Rose." She nodded slightly and went to stand with her friends. Edward stood beside me, exchanging ferocious glances with the boys.

"I'm sorry to hear that. It was nice talking to you." The groups went their separate ways to opposite ends of the school campus. "Did you hear all of that?"

"Yes and more. The reason the one called David isn't allowed to show affection to Meadow has something to do with the way wolves…mate."

"Mate? Like animals? UGH! Edward, I don't want to know…" I made a face and looked away. Boys could be so vulgar sometimes.

"Not actually mate, but find one. How they find their life mates. It's different from us. It seems Quil had his eye on Meadow and told David about his feelings for her. David is keeping his romance or whatever you want to call it a secret from Quil out of respect for his friend."

"Then why did I find them like that in the bathroom? He's not doing a very good job at being subtle." I chuckled.

"They have something called 'imprinting.' It's like a spontaneous chemical reaction in their brains, I suppose, but when they begin to turn into wolves on a regular basis, they imprint on a girl and they can't help their feelings any longer. The love and passion takes over and it's unstoppable."

"So…David imprinted on Meadow, but Quil still has feelings for her? She doesn't see Quil as more than a friend. And you saw all of this in their heads just now?"

"They were talking in the truck. David told Quil how he feels for Meadow. Quil left the truck first because he didn't want to discuss it further, then David followed. They aren't fighting, exactly, but there is a definite tension in the air between them now."

I stopped on the walkway toward the first building and turned to Edward. "They call us the Cold Ones. It made me so angry when she said that. It makes us sound so…empty." I sighed.

"To be fair, I'm not sure they have ever encountered our choice in eating habits until now. They don't know how hard we try to avoid eating humans." He whispered and nudged me toward class. "Don't think of it. I know you're plotting to skip History, but it's not going to happen." He warned.

"I was not! You are so paranoid, sometimes, Edward!" I grumbled. I was thinking it, though. I shouldn't have, and just gone and done it, but it was already a long morning and it was going to be an even longer day. I went to class as he told me to, but I didn't enjoy a second of it.

--

While Rose was away at school, I couldn't have any lessons because Esme was still in bed recovering. I took a book into her room and sat beside her. She had to be dying of pure boredom just lying there with nothing to do. Carlisle hadn't left her side at all since he rushed home Friday afternoon. He was out hunting at the moment, but I knew he would be all right. He was much more experienced than any of us. I opened the book and began reading to Esme from a chapter in Jane Austin, her favorite.

"You're reading is getting much better. I'm proud of you." She smiled up at me. "Soon you'll be off at school with Rose and I'll be left here alone all day with nobody to talk to."

"You taught me how, Esme. You and Rose did. I won't be going away any time soon. I have a long ways to go before I can be around people. I already messed it up once. I don't want to do that again. Carlisle is back. I should let you rest." I stood and left as Carlisle entered the room and closed the door behind me for privacy. I went to my room and laid on my bed listening to them speak.

"I have to go to them. That's the only way this will be settled." Carlisle spoke.

"I don't understand why any of us has to do anything. I wish you would wait a few more days until I can look after myself once again. I don't like the idea of you going down there alone or so soon." They were speaking about going to La Push to speak with the tribe, I suspected. Esme was against that idea.

"Perhaps an agreement can be reached? A truce, of sorts." He sighed and there was a long pause between them. "I fear I will have to contact the Volturi over this matter. That is a last resort, of course, but I have no other solutions."

"Do you really believe that involving Aro and the others will solve anything? There is always the chance the Volturi do not even know the werewolves exist. That could cause a panic for them and result in them wiping out the entire La Push population, all those innocent people, mothers and children. I couldn't bear the thought. Please, do not contact them, Carlisle?" She whispered.

"I will do as you wish, Esme. I won't contact them, yet. If conditions continue to decline, I will be forced to do something. I pray it is not drastic in anyway, but that is uncertain at this time." There was another long pause before I heard Carlisle speak again. "Did Emmett leave this book? Shall I read to you?"

"Please? I love it when you read." Esme answered and they passed the next few hours that way, taking turns reading from the Jane Austin novel.

--

The End!

This was a weird chapter to write lol. I hope everyone liked it. As always, I look forward to reading your reviews! PLEASE SEND THEM! Lol. ;)