Chapter 50

B

Enraged, Emmett stepped in front of me, blocking my view of Edward. "No, Bella," he said. His voice held so much sadness and defeat that I wanted to cry. "I won't let you do this, Little B. You don't know him! You don't know what you're getting yourself into."

My heart nearly broke in two at the expression on my big bear of a friend's face. I didn't want to hurt him, but Edward was making me an offer that I couldn't refuse. Essentially, for my virginity, he was offering me a roof over my head, an education, and financial stability.

Neither of which I had right now.

Yeah, I had my tiny little place, and, since starting at Breaking Dawn, I'd done fairly well, and, was able to add to my savings, but, let's face it, NYU costs almost sixty thousand dollars a year; there was no way I'd be able to sustain myself comfortably through four years of college. Maybe, after I turned twenty-one, I could use my trust fund to try and pay Edward some of his money back.

Hell, right now, I barely had enough to take care of my firsts year's tuition. With the sweet deal that Edward was offering me, not only would I be able to go to school, but, I also wouldn't have to worry about choosing between eating or paying my bills. I would be able to focus on my studies. I could even keep working at Breaking Dawn on the weekends, if Rose and Emmett would allow me to.

Looking up at Emmett, I asked, "Will he hurt me, Em? Tell me, is your brother going to physically hurt me, because if not, then I'm taking the deal." Laying my head on Emmett's chest, I wrapped my arms around his waist, and whispered again, "Will he hurt me?"

Enveloping me in one of his signature bear hugs, Emmett sighed, "No, Bella, not physically; he won't hurt you." It wasn't lost on me that he specifically said, physically.