Chapter Fifty
Rosalie
It had been a terrible shock to discover that not only had Bella's child, a little girl, survived thanks to Jasper but that Edward had tried to kill it. Now he was dead and Bella was living with Jasper and getting married soon. What really brought a lump to my throat was Bella's invitation to meet our niece. I didn't think I could have been so forgiving and that made me feel very humble.
Emmett hadn't stopped grinning since we received that invitation. The thought of having a niece had him dancing around the room and making plans to return immediately to the States.
When I told him that we may never meet Bella again or her daughter he had been saddened like me, but not surprised. Esme had warned me that Bella was finding it difficult to forgive and forget. So, when we heard that not only had she made peace with Carlisle and Esme but that they had actually seen Megan our spirits rose.
Now here we were only a few miles from Bella's home and both of us were nervous. I wasn't sure if I was more concerned about facing Bella again or being able to look Megan in the eye without feeling incredibly guilty.
"Do you think she'll like us, Rosie?"
"I know she'll love you, Emmett."
No one could resist Emmett's sweet nature and magnetic charm.
"I hope you're right. It seems strange meeting a little girl we never wanted to see born."
"Strange but miraculous and it's certainly taught me a lesson. I'll never make assumptions ever again. Bella was so sure her baby was just that, a baby. We were so eager to believe all the horror stories that I think we fed off each other's fear and I feel so bad about that."
As Emmett turned into the driveway we could see the family waiting outside the house for us. Bella, Jasper, and a small girl holding their hands and looking as nervous as I felt.
Emmett parked up and turned to me, "Ready, Rosie?"
"As I'll ever be. Come on."
I watched to see the little girl's reaction as she saw Emmett unfold himself from the truck. He was pretty intimidating just by his height and bulk but she didn't shrink back, just watched him.
Jasper moved to greet us, shaking hands with Emmett before coming to give me a hug. Close up it was a shock to see the terrible damage to the side of his face. Esme had warned us that he'd been attacked by Jacob Black, one of the Quileute pack, but nothing could have prepared us for the reality of his scars.
He felt my shock and pity and smiled.
"Don't worry Rose. I was never going to be a poster boy for Vogue magazine and it was worth it. Come and meet Megan."
I turned to see that Emmett had beaten me to it. He was crouched down beside Megan and she was gazing up at him still holding Bella's hand tightly. I could hear her little heart beating fast. Esme had told us that Megan knew what had happened when Bella discovered that she was pregnant. Was the little girl thinking about that right now? Did she look at us and think that we had never wanted her to be born? I really hoped not, I hated to be thought of as a monster but in this case, we had acted just like the worst kind of monster. I felt so bad that it occurred to me to turn and run, guilt fueling this flight response.
Megan looked up at me and I saw something in her eyes, a kind of understanding and a softening. She smiled and seemed to be waiting for me to join them.
As I stopped only a few feet from her I could smell that unique scent that all children gave off. A warm vulnerable scent that I guess made adults want to protect them.
"Hello, Auntie Rosalie."
I smiled, relieved and touched by hearing her call me by that title, and crouched down beside Emmett.
"Hello, Megan..It's lovely to finally meet you, but I think Rosalie is a mouthful. why don't you just call me Rose? Everyone else does."
"Ok, Auntie Rose."
She stared at me for a few seconds, making me feel very self-conscious before speaking again.
"Mommy said you were pretty. I love the color of your hair, it's like cream."
I wasn't sure what to say, I was quite embarrassed but I needn't have worried, as she had already turned her attention back to Emmett who had pulled the gift we had bought for her from his pocket.
He handed it to her, his huge hand covering hers as he placed it in the palm of her hand.
"This is for you."
She looked at the small package he had deposited in her hand touching the gold bow on the top and twirling the curled ribbons that cascaded down its sides.
I knew she would have been spoiled rotten by everyone else and decided that toys and books were probably superfluous so Emmett and I had decided on a charm bracelet. That way she could add to it over the years. We had put on a baby's bootie to celebrate her birth and a crystal heart with a small ruby in it's center to symbolize her mixed ancestry.
I saw her smile widened as she opened the gold box and took out the bracelet showing it excitedly to Bella who helped her fasten it on. We'd had it modified so it could easily be extended as her wrist grew bigger and it fitted perfectly.
Turning to look at me Megan smiled a little shyly and stepped forward to thank me.
"It's so pretty Auntie Rose, thank you."
"You're very welcome."
"I know you thought I might be something frightening before I was born but I'm not and I hope we can be friends. None of us should be scared anymore."
I glanced up at Jasper, had she sensed how scared I had been?
Emmett stood up and gave his favorite sister a bearhug, picking her up off the ground and twirling her around.
"Great to see you again Bella. Thanks."
As he put her down she smiled reassuringly.
"Consider this a new start for us all. Come in."
"I'll show you to your room, Auntie Rose. I chose the decoration, I hope you like flowers."
I found myself grasped by the hand and towed inside by my niece thrilled to have her in my life.
Emmett
It was a relief to find ourselves welcomed so warmly and to have Bella in my life once more. I'd missed her and thought for a while that I would never see her again, my guilt wouldn't let me look her in the face.
Now here we were and not only that but Bella and Jasper had hooked up and looked so right for each other. It had taken me some time to get my head around that! Jasper and Alice has appeared a perfect fit until it all went west when he refused to help Edward by persuading Bella to terminate her pregnancy.
Carlisle had told us the story of how Jasper had come back just in time to save Bella's baby, but boy had he paid for that good deed! The side of his face was a fucking mess yet no one seemed to notice it, not Bella and not Megan although I would have expected it to scare a kid. Still, it was all she had ever known. I guess if you had to wear scars like that, saving the life of a child was a good a reason as any.
When Rosie and Megan came back downstairs I could see that my Rosie was beside herself with joy and I was glad we'd found the courage to come back.
Megan came over to stand in front of me staring up and I began to feel a little self-conscious, what was she thinking?
"Uncle Emmett."
"Yep?"
"Mommy said you were strong enough to pick up a whole tree but I don't know why you'd want to. Do you think you could pick me up with one hand?"
I shrugged, grinning at the idea.
"I don't know, how much do you weigh?"
She shrugged and I pulled a face, "Wanna see?"
She glanced at Jasper who stood watching from the doorway. He nodded grinning at her.
"Go on. I bet he can't."
I placed an arm carefully around Megan's waist and pretended to have trouble lifting her off the ground. She grinned,
"You can do better than that Uncle Em."
"You think so?"
She nodded and I swiftly lifted her above my head then changed hands until she was sitting in the palm of one hand still giggling as I tossed her from hand to hand.
"Hey, I guess you're right. I can, but it's pretty exhausting."
With a wink at Jasper, I groaned and collapsed to the floor taking Megan with me and twisting so she ended up standing on my chest laughing loudly.
"Mommy and daddy said I shouldn't be nervous about meeting you. They were right. You're really nice. Would you like to come and see my treehouse? I helped daddy build it."
She jumped off my chest and waited while I groaned, rubbing my chest, and jumped up,
"I'd love to."
I saw a strange look on Jasper's face, relief and surprise, and wondered just how nervous she had been about meeting us. I wanted her to feel relaxed around me and I was pretty sure I was succeeding. Edward always said I was a big kid myself.
I was impressed by the treehouse, it was well hidden and expertly built and it suddenly occurred to me what a good hiding place it would make. Most treehouses were built to be easy to see and to get into but not this one. Had Jasper made this so Megan could hide away if she felt uneasy or frightened? Esme had said Megan was very nervous meeting her and Carlisle, maybe she was even more frightened of meeting us.
If I was right, then Megan had shown me that she now trusted us by showing me her secret hideaway. At that moment I vowed I would protect this little girl should she ever need it. I would not betray her trust.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of laughter and talk. Megan was bright and interested in everything, especially hearing about her mom when she was a human and I took great delight in explaining just how sweet and klutzy Bella had been when we first met her.
Not wanting to crowd the little one or outstay our welcome we had booked a room at a nearby motel but when we suggested leaving Megan begged us to stay backed by Bella and Jasper. Needless to say, we didn't need asking twice and I left Rosalie there and went back to our room to collect our stuff.
Rosalie
When Megan asked us to stay I felt myself choke up, this had gone so much better than I could ever have hoped for and when she asked me if I would tell her a bedtime story my life felt pretty much complete.
Once tucked up in bed with her furry companions, there were so many that the coverlet was almost completely hidden, I sat down beside her.
"So, what's your favorite story?"
She stared at me so intently that I found it a little unnerving then smiled dissipating the tension instantly.
"I like lots of stories but my favorite are real ones. Will you tell me about when you were a little girl?"
I was somewhat taken aback and not a little apprehensive. I hadn't thought about my human past in such a long time, mainly because the ending had been so dark.
"OK, but it's not very exciting."
"Everything is exciting when you're a little kid Aunt Rose and I like to hear about the old days."
I laughed, she sure knew how to make a girl feel her age!
Settling back beside her on the pillow I began, telling her about my parents and the house I was brought up in.
"Things were very different when I was little. There were no computers or cell phones."
"What did you do?"
"I played with dolls like my friends, listened to the radio, and learned to cook, sew, and dance. I was my parent's little princess and had to act like a good little girl. We weren't allowed to run around like the boys or climb trees, that would have shocked everyone."
Megan wrinkled her nose, "It doesn't sound like much fun."
"Well, we didn't know any different so I guess we enjoyed ourselves just the same. Besides, my father worked in a bank, an important man in those days and I couldn't show him up by acting like a tomboy. Things were tough, there wasn't much money about but we were well off, my two little brothers and me and we were happy.
I was very pretty and my parents would dress me up in beautiful clothes and show me off. I thought I was above most people which isn't nice but it's the way I was brought up. My parents wanted more, to be wealthier, have a bigger house and important friends but I just loved being me. I had all the boys admiring me and knew that one day I would have a wealthy husband and a nice house of my own.
My best friend was a girl called Vera and she got married first. Her husband wasn't rich but he loved her very much and soon they had a little boy called Henry. He was like a little angel, so sweet and handsome and I knew that's what I wanted. A husband like Vera's and children of my own.
My mother and father had their sights set on Royce, the bank owner's son as a husband for me and made sure he met me when I was all dressed up and looking my best. He fell in love with me and I was so excited that I thought we would be perfect. He was handsome and wealthy just like my dream husband and sent me flowers, walked with me in the park and finally asked me to marry him."
Megan stopped me, "He wasn't though, was he? The man of your dreams I mean."
I shook my head, "No, he wasn't the man I thought he was. He looked handsome and sweet but he was different inside. Not a nice man at all. He only wanted me because we looked so handsome out together but he didn't love me. I began to see through him and then, well then I became a vampire."
She gazed at me for the longest time then threw her arms around my neck.
"No one will ever hurt you again Aunt Rose. Emmett would never allow that. He really loves you."
I smiled, "And I love him."
"How did you know that Royce wasn't the right man for you?"
"I didn't at first, as I said, but as I got to know him better I could feel there was something not very nice about him. When I met Emmett I knew right away that he was the one."
She nodded thoughtfully, "So you have to know someone for a while before you can see if they are right for you?"
"Sometimes, and sometimes you can feel it in your heart right away. Just like I did when I saw Emmett for the first time."
"I don't understand. Mommy thought Edward was the one and you thought Royce was and you both got it wrong. That's scary."
"Well, sometimes we listen to our heart and ignore our head when really you need to listen to both. They both tell you things about the person and you have to listen to both before making up your mind. Don't worry, Megan. When the time comes you'll know."
She looked up at the painting hanging on the wall opposite her bed.
"She's very beautiful and she looks like you. Is it your grandmother?"
As soon as I said it, I knew that was wrong. I'd met Renee, Bella's mother, at the wedding. This woman was far more stunning and serene looking.
"No. Do you know Darius?"
I shook my head, "No. I've heard of him but never met him."
"That's his wife Sara, the one who was murdered by Caius Volturi."
I wasn't sure what to say. Why would a little girl have a painting of a woman long dead and unknown to her hanging on her wall?
"He loved her very much and he's been so sad ever since he lost her. Do you think we only have one love in our life?"
It was a very deep question for a child but I sensed it was very important to her.
"I think we find the true love of our life eventually, but I think we can love more than once on that journey."
She frowned, "So, you can love someone but if it doesn't last or if something happens to them then you can find someone else?"
"I guess so."
"But what if you find your true love first and something happens to him or her?"
"I don't know sweetheart. I found my true love with Emmett and I think if anything happened to him that I would want to follow him. I don't think I could live without him."
She stared at the painting again then nodded and smiled up at me sleepily.
"Thank you for telling me your story Aunt Rose. Maybe tomorrow Uncle Emmett can tell me his."
"Well, I'm sure it will be a lot more exciting than mine."
She grinned, "I love all the stories I hear. Maybe I'll write them all down one day. Nite, Aunt Rose."
"Goodnight my love."
I kissed her then crept out hearing her breathing even out before I shut the door. She was already asleep and, I hoped, dreaming of sweet things.