Everything changed after the kiss. The more Alaina tried to stop falling for Emmett, the faster, and harder she fell. Even when Alaina's life seemed out of control, Emmett was the constant that helped her through. Though their relationship was new, it was strong and real, almost scarily so. Even her parents noticed that their relationship was intense.
One day after school, her father took her aside to ask how Emmett was treating her. She was confused, so her dad elaborated. "Sometimes I catch him looking at you so intensely I feel like he's about to take a bullet for you. Is he pressuring you to do anything you don't want to, or you're not ready to do?"
Alaina smiled at the memory. Her father meant well, but Emmett was the one who was restrained. Emmett was helping her love her body again after going through something that made her used and violated. He helped her feel empowered and beautiful. But he exercised extreme self control, almost annoyingly so.
With Alaina's new relationship with Emmett, new relationships with his family members bloomed. She began looking forward to her classes with Jasper, even though he didn't say much. She learned the he could influence the emotions of those around him, so she couldn't help but to enjoy when he calmed her. She even liked the brief moments she got to share with Rosalie (Bella enjoyed them too, as she thought the more time Rosalie and Alaina spent together, the less time she could be mean to Bella).
Even though things seemed to be going well, Alaina's sexual assault case loomed darkly over her head, and it was starting to affect her relationships with her friends and Emmett. A cloud seemed be looming darker and darker around Alaina the closer the date came, and it was hard to hide it from the people she cared about most.
"Alaina!" She heard Bella hiss, breaking her out of her thoughts. She looked apologetically over at her friend. "Have you heard anything I've been saying for the last 5 minutes?"
"Sorry Bella," she said with a sad smile. "I just have a lot on my mind right now with everything going on."
Bella paused and bit her lip before speaking. "You know," she said slowly, "I don't really want to go to Biology today."
Alaina stopped suddenly and raised her eyebrows at her friend. "Are you insane? You can't skip - You love bio."
"Right, but you don't," she said, lacing her arm with Alaina's. "There's no harm in skipping every once in a while. And with Emmett and Edward, I feel like we haven't had time to really talk in weeks." Bella stopped when she reached the classroom door. "So?"
"Edward is going to blame me for this, you know," Alaina grumbled and walked past the classroom. The two girls walked outside towards the football field. The almost constant rain had ceased and blanket the sky with a cool gray. They walked on the slippery grass to the bleachers, brushed off as much residual rain as they could, and sad down next to each other.
"So," she said, looking pointedly at Alaina. "You said you had a lot of your mind… so talk."
Alaina shrugged. "There's just been a lot going on lately with... " she paused, trying to find the right words, "with everything. I don't know. It's nothing I can't handle, it's just a lot at once."
Bella nodded in understanding. "I know, and like I said before, I feel like we haven't had a chance to properly talk in awhile. But I feel like you've been holding some things in and it's important to get them out."
She furrowed her brow. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, I know your court date is coming up…"
Alaina groaned. "Everyone wants to always talk about that!" She yelled, startling her friend. "Has anyone ever thought to ask if I even wanted to talk about it? The whole situation sucks and I hate being reminded of it every over day."
"I know," she responded gently. "But you tend to shut people out and hold everything in, so I think that you should talk about it, even if it makes you uncomfortable. If you really don't want to, I'll respect that, but you're my best friend, so I need you to know I'm there for you."
"I don't want to talk about it Bella," she snapped. "I don't want to talk about it with you or anyone."
Bella nodded slowly, letting Alaina fume. She could feel her face burning with anger, but her heart stung with guilt. Bella was just trying to help, and deep down, Alaina knew she needed to talk about it. The more she tried to pretend this time in her life was normal, she knew it wasn't.
"I'm sorry Bells," she said, breaking the silence. Her voice broke involuntarily and before she could stop herself, she could feel her eyes welling up with tears. She willed them to stop, but when she blinked, the tears streamed down her face. "I just want this to be over with so I can move on with my life here. I feel there is a part of me still stuck in the midwest. When we spend time together or when I'm with Emmett, it's almost like I don't allow myself to fully be happy, because whenever I am happy, something bad happens."
"I don't know how you feel," Bella said after a moment, pulling her jacket tight to her chest. "But Alaina, you're like a sister to me. I know you want to, but please don't shut me out. I'm here for you. Emmett is too. All of the Cullens are. Please let us be there for you."
Still silently crying, she rested her head on Bella's shoulder as the watched the wind rustle the leaves of the trees. "There was something I wanted to ask you, though," Bella said breaking the silence.
Alaina could tell by her tone this was serious. She lifted up her head to look at her. "Of course."
Bella paused. "Well, I wanted to ask if you wanted me to come with you to Michigan with you for support. I know you're leaving in a few days so it's last minute, but I already asked my Dad and your parents and if you are okay with it, they are okay with it."
Alaina was taken aback. Bella was a kind person, this she knew, but she never expected her to ask something like this. Although her first instinct was to say no, she knew that she needed her best friend with her. That even if the entire thing went up in flames, Bella would be right next to her. Overcome with emotions, she enveloped Bella into a hug, and both girls knew the answer was yes.
The end of the day came as quickly as it started with Bella and Alaina talking at their lockers, waiting for Edward and Emmett to pick them up. The Cullens invited them over after school, and with the day that the two girls had, the answer was an obvious yes.
Alaina checked her watch. "They sure are taking their time, aren't they?"
"Can I walk with you to Emmett's car?" Rosalie said out of nowhere, coming up behind Alaina, startling her. Even though she was getting used to being surrounded by vampires, they still could scare the living daylights out of her. Alaina made brief eye contact with Bella before nodding. She closed her locker and turned on her heel. Putting on her backpack, she followed Rosalie who was already walking towards the school entrance.
"I heard Bella is going with you to your hearing," Rosalie said evenly as they walked towards the parking lot.
Alaina nodded. "News travels fast," she responded, uncertain as to why Rosalie was bringing this up. "She offered to come with me and I really don't want to be alone. Well, alone with my parents."
"Edward told me. I asked Emmett what you would think if I offered to come," she said, "but he said I would probably lose my self-control when I saw that disgusting human staring back at you in court." Her voice was full of malice, but Alaina could tell that this was Rosalie's way of telling Alaina that she cared about her.
Without thinking twice, Alaina walked over to Rosalie and enveloped her into a hug. Her icy frame went rigid, but within moments, Alaina could feel the cold arms wrapping around her shoulders.
"Thank you, Rose," she said gently, using the nickname that Emmett calls her. Stepping away from her, Alaina could see the coldness behind Rosalie's eyes melting. "I know I'm not your favorite person, but please know that I truly appreciate everything you have done to support me over the last few months. From sharing your own story to watching out for me when I first met Emmett, you know I'll never be able to make it up to you."
"That's the first time I think I've seen Rose ever smile at school. Good job, Detroit!" Emmett's voice boomed through the parking lot, and a burst of annoyance shot through her.
As they got settling in his Jeep, Alaina shot him a deadly look. "We almost had a moment! You ruined it!"
Emmett laughed. "Even though Rose will never admit it, she likes you."
"She only likes me more than Bella," Alaina scowled.
"True," Emmett admitted. "But with Rosalie, you have to take what you can get."
The ride was spent like most of their other afternoon rides: Emmett took the long way home, driving just wildly enough to scare Alaina every few moments. Alaina would always talk about how her day went and share any embarrassing moments his siblings did in class so he would be able to pick fun of them later. It was their routine and to be frank, Alaina was falling in love with it.
Reaching the beautiful house that Emmett called home, the pair walked into the house, greeted Carlisle and Esme, and immediately went up to Emmett's room. His bedroom left much to be desired; compared to his siblings, his room was definitely the messiest. Although it wasn't quite teenage boy messy, more often than not, Alaina had to step over clothes, video games, and various other possessions to get to her favorite spot on Emmett's couch.
Like the other members of his clan, none of them had beds in their bedroom because they simply did not need them. But after they started dating, Emmett brought in a couch to make their time together a little more comfortable. Well, Emmett asked Esme to buy a couch was more accurate.
His view overlooked the vast forest that surrounded their home; Alaina could stare out the window for hours. But more often than not, they would end up testing Emmett's self control, his hands quickly running through Alaina's hair and her legs wrapped around his.
Emmett confessed to Alaina early on that he was worried that he would hurt her when they kissed, so he would constantly have to slow Alaina down in the moment. He had a surprising amount of control over his vampire instincts, but since he was so strong, one wrong move could literally kill her… but Alaina didn't care. All that was on her mind when his lips were on hers was how to take his shirt off.
A loud knock on the door caused the pair to quickly break apart. "Baseball soon!" Alice's voice came through the door and Emmett jumped off the couch.
"Hell yeah! Let's go downstairs with the others!"
Alaina nodded, but was confused. Since when did vampires like baseball?
Walking downstairs, she saw the rest of the Cullens in baseball garb, and even Bella had on a baseball hat. She smiled and gave her a small wave when she saw her. After a moment, Bella pointed at her lips, causing Alaina to check her own face. She could feel her pink chapstick on her chin from her moments with Emmett before. She quickly wiped off her chin to try to hide the evidence.
"Are you going to be playing with us, Alaina?" Alice asked kindly when the reached the living room. Her pixie features looked even smaller than normal with the baseball cap covering her hair.
"I'm down to play! Whose team am I on? Not yours, I hope," Alaina said playfully to Emmett, poking him gently on the chest. A flash of emotion rushed through his eyes that she couldn't quite read.
"Sorry sweetheart, but I can't let you play," he shrugged, wrapping his cold arm around her shoulders. She huffed and snaked away from him.
"And why is that?" She asked, one eyebrow raised.
"Have you forgotten how weak you are compared to me?" Emmett flexed his muscles, causing her to roll her eyes.
"Oh my gosh, I'm not weak!" Alaina responded in annoyance, pushing Emmett. He didn't budge which caused him to roar with laughter. "Point taken. I could just be the catcher. I could totally do that."
"There's no way I'm letting you be on the receiving end of one of Alice's fastballs. They sting my hand. They'd break yours."
"Bella is playing and we both know I'm far more coordinated than she is!" She growled, her irritation growing by the second. She detested being told what to do and she could feel her stubbornness boiling on the surface. "No offence, Bells," she adding, catching the eye of her best friend. She was relieved to find her laughing.
"None taken," she said, smiling. "You're not wrong."
"If Edward wants Bella to play, that's his prerogative."
"But-"
"Do you want a baseball through your skull, babe? Because this is how you get a baseball through your skull."
"Fine…" she said slowly, deciding not to push it any further as she could feel that she wasn't going to win this round. "I need to go home pack for Michigan anyway. But you don't need to be a dick about it. And don't call me babe," she said bitterly, crossing her arms against her chest.
"Well, excuse me for not wanting to turn America's pastime into an extended scene from Saw."
'You're an asshole. You know that, right?"
"I do know that. But I'm your asshole."
"Oh my God," Alaina said, smacking him on the arm. "Please never say that again."
"Emmett, sweetheard, are you done arguing?" Esme said as she came into the living room. "If Alaina isn't going to play, you should probably take her home. We don't want her caught in the storm."
As if on cue, a distant rumble of thunder boomed in the distance, and the vampires whipped their heads towards the direction of the noise. "That's probably a good idea," Alaina said, grabbing her jacket. "Have a fun game, everyone."
After she pulled on her jacket, she found herself in a strong embrace. "If we don't see you before you leave for Michigan, please know that we love you and are thinking about you. Please keep us all updated and if there is anything that any of of can do, please don't hesitate. You're family now, and we take care of each other," Esme said, pulling away from the hug.
Alaina could feel her chest tighten and she could only nod weakly in response. Everything seemed to be happening so fast, but she couldn't contain the overwhelming emotion of feeling apart of a family, even if they were technically a family of monsters.
"Get her home safe," Carlisle added to Emmet, patting him on the shoulder in a fatherly fashion. They locked eyes for a moment as they seemed to share a silent moment. Emmett nodded and started walking towards the front door. He lightly placed his hand on the small of her back, guiding her to come with her. A shiver of longing went up her spine, but she shook it off.
The drive back to her home was silent. Alaina rested her head on the cool glass of his Jeep, watching the blur of the trees rush past her view. Closing her eyes, she felt herself starting to drift off to sleep, but was soon awoken with the sound of the engine dying.
"Mornin' sleeping beauty," Emmett whispered in her ear as her eyes fluttered open.
"Sorry," she said under her breath as she unbuckled herself, stifling a yawn. "Make sure your team wins." She went to open the door of the car but Emmett stopped her.
"Hey," he said quietly, his eyes burning into hers. "Are you okay? Do you … do you need me here while you get ready to leave? I don't know how much help I'd be, but if you need me I'll -"
"Emmett," she smiled, a warmth spreading through her. "When you're not being an asshole, you can be really sweet. But no, I'll be fine. I need to be alone anyways for a while to collect my thoughts. Text me after the game though. Maybe I'll let you keep me company then."
"I will definitely do that, babe," he said, his voice low, husky. He carefully, placed his hand on Alaina's cheek, guiding her to him.
"Don't call me babe -" she began to say, but was cut off. He closed the gap, while his cool lips hungrily kissed hers. She could feel that his motions were careful and calculated, trying desperately not to lose control, but Alaina was more worried about her own self-control.
She reluctantly pulled away. "I'll see you tonight," she said, sliding out of the car. As her feet hit the ground, she realized that she had been holding her breath and she shakily exhaled.
"Stupid hormones," she muttered as she opened up the door to her house, knowing that Emmett was watching her every step, the exact same longing pulsing through his body.