Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
Bella groaned as the sound of an extremely loud truck's horn woke her up. This was quickly starting to annoy her, she thought as she stirred from the uncomfortable cement floor that was her bed that day. There weren't many wild forests in this part of the country, and although there were plenty of fields where she could spend her days, their monotony rapidly grew rather boring. The last time she was here all those years ago she was kept fairly busy learning to control her emotions.
She sighed and got up to gather her things. Sleeping on the roof of a meat processing plant was not the best idea she'd had. Trucks rumbled to and fro at all hours, day and night. And the sounds of the slaughter inside was starting to be too much. But aside from camping in the tall wheat fields there really wasn't much choice. When she wasn't traveling, she spent her nights in whatever closest town's public library and, on occasion, hanging out in a shuttered school. But during the day when she slept, she was unfortunately stuck with only a few unappealing choices.
She needed to move on, that was clear. Her stomach grumbled in agreement. Test yourself first, she thought firmly. Cringing, she slowly let down her guard and called on her mental image of Rosalie. As usual, she felt the pain of her loss and the guilt of her betrayal, as well as the searing pain of the fire rising up inside her. But she concentrated hard and, after a few seconds, it died down. Deep breathes. Ok, let's get out of here.
A week wasn't a long a time but it felt like eternity to Bella. At least this week had. Bella tried to blame it on the endless farms that stretched beyond the horizon all around her, but she feared it was more than that. Those farms had never bothered her in the past. She wasn't happy before, but she was somewhat content with her days wandering the country. If you took the fire, the pain, the hunger, sleeping on rooftops and trees, and the whole killing people thing out of the equation, Bella was technically living many people's idea of freedom. She experienced the wild the way few people got to experience it. And she had her music and her books.
But it wasn't enough anymore, she thought sadly as a tear ran down her face. She wanted more. She missed Emmett's booming laughter and Alice's incessant shopping sprees. She missed sitting quietly with Jasper and Carlisle, each absorbed in their books. She missed Esme's warmth and compassion. And she missed Rosalie's fiery eyes that always seemed to communicate more than the girl ever spoke. She missed her voice, her soft smiles, even her growling. Hell, she even missed pretending to care about cars just so she could sit in the garage handing her tools.
Bella had spent nearly half her life punishing herself for what she had done. But it looked like she'd created a worse punishment for herself than she'd ever dared to imagine. Because the ache she felt as she thought of the family she couldn't have was far more potent than anything the fire could do to her. She had gotten a taste of ambrosia only for it to be snatched away forever.
You have much to pay for, she reminded herself. She wiped the tear from her face and gritted her teeth. She was close to the border anyway...Why not? Colorado had plenty of scenic outdoors where she could seek refuge. And it had some great libraries.
Now this is more like it, Bella thought, looking up at the rugged mountains in the distance. The first time she came to Roosevelt National Forest, she had fallen in love with the landscape and spent several months hiking off-trail. She was 15, and by then had developed much better control over the demon and had gotten relatively used to her solitary existence. The only challenge she faced in the vast forest was finding food. There were no supermarkets or patrons stuffed with cash after all. But between her skill with finding edible plants and vastly improved telekinesis she managed to get by...mostly on granola bars, beef jerky, hot dogs and nuts foraged from sleeping campers. Better than the bears, she used to laugh to herself.
It almost felt normal, hiking through the wilderness. That's probably why she enjoyed it so much. At that age, she looked like a regular kid with a taste for adventure. She used to pretend she was a famous explorer and make little games to get through each day. Bella knew how many steps it took to climb the park's highest peak. She knew that every fire pit and picnic table in this forest had her initials scrawled somewhere on them...though most people who saw the letters "B.S" probably thought they stood for something else.
She looked at her watch to confirm the time. It had taken her another eight days to get here from just outside of Colby, Kansas. Not bad, considering she did nothing more than walk the 300 miles. She walked for about 10 hours each day and stopped only to find food and a few new books from any bookstore she passed. By the time she set her newly acquired gear on the shore of Chasm Lake, she was in need of a well-earned rest.
She plopped down a little too hard on the ground and cursed, remembering how rocky this place was. She chose this particular spot for its isolation. Its dearth of foliage made it unpopular for overnight campers...not to mention it was pretty difficult for any but the most hardcore hikers to make the trek up or down Longs Peak, the barren mountain that covered this lake in its shadow. No, it was unlikely she'd come across anyone here tonight.
"You are one difficult human to track down, Bella Bear."
Bella gasped in shock. Emmett Cullen was standing not twenty feet away from her.
Author's note I: Something tells me if I stop this here, one of you will find my address, sneak into my house and bite me. Luckily for my neck...
"Don't you dare run!" Emmett shouted.
Bella was indeed already on her feet and about to break for it, but something in his voice made her stop. She took a deep breath and turned around.
None of the Cullens had ever looked less than runway glamorous all the time, but Emmett looked...almost run down. Granted, he could still turn heads if he chose to pose for Calvin Klein exactly as he looked now, but knowing him as she did, Bella could see that all was not well with her friend.
"How did you find me?" She whispered.
"Alice," he said and shook his head. "Would've caught up to you a lot sooner if you weren't blocking her. She didn't move for days after you left, trying to see where you'd finally end up."
Bella didn't know how to respond to that so she stayed silent. If Emmett was here on some kind of mission to reclaim his honor she'd let him say whatever he needed to say. She was in no position to argue or make demands.
Emmett sighed and, not taking his eyes off of her, moved to sit down on Bella's blanket.
"Can you please sit down?" He asked. "I need to say a few things and I'd like to not worry that you'll disappear to Mexico while I'm talking. Please, Bella."
Bella slowly walked closer and sat down at his side. This close to him, she couldn't bring herself to look at his face.
Emmett chose not to comment on her wandering gaze. He too looked to the distance at the rocky slopes in front of them.
"You are one hell of a girl," he said softly. "When Rosalie told me what happened the night you first met...when I saw how shaken she was from the few minutes you two had shared...I knew right then, before even Rosalie understood, that she would fall for you."
Bella's breath hitched in her throat. She didn't take her eyes off of the rocks by her feet.
"She saved me, you know," he said. "When I was human. I was out roughing it in a place like this and got myself mauled by a bear. I was dying, Bells, and there was so much blood. She carried me over a 100 miles to Carlisle so he'd turn me. I fell for her right away though it took her a little while to admit her feelings. But once she did...once she opened her eyes...Rose doesn't make decisions lightly you see, so when she makes them she holds true. And sure enough, she decided to give me a chance...to give herself a chance at happiness...and we've been going strong since."
"You've been listening to us for a while," he continued. "Did you hear anything...do you understand the concept of a mate?"
Bella shook her head.
Emmett sighed. "There's a lot of mumbo jumbo with Vampires I'm sure you'll come to learn about in the future. Mating is one of the few I understand, mainly because I've actually lived it. Rosalie is my mate. She's the one person in the world that completes me, and the one person who seems to understand me better than I do myself. She can feel my emotions and read my thoughts in a way no empath or mindreader can. She is literally my world."
Bella closed her eyes and felt a painful pang in her chest.
"This sounds familiar, doesn't it?" He asked softly.
She nodded slowly, still unable to use her voice. Rosalie's effect on her was like a lightning storm sometimes. She could make her feel like they were the only people on Earth, even in the middle of class surrounded by antsy kids.
"It's the same for her," Emmett whispered. He put a hand on hers. "She loves you...as much as she loves me."
The tears came before she knew what was happening. A soft whimper escaped her lips as she turned to look at him.
"I'm so sorry, Em," she cried out through the tears.
Emmett moved closer so he could wrap an arm around her. "Don't be," he said. "There's nothing shameful in falling in love, Bells...no matter the circumstances. It's the best thing for a human and it's the best thing for a vampire. It's proof, to me at least, that we're not all doomed to hell like...some of us think we are."
They sat like this for a while longer...Emmett softly caressing Bella's hair while her tears continued to fall.
"Bella," he said. "I love my wife. I want her to be happy and can't stand when she's in pain. I...I love you too Bells. After Rosalie, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me-or any of us for that matter. I won't lie to you...it's not easy admitting I'm not enough for her. But...it helps that I know her so well. She's never lied to me. When she says her love for me has never faded in all these years, I believe her."
"Most people would say I'm crazy. But you do pretty crazy things for the person you love. You'd do just about anything for them...even share them with someone else. Because, in this crazy situation, I don't think Rosalie will have to love either of us any less. I think that when you entered her life, Rosalie's heart got that much bigger. And she needs you...she needs us both to fill it."
For the first time since he started talking, Emmett's voice quivered. "Rosalie's been in hell since you left. I've never seen her like this. I can't...I can't put her back together by myself anymore. Please, Bella. I need your help. She needs you. Please come back."
Bella continued to shake quietly in Emmett's arms as she tried to take in everything he'd said. He was giving her permission...she could hardly comprehend it, but he was actually giving her his blessing. Bella couldn't find any words...
He wants to share. Bella was alone for so long that many things, such as homosexuality, never struck the nerve that they did for most other people. She never learned, except second-hand through her books, that it was relatively queer for a woman to love another woman romantically. So when it happened to her, she never experienced the panic or soul-searching most novels' characters went through. It was as natural as breathing. But a relationship with three people? Even Bella, with her limited understanding of humanity, knew that was...odd. It would be two relationships, she reminded herself, not one. He doesn't want to be with you, she thought. Was this even possible?
Two...physical relationships, maybe. But for something like this to work there would have to be a relationship that encompassed all three of them as well. Emmett spoke so openly with her just now...he would have to be able to continue to do that even after...and so would she. So would Rosalie.
Her heart felt like it would burst with joy. There was a way...
Her grip on Emmett tightened as she lifted her eyes to meet his. She tried to detect any doubt, any hesitation in them. She couldn't.
Emmett smiled. His eyes shone with relief and happiness as she slowly nodded.
"Let's go home," he said.
Author's note II: I started writing this 4 weeks ago exactly. Thank you all so much for reading and leaving your feedback. I can't tell you how happy you've made me. Here's to 4 weeks more!