A/N: Hey guys, I just wanted to say something before I give you the new chapter. The last four chapters were quite short, I know that. I wanted to introduce my plot in short sequences, I think the following chapters will get longer the further we get into the plot. I would be so happy if you could review my story, reading your thoughts makes me very happy! So, without further blabbering, here comes chapter 5.
Disclaimer: Twilight and all figures are the property of SM. I only own the plot and the characters you don't recognize.
Chapter 5
Bella POV
One week later all our belongings were packed up, our house was empty and we were at the train station, boarding the train to Gatlinburg. We only had a few bags, as everything else had already been shipped to our new house. Once seated, my parents started talking silently while my brother was reading today's newspaper.
I sank further into the seat, closing my eyes and thinking about the events of last week. I still couldn't comprehend what happened in Gatlinburg when I met Emmett. I knew him before, but seeing him like this, all human, with these radiant blue eyes, bright smile and beautiful dimples brought up a warm and cozy feeling inside of me I couldn't quite understand.
I remembered how it felt when he touched my hand, kissed my knuckles and caught me before I could fall to the ground. I remembered how warm I have felt, the goosebumps my skin produced when he touched me and shivered at the memory of it. It was strange, I've never felt like this near him, but now…
I must have been lost in my thoughts for quite some time, as I jolted when my brother addressed me. "Belle, are you feeling alright? You were staring into nothing for almost the whole train ride now and wait – are you blushing?" I felt my blush intensify as I averted my eyes from my brother's gaze, regaining my composure. "No, Louie. Everything is alright, I just thought about our move…". I trailed off, knowing I was a bad lair. Trying to make up a whole story would only make him more suspicious.
He looked at me for a few seconds, tilting his head as if to make out if he should press on or drop the subject. Luckily, he decided it wasn't important and changed the topic swiftly. "Gatlinburg is only a few minutes away, maybe you want to get ready to get off the train, Belle". My eyes snapped up, looking out the window as if I needed confirmation. Sure enough, I recognized Gatlinburg's scenery, quickly gathering my few belongings as the train entered the station.
We got off the train, each of us carrying a suitcase and started to walk towards the direction our house was in when I heard a familiar, deep voice booming from behind us. "Belle, Mrs. Swan! Please, wait second!". I spun around, meeting the gaze of a broadly smiling Emmett walking towards us.
He stopped right in front of me, reaching for my hand. As I lay my hand in his, there was a feeling like electricity was being created where our hands touched. I looked up into his eyes, stunned at the intense sensation coursing through me, wondering if he was feeling something similar. Judging by the look in his wonderful blue eyes, he was feeling and thinking exactly the same. He bowed down slightly, kissing my knuckles. As he rose up again, he gave me his most beautiful smile, showing his dimples. "Belle, it is so nice to see you again", he stated lowly, barely loud enough for me to hear. I smiled back at him and felt the heat rushing up my face; the warm, tingly feeling inside me spreading wider and increasing in intensity. He smiled at me again before moving on to my mother, brushing his lips over her knuckles as well.
"Ma'am, welcome to Gatlinburg, for good this time" he greeted her, turning around to meet my brother and father for the first time. He held his hand out to my father, who eyed him suspiciously. "Sir, it is a pleasure to meet you at last. My name is Emmett McCarty, I'm here here to pick you up and help you to bring your luggage to the house. It is good you are finally here, after I had the pleasure to meet your wonderful wife and daughter last week when showing them around the house".
My father took his hand in greeting, the stern look on his face softening the slightest bit. "Emmett, thank you very much. Do I understand correctly, you are Mr. McCarty's son? I must say, I was a little concerned about you being acquainted with Elisa and Belle when I didn't even know you, but as it stands I'm happy you showed them the house. As you already know my two women, this is my son, Louis". My father gestured towards Louie, who held his hand out in greeting as well, his expression almost as stern as my father's. "Louis, my pleasure to meet you" Emmett stated, taking Louie's hand firmly in his. "Emmett" was all Louie replied, nodding his head once in acknowledgement.
The atmosphere was tense, but Emmett successfully broke the tension by turning around to me and holding out his hand. "Belle, please hand me your suitcase. No lady should have to carry so heavy" he stated, grinning sheepishly at me.
I blushed again – nowadays I didn't seem so do anything else around him – and thanked him sincerely, smiling slightly. "Thank you, Emmett. That is very kind of you". He nodded, grabbed the suitcase and smiled at me again, then turned to my mother. "Ma'am, I'd like to carry yours as well. I wouldn't want you to carry too heavy, as well" he exclaimed, reaching for my mothers' piece of luggage. "Oh, thank you, Emmett! Such a gentleman at this young age!" she practically beamed at him before turning around to step towards my father. "Come on, Jason. Let them catch up", she told my father, winking at me. "Louis, you, too. Please hurry up, I want to start decorating the house and Belle and I need to start cooking lunch".
My parents and my brother went past me and Emmett, starting the short walk towards our house. I blushed deeply, looking at the floor. I started walking as well, not wanting for the silence to get weird. Emmett fell in step beside me and I could feel his gaze on me as we walked.
I rose my gaze as he started talking, meeting his shining eyes. "Belle, I hope your journey was pleasant again this time? I know train rides can be rather uncomfortable sometimes" he inquired, genuinely interested. I smiled at him, telling him how the packing had gone and how the train ride to Gatlinburg had been. I told him about the beautiful scenery as he once more asked about the train ride itself. I hoped he wouldn't ask for more details as I barely noticed anything, thanks to me thinking about him nearly the whole time on the train.
"Well, I'm glad you like the scenery, I would hate for you to dislike Gatlinburg" he stated just then, blushing just a little. "I'm sure I will love Gatlinburg and the people here, most certainly I just need some time to adjust" I assured him quickly. Once again, he showed me his beautiful smile, nearly knocking the air out of my lungs. I stumbled but caught myself quickly enough not to fall. I blushed even more, embarrassed of my clumsiness.
"Belle, are you always prone to falling does it just happen when I'm near to catch you?" he laughed, winking at me. My embarrassment peaked and even if I didn't know it was possible, my face got even hotter. I looked at the ground, not trusting myself to lift my gaze. I was so embarrassed, I didn't even notice Emmett setting down both bags and coming back to me. He carefully touched my jaw with his hand, rising my face and looking deeply into my eyes. "I'm sorry, Belle. I shouldn't have laughed. I swear, I didn't laugh at you, I just thought you were… cute. I'm sorry if I'm overstepping here, but you need to know what I thought so you know I never had the intention of embarrassing you". His eyes held such an intensity while he stared into mine, pleading for me to believe him.
"It's ok. I'm just so used to people laughing at me because of my clumsiness. I shouldn't have thought badly of you, I'm very sorry I jumped to conclusions". I gave him a small smile, willing him to understand. As we stood there, I noticed he was still holding my face in his hand. The touch felt so good, right at this moment I wishes he would never stop touching me.
As I looks down at his arm, he followed my gaze. As he noticed what I was looking at, he quickly removed his arm, blushing bright red and shifting nervously from foot to foot. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to find the right words before grabbing both bags again and saying "Come on Belle, we should get going".
The next few minutes we walked in comfortable silence. I glanced at him a few times from the corner of my eye, a few times catching him as he gazed down at me. I was happy he didn't mention what happened only a few minutes ago, I didn't know what I should think of it myself. I really liked Emmett, though we have only met twice and didn't talk much both times. I really wanted to get to know him, I just had to decide what to ask.
It was like he could read my mind as he asked me about my family. I told him about my parents, our old life in Knoxville and why we moved. Then I told him about Louie, that with his 20 years he was three years older than me and that he found good work here in Gatlinburg as well. We talked some more about our families when we finally reached the house. My parents were already inside and I hurried to grab one of the suitcases from Emmett, who had carried two of them the whole way here without complaining about the weight. He really must be very, very strong, I thought to myself.
He just looked at me funny, walked straight past me and asked where he should put the bags. He put my mothers' bag in my parents' bedroom and followed me upstairs to my room. He put the bag on my bed, glancing around my room before walking over to the window above my desk. He looked out the window, then turned to me with a wide smile on his face. He quickly walked over to me, grabbed my wrist and walked back to the window.
I easily complied with him pulling me along, wondering what we wanted to show me. When we reached the window, we carefully rested his huge hand on my lower back, slowly guiding me forward. Again, a warmth spread through my body, its calming effect soothing my nerves. Emmett stood behind me, reaching his arm over my shoulder, pointing at the house opposite ours. "Look, do you see the window on the second floor in the right corner? The one right opposite yours with the dark curtains? That's my room". He looked down at me, his smile so sincere I had to reciprocate the smile. It warmed my heart he was so sincerely excited about showing me where his room was, right where we could wave to each other when we would be standing at our windows. His smile got even brighter, his dimples showing on his handsome face as he looked intently into my eyes. "Your smile is beautiful, Belle", he whispered.
At his compliment the heat crept back to my face and I quickly averted my eyes. I became aware of our close proximity and suddenly got very nervous. As he realized my tension, he briefly closed his eyes before taking a step back. "I'm sorry, Belle. I misinterpreted things and overstepped. Please forgive me". He stared at the ground, seemingly hurt. It took me a moment to understand his train of thought, but when I did I quickly ensured him "No, Emmett. Don't be sorry, that's not it, I promise, I just don't … aah, I don't know what it is myself. But I know it's not what you thought, you didn't overstep anything!". As I stumbled over my words, he rose his head, searching my eyes for any sign I would reject him. When he couldn't find anything, his smile came back to his face and he rose his hand to my face, the tips of his fingers barely touching my cheek.
I blushed even more at his gesture as I didn't know what to do, so I was more than glad as he changed the subject. "Come on, Belle. We probable should head back to your parents, before they start searching for us". His smirk was mischievous as he again grabbed my hand and we left the room together.
As we stepped into the kitchen, my mother was already beginning to cook up lunch. She smiled at us, seemingly at ease with the situation of her daughter being alone in a room with a man. "Emmett, thank you for helping us with the bags. You really helped us a lot today, I hope it wasn't too much trouble for you. Would you like to stay for lunch?" she offered. Emmett smiled at her, quickly declining her offer. "Thank you, Mrs. Swan. Helping really was no problem at all, please don't worry about that. I really would love to stay, but I have to head back to work. Though before I forget, my mother invited you all to dinner at our house tonight if you don't have other plans yet. She would love to meet you all".
My mother beamed, looking forward to the opportunity of meeting more people. "Sure Emmett, we would love to come. Which time would be acceptable?" As my mother accepted, Emmett showed off one of his radiating smiles as well. "7 pm would be perfect. It's the house just across the street, you won't be able to miss it. I'll just head over to tell her". He looked at my mother, smiling at her and giving a quick nod. "Ma'am, it was nice to see you again. I have to go now". Then he turned towards me and took both of my handy in his, kissing each twice while saying "Belle, it was a pleasure as always. See you later, I can't wait". As I shyly smiled at him, I looked up into his bright eyes. "Goodbye, Emmett. I see you later, I'm looking forward to it".