A/N: Shorty chapters get longer as the story continues.
Three Years Later
"Bella, what the fuck!"
Bella ignored Mike. As soon as he slowed down to turn into the hospital parking lot, she hurtled herself out of the moving car. She stumbled but didn't fall and ran full tilt toward the emergency room.
"I'm looking for my brother," she said, catching herself on the counter. "Please." Her voice shook almost as badly as the rest of her. She'd never been so scared. "He's just a baby, and he's all alone."
Her voice cracked on the last word. To that point, she'd been numb about the rest of the news. Her baby brother was her focus, the most important thing in her world at the moment. She couldn't think about anything else.
The nurse was patient with her. "Okay, honey. I'm going to help you," she said, her voice calming. "Take a deep breath and tell me his name."
"Emmett. Emmett McCarty. He's five years old. There was an accident. My mother—" She swallowed hard. "He's all alone."
"I need some ID, sweetheart."
Bella had her driver's license clutched tightly in her hand since she received that terrible phone call. It took her a few confused seconds to remember how to unclench her fingers so she could give the thing to the woman.
"Isabella Swan?" The nurse jotted something down in her paperwork. "You said you're his sister."
"Half-sister," she said impatiently. She didn't think it was important, but she didn't want to be delayed by stupid things like their different last names. "Look, can you just tell me—?"
"He was taken in for emergency surgery. I can show you where to wait."
~0~
Emmett slept for three days. Bella never left his side. For once, she didn't care about her classes or the fact that Mike couldn't be bothered to stay with her. "I have work to do, babe," he'd said. So mostly, Bella waited alone.
Her little brother had always been a brave little boy, always one to swallow his tears and pick himself up after one of his many, many tumbles. This time, though, he woke up whimpering.
"Hey. Hey, Emmy." Bella stroked his arm and tentatively ran her fingers along his hairline, above the bandage there. "Shh. It's okay. You're going to be okay."
She'd clicked the call button when Emmett had begun to stir, so it was no surprise when a nurse came in. When she saw what was going on, she ducked out and came back with a small army who soon surrounded the bed.
Bella took a reluctant step back, her heart twisting when Emmett's soft whimpers became full blown, confused sobs.
"Emmy, it's okay. I'm right here. Look at me, buddy. I'm right here. You're okay." Her voice cracked and broke. She was so relieved that he was awake, but it killed her that he was hurting.
"Sissy? Sissy? Mommy!"
So many times in his short life, Bella had been there when their mother dropped the ball. Bella's breath stuttered as she swallowed a painful lump. Every time before this, Bella had hoped, in some tiny corner of her mind, that her mother would get her act together.
Renee had run out of chances this time.
"Emmy, it's okay. Calm down, little man. Shh, it'll be okay. I'm here. I'm right here, and I'm not leaving you."
~0~
It took another twenty-four hours before Emmett was awake for any good amount of time. By then, Bella was simultaneously glad and dreading it. The doctors had warned her there was a chance of lasting brain damage. It was, of course, a relief to know that he would make a full recovery, all his mental faculties intact, but it meant that she would have to explain. The inevitable time came when he asked for his mommy, and she wasn't able to calm him.
"Sissy, I want Mommy," he said, his lower lip trembling. There was desperation in his tone that stabbed her right through the heart. "Mommy is supposed to be here. Why isn't she here? I need her."
Bella took a shaky breath and wiped at a tear that had gathered at the corner of her eye. She sat on the edge of the bed and gathered him in her arms as carefully as she could. He clung to her awkwardly, burying his face at her side. She stroked his hair as best she could.
"Do you remember the accident?"
"It was loud, and Mommy screamed." He made a scared noise, and he burrowed against her so hard, his nose dug into her side.
"Yeah." She sniffed hard and closed her eyes tightly. She did not want to say these next words. She'd have done anything not to be the one to do this to her sweet little brother. "The thing is, Mommy was hurt really badly in the accident."
Emmett raised his head, looking at her with huge, scared eyes. "Was she hurt like me? Is she sleeping?"
Bella stroked her fingertips down his face, careful of the scrapes. "No, baby." The lump in her throat got too big to speak around. Bella closed her eyes, trying to summon the strength to do this, to break her brother's heart. "She was hurt too badly for the doctors to help her. It was just too much for her to take. Too many hurts." Another breath. Jesus Christ this hurt so much. "She died, Emmy. I'm so sorry."
His eyes, so wide and full of tears, brimmed over. His mouth crumpled. "No," he whispered. "No. No."
As he began to wail—the cries of an inconsolable child, alone and terribly frightened—Bella began to cry too. The enormity of her own loss hit her with violent intensity. For moments that stretched on like eons, she thought she wouldn't be able to breathe again. Renee had been the biggest pain in the ass, but she'd been her mother.
"No, no, no," Emmett chanted against her side, clutching at her. "Why, Sissy? Why?"
"Baby, I don't know. I don't know." She rocked him, her body racked with sobs. It took every ounce of her strength to calm even the slightest bit, but she managed. She was going to have to be the strong one. She could do it, she thought. For Emmett, she could do it.
She sniffled hard. "But, hey, I don't want you to worry, okay? You're going to be okay, baby brother. You have me. You're going to come live with Mike and me, and we're going to take care of you."
Emmett groaned. It was difficult to make out what he was saying; his voice was muffled by her shirt. It sounded a lot like, "I don't like Mike."
Bella sighed. "I know. Some things are going to be really hard to get used to, but you're going to be okay. I'm going to be there for you, okay? I'm not going to let you go. It's you and me now, kiddo. I got your back." She squeezed him to her. "I promise."
~0~
Bella had run the gamut of emotions by the time she buried her mother. Just before the funeral, she held her brother's hand so he could say goodbye to Renee for the last time. Emmett almost never stopped smiling, but the last few days, he hadn't smiled once. He was trying so damn hard to be brave.
For that and for so many other reasons, when Bella was alone with her mother for the last time, she was bitterly angry. Staring at her mother's waxy, still form, she wanted very badly to topple the casket over.
She didn't, of course, but she couldn't let the moment go without having her last say.
"The police report came back today. Really, Mom? Your latest jackass boyfriend had that many speeding tickets under his belt and you still let him behind the wheel. His license was suspended, for stunting, and you let him drive your goddamned car with Emmy in the backseat? What the fuck was wrong with you? Couldn't even put your kid first when it could have cost him his life? When it did cost you yours…" Her throat closed off. She closed her eyes against the sting of tears. She wasn't going to cry for her mother. She had to struggle to keep hold of her fury.
She had loved her mother. Of course, she had. Harebrained, flighty Renee. Adept at taking care of herself, Bella hadn't realized how fucked up it was that she'd had to until Emmett was born.
"You never cared what happened to you," Bella whispered, voice cracking. "'It's my life.' That's what you always said, right? Because it never mattered that you had kids who needed you. A kid. I don't… Emmy needed you."
She breathed in through her nose, furiously wiping at her wet cheeks. "But you know what? It's fine. I got it now. I got him. I'm going to be a better mom than you, not that it would be hard." Bella shook her head and sniffled.
"So, hey, thanks for almost nothing. Rest in peace. Because your kids? We're gonna be fine without you. I got this."
A/N: Mmmm. Does she though?