Chapter 8

From the moment Rosalie and Emmett had come back to the Cullen household, the Cullens had ended up in chaos. Carlisle and Esme had been aghast and horrified when two of their children had come home with the third child in pieces. Then Emmett had explained what happened-because Rosalie had been too furious to do anything but glare at Edward's corpse-and they were no longer horrified that their child was coming home in pieces, but horrified at what Edward had done to end up in such a state.

It was only once Edward had been put back together that the arguing had started.

Edward kept insisting that what he did was completely natural, that he had to get close to Bella when Rosalie and Emmett weren't around because otherwise the two would react protectively in ways that obviously weren't normal. Rosalie and Emmett then made it clear that there were other ways to do that then what he did and that Edward was a creep for choosing to go about getting used to Bella's scent in such a way. They made it clear they wanted Edward nowhere near Bella at any time and that if they caught him, the same thing would happen again. While Carlisle and Esme understood where they were coming from, they also couldn't bring themselves to kick Edward out of the family for the next few years until Bella was a vampire and no longer a temptation.

It was reading Rosalie's desire to keep him away from Bella until she was a vampire that caused the next fight.

"You plan on turning her?" Edward roared. "Of condemning her to being a monster? You hate what we are as much as I do!"

"I hate what we are for much different reasons than you do," Rosalie replied flatly, eyes still black from her earlier fury. "My main reasons for hating what I am is because of how I was turned, and for having lost my chance at having children of my own." Later, her main reason for hating what she was became all about Isabelle. Losing the one she loved, the one she was meant to be with, without ever having met her face to face. If it weren't for Emmett, she would have sought her permanent demise, and she knew the same was true for him. "I don't hold stupid beliefs such as being soulless monsters like you do."

"What you hated was that you weren't being given a choice. Now, that's what you're doing; you're taking away Bella's choice. Ever think that she might not want to be a vampire? Yet you've already planned for her to become one before she even understands what we are. Before she knows that she's surrounding herself with monsters."

Rosalie crossed her arms over her chest, her glare so powerful even Edward wilted under it. "I'm obviously going to give her a choice, Eddie. I simply plan to show her that if she chooses eternity with us, I'll do everything I can to make sure she never regrets it." First she would have to tell Bella what they were, and that was scary enough as there was no guarantee that Bella would take it well. She just had to do her best to prepare the human, and hope that Bella would continue to want Rosalie and Emmett in her life. If Bella couldn't accept them or could but didn't want to be a vampire, Rosalie would keep her distance and spend the rest of Bella's life protecting her. Then, she could either hang on with Emmett until Bella was hopefully reborn once more, or she would seek out permanent death for herself.

Edward read her thoughts, of course he did. But it wasn't just Rosalie who he looked at as if she had lost her mind, but Emmett, who had been doing his best to stay quiet and in control as well. "You're both insane."

"We already lost her once," Emmett said, putting a hand on Rosalie's shoulder to stop her from ripping Edward to pieces once again. He wanted to do it too, but he knew Esme and Carlisle wouldn't want to watch them tearing Edward into itty bitty pieces. "I won't lose her again. Not if I can help it."

"Obviously I feel the same," Rosalie added.

Edward looked ready to argue further, but Carlisle quickly stepped in. "I know it's a bit hard to understand, Edward, but this isn't just some random human. This is Rosalie's mate and Emmett's sister, and while it still boggles the mind to learn rebirth is possible, their reactions from the moment they saw her made it clear that it's very real."

The mindreader looked betrayed to see that Carlisle wasn't on his side. He shook his head fiercely. "No, there's something wrong here. Something wrong with her." Rosalie and Emmett both snarled at that, and while it was satisfying to see Edward flinch, it wasn't enough. Not for either of them, when Edward insulted Bella right in front of her.

"Edward…" The motherly vampire reached out to her oldest son to try and calm him down, but he stepped away from her with a shake of his head.

"No, Esme, I know I'm right. Being my singer aside, when I got close to her, I found I couldn't read her mind." Everyone was surprised to hear that, but a moment later Emmett was grinning, impressed at how badass his sister was, while Rosalie just looked smug. "It's not 'cool' and I'm not 'throwing a tantrum!'" Edward snapped, reading both Rosalie and Emmett's thoughts. "All I'm saying is that this entire situation is dangerous, and all those two can think about is turning her into a vampire when there's clearly more going on."

"Oh, there's definitely a lot of shit going on," Emmett agreed with a grin. "I mean, come on! My sister came back from the dead for me and Rose. Even I can see that nothing about the situation is simple." The grin slid off his face, replaced by a snarl. "But if you ever put Bella in danger like that again...you can only hope you'll be put back together by the time I'm done with you. Got it?"

"By the time we're done with you," Rosalie collected with a warning look at Emmett, because she would insist on taking her own pounds of flesh out of Edward if she got the chance. She turned back to Edward once Emmett gave her a sheepish nod. "We're serious, Edward. I don't know what crazy shit you're coming up with, but stay away from Bella."

Edward looked hurt at the threats coming from his siblings, but he wisely kept his mouth shut. Or, more precisely, Rosalie gave him a look that struck him silent.

"Come on, Emmett. It's about time to go pick Bella up at her house. We don't want to be late taking her to school." Rosalie was upstairs and back down in a flash, now in new clothes and freshly showered.

Surprise flashed across Emmett's face, but he hurriedly blurred up to his own room so he could get changed and showered himself. "We're carpooling with Bella?" he asked. He knew he was in bliss mode when he had been with Bella, but he was sure he would remember something like that being mentioned.

Rosalie was already outside, pointedly sitting in the backseat of Emmett's jeep, her bag in that passenger seat. "Of course we are."

Emmett hopped in the driver's seat, throwing his backpack on top of Rosalie's before starting the car. "Does Bella know this?"

"She'll know when we show up. Unless we're late." Rosalie shot Emmett a frown. "We better not be late, Emmett."

"Whatever you say, Rose," Emmett said with a chuckle. He wasn't going to argue with her. Not just because he wanted to see Bella, especially after everything that had happened with Edward, but because he knew arguing with Rosalie was pointless. Even more so if she was in a mood, which she currently was.

Emmett broke every speed limit on the drive over to Bella's house, and even then, he felt like he took too long. Even walking up to Bella's door felt like a strenuous task as he struggled not to simply blur up to Bella's front door. Rosalie took hold of Emmett's hand, not just to restrain him, but to restrain herself; she was struggling as much as he was.

The doorbell rang, and heavy footsteps started to approach from inside the house. Rosalie hissed lowly under her breath, recognizing that the footsteps weren't Bella's, and that she wouldn't be the one to answer the door. It made Emmett chuckle.

"Don't go scaring him off, Rose. This is Bella's dad, you should be working on making a good impression," Emmett said, only half teasing.

Rosalie looked up at him, eyes widening just a hint as she realized what he was saying was true. She quickly smoothed out her features and did her best to compose herself when Charlie Swan opened the door.

"Oh," Charlie said in surprise as he realized just who was standing on his doorstep. "Why, if it isn't two of the Cullen kids. What're you guys doing here?" He didn't sound hostile or concerned, just confused, which neither Emmett or Rosalie could blame him for.

Rosalie gave Charlie a dazzling smile that left the man momentarily stunned. "Good morning, Chief Swan. I'm Rosalie Hale, and this is Emmett. We're just here to pick up Bella for school."

Charlie's eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline. "She didn't tell me anyone was picking her up," he grumbled.

Emmett immediately tensed, and Rosalie squeezed his hand in comfort. There were many things Emmett had carried over from his human life besides his love for his sister, and one of the things that had the greatest impact on him had been his upbringing. It had taken him a long time to get used to Carlisle and Esme's way of parenting, to learn that anger and disappointment wouldn't be met with violence or punishment. That mistakes and slipups were okay and even expected, and only treated like a learning experience.

Even though Charlie wasn't Emmett's father, didn't look like him or act like him in any way, Bella was still the reincarnation of Isabelle. Of his sister. It was only natural for Emmett to worry that he and Rosalie might have gotten Bella in trouble by not asking her if it was okay to pick her up. Chief Swan didn't appear to be a violent man, but Emmett couldn't help but believe he might slap or punish Bella behind closed doors because of their selfishness.

Even after a lifetime, I'm still getting my sister in trouble. All because of my screw ups. But this time, Emmett was desperate to make sure the fault would be put on him. He had to make sure that Chief Swan knew that he was at fault, in a way that would free Bella up from repercussions while also allowing Emmett to stay friends with her.

"Ah well, probably slipped her mind," Chief Swan said with a shrug and a laugh. "She's not exactly an early bird, you know? Only has the brain power to go through her workout routine and not much else in the morning." Emmett was stunned to see a huge grin on Chief Swan's face as he regarded the two vampires. "She never let someone pick her up from school before. And here I was worried she wouldn't make any close friends." He seemed to realize he had said too much and grimaced. "Ah, darn. Don't let her know I said that, will you?"

"Of course not, Chief," Rosalie assured the man. Emmett still appeared too stunned to say anything himself. He had been alive a long time, but for obvious reasons, he hadn't exactly been around many parents in his time as a vampire. Even when he was human, after Isabelle died, he had withdrawn from his friends to spend more time with her ghost. Which meant by the time he was old enough to think about trying it, he had never taken the time to watch how other parents had interacted with their own children either.

Could it be that Carlisle and Esme hadn't been the outliers, but Emmett and Isabelle's own parents were?

"Good. And call me Charlie." He looked at Emmett for a moment, frowning at how stunned the boy looked. Had he forgotten to wear pants again? No, he was definitely wearing them. So what had the boy looking at him in such a way? Was he alright? "Bells! Your friends are here to take you to school!"

"...Who what?" Bella called back, clearly still nowhere near awake enough to be coherent. "Where?"

"At the front door, Bella!" Charlie shouted.

Rosalie and Emmett heard a low groan from somewhere inside and had to fight not to crack a smile, as no human would have been able to hear it.

"Tell them to come back tomorrow!" Even as she yelled it, they could hear Bella slowly making her way down the steps.

"It's Rosalie and Emmett!" Charlie called back.

"What?" Bella squeaked, and with a curse, she tripped on the stairs. Rosalie and Emmett's amusement turned to fear as they heard Bella fall down the steps. Neither vampire thought about the consequences as they pushed past Charlie, thankfully at human speed and strength, to rush to Bella's aid. Just in time to see Bella pop up on her feet, quickly smoothing herself out. "I'm good, I'm good," she quickly reassured everyone, even as she couldn't look in anyone's eyes. She was just so embarrassed that she kept her gaze glued to the floor-and in the process, got a glimpse of Rosalie and Emmett holding hands. Fucking great, just what she needed in the morning, a slap to the face.

Rosalie and Emmett still went to Bella's side, Rosalie releasing Emmett's hand to cup Bella's face, examining the brunette closely. There were no bruises that had formed yet, but Rosalie could easily pick up the bags under Bella's eyes, telling of just how exhausted her human was. Exhaustion that her stupid, idiotic brother caused with his stunt last night. She really shouldn't have gone so easy on him. The human's cheeks burned even brighter and her heart skipped several beats, but she was too worried for her mate to relish the reaction Bella had at her touch. "Are you sure? That sounded like quite the fall."

Distance, Bella. You need to stop letting her touch you like this, remember? Having thoroughly chastised herself, Bella took Rosalie's hands by the wrists and pulled them off her face. "Yeah, I'm fine. I've taken worse," Bella said, side stepping away from Rosalie and toward Emmett. Where Rosalie's presence inflamed her, made her nervous, Emmett's presence did the opposite, soothing her and calming her down.

Rosalie didn't like when Bella moved away from her, but she hid her emotions well and didn't follow the girl.

"Great way to make us feel better, Bells. Maybe we should wrap you in bubble wrap from now on." Despite Emmett's joking, Bella could tell he was still worried about her, and she hugged him in comfort.

"I didn't mean like that...I just…I'm not clumsy." Even Bella knew how weak of a defense that was, and she quickly turned to Charlie for backup. "Tell them, Charlie."

Charlie had been watching them quietly, taking note of how anxious the two Cullen kids had gotten at hearing Bella fall. He had been too, of course, but their reaction had been so severe and they had acted so fast that Charlie had felt like there was nothing for him to do. They were good kids, and it was crazy how much they clearly already cared for Bella already. It was like they had been close for years, not a day.

Bella's words snapped him out of his musings. "Uh, well, you were pretty clumsy as a kid, Bella."

That clearly wasn't what Bella wanted to hear, as she sent him a tortured look while Emmett burst into laughter, Rosalie having to hide a small smile at Bella's expense. "But I got over it!" Bella exclaimed. "I haven't been clumsy in years until you two came along!"

"Don't go blaming your vertical challenges on us," Emmett teased. Bella glared at him, but it was a playful glare, and it only made Emmett's grin bigger.

"And don't you start with the backtalk, I raised you better than that," Bella retorted while wagging her finger at the big man. Emmett held up his hands in surrender, but the mischievous twinkle in his eyes made it clear he hadn't felt scolded in the least.

"Did you ever find a way to shut him up?" Rosalie asked dryly.

Bella sighed theatrically. "Sadly no, I never even thought to. Can you believe I once found him endearing?"

"Hey! I still am endearing!" Emmett protested. Bella waved him off with a small smirk of her own.

"When you were little, you were. Sadly, it seems even time turns the most charming of children into...well, whatever you are now." Bella kept a straight face for only a few moments before Emmett's mock cry of outrage got the best of her, and she ended up doubled over with laughter as Rosalie let out a beautiful laugh of her own.

Charlie watched the scene in bewilderment. He was completely dumbfounded by the familiarity the three shared. It was almost as if Bella was falling back into that old way of hers, where she looked like she wasn't really in the present but somewhere else entirely. It had always worried Charlie and Renee immensely, and it had been a relief when Bella had appeared to stop having those episodes as she grew older. That is, until now, right in front of him.

Did the kids notice, or did they think it was just some joke and were playing along? Regardless of how much the two seemed to love his daughter, teenagers could be cruel. He was terrified that they would hurt Bella just like the kids that had been Bella's friends had hurt her when Bella had been a child.

"Bells, you've only known them for a day," Charlie reminded Bella gently.

Thankfully, that was all it took. Bella blinked, seeming to come back to herself. "I know that, Charlie." She seemed confused, which was nothing new; Bella never seemed to notice her change in behavior. Regardless, when Rosalie and Emmett didn't seem to find anything weird going on, watching Bella with fond eyes, Charlie was relieved.

"Alright, you better get going. Don't want you to be late on your second day," Charlie said. "And I don't want to be late for work, either. You kids have fun."

"It's school, Charlie," Bella reminded her dad dryly. "You can't have fun at school. That's what makes it school."

Charlie couldn't resist the opening Bella had created. It was his duty as a dad to say, "You sure about that? Because with how much you talked about your school day and meeting Rosalie and Emmett-"

"Okay, we're done here, let's go!" Bella said, her cheeks burning a bright red as she struggled to push Emmett and Rosalie out the door. Emmett let her, laughing all the while, but Rosalie wasn't so kind.

"Oh, but I want to hear this," Rosalie said. She hid her pleased smile as Bella gave up pushing her and started to tug on her hand. The contact felt so right to the blonde. "What exactly did she say about us, Charlie?"

"Hm, well, it started with-" Charlie said, giving Rosalie just enough to tease his daughter further without completely embarrassing her.

"Rose, please," Bella begged, and that was all it took to crumble all of Rosalie's resistance.

"Fine, I'll leave it alone. For you," Rosalie sighed, allowing herself to be tugged out of the house. The relief on Bella's face almost made Rosalie bite her lip at how adorable Bella was. Oh no, if her reactions are going to be like this every time, teasing Bella is going to become a habit. Rosalie let Bella tug her to Emmett's jeep only to take control, leading Bella to the backseats while Emmett let out a sigh of defeat and took his spot in the driver's seat. Bella was so relieved to get Rosalie away from her father that she followed Rosalie blindly into the back, realizing too late what she was getting into as Rosalie slid in next to her. Not just next to her, but against her. Thigh to thigh, hip to hip, Rosalie even going so far as to rest her head on Bella's shoulder and wind her arms around one of Bella's so Bella could feel the blonde's breasts pressing against her.

Oh no, this was bad. So, so bad. Why did Rosalie have to feel so good? And how the hell did she smell so good all the goddamned time?

"Did I even agree to being picked up in the morning?" Bella blurted out desperately, because she couldn't ask Rosalie to back up a little. Not out of fear of upsetting the blonde either, it was just because Bella's traitorous heart really didn't want Rosalie to move away. Her mind had decided that letting Rosalie freely touch her was bad, but the rest of Bella apparently didn't get the memo.

"Nope," Emmett replied, grinning at Bella through the rearview mirror. "Rose just insisted. Not that I'm complaining; we're pretty attached to you, Bells."

Rosalie smiled up at Bella, looking up at the brunette through her eyelashes, and Bella was pretty sure her heart stopped. "We already agreed to hang out today, so I thought this would make things easier. You don't mind, do you?"

I mind how much I want to kiss you right now. I mind how good it feels to have you touching me. I mind how little willpower I have when it comes to you. I mind how I feel like I already have the biggest crush on you when you belong to the one person who already matters as much to me as you do. But do I mind that you and Emmett came to pick me up? No. How could I?

Of course, Bella couldn't say any of that. Instead, she closed her eyes and murmured, "Not at all," and tried not to think about how fast her heart was beating or how hard she was falling for Emmett's girlfriend.

Emmett and Rosalie felt her emotional turmoil and eyed Bella worriedly. Neither had any idea where it was coming from. Rosalie quickly realized that she had come on strongly, and while all of Bella's reactions so far have been positive and Bella had never once told her she didn't like something, Bella hadn't once initiated contact. All of this time, she could have been making Bella uncomfortable. Why hadn't she realized that?

Disgusted with herself, she pulled away, and while Bella's eyes stayed closed, her anxiety and panic and desire spiked. She could feel Bella's longing for her, her desperation to feel Rosalie against her again. Emmett let out a low growl, automatically snapping into protective mode and wanting to take care of whatever made Bella upset, only to realize it was the fact that Rosalie pulled away from Bella. Rosalie tried to make it look like the reason she had pulled away had been to change position, casually picking up Bella's arm and leaning against Bella's side before wrapping Bella's arm over her shoulders. For the most part, Bella's emotions calmed, saved for her desire and guilt. Why guilt?

"Bella, if either of us do anything wrong, anything to make you uncomfortable, you tell us, okay?" Emmett said. "We aren't good with people. With, you know, making friends, and we don't want to mess this up. You don't have to go along with us just because you don't want to hurt our feelings, you know?"

"Making you upset is the last thing we want to do. But we can't know what upsets you without you talking to us," Rosalie said in agreement. She draped her legs over Bella's thighs so she was almost in her lap, hands resting on Bella's chest. "I'd do anything for you, Bella. Anything at all. You just have to tell me what you want."

Oh, why did she have to say it like that? Holy shit. "You guys haven't done anything wrong. I promise." Bella then glanced toward Rosalie and mumbled, "Okay, Rosalie is doing one thing wrong, but that's it."

Rosalie immediately straightened and pressed closer to her mate, her eyes way too intense for poor, horny Bella. "What is it?"

Bella blushed even darker at the feel of Rosalie's body against her own. She should have kept her mouth shut. "Well, uh...you're not wearing a seatbelt. Not to say Emmett's a bad driver or anything, I just, you know...seatbelts save lives. I just want you to stay safe." Bella's face felt hotter than ever before, and she was too self conscious to look up at Rosalie. Which may or may not have been a good thing, as Rosalie's eyes darkened considerably.

"God, you're adorable," Rosalie breathed. There was much more that Rosalie wanted to say, but out of consideration for Emmett, she kept those thoughts to herself as she regretfully slid off of Bella and buckled up. Then she was once again pressed up against Bella's side, hand resting dangerously on Bella's thigh.

Bella had to get the topic away from her, she just had to. She looked up at Emmett, who had been strangely silent the whole time, and Emmett almost laughed at the desperation on Bella's face. "Can we go to school now?"

Emmett took pity on the girl by starting the car. "Sure Bells, sure."