Thanks to all!
Rose pulls the blankets back on her bed, sighing loudly as she swings her legs into bed with her phone in her hand. Once she's comfortable with her pillows, she reaches for the blankets and slides them back into place, seeking warmth on a cold February night in Rhode Island.
She never talks to Bella here at her house, in fear of Bella's husband somehow monitoring her phone calls, but there's a feeling she can't quite place, and it has left her feeling unsettled and anxious. She hovers over her sister's number, tempted to send her a quick message, but she stops herself before deciding in haste.
"You okay?" Emmett asks, coming into the room from downstairs after setting all the alarms. At Edward's suggestion, Emmett had them installed at Rose's house not too long ago. It puts Emmett at ease for the nights when he isn't by her side.
"Hmm? Yeah," Rose answers distractedly, still playing around on her phone with a look of concentration on her face.
"Doesn't look like it," Emmett chuckles, sliding under the covers next to her. He sighs contentedly, knowing there's nothing like sliding next to his girl in bed after a long day at work. He settles himself within the pillows and blankets and reaches an arm around her stomach over the blankets.
He can tell she craves his presence right now just as much as her own space, so he doesn't suggest she put her phone away. His close proximity tells her he's here without smothering or pushing for whatever is on her mind.
He knows without her having to tell him.
"I'm fine," Rose sighs, turning her head on her pillow and patting the arm Emmett has draped over her. "Really."
"How did your meeting go with the detective today? Lahote?"
"Good," Rose hesitates. "Just a lot of legal roadblocks right now. He's trying to find a way to figure it all out, but most of it involves lawyers and Bella having to come back to Rhode Island."
"What about a restraining order?"
"A judge can grant her one without her being present and without him knowing, but it's usually only good for three weeks or so."
"Maybe something to have on file in case he ever violates it," Emmett suggests. Three weeks is better than nothing, especially if documentation of previous attempts of Bella trying to separate from her husband is what Lahote needs to help build a case against her husband.
"I'll have to bring it up to her," Rose says quietly with a disappointed shake of her head. "That's the last thing I want to do right now. She's so happy with Edward, and she doesn't even know I've gone to the police at all. It'll not only make her extremely pissed at me for going behind her back, but it may send her right into a regression she doesn't deserve right now."
Rose sighs again, tossing her head back onto her pillows. Bella had sounded so good the last she spoke to her, the best Rose had heard her in years. She would hate to be the cause of her sister's happiness to wane, even for matters as important as this.
"Yeah, she sounds like she's in a really good place right now." Emmett agrees. He sits up, so Rose can see his face. "Sleep on it. We'll come up with a plan soon for what we do next."
Rose smiles, her hand coming up to trace the softness of her boyfriend's cheek. Such a good man he is. "Okay."
But she can't go to sleep just yet.
She reaches for her phone again, finds Edward's name in the contacts, composes a message, and sends it before she can talk herself out of it.
Call me tomorrow.
Call me tomorrow too, Edward, mmkay?
All will be revealed soon.