Chapter Eleven

It only makes sense that the day Edward arrives, there is a massive storm. The same storm that brought Rosalie to the human world. Except this one is vicious and violent, thunder and lightening threatening to rip the sky apart.

Rosalie can feel his presence before she can see him. The hairs on her nape prick up and her breath shallows. She finishes shelving some books and then turns around, right into him. He's an inch from her. How had he crept up so slightly? Despite the storm, he is dry. His auburn hair twisted up high, green eyes sharp like emeralds and wearing a red sweater and pants.

He looks like a normal teenage boy except he's not. And when the lightening flashes through the window, in the brief illumination, Rosalie can make out the shadows of two massive wings.

Angel, Rosalie hazily thinks. He's an angel. And so is she.

The revelation is heady but not shocking. She's had all the pieces of the clues before and now it feels comforting for it to make sense like this.

"Rosalie Hale, in the flesh," he quirks up one side of his smile. She can't tell if he is being mocking or sincere. She hates him immediately. He's the type of guy to think he's all that when in reality he is the gum stuck to the bottom of a shoe.

"Edward," she says tersely. "Do you keep your voice down. We're in a library," is the only thing that she can think of saying, her body fighting the panicked sensation he spreads through her. He'd caused her pain. He'd hurt her. Cast her out. She wants to either scream or hide and she can't do either.

"No need to worry about that, I've frozen time," he said off handily, and she shifts her eyes to indeed see that everyone in the library is frozen mid motion except for the two of them. She swallows thickly. So this is his power.

Astounding. Frightening. Perhaps she had been too cocky in thinking she could fight him. He could pause time. How would she fight him then?

"Come with me, we need to talk," he said and didn't wait for her to follow. They walked over to a table in the back, and he pulled out the chair for her so she could sit in it. She sat down, clasping her hands together to keep her fear in check. He sat in his chair, chin up, looking down on her from the exact same height.

"I think you know what this is about."

"I think not," she says sharply. "I don't have my memories."

He hums, raising a brow. "And yet, you're with Bella."

"And yet I am. What is the big deal with that?"

He sighs, as if this was a terrible burden to him. "The big deal is that you were cast out for this exact reason."

"Because of her?" she blinked owlishly, not understanding anything. "Perhaps if you told me what the fuck was going on, I could actually understand what it is you want from me."

"Language," he tsked, as if reprimanding a child. "And no, I'm not going to tell you. That's part of the punishment. Therefore, I suggest you leave town before dawn. Or else I'll hurt her."

"You couldn't."

"I could," he said without missing a beat.

"Isn't that against the very principle of what you are?" she ground out.

"And what is that I am?"

"I saw your wings, in the reflection of the light. I'd say angel, but right now, you're acting more like a demon."

He laughed at this, a pitying thing. "As if you have any right to judge me. You who fell for a human."

Rosalie's eyes wide. "You cast me out, because I dared to love a human?" She had a good idea who the human had been.

Bella.

But how had she come to love her? There was so much Rosalie wished she could remember. It almost brought her to tears.

"Enough out of you," he said sharply. "Leave town otherwise I'll be forced to take action," he rose up.

"And what if I refuse? I've been cast out of Heaven, why should it matter if I've found her? Surely, if I've broken the rules and been ostracized, then I can do as I please."

He slammed the top of the table hard. His eyes turned golden, an unsettling shade of it. "Then I will be forced to kill you."

That shook her to the core. To love a human was death. How ridiculous. "All for a human."

"Yes."

"But if she loves me back-"

"That changes nothing," he growled out. "You have always been an impetuous angel, Rosalie. It only brings me great pleasure to do this to you."

"It sounds to me like you are the corrupt angel. Maybe I should rip off those wings for you too," she threatened. He scoffed. "I'd like to see you try," and he walked off. She watched him go. Only when he left the library did motion return. And no one was any wiser that they'd been visited by an angel.

"How are an angel's wings cut?" Rosalie asked Alice, who nearly choked on the drink she'd ordered at the diner. It quickly become their hangout spot for it was conveniently open late into their night after the training sessions.

"Wh-why would you want to know that?" Alice coughed.

"Edward can freeze time. How will I fight him? I need something to even the field."

"He can only freeze humans. And not other angels. That is an ability most angels have in case they need to fix something without a human noticing."

Well, that was a bit of a relief. "Can you do that?"

"No, I have a different ability. I can see humans futures. Those that I protect."

"You protect humans?"

"Yes, I was a guardian angel. So were you, after you retired from the army after the Great Angel Demon War."

"I protected Bella, didn't I?" Rosalie stated, because it would make sense. Alice nodded her head soberly. "You did. And you fell for her in the process."

Rosalie hummed thoughtfully. Gradually, things were coming back to her, but she was still adamant about one thing. "Still, how would I go about cutting his wings."

"You're still on that?" Alice sighed out.

"Yes. He's a corrupt angel. He shouldn't be one," she said.

"Well. We use a pair of special shears. But they're in Heaven right now."

"Can you get them for me?" Rosalie sat up straighter, a plan formulating in her mind.

"You want me to steal them for you?"

"It's not stealing if I'm only borrowing them."

"You're insane," Alice cried out.

"No, I'm very much sane. He said he would kill me if I didn't leave town by the first light."

This sent a shudder of fear running through Alice. She glanced out the window. "That's in three hours time!"

"Exactly."

"Fudge," Alice cursed. "I can't- there's no way I can get you the shears in three hours time. They're well guarded!"

"I'm not backing down to him," Rosalie said. She wasn't going to go down with a fight. Who did he think he was, trying to run not only her angel life but her human one too? She didn't know what she had done to offend him, but she wasn't going to pay for it with her life.

"Rosalie- please!" Alice begged. "Just run away from town."

"No."

"Rosalie!"

"I'm going to fight him, with or without the shears," Rosalie got up, tugging on her jacket angrily. Alice sadly watched her go.

Rosalie's feet took her back to her house. Her house with Bella. The girl was long asleep by now, and Rosalie silently snuck into her room to sit on her desk chair and watch her sleep. She looked so peaceful like this. So adorable. Rosalie's heart ached. What she wouldn't give for them to be together. To be happy. To be loved.

But doing that would only make Bella suffer. Rosalie had to do this on her own for now. Only when all the obstacles were cleared, could they proceed and salvage what was left of the relationship. Rosalie closed her eyes, steeling her reserve. She was about to get up and go strategized in her room on how to take down Edward, when she heard the rustle of sheets.

"Rosalie?" a sleep Bella asked and Rosalie's heart twinged.

"Don't mind me. I'm leaving," she said curtly, standing up.

"You couldn't sleep?" Bella suggests and pulls back the covers a bit to let Rosalie in. And Rosalie's resolve caves. She knows she should be getting battle ready, but just for tonight. If today truly will be her last day, then she wants to have even this small bit of comfort. She slides in, Bella warm. The brunette sleepily snuggles up to her and Rosalie falls into the soothing embrace. She's going to miss this.

She doesn't know the outcome of the fight; all she knows is that she will fight tooth and nail to protect this.

Rosalie wakes up at eight, when Bella's alarm goes off for school. She pulls free of Bella's warm embrace as the brunette rolls out of bed to slam it off. "This...this was nice," she says quietly, not looking at Rosalie as she sits on the edge of her bed. "Why did we stop doing this?"

"You know why," Rosalie says.

"You come home late, you're so secretive. What is going on?"

Rosalie swallows guiltily. "You wouldn't understand-"

"I would!" Bella cries out.

"I don't want to tell you. You don't need to know," Rosalie says instead. She gets up. She needs to get ready, Edward could be here any moment. It's well past dawn. She goes to her room and changes, wondering if she should take Charlie's gun with her. He has a spare hidden downstairs. She hasn't ever used one before, but she doesn't think it'll be hard to figure out.

She takes it and slips it behind her waistband, just as Bella comes downstairs. She looks haggard and worn and they eat their breakfast in silence. Not looking at each other. Words they want to say rest thickly between them.

Rosalie wonders, when will Edward come for her? Her hands are itchy with sweat.

Warily, she walks closely by Bella's side as they exit the house. "Where are you going today this early?" Bella asks, and she's smiling because she thinks things will get fixed between them soon. Rosalie wishes that was the case.

"Grocery shopping," she says with a stiff smile.

"Rosalie, there you are," Edward's voice comes from where he is suddenly leaning against Bella's truck, arms crossed. "It's a shame you didn't listen to me."

"Edward," she growls out. He's showing himself to a human?

Bella's eyes grow wide in recognition. Edward. That, Edward. The one who hurt Rosalie.

"You motherfucker-" but Bella doesn't get to finish, because he's grabbing her and then he's gone, his parting message, "meet me in the woods, Rosalie."

And Rosalie drops to her knees, pounding the gravel driveway with her fists. How dare he. How dare he take Bella!

Quickly she rises back up and runs full speed into the woods. He knows where he's taken her. To the spot that Rosalie first fell.