Chapter 22: Theory

It was weird, the way his touch affected me. Even him touching my shield sent a shiver of electricity down my spine.

…

It's been just over a day that I started blocking everyone away from me. After what happened with Emmett, I needed time alone to think.

I still don't know how I knew his name or knew who he was, but I remember him. It doesn't make any sense.

I can't recall knowing him from my past, but I recognize his face. I knew who he was by the sound of his voice though we've never had a conversation. I feel like I know him, like he's important to me, but I have nothing to draw on.

However, I have a theory.

Emmett reminds me of Felix. Almost immediately I accepted that. They are both big – in life and in size, and in very different ways look alike. Their skill is their strength and they are intensely loyal to both their friends and their family. They are big goofs who like to joke around and have a good time, and take very little seriously...how do I know that? Because of Alice.

Alice, in all her yammering over the last week spent a lot of time talking about everything; including her family members. Emmett came up quite often. I know from her that 'Emmett is a big man child' and the he and Rosalie are together. His favorite game to hunt is bear and that a bear is why he is a vampire. Emmett loves sports and games and he spends a 'dumb inducing amount of time' playing his PlayStation.

I know all of this and much more because of Alice. That has to be why he was so familiar to me, add that with the fact that he reminds me of Felix and voila' – Emmett equals someone I recognize.

Of course, that's what I keep telling myself anyway. It all makes perfect sense. So, it must be.

…

I knew he was still out there; I could feel him brushing up against my shield as he paced the ground, and I could hear him talking.

The land surrounding my house was wild and uneven, so even though I wasn't shielding very far out, I knew no one would be able to see my home or me as I spent the last several hours going over everything in my head, but they wouldn't know how far out they were.

I quietly left the walls of my home to walk around my property. I had to see him.

After having spent so much time with Demitri I've learned a thing or two about tracking, and even as quiet as our kind is, there are still ways to be even more so.

When I found where he was, I scaled a tree to perch on as I waited and watched his movements.

He looked distraught and unsettled as he paced the bracken floor. Every so often he would stop and look in the direction of my house, and then his shoulders would sag as he shook his head and began pacing again.

His expressions changed often too, I wished I could know the thoughts that went along with them. There were times he would look so angry; his jaw would clench as his fists balled up; I could see the dangerous vampire lurking within. While other times he was solemn and statuesque; strikingly beautiful in his affliction, a vulnerability that I've seen so rarely in our kind.

The hardest times to watch him were when he was sad. Sad – that doesn't accurately describe the look on his face; it was devastating, agonizing and empty.

I was just getting ready to leave; unable to watch any longer, when before I could he broke again. This time was the worst as I watched his face shatter in pain; I couldn't breathe.

"Oh Bella." He mourned the words. Then once again; as they had several times before, he sagged his shoulders – an invisible weight bearing down on him, bowing his head and letting it fall against my barrier.

I could feel him against me, pushing on my heart as I held him up; supporting him so he wouldn't fall. It was heartbreaking.

I had to leave after that, I couldn't watch him any longer.

I slide down the tree and began to walk away and back to my house, pulling my shield with me. I felt the loss as soon as I was no longer in contact with Edward, and like I knew he would, it didn't take him but a breaths notice to start following me.

I didn't acknowledge him and he didn't say anything to me until we were at my front porch "Edward" I said before turning around.

Upon me speaking his name he took a step forward and brought up his arm to reach out for me. I put up my hand to stop him "Please, just let me say this." He dropped his arm back down and nodded to me without saying a word.

"I know you and your family are going to try and turn this into something that it's not, and at first I was questioning it myself. But I need you to believe me when I say, I don't remember him or you or any of you, we've been over this." I said to him, still holding out my hand so that he wouldn't speak. "I have now met all of your family; they were all there except for Emmett. I knew who he was out of process of elimination, that's it."

"No, Bella..."

"Please, just let me finish." I cut him off before he could say anything more. "Alice has spent an exhausting amount of time talking during our class together, she has spoken about each and every one of you repeatedly. When I saw Rosalie, I knew Emmett wasn't far behind. He had to be close, they never go anywhere without each other, at least not for long periods of time." I told him and then began to walk the porch in a pace.

"From everything that Alice has said about Emmett, he reminds me of Felix, both of which are pretty hard not to like." I smiled and then turned back around to Edward to finish what I was saying. "Through Alice, I've gotten a pretty good idea about who Emmett is, and when he wasn't there with the rest of them, but showed up and addressed me the way that he had, of course I knew it was him, who else could it have been? You all keep insisting that you know me, and that's fine, you probably did, so it's not unexpected for him, and the way he is, to reintroduce and make himself known like that." I finished saying, and then added, "That's it. There is no other explanation."

When I finished talking, he looked at me and then started shaking his head. "You're still so stubborn Bella." He stated while looking at me; searching my face.

I was a little shocked by his examination of me, I had been told similar things for years and knew it to be true myself, but hearing it from him was a little befuddling.

"You really believe that that's all there is to it don't you?" He again stated, but in the form of a question.

"Of course, I do." I told him, squaring off my shoulders at the challenge.

"Well, you're wrong."

"Excuse me?" I huffed at him.

"You're wrong." He said straightening himself. "You are so willing to accept a lie but not the truth, why? Why can't you believe what you know to be true, you know us Bella, we are familiar to you..." I started shaking my head; silently arguing with him, as he continued to talk. "I saw you; I saw the look on your face – you recognized him Bella."

"No Edward..."

"Yes, you did." He argued back, cutting me off. "I've tried to be patient with you, hoping that you would remember on your own, hoping that you would give us a chance and let us talk to you; tell you what we know, but you keep insisting that there isn't anything." He paused for a moment.

"That couldn't be further from the truth Bella, we love you... I..." He stopped talking, and then whipped his head towards the back of my house. The look on his face was fierce and I was momentarily confused by his sudden change in attitude, before hearing for myself the rustling as someone approached my home.

"Damn it." Edward hissed in the direction of the sound and then grabbed a hand full of his hair and tugged on it, I've seen him do this before and now realize it is something he does out of frustration.

A second later I heard my back door open "Bella..." Demitri cooed as he came through the door. I was surprised that he was here and looked in the direction of Demitri's voice in confusion, before turning back to Edward.

His face had taken up his familiar solemn look, now etched hard while looking angry as he was looked down at me, searching my face. I couldn't look away from him, he was so intense.

I was standing in front of the big window that was in my living room when Demitri saw me "Hey, there you are, what are you doing out there..." He said and then trailed off once he opened the door and saw Edward standing in front of me. "What the hell are you doing here?" He yelled angrily.

"Back off." Edward seethed, but didn't take his eyes off of me.

Demitri took a few steps forward and then stopped when we heard the rustling of six pairs of feet coming towards us. I broke eye contact with Edward to look towards the oncoming sound and found that the rest of the Cullen's were approaching my house.

Demitri very deliberately came towards us and put himself in between Edward and I. "Bella." He ordered he – he wasn't asking; he was telling me to put up my shield, ordering me as a Volturi guard and not my boyfriend.

I stepped around him, putting myself in between the two of them. "They aren't going to hurt me Demitri."

Demitri's responding glare was almost enough to make me shrink back from him, but I didn't, I stood my ground and very calmly looked at Edward. "Edward here was just leaving when you showed up, weren't you Edward."

"No, I wasn't as a matter of fact." He spoke politely to me while he stared down Demitri.

"Bella, somebody better tell me why the hell they are here, and you better tell me why the hell you didn't notify us of their presence." Demitri clipped out on a tight jaw.

"Demitri..." I started to say.

"Do not speak to her that way." Edward seethed taking a step forward towards him.

Demitri smirked before saying "It's none of your business and I'll speak to her however I choose." He barked back standing himself up a bit straighter.

"Not in my presence and I'm making it my business." Edward told him, grinding his teeth together as his fists balled up by his side.

"Bring it. I've been itching for a reason to take you down."

"You have no idea."

"ENOUGH!" I yelled at both of them. "What is the matter with you two?! You have no reason to be acting like this." I turned to look at Demitri "I will explain everything later, if you will let me." He pulled his eyes off Edward and looked at me, then gave me a single nod and took a step back.

I turned to Edward next. "You need to go; I've already said everything I needed to say to you."

"I haven't said everything I need to say to you."

"I'm asking you to leave."

"Bella..."

"Please Edward, just go."

He looked at me with hurt in his eyes, then he too nodded in compliance. Edward had turned and took two steps before coming to a halt and spinning back around to look at Demitri.

"Not a chance." He said to him.

I hadn't heard Demitri say anything, but by the look on his face I knew they were having their own conversation, one that I could only hear half of.

"I'll be fighting for her too. You should know that."

I looked back over to Edward, confused by the words he was saying. There was a short pause as Edwards facial expressions shifted around before he continued.

"I'm not taking anything for granted, and I'll be fighting twice as hard as you will."

"Good." Demitri finally spoke out loud, pushing himself off of the railing that he had casually been leaning against. "It's no fun beating someone who forfeits."

"I didn't say I would fight fair."

"Neither did I."

"Best of luck." Edward finished, with a smirk. He looked down at me, giving me a polite smile and a goodbye nod. "Bella." He said and then turned around to leave with his family.

I watched after them for a moment before turning to Demitri. "What the hell was that all about?"

"That's what I'd like to know Bella, what the hell was all that about? Why are they here? How long have they been here and why the hell haven't you said anything to me about it?!" He yelled at me.

"I was trying to figure out what they want, and I didn't want any interference."

"Interference? Is that what you think this is? That I'm interfering!" He growled.

"That's not what I said." I yelled back at him.

"That's exactly what you said Bella!"

"It's not what I meant! Of course, you're not interfering! I just didn't want to have the guard hovering around, I wanted to find out what they wanted by myself."

"It's not up to you to decide who should be involved or not. It's your job to notify the guard with anything like this." He said through clenched teeth. "And you should have told me."

With that he walked past me, angrily going into the house. I followed him not wanting him to leave.

"Where are you going?" I questioned. "Don't leave."

"I'm not going anywhere. Unlike you, I don't hide."

It might as well have been a slap to the face the way his words hit me, I flinched back away from him and then in a quiet and wounded voice told him "I'm not hiding anything from you."

"You keep telling yourself that Bella."

(4/28/19)