Chapter 14 – Emmett
Of all of Emmett's hopes and dreams of America, he never could have predicted his one trip would end like this...
There was so much blood.
"Head wounds bleed a lot, mi amore; I'm sure he is okay," Emmett tried assuring his panicked wife as she held their son's forehead in an attempt to stop the rush of blood.
"Oh, my god!" Rosalie cried as she noticed the scene just in front of the bus. Everyone was panicking and rushing around, and despite the small crowd gathered there, she could clearly see the poor pregnant woman dying in the street. "Angelo, look at me!" she demanded of her son, trying to get his eyes averted from the horror in front of them. But even with her physically turning his head, his eyes remained locked on the woman crumpled on the ground just outside the window. "Emmett, take him!"
Emmett picked up his son and they managed to squeeze through the chaos on the bus and get him outside to find a safe space.
"Baby, are you okay? Everything is okay," Rosalie kept repeating as she tried to wake the little boy from the terrified trance he seemed to be locked in. "He needs a doctor."
When two ambulances pulled up, Emmett went to try to request some help, but he was stuck behind the crowd and his eyes fixated on the man screaming for his dying wife.
"Alice! No, Alice!"
Those screams reverberated through Emmett like a nightmare that would never end. What had they done?
He replayed it over and over in his mind. Angelo was bouncing around, like always, and he caused the driver to look away. Had the driver not been forced to divert his attention, he would have seen the woman step into the street and he would have avoided hitting her. It was all their fault.
The woman was beyond saving, and everyone could see it. Emmett sincerely felt sick as he watched the woman's husband fall to his knees in hysterics, and the paramedics were forced to inject him with something to calm him down.
It was all their fault.
If only he hadn't allowed Angelo to get away from him on that damn bus. If only Rosalie was sterner with discipline and taught him better manners. If only the boy didn't act like an out-of-control heathen and just listened to them, none of it would have happened. In Emmett's mind, he and Rosalie had failed as parents, and it cost a poor pregnant woman her life.
What was supposed to be a trip of a lifetime, ended right then and there. After making sure Angelo didn't have a concussion, they took the next flight out of the country, and Emmett knew he would never step foot on American soil again.
All three members of the Marchesseni family were quiet on the way home, but what Emmett and Rosalie weren't aware of just yet was how badly that tragedy would furthermore affect their family.
First, and most noticeable, Angelo stopped speaking.
"Please tell me what you're feeling," Rosalie would beg their son. "Please just say something. Anything at all."
But the only noise that would escape the five-year-old's lips were the screams he would release into the night. All night. Every night. Angelo would scream as if he was reliving that nightmare over and over again.
Emmett would have the nightmares too, but as an adult, he knew he had to keep moving forward. He tried to be strong for his wife and son, however he doubted he would ever sleep soundly again. That man's screams for his dying wife haunted him, and his own guilt amplified it.
To further punish himself, Emmett asked his cousin in America to send him any and all information he could find on the family of the woman that died that day. He was desperate for reassurance that they hadn't destroyed an entire family with that one horrible incident.
At times, Emmett was so consumed with concerns for that American family across the Atlantic, that he began to neglect his own family. Angelo was traumatized, but kids were resilient; surely, he would get over it sooner or later.
But Angelo didn't get over it.
Every night – night after night – week after week – month after month, Angelo didn't improve.
"Can you go do something about that?" Emmett snapped at Rosalie one late evening as Angelo had awaken, yet again, screaming. "Why are you just sitting here? Go make him stop!" he demanded when Rosalie didn't move fast enough.
"I'm going, I just… never mind, I'm going," Rosalie said, feeling like her own emotions were going to overtake her. Rosalie would never give up on her son, but there were times when she was so exhausted that she didn't know how she was going to get through the next minute. That was one of those times, but somehow, she managed to hold it together and attempt to comfort her son.
Emmett should have seen his wife struggling, but he couldn't see beyond his own turmoil. His guilt and his resentment were clouding everything, and he honestly didn't know what to do with those emotions.
"Tell me how I can help," Carlisle said to Emmett one afternoon when he overheard him yelling at some of the workers. "I can see how you have been affected by this. I hear your boy's screams at night. Tell me. Money is no option," he offered.
"I told you to stay away from my family!" Emmett said through gritted teeth.
"Emmett… Please. I have apologized to you before about what happened. I have no excuse except to say that I was, and still am, a very lonely and flawed human being. I swore it wouldn't happen again, and it never has, but please don't let that stop you from taking my help for your son."
But Mr. Cullen's words held no value to Emmett. Had he been a smart man, he would have taken his family and left the moment he first showed his true feelings…
…Five Years Prior…
"Your wife seems to have gotten back to health quickly," Carlisle said to Emmett during one of their monthly meetings.
"Yes, she bounced back quickly after birth," Emmett confirmed, feeling uncomfortable about speaking of something so personal with his boss.
"How old is the little one now? Angel, is it?"
"Angelo," Emmett confirmed. "Well, his name is Edward – after my departed twin brother, but we call him Angelo. He is four months now."
"I bought him a few things. I will have it delivered to the cottage," Carlisle informed him.
"That is too kind of you, Sir. I am grateful, but I just cannot accept handouts. My father always taught me to make my own way."
"Nonsense!" Carlisle retorted. "Gifts are not handouts. It is customary to give gifts to new babies in this country too, isn't it?"
"Yes, but I am your employee," Emmett argued.
"Regardless, they will be delivered to your home shortly. I also have included a few things for your wife. Some outfits and whatnot. A woman such as that should never be forced to wear rags. How are you guys managing financially?"
"I will admit, since our son was born and she left her job as a waitress, things have been a little tight. But we manage. I am grateful for the stability we have here."
"I'm glad. Really, I am… Emmett, I've been thinking about something for quite some time now, but I never knew how to broach the subject," he said hesitantly.
"Broach, Sir?" Emmett questioned, unsure what it meant.
"It's sort of a sensitive topic. One man might be offended, while another might be… intrigued perhaps. I just want you to know that there is absolutely no pressure either way. If you tell me no, then I will never ask again."
"Sir?" Emmett asked when Carlisle paused.
"What if I could make all your financial troubles go away for good? I just… Let me start off by asking if you believe in love at first sight?"
"Sí. Yes," he replied without hesitation, but still unsure where his boss was leading the conversation. "I fell in love with Rosa the first time I saw her."
"We have that in common," Carlisle said unexpectedly, taking Emmett aback.
"Excuse me?" he asked, thinking he understood him wrong.
"I'm sorry," Carlisle apologized quickly, hoping to not offend him, but he still couldn't help his honesty. "The first time you introduced us, this old heart of mine felt like it was truly beating for the first time. I never thought I would experience something like that. She is entrancing. My entire life of 'what could have been' flashed before my eyes. I would have given anything to be in your shoes, and then when she became pregnant, and I watched her body change from afar, those feelings only grew. I could only daydream that she was mine. That she was carrying my baby instead of yours. I would have given up every last euro I have to feel her in my arms the way she's been in yours."
At this point, Emmett was understandably fuming. What was he supposed to say to his boss after an admission like that? Most men would punch him in the face and quit their job immediately, but that man held his family's entire livelihood in his hands. Without that job, his young family would be out on the streets.
As if to add insult to injury, his indecent proposition came next.
"Please don't feel as though I'm giving you an ultimatum, because I would never do that. You are the best foreman I've ever had and I don't want to lose you. If you say no to the offer I'm about to give you, we can move on and pretend this conversation never happened… But on the off chance that you might accept, I have to ask, otherwise I would always regret it for the rest of my life. No amount of money can buy me the life you have …but… would you might consider letting me borrow her for just one night?" he asked slowly. "Only if she agreed, of course, I would give you all the time you need to discuss it together."
"You want me to give you permission to sleep with my wife?" Emmett asked through gritted teeth.
"Just one night," Carlisle reiterated. "One night, for one-million-euros. Your family could buy your own vineyard with that. Go to America. Do whatever you want for the rest of your life. Just one night. One night to allow me to live out my dream, and then I will leave you two in peace and never ask anything again. It would be the pinnacle of my existence, and I know I would eventually die a happy man knowing I was privileged to experience her grace, even for a few hours."
Emmett wanted to kill him for even thinking of such a request. It was exactly what he had always feared since the first time he introduced his then girlfriend to his boss. He saw the lust in his eyes even then, and Emmett knew if he allowed him to get too close, he would attempt to throw around his money to make a play for her.
He shouldn't have ever taken the job and moved in there. It was a huge mistake, but now with the birth of his son, he was feeling stuck. He would never sell his wife, but he couldn't just leave and put his little family on the streets either.
So, he settled with a threat.
"You will never touch my wife," he said sternly, using all the self-control he was capable of to refrain from attacking him. "If you ever even breathe on her, I will kill you. Do you understand?"
Carlisle may have made an indecent proposal, but he wasn't vindictive. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me for asking. It won't happen again. You have my word," he said regretfully. The disappointment and legitimate heartache was easily apparent on his face, so much so that he needed to get up and excuse himself.
Emmett never told his wife about the offer, and he certainly never wanted her to know. How could she feel secure in their home knowing his boss and their landlord lusted after her in such a way? All Emmett could do was demand that he keep his distance and hope that he complied.
Emmett's and Carlisle's working relationship was definitely strained after that day. Emmett wanted to leave, but it was the best job and opportunity for his family. And Carlisle, though he had made that terrible proposition, refused to fire Emmett. In fact, he felt so guilty for ever voicing his desires that he pretty much allowed Emmett to be insubordinate on multiple occasions.
Carlisle kept his promise; however, he couldn't just turn off his feelings. Not even the passing of time would diminish his love for Rosalie. Over the next five years, Carlisle would watch her from afar, struggling with motherhood and life itself, and he ached to help her in any way he could, even if it would never benefit him in any way.
Emmett wouldn't allow him to help buy their son school supplies, and Carlisle had to respect that, but as he watched their turmoil from the bus tragedy in America, he couldn't help but offer his help yet again.
"Please Emmett," Carlisle asked him privately. "Rosalie would never even have to know the help came from me. Just… let me do something."
"No," Emmett maintained.
But as Angelo continued to suffer, and the stress of it led to endless fights between he and Rosalie, Emmett's resolve began to waver…
"He needs a doctor, Emmett!" Rose cried one evening after spending hours rocking their son to sleep, only for him to wake back up screaming twenty-minutes later. "He's only getting worse."
"What do you want me to do?" he asked, his usual anger replaced by his own desperation. "Those doctors cost more than we have. I don't know what to do."
"We're his parents. We have to do something. We have to do anything it takes to get him better… I'll call my parents," she decided, shocking the hell out of both of them.
"You said…"
"I know what I said!" she snapped at him with tears streaming down her face. "But it's not about me anymore, is it? I'll do anything to get him help," she said before getting up and heading into the kitchen.
"You're calling them now? It's the middle of the night," Emmett said, still in disbelief that it was coming to down to that.
"It's two AM, so it's around eight in the evening there. I'm sure they're still up."
Emmett watched his wife's face as she bravely called the family she swore she never would. They answered, just as she said they would, and were understandably happy to hear from her. But when she mentioned she had a child, the phone went silent. A Mediterranean grandson was not something they were willing to claim nor waste a single dollar on his behalf. There would be no help from Rosalie's family. She truly was the orphan she had considered herself for so long.
"So, what? We're just supposed to accept that he won't ever get better?" Rosalie asked with her voice breaking.
Emmett swallowed roughly. "No. I will get money for the doctors," Emmett said evenly.
It was the very last resort. He had already gone to his poor extended family members to beg for any help they could spare, but it wasn't enough. He attempted to get a second job, but it wasn't enough. None of their efforts were enough, so he sucked up his pride and, for the sake of his son, he went to Mr. Cullen for help.
"You know how difficult this is for me," Emmett told him, trying to remain strong, but Carlisle could see the desperation behind his stoic façade.
"I know, and you need to say no more. Just tell me how much you need. No strings attached."
As a father, there was nothing more difficult than seeing his son suffer, but as a man, taking money from the guy who was in love with his wife, was the hardest thing he ever had to do up until that point. But thanks to that money, they were able to get Angelo into the best child therapists and psychologists money could buy.
Little by little, Emmett and Rosalie could begin to see the improvements in Angelo's behavior.
"You need to call him 'Edward' from now on," one therapist told them after a lengthy examination. "I believe he is connecting the word 'Angelo' with the incident itself. Did one or both of you call to him as it happened, or while he was witnessing the trauma? Hearing the name now is triggering these episodes."
"Okay, we can do that," Rosalie agreed. It took a few slips, but they quickly got used to calling their son by his first name for the first time in his life. With continual therapy, little Edward began to speak again, and the first time they saw him smile, they finally had hope.
Emmett was so grateful for the help that he made the gracious decision to allow Carlisle over for Edward's sixth birthday dinner. Rosalie knew Mr. Cullen had given them the money for the doctors, but Emmett never told her the rest. Rosalie could only be thankful and welcoming of the man she didn't know was in love with her.
With that initial invite into their lives, Emmett had unwittingly opened a floodgate. He often found Rosalie and Edward at the big house visiting Mr. Cullen. They quickly became much closer friends than Emmett could stomach watching, and it wasn't long before he accused them of having an affair.
"You're mad! That's what this is," Rosalie shouted at him. "You've gone completely insane. That man has never been anything but decent to us, and you are a jealous asshole!"
"He lusts after you, Rosa. You cannot see it because you are lusting after him too!" Emmett shouted, which of course, earned him a slap to his face, which then prompted their son's screaming again.
"I didn't even know he was out of bed," Emmett mumbled as Rosalie tried to comfort Edward.
For the sake of their son's mental health, they vowed to stop yelling at each other, but they couldn't control their growing animosity towards each other.
"He senses the hostility between you," one family therapist told the couple. "You must work on it if you don't want it to affect him anymore than it has."
Emmett had honestly thought the expensive child psychologists would be able to fix their son's issues like a medical surgeon could fix a faulty body part. But every time Edward had a setback, and Emmett had to go back to Carlisle for even more money, he became increasingly cynical.
He couldn't provide financially for his family the way they needed…
But Carlisle could.
And when he overheard Rosalie emotionally confiding in Carlisle behind his back, he realized he couldn't be the husband she needed either…
But Carlisle could.
When he caught Edward playing a game with Carlisle, and he was actually laughing and hugging him, that was the final straw. Emmett couldn't remember the last time he made his son laugh, so if he couldn't even be the father his child needed, then what the hell was he doing there? He knew then that he couldn't stay and continue to hurt the two people he loved the most…
But Carlisle could. He could give them everything they needed.
"I know you love Rosa… but do you love Edward too?" Emmett asked Carlisle in his office.
"He is a very special little boy," Carlisle replied.
"But do you love him… the way a father would need to love his child?"
"Emmett, I could never take his love for you. Whatever you think you saw or overheard…"
"Do you love him?" Emmett asked again strongly.
"Yes, I do. How could I not?" Carlisle admitted.
"And you will always take care of them? Both of them?" Emmett asked numbly.
"I don't understand what you're asking me," Carlisle said confused. "You are going through a rough time, but it will get better. You just have to have faith."
"No. If you tell me you won't take care of them, I will take them tonight and leave here permanently. Edward will probably never get better, and Rosalie will hate me for it, but we can't continue like this… But if you tell me you will always care for them the way I can't seem to anymore, I will leave here this evening alone… and never come back. Either way, it's time for me to move on from this place."
"Emmett, it doesn't have to be like that. Rosalie loves you; it's just been a trying time."
"Love is not enough," Emmett said evenly. "Please, Sir, I need an answer."
Carlisle considered every word, and then he reluctantly nodded. "I promise you; I will always take care of them."
Emmett nodded to himself, and then he left Carlisle's office for the last time, and went straight home to pack his things.
"What are you doing?" Rosalie asked him when she noticed what he was doing.
"I think you know," he told her without pausing or even looking her in the eye.
"So, that's it then? You're done? Running away like a fucking coward? What do we do from here? Split custody? You want me to send my emotionally distraught and unbalanced six-year-old to, god only knows where? Where are you going to go from here anyway?" she questioned heatedly.
"You don't have to send him anywhere. He needs stability."
"What the hell does that even mean?" Rosalie cried with angry tears. "He needs stability, so you're leaving? Where are we supposed to go? This is the foreman's house. If you leave, we can't stay here."
"Carlisle will always take care of you both. He gave me his word," Emmett said before quietly going into Edward's room, and kissing his sleeping son on his head.
It was the hardest thing he ever did, but he honestly felt like he had no other choice. When he left the cottage that evening – with Rosalie screaming and throwing things at him as he went – he was leaving his entire life behind. It was a suicide, without the relief of actually dying.
He retreated to the opposite end of the country and followed in his old mentor Alistair's footsteps. He got work in the fields, and made only enough money to barely support himself. He practically disappeared entirely, and not even his extended family knew where he went.
The years dragged on. Sometimes it felt like he was nothing but an old man who used to hold the entire world in his fingertips, but before he knew it, decades had flown by and he wondered where they went.
There wasn't a day where he didn't think of his family, but over time, his fond memories morphed into bitter falsities. Had his entire marriage been shit? Did he ever have a good relationship with his son? His drinking and loneliness had drowned out everything good inside of him, and he was left as nothing but an angry hollow shell of the man he used to be.
He had been wandering for over twenty years. Always moving from one place to another, and never staying in one job long enough to form any lasting ties. He lived his life like a ship caught in a raging storm, but then one day, he was forced to drop his anchor…
"Marchesseni, tu hai un la posta," someone told Emmett while handing him a letter.
"La posta?" Emmett asked surprised. He never had mail because he never stayed anywhere long enough to have an address.
He opened the envelop slowly, and was both angered and worried when he saw it was from Carlisle Cullen.
.
Dear Emmett,
I'm hoping this letter finds you in good health and that your life has brought you happiness and contentment. It has taken several months and many avenues to find you, but after asking a string of farmers, hopefully we have finally located your current whereabouts.
There is no easy way to tell you this, but Rosalie is dying. She doesn't have much longer left, and as a desperate man wanting to give the woman who owns his heart the ultimate gift, I'm begging you to come home. Please Emmett, come home and give her heart the peace of knowing you are okay before she passes.
If you never show, I will have your decision. I just pray that you can let go of any residual anger you may still be carrying long enough to say goodbye to the woman who still loves you.
Sincerely,
Carlisle
.
Emmett's dormant blackened heart felt like it was beating again for the first time since he walked out on his family, and it was excruciating. Despite spending so long forcing himself to believe they were better off without him and that their love was never real in the first place, he knew it was all a lie. He had always loved Rosalie; she was his entire soul, and he couldn't even fathom the idea of living in a world she no longer existed in. He was absolutely terrified of facing her and their son again, but there was no denying a request like that. He absolutely had to see his love one last time…