*V*V*V*V*V*

It feels like I've barely submitted to my tiredness when a pounding sound jolts me from my sleep.

Edward jerks beside me, grumbling "What the fuck?" as he climbs out of bed and slips on boxers.

I rub my aching eyes, realizing that the hammering is someone banging on the front door as Edward irritably stalks out of the room. Given how insistent and incessant the sound is, I hurriedly detangle myself from the mess of sheets in an attempt to get dressed, all too aware that I am completely naked in my teacher's bed.

I hear the door open followed by the sound of yelling and rushed footfalls.

"Where the fuck is she?!"

My heart hammers, recognizing that voice all too well.

I've barely pulled my underwear on when Emmett bursts through the door to the bedroom, eyes raging as he fixes upon me. Instinctively, I cover my bare breasts, but the damage is done. He's already drawn every conclusion.

Edward appears behind Emmett in the doorframe, eyes wider than I've ever seen them. "It's not what it –."

"Don't you fucking tell me it's not what it looks like!" Emmett roars, turning to face Edward.

"We didn't do anything!" I cry reflexively. It's stupid considering I'm literally holding my boobs in my hands and, as far as Emmett's concerned, Edward and I might as well be having sex. Somehow, the defense that we only watched each other masturbate and then cuddled in the nude all night doesn't seem much better as I stare at Emmett's enraged face.

"How long?" Emmett demands of Edward, ignoring my defense altogether. When Edward doesn't immediately answer, Emmett screams, "How long?!"

"A few months," he answers quietly, jaw clenched.

Emmett's nostrils flare and before I know it, he's drawn back his fist and connected it with Edward's face.

I scream and lurch forward as Edward stumbles into the hallway, groaning.

"I love her, you motherfucker!" Emmett bellows at him.

"So do I! You're the one that dumped her!" Edward yells back, standing upright.

Emmett lets out something akin to a war cry before I grasp his forearm in an attempt to halt his attack. However, I might as well be a gnat for all the good I do. The force of his swing is enough to knock me against the doorframe, smacking the back of my head.

I cry out from the pain and the only good news is that my injury is enough to distract Emmett from his warpath.

"Shit," he grunts, reaching out for me.

"Don't touch her," Edward hisses.

Looking upwards, I see some of Emmett's anger dissipate in favor of fear and heartache. A flash of regret passes his eyes as he takes in my mostly naked, crumpled form before he swears again and stomps off, slamming the front door behind him.

Edward immediately looms over me, his left eye already swelling. "Are you ok?"

I gingerly prod the back of my head and grimace when I feel wetness, retracting my fingers to find blood.

"Jesus Christ," Edward groans. He scrambles on the floor for a moment before grabbing his discarded t-shirt from last night, balling it up and pressing it to my head. "Here, hold this tightly."

"I think it's just a little cut," I assure him.

"We need to take you to the hospital," he says flatly.

I open my mouth to argue, but the look on his face silences me. "Give me a minute to get dressed." Robotically, I move to a standing position, pleased by my balance, and gather my white camisole from the floor before traipsing across to the guest room for the remainder of my clothes.

Delicately pulling on my shirt around my head so as not to get any blood on it, I am ready to go within a couple minutes. Edward is dressed in the same jeans as last night, though his shirt is obviously different since I'm still pressing his previous one to my skull.

We don't speak as we get into Edward's car, silently driving towards the hospital on slick roads. Last night's blizzard has left several inches of fresh snow that I numbly stare towards, continuously replaying the fight in my head. My mind is going miles a minute wondering if Emmett will tell anyone, how I will explain this to my mother, how badly I misjudged Emmett's supposed stabs at friendship. Had I been utterly blind to his feelings? We've only spoken a handful of times over the past few months – just a few phone calls that were pleasant, but not particularly deep or meaningful. Well, not meaningful to me at least.

God, what a clusterfuck.

And what was Emmett even doing there? And how did he know where I was? Did Jasper say something to him? Should I reach out to Emmett to try and limit the damage or just wait for what comes?

I'm so lost in my own thoughts that Edward's ringing cell phone breaking the deathly silence of the car makes me jump.

"Shit," he mutters. "It's my dad."

My heart starts hammering. He must know. Emmett must have called him. Before I can ask if he's going to answer it, Edward holds the phone to his ear.

"Hey." There's a painfully long pause where I can hear Carlisle's voice speaking at a high pitch, but can't make out the words. "Jesus Christ, Dad," Edward groans. "He doesn't know the full story and you don't either . . . no, I can't right – . . . no, not right now . . . not right now . . . because I'm driving to the hospital . . . no, not me . . . yes, she's with me. Emmett knocked her down and now she probably needs stitches," he bites out. "Because he punched me in the face and she tried to stop him," Edward continues. "No, he's fine. I didn't hurt him . . . yes . . . no . . . I don't know. Whenever we're done at the hospital . . . yes, we'll talk then. Bye." He hangs up and exhales loudly, jaw clenching.

"What did he say?"

"He asked me if it was true that I was having sex with you and I told him he doesn't know the full story."

"But you told him I'm with you!" Surely that's incredibly incriminating.

He shrugs, world-weary. "It's the truth. God knows what he's assuming right now anyway."

I swallow and the action hurts my dry throat. "And you're going to explain everything to him? Like, everything everything?"

"I don't have much of a choice now," he sighs. He finally looks at me, eyes zeroed in despite operating a vehicle – his left eye is starting to swell shut. "It's not going to be pretty. I didn't want to tell him until you graduated."

"I know," I say, reaching for his hand across the central console. "But I'll be here for you."

He squeezes my hand back and doesn't speak for the rest of the ride to the hospital.

*V*V*V*V*V*

Like I was going to let them have a good time without some drama!