They stopped at the tree-line, and Bella stayed dead silent as she stared at the white-covered house, no one in sight. Her heart was pounding in her ear, and what was once a building which represented comfort created a queasy sickness in her stomach. The window was shattered where the Living room was, and glass spread over the grass.
"Bella..." Emmett said, setting her down on the ground, his hands settling over her stomach as he pushed her behind him. "I want you to stay behind me, okay?" She nodded in affirmation, inching behind his back and keeping a hold of his hand tightly as they edged away from the trees and towards the back door. The large expanse of greenery was empty, and eerily peaceful, it unsettled her. Then it changed, too quickly for her to notice.
"Get the hell away from her." Edward's body appeared in front of them, accompanied soon by a blond, both of them wore expressions which spat of hatred, and she shuddered at the venom in their eyes, amazed when Emmett was able to stand straight and face their stares on.
"You need to calm down." Emmett said firmly, his hand rising in a sign of peace, but the snarl that poured from Rosalie's chest, her lip pulling up as she walked forward. Bella gasped as her palm impacted with Emmett's cheek, a small crack appearing over his face. She made to grasp his arm, pull him away, but his hand pushed her back, a warning to stay back.
"You bastard." She spat her voice deep and filled with malice. "You fucking asshole, how dare you think you could do this?" She made to slap him again, but Emmett caught her wrist, his eyes closing as he tried to control his anger, the urge to return her anger with his own. But even now, he would try and maintain the peace, even when it was so badly shattered.
"You know as well as I Rose that this relationship should've ended years ago, I'm sorry for how it happened, but it would've happened regardless." He pushed her hand down, "You've kept me with you for years, but I won't stay with you, I deserve happiness, I'm done, not anymore." She gasped, pulling her hand back, her eyes wide in both shock and anger, as if his words weren't able to comprehend in her head. She stuttered, stumbling back, before recapturing her anger and snarling. Her anger directing to the protected form of Bella
"You!" She snarled, stepping forward, before quickly being blocked by the large chest of her former husband. She scoffed, her eyes glinting hysterically. "Oh how ridiculous." She spat, glaring at him.
"Everything was perfect, then you had to come and mess it all up." She shouted through him, causing Bella to flinch. She pressed Emmett's back, stepping around him. He tried to pull her back, but she resisted, dodging his hand as she came to stand before the blond.
"From the sound of it Rosalie." She said flatly, "Things were fucked up before I came." The blond growled, eyes glinting, and Emmett managed to pull Bella back as she snapped, lunging. Rosalie's body was lurched to the ground by a mop of dirty blond hair.
They struggled over the ground, before Rosalie was pinned securely to the dirt. She screamed frustrated, before spitting up at Bella.
"I never liked you..." She hissed, stepping back, her voice thick with anger. "You waltz in, sabotage the perfect peace we built for ourselves, think you're better than everyone..."
If it had been anyone else she would've argued, but presently the situation called for a bit of silence, she pushed herself straight, firm, her eyes hard, gathering whatever bravery she could muster, because if Emmett could face this then so could she.
"And then I found out you're a slut, not much of a surprise, opening your legs for my husband." Her teeth bore, and Bella's fingers curled into fists, her anger sparking. "No, it wasn't my legs." She hissed, "You've made him miserable, broken him down, made him feel like his existence is determined by you. Maybe if you considered him for one second in your selfish head, you would've had a chance, but all you saw was how shit your human life was, and you guilted him in order to make him stay. If it wasn't me, it would've been someone else." Rosalie bared her teeth, shoving up, but Jasper's hold was strong. Bella wandered why Edward wasn't interfering, but then again, the only answer to these questions was selfishness, why would he help Rosalie.
Suddenly she gasped, her body lurching back, and slamming into a thick trunk of one of the border trees. Emmett had shoved her back, and as she looked up dazed, she knew he wasn't where he had been before. A deep grunt and the sound of stone hitting stone filled the air, and then she saw them.
Two unfocused blurs, white and quick, moving together like fog over fog. She gasped as they pushed away, their bodies coming into focus. A hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back, and she turned to a small body, a head with smooth black locks and amber eyes. She turned back to the two blonds on the floor, her eyes concerned.
"Jasper..." She murmured, but he shook his head, turning just as Alice grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the commotion. She struggled looking back at Emmett, relieved to see him standing. He ducked as Edward lunged, grabbing his leg and pulling him to the ground, the sound sickening as the earth squelched beneath him. It was strange to see his large body brought down so easily, but if she watched closely, she could see the way Edward managed to catch his moves before he even made them.
He looked rabid, his eyes blown and wild, bronze hair ruffled and wind-blown. She could finally see how monstrous he was, His eyes blown wide, sharp teeth glinting, the fear in her stomach, fear for Emmett and herself.
She looked back at Emmett, her brow furrowing at the small crack on his cheek, he looked in pain, but after a few seconds he pushed himself up, crouched, the crack disappearing. He raised one hand, almost as if to dampen the situation.
"Edward..." He said warily, moving to stand up, but his body was impacted by yet another hit. Bella stumbled forward, some brainless part of her hoping to intervene, stop the fight before it began, but her steps were halted as Alice pulled her away.
"I don't want to fight you..." He grunted, before grabbing Edward's neck and pushing his strength into his hands, his brother's body crumbling to the ground. Pressing his head down into the dirt forcefully, his knee grinding into his back. Edward lunged his hand back, grasping Emmett's hand, and his pressed his nails into skin, the surface cracking as he tore deep, ripping a chunk of skin. The loud cry that fell from Emmett's mouth tore into Bella's head, and she lurched forward, only held back by the constant hold of Ali8ce's hands.
"Let me go..." She begged desperately as Emmett fell to the ground, his wrist punctured and burning. "Please Alice, he's hurt." The small blackhead shook in denial, her eyes sad yet resolved.
"He has to do this Bella, alone, it's the only way he can get Edward to back down, you running in there, guns blazing isn't going to help him, you'll only distract him." She said softly, and her words struck Bella's resolve, her knees crumbling as she fell to the earth, watching horrified as each blow Emmett inflicted, Edward saw and blocked. This wasn't fair, he shouldn't' have to face this alone!
"I'm going to kill you for touching her..." Edward snarled, his foot driving into Emmett's gut, and he stepped back as Emmett reached out a hand to grab him. "She's mine!" His knee lurched forward, driving forward into Emmett's shoulder, and Bella watched as his large body flung back into the dirt with a loud grunt. She gasped, pulling forward, and gritted her teeth as Alice's hand tightened.
"She's not yours..." Emmett gasped, his gut winded as he tried to pull himself up, "She's not one of us, and s-she doesn't apply to our rules. She has the right to choose, not us" He gasped as a knee drove into his neck, the shock of the action deeming him paralyzed for a short few seconds.
"She's my fiancée, I gave her a ring, and she promised herself to me!" Edward roared, using the flat of his foot to push Emmett to the ground, grinding the balls of his feet into his ribs.
Emmett couldn't understand why he was holding back, any other fight and he would've gained a few hits, but this time was different, this fight was real, and the thought made him hesitate, this was his brother... He didn't move, staring up at him blankly. He blanked his mind, not thinking, and the impact of the decision caused his brother to falter, losing his advantage.
"You abused your power over her, so she chose someone else. Me." He gritted out, his hand flying out and grabbing Edward by the neck, and pulling him forward, his head drove into his chest, causing a sickening crack upon impact, as the bones crunched. He flung the damaged body to the side, wincing as pain spiked up his torso.
A loud scream emanated from the wood behind him, and he barely had time to register the two blonds emerging from the tree-line, before one was flying towards Bella, a blur over the green background, hands outstretched, and nails ready to dig into flesh. His eyes widened in horror, and he stepped forward, body numb, his mind dispatching itself from reality.
Her hands made to wrap around the soft skin of Bella's throat, and her brown eyes closed, waiting for death, settling herself peacefully for it. But the sound of metal sliding over metal scratched her ears, causing her to wince, and she opened her eyes to a body without a head, shoulders which supported no face. Her mouth fell open, and she stepped back as the limbs flailed, reaching blindly for her, but missing. Behind her, Jasper held his hand up, blond strands of hair wrapped around his hand, a head swinging before him. He dropped the dismembered piece, and kicked it away, sighing. Emmett's breath broke from his lungs, and he sighed, relieved.
Bella tried to apologies, her eyes watering. "Jasper, I-" He raised a hand, shaking his head, and giving a half-hearted smile.
"Don't bother Bella; I didn't really like her anyway. Besides, we haven't burnt her, she's not dead yet, her body can reattach after a few hours." He smiled softly, and shrugged, his hands wrapping over Alice's shoulders as he hugged her into his side. "Now we just need to hope for Emmett." He murmured, and they all looked back to the pair in the clearing
"I'm going to enjoy winning this, and then I'm going to enjoy taking her even more!" Edward snarled, standing from the ground, dirt caking his legs and arms. He clicked his shoulder into place. Emmett snarled, rolling his neck as he stared him down, the threat driving deep.
"Fine, if you can't accept this." He said flatly, "I'm going to have to make sure I have fun as well." His eyes flickered to the left, catching two dark, brown orbs, and any doubts fled his mind. His teeth bearing as any color inside his eyes blackened.
"You'll lose." Edward hissed, "You always do." The dark grin flickering over Emmett's face was dangerous, more like the grin of a wolf than of a man.
"Perhaps." He nodded, teeth glinting as his body tensed, coiling tighter and tighter. He was ready to attack, ready to defend. "But I'm going to enjoy ripping your head off as I go down."
His words triggered the start, like a switch for a light, their coiled bodies sprung into action, like two lions waiting to pounce. Edward's gifts were deemed useless, his mind-reading serving no purpose when every move Emmett made was based on plain instinct, with no moral thought. His speed was his only defense as he dodged each hit barely, running in order to keep distance between them, so he could rethink his strategy.
But a hand enclosed around his neck, digging into skin as he was flung back, landing on his back with a loud thud. He grunted, pushing himself up and rolling over as a shadow filled his sight, a foot landing where his head was, leaving a deep imprint.
"You think she's yours." Emmett snarled, reaching out a hand and driving it into the dirt beside Edwards head, deeming him paralyzed as he looked up at Emmett's form, caging him in. "Yet it was my name she was screaming that night you left, she was moaning my name while on the phone with you." Edward didn't have a chance to grit out a response, shouting in agony as a fist drove into his stomach, and digging beneath his ribs and pulling back, he gasped at the sharp crunch as his ribs were torn from their position.
"I've been looking forward to this, and I'm going to relish teaching you your lesson, its time you pulled your head from your stuck-up ass." A hand enclosed around his neck, easily lifting him from the ground, whilst the other hand grabbed his wrists and paralyzing him.
"You are going to kill your own brother." He gasped, kicking his feet out, his arms felt weak from the pain inside his chest, and despite how much he fought the grip over his neck wouldn't let up.
Emmett chuckled, walking them forward to the group. "No, I'm going to make you realize what you've lost." He shoved him down into the ground, his heel digging into Edward's back, his face shoving into the dirt.
"Bella, tell him." Emmett said softly, looking at her before pointing down at the crumbled man beneath his foot.
"Yes, please, explain this disgusting mistake, bore me with excuses." Edward spat, his voice muffled by the dirt and grass. "How could you do this Bella, after everything I've done?"
Her eyes watered, her teeth gritting at his tone.
"I'm sorry it happened this way." She said softly, "But I won't apologies for my choice." Edward growled the sound choking off as Emmett's heel ground into his back.
"You were controlling Edward, it started with sex, and then it just increased into other things. You were ready, but you thought you could dictate when I was ready... I gave myself to you countless times, only to be rejected, and I thought I could deal, but I couldn't." Edward looked up at her, shocked.
"But in my time..." She screamed, glaring. "I'm not from that time, I don't live by that time, and I don't live by your rules." He fell silent.
"And then you made it worse by dictating everything else, my relationships, my free time, everything! You made it easy for me to give myself to someone else." Emmett released him, stepping away and he watched as Edward stumbled to his feet, his eyes wide and speechless.
"I'm not an object." Bella spat, "And I won't be won, let me go, it's over." She pulled off her ring, and pressed it too his chest. "In the end, it wasn't Jacob you should've been fighting against, it was yourself, and you lost."
The ring fell to the ground, and Bella stepped away. The movement felt bigger than it was meant to, the broken expression on his face broke her heart, and for the first moment she accepted that she was abandoning a part of herself, a part of her life.
"Don't do this Bella!" He begged, bending over to grab the ring from the dirt, "I can't live without you, please! I need you!" He stepped towards her, his hand reaching out desperately. She shook her head, her back meeting Emmett's chest, and she grasped his shirt tightly, nervously. "You need to learn to live alone, without needing someone Edward, it isn't healthy."
He scowled when he saw the contact, his eyes narrowing in disgust. "What's so good about him, why is he better than me?!" He spat, "I would've preferred it if you chose Jacob! But him, he's a mere child, his brain doesn't function properly! He constantly resorts to using his fists, and on top of that, he can't control his strength!"
Bella grasped Emmett's wrists as she felt him begin to shift forward, a rumble inside his chest. She held him back, her teeth baring as she stepped ahead of him, pointing her finger at Edward.
"You are so laughably pathetic." She growled, "You can't accept my decision so you stoop so low as to insult the person I chose." She tore away the bracelet on her wrist, the gift he had given her, and threw it at his chest.
"I didn't want to tell you what made him better, but you know what, you fucking deserve to hear it you." She backed away and grabbed Emmett's hand, "He treats me like I'm no less or more equal than he is, he's normal, and he doesn't make me feel like I'm doing him a favor by being with him. It's a healthy relationship, he doesn't expect anything from me, and he only wants me! Not a version of me he can build, not the me that would've existed in his time. Me who wears tracksuits and tank tops, that has a best-friend called Jacob, me who loves the summer, he hasn't tried to dictate me. When I gave myself to me, he didn't make me feel guilty about it, he didn't make it feel like he was doing me a favor, I gave and he took, because that's what it should be! I love him, and I'm not going to have you destroy that, I choose him, not because he's got muscles, not because he's a gentleman, but because he loved me for me!"
Her voice was getting more uncontrolled in her anger, and she grabbed a hand full of dirt, "Don't you dare demean him, because he is stronger than you, he tried to keep the peace between him and Rose for years, and then today he tried to stop you from fighting, but you seem to have this impression that you own me! And you one to know one last thing, we fucked! And we did it wherever we pleased, and you want to know something even bigger! He tasted my blood, and he still controlled himself, so no, his control is bigger than yours has ever been, you can pamper a damn piano. but me, oh no! Its over Edward, I'm done with your shit, leave, stay, I honestly couldn't care less, I apologies for my part you couldn't accept it, you've hurt Esme, Alice, Carlisle and Jasper, people who never deserved you Bullshit."
She sucked in a breath, and turned away from him, two large arms wrapping around her body and pulling her into a tight hug.
"Hey it's okay, calm down." It was only after hearing those words that she realized she was crying. Fat tears running down her cheeks and onto Emmett's Shirt. She sucked in a wobbly breath and released it into a wet sob.
"I think it's best you go Edward." Alice said from beside them, "Come back later once, once Bella is ready to look at you without throwing a stone at your head, accept this because you'll be living with it for the rest of your life, until you find someone you can treat properly."
Bella heard the sharp growl, and then the 'whoosh' of dust being lifted from ground, and with that, he was gone, leaving nothing but irritation, frustration and a sense of heavy relief.