Emmett, 1950
Rosalie crouches, ready to spring. I want to dash in front of Rachel, not for Rachel's sake, but for my family's; for Carlisle, Esme, Edward, Jasper, and Alice. For Rosalie's. But I do not. Instead I stand in front of the girl, Joan, my daughter. The thought is so foreign to me. I do not want her to be harmed…her soft features, her gentle demeanor, they remind me of a distant person, a woman. My mother, I marvel. But I shake my head. Esme is my mother now. Yet Joan also reminds me of Esme. And as memories of my real mother flood me, I realize she and Esme are not so very different.
I curse quietly. These two are bringing everything human back. Everything imperfect. Everything before Rosalie.
Rachel, 1950
A tiny woman darts into the room, and tows Rosalie back, in a corner, where I cannot hear. But the small one is furious. She glances back at me, and she, too, is stunningly beautiful, in a pale pink dress that floats about her small frame. Her hair is oddly short, her head wreathed by roses. She must be a dancer, and I wonder if I have heard of her…surely I must have, for she moves so gracefully. "Alice," Emmett breathes, relieved.
Rosalie, 1950
"What did you see, Alice?" I whisper, though I can imagine. It would be interesting to know how far I would go…will go. "I saw you ruining everything for us!" she hissed, angry. I hadn't seen Alice so angry before; but then, I hadn't known her very long. I smiled, though it had no warmth, and I said, "The future is not going to change, Alice. Not this time. I am going to rip that insignificant human to shreds."
Alice is sad. "Can't you see, Rosalie?"
I am frustrated by her cryptic remark. "See what?" I snap.
"He loves her. Emmett. Emmett loves Rachel."
"No," I hiss.
She nods slowly, but then soothes, "Not like he loves you, Rose. Never like he loves you. But he still loves her. And while he would do anything for you, while he loves you to the end of the world and beyond, he loves Rachel a little bit too. When he was human, what they had, it's like what you and Emmett have now. As long as you are alive he will be happy, content, but if you kill her…well, it would make him sad. For a time, at least."
I hiss, but straighten up. "Leave," I say to Rachel and her daughter, "Go, take your family and go."
And so they do, with much hesitation on Rachel's side. She throws one last desperate glance at Emmett as she walks away.
Alice steals away silently. Jasper waits outside the door, and they clasp hands. Emmett gazes at me so lovingly there is no way I can't forgive him. I go to his arms and sigh.
Rachel, 1950
There is a great, gaping hole where my heart used to be. I can hear Joan worrying about me, but I cannot soothe her. Her eyes are still shocked. I turn around, for a last glimpse of my Emmett, and when I see him holding her as he held me fifteen years ago, it decides my fate.
Rosalie, 1950
As I walk up the aisle, I notice that Rachel is not with her family. Her daughter, Emmett's daughter, is there, holding a little boy on her lap. Next to the edge of the pew is another little boy, about seven, I suppose. And then a little girl of about nine or ten sits between a gray haired man and the other girl. Joan.
After we say our vows, we go outside, and he twirls me about, my wedding shoes falling off, my toes skimming the dewy grass. And as we kiss, all I can think is: Never has anyone been happier. Never has anyone been so in love as to deny their thirst as I did to save their love. Never has any love story been like mine and my Emmett's. Never will any love story be like it.
Alice skips up to my side, looking lovely in her pale pink bridesmaid's gown. Her shorn hair has pink roses crowning it, and she looks like a fairy queen. Jasper is next to Edward, and both of my brothers look handsome in their tuxedos. Carlisle and Esme are leaning against each other, happy for me and Emmett, happy that everything turned out fine. They do look like angels, and I remember what Emmett told me, how he thought Carlisle was God. I smile to myself as I look at the family I love. We are perfect, now that Alice and Jasper are here. We are complete.
But Alice is whispering to me, "-must go, before it happens."
"What?" I ask, dazed. She glares at me before saying, "Rosalie, you need to leave!"
"Why?"
And she tells me. I grab Emmett's arm and pull him into the turquoise 1950 Chevrolet two-door Coupe he got me as a wedding present. And we speed away. But because I am listening for it, I hear the scream far behind us.