Originally Written: May 3rd, 2015

Emmett / Bella

Rating: T

03. Sister

I loved my sister. She wasn't related to me or anything. And when I first met her, I thought she wasn't something special. Everyone around me made such a big deal about her. Everyone at school. The whole town. Even my own family – My youngest brother fell head over heels for her. But I didn't see the charm they all saw.

Not at first. But as time went on, my thoughts on her started to change.

She started coming to our house more and more. Alice was practically smitten with the little human. She appeared shy at first, but it takes a little coaxing to bring her out of her shell. And then her personality shines like the sun.

I loved my sister. She was kind. Not just to her friends, but to strangers and new people she met alike. She didn't discriminate. She was all about equality. That mattered the most when she learned of my family's secret. She didn't see us as the monsters we were. She judged us based on who we were. Not on what we were.

I loved my sister. She was brave. The bravest person I have ever met. She knew her weaknesses, she acknowledged her limits. But that did not stop her from trying to put herself in the line of fire for the people she loved.

When she thought a nomad vampire came for her family, she went against her own self-preservation. Walked into a building alone, faced a dangerous vampire head-on to save her mother. When most would say she was foolish, we saw her as self-sacrificing.

She survived the attack, just barely. Almost turned into one of us. I would have been ecstatic. But my brother intervened. They all said it wasn't her time. I guess I agree with them on some level. But a part of me wished she had changed that night at the ballet studio – I still imagine how things would have went had she went through the change. We would have had so much fun.

After the attack she couldn't come to our house. She was too injured to move. That didn't stop me from going to her house instead. She always welcomed me with a wide smile, and a space beside her on that incredibly tiny bed. I was amazed it didn't break under my heavy weight.

We spent hours together, every single day. And I found myself talking to her about everything I liked, loved, and hated. I talked to her more than I ever talked to anyone for as long as I remembered. And she – she just listened to me, really listened to me. Not even my own wife did that.

I loved my sister. Even when my idiot brother decided we should pick-up and leave town. Why? All because of a stupid papercut accident. It was silly. And I was angry. Because none of us had a say in the matter. Our parents gave him all the support he needed in his selfish decision because he was going through the heartache of losing the one he loved – oh, boohoo! – They didn't consider any of our feelings. They didn't even consider my feelings. I was outnumbered, outvoted. I wasn't even allowed to say goodbye to her. She must have thought me a coward.

It broke my heart. I loved my sister. I hated my brother. He tore us apart. Tore our family apart – And my sister? We abandoned her.

But thankfully not for long. Half a year later, and we were back. As though nothing has changed.

I still loved my sister. But I still hated my brother. For all the hurt he inflected onto my sister. She wasn't the same girl. She tried to pretend in front of us, but I saw through her façade. She lost faith in us, she couldn't trust us. She thought we would abandon her again.

But I still loved my sister – I was going to prove her wrong, shatter her doubt. I would never leave her again. She could trust me. She could always trust me. I would be her shoulder to cry on. I would be her confidant. I would share my secrets and my insecurities, just so she wouldn't feel she was lacking – that she wasn't enough. She was more than enough. She was worthy. And I made her see that every single day.

And little by little, she started to come out of her shell again.

She looked happy. Even if I hated my brother, he seemed to make my sister happy. And as long as she was happy, I was happy too.

At least I thought she was happy.

But I was wrong. So very wrong.

My sister wasn't happy. She pretended to be happy to please my brother, to please all of us. But there was something horribly wrong in their relationship. I didn't know if it had happened recently, or that it has been like this from the very beginning.

But one day my sister came over to our house. The rest of the family was hunting, but I stayed behind. I thought my stupid brother knew I was still home, but apparently he was too distracted with criticizing every single flaw in my sister to notice that I was eavesdropping.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He stood there, talking down to here like she was a child, telling her to never leave his side, to always check with him on anything she did for her "safety". He practically yelled at her for still talking to her werewolf friend. And she just stood there and took his verbal abuse – because she didn't want to upset him. She didn't want him to leave her again.

He told her where to go, when to be there. He held her hand only because he didn't want her to stray away from him. He threw away all her clothes and bought her a brand new wardrobe. He gave her an entire wall of shelves full of high-heeled shoes. Was this a joke? Did he not know her by now? Did he not know that she was the clumsiest person on the face of the earth? And what was worse is that she accepted them all because it pleased him.

He even convinced her to get rid of her old truck. She loved that red truck more than any possession she had. But one day it was parked in the driveway of her home, and then the next day it was replaced with a sleek, dark grey, Mercedes Benz.

It was then that I realized that right before my very eyes my brother was molding her into his perfect picture of a mate. Why couldn't he understand that she was already perfect as she was?

Why didn't she have the courage to say anything to him? To speak up. To defend herself. To shake some sanity into him.

I wanted to shake some sense into her!

But Alice, she saw what I had planned. And she stopped me before I did anything. She told me that if I intervened I would only create a bigger problem. I didn't get what she meant. Was she blind too? Did she not see the problem that was already happening?

I loved my sister. But not anymore. That girl, that resembled her, wasn't my sister. She was just an imitation. Before I knew it, we stopped talking. I stopped going to her house. And she spent more time with Edward and Alice when she came over to our house. She used to ask for me, but slowly my name on her lips was uttered less and less.

At least things couldn't get any worse. But I was wrong again.

I didn't even see it coming. But it smacked me right across the face one day when she and my brother suddenly declared that they were engaged. She stood there beside him, in our living room, facing my entire family. For the first time in months, she actually had a genuine smile on her face. She actually looked happy.

That is, until I saw her the next time. She was a good actress I'll admit. She really fooled me. She wasn't happy, she was more miserable than I had ever seen her. And Edward, he was too delusional to see what was so obvious. And Alice, I thought she cared about my sister. But planning the wedding was far more important than our sister's feelings.

So I kept my mouth shut. Even though it seemed I was no longer the Invisible Man. She started to notice me again. Mostly because out of everyone around her, I was the only one avoiding her. I don't even look at her.

A week before the wedding I crossed paths with her in our garage. I was just about to get into my car and she was getting out of her shiny vehicle.

We stood there in front of each other awkwardly. I pretended to find my keys to be fascinating while she stared at her shoes. Shoes that looked like they could easily twist her ankles.

"Hi." She finally said. When she realized I wasn't going to say anything.

I lifted my head, met her gaze and finally looked at her in I don't know how many months.

She looked so sad. I instantly felt like a piece of shit. "Hey." I replied.

She smiled. My chest swelled. Because I had hope – hope that somewhere deep down, among all those layers of perfectly curled brown hair, heavy make-up, and expensive designer clothes, was my simple and unique sister.

"I missed you." She said.

My hope rapidly grew. "I missed you more."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Are you going out?" her eyes shined. Big and brown and beautiful.

I answered. "Yeah,"

I couldn't help it; I gave her that smirk that she said was her favorite. The one that always made her blush. And it didn't disappoint. Her cheeks got all hot and pink. I forgot how adorable she could be. Even when she tried to play all cool, like her face wasn't glowing red.

"Wanna come along for a ride?" I offered – No, I tempted her – I was always up to no good. And she was always my partner in crime. I thought perhaps this might be what we needed to rekindle our lost friendship.

She pouted. "I can't. Alice is on her way to help me pick the table settings for the wedding reception. She is bringing these vintage china plates she ordered from France."

And just like that my hope deflated.

She flattened her hands on the skirt part of her dress. "Ummm .. maybe you can join us instead?"

I don't know what possessed me, but I started to act like such a jerk. I laughed like what she just delivered was a grand punchline. "You know I'm not into all that girly-wedding nonsense. And last time I checked, you weren't into that as well." I couldn't stop laughing. I wish I didn't laugh in the first place.

She stood there, wide-eyed and frozen. Completely not expecting me to say what I just said. Truth be told, I was also shocked at myself. I didn't intent to offend her. But she got offended – and furious.

She crossed her arms defensively. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Instead of apologizing I lashed out. "It means that you don't care about this wedding any more than I do. And if you took one second to consider your own opinion in this matter, then you wouldn't even be having this big expensive, meaningless wedding in the first place."

"Meaningless?" She gaped at me.

I instantly regretted what I said. But before I could tell her that I was being a grumpy grizzly ass, and that I didn't mean any of what I just said. She cut me off. "Why couldn't you just be happy for me?! I have been through a lot! And I am finally getting my happy ending. And I thought that you, of all people, would want that for me. But instead you are being so mean to me!"

Her eyes were shining with tears. And her hands were shaking. She was trying so hard not to break down and cry. She was trying to mask her hurt with anger. When in reality I knew … oh god, I could still know her true feelings. She was disappointed in me.

"Listen .. I didn't mean," before I could even say anything she interrupted me.

"If you don't want to be a part of my happiness then no one is forcing you." She tried to hold her tears, but a single, glistening drop rolled down her cheek. "In fact, don't even waste your time coming to my wedding!"

She never yelled at me before. Her chin started to tremble and the tears were now falling in torrents.

This was the first time we spoke to each other in a while. I didn't want our conversation to end like this. She covered her face, trying to shield my view from seeing her cry.

She turned around and was about to run inside the house. But, of course, I was faster. I reached out and grabbed her arm. She refused to face me. Her shoulders were shaking as she continued to cry.

"I'm sorry." I say.

Those two words seem to have opened the flood of further tears as she wept louder.

I was the clown of the family. I never been much of a man of sophisticated words, solace, or wisdom. I seldom think with my head, and choose instead to talk out of my ass.

In my head I knew exactly what I wanted to say and do. I wanted to hug this girl, and very carefully and calmly explain to her that this illusion she conceived of happiness is a farce. That she was forcing herself to be something she is not, all for the sake of a boy that doesn't even appreciate her for who she is.

I wanted to tell her that she didn't need all this. The wedding that she never asked for in the first place, the clothes that she wasn't even comfortable wearing. And more importantly the lie that she has been feeding herself that this was what love was like – being a submissive little puppet that catered to the whims of a spoiled brat of a boy.

I wanted to tell her that any man would be lucky to have her without changing a thing about her. And there were many men out there that could treat her with the respect that she deserves. Hell, I wouldn't even mind if she ended up being with that werewolf boy. At least he understood her and valued her opinion – I would rather see her with anyone except Edward.

I loved her too much to see her ruin her life like this. I didn't want her spending years of her life thinking this is what she wanted. And then one day she realizes that she only wasted her time.

That's what I should have done. I should have talked some sense into her. But instead I do the complete opposite.

I grab her other arm, turn her around and press her body to mine. She instinctively wraps her arms around my waist. She thinks I am offering her comfort. She doesn't know that that wasn't my intention. But she becomes aware of it a little too late when I grab her face in my hands and kiss her.

For a few seconds she responds and squeezes her arms tighter around my waist. Only for her to suddenly regain her common sense and start fighting and thrashing against me.

She kicks me and pushes me. And I release her.

Now she is really angry. So angry in fact that she raises her hand and slaps me across the face. I could tell she bruised her hand. But she refuses to acknowledge the pain in favor of glaring at me with such hatred.

"How dare you do this to me! I love Edward – no one is going to come between us!" she spits out.

She slowly walks away from me as she wipes her mouth. "I don't want you to come to the wedding. You are uninvited."

I didn't love my sister. Because I no longer saw her as my sister.

I was falling in love with Bella.

And I hated myself for it.