One year later
I stood outside of the house I had known since childhood. I hadn't spent a night there since the day before the Cullen's left. It had been empty for almost six months, and on the market at least that long.
It was just in the past week that it had finally sold. No one in town wanted to buy the former police chief's house, especially after what happened.
We had Charlies service early in June, there was no body to bury, so the town rented out a hall and had a memorial service. Even though it was the biggest venue in Forks or La Push it still couldn't hold the number of people that came. Of course, that included every member of both towns. It seems everyone wanted to say goodbye to Charlie.
He would have hated it, that much I knew. I did a little bit too, it was great to see how many people loved Charlie, but having to lie about what happened, having to keep it together. Knowing the truth, just a few days after it happened, it was not the easiest thing.
Most everyone advised me to wait to have Charlie's service, but I just couldn't, I needed it to be over. I need to tell the lies and grieve for the town, before I could grieve for myself.
A few months after Charlie's passing, I asked Jake and Billy if they could help me get Charlie's house on the market.
I had been living at their place in La Push since the day I lost Charlie. Turns out Billy was my godfather, and he took me in.
Billy asked me more than once if I was sure I wanted to sell the house. He thought maybe I would want to live in it again one day. I respectfully told Billy that I had considered everything and this was my final decision. The truth was that this house was haunted for me.
I hadn't been here since we cleaned it out, I didn't even want to step inside it. Jake had asked if he could join me but I asked to do this alone. I wanted to speak with the new owners, tell them about the house and its former tenants.
They were supposed to be here in about an hour to pick up the keys from me. It was probably going to take me that long to work up the nerve to go inside. I looked up at the house, looking up at my window, then down to the dining room. It seemed fitting that I would hand over the keys almost exactly on the one-year anniversary. If fact we were just three days off, I mused looking around the outside of the house, that's when I saw the curtains in the front room move.
God damn it! If some stupid kids had broken into this house again I was going to lose it!
I marched up to the door and unlocked it, throwing it open.
"Where are you?! Come out here right now!" I yelled into the house but heard nothing.
"Alright," I heard a familiar feminine voice say from the living room. As she stepped around the corner I almost fell to my knees.
"Esme?!" I wept.
"Bella! My dear, it's so wonderful to see you," she smiled at me looking as radiant as I remembered.
"I, I can't-" a sob cut me off mid-sentence. She crossed the room quickly reaching out to me, as she wrapped her arms around me I broke down. It felt unreal, she was here, she was back.
The pack would always be my family, but so would the Cullen's. And I missed them more than anything, I began to realize that the true loss I felt this past year was the loss of family.
"Darling, I'm so sorry. When I found out about Charlie I nearly sprinted here. The only thing to stop me was Edward and Rose. Alice nearly lost it when she stopped seeing your future,"
"Alice?! How is she?" I asked pulling back to look at her.
"She misses you terribly, as does everyone else," Esme said, causing me to snort.
"Everyone?" I asked skeptically.
"Well, most of us do darling. And the rest don't matter," she said sternly.
"What do you mean, they 'don't matter'? They're your kids," I said, slightly taken aback.
"Of course, they are darling, but so are you, and most importantly, you haven't done anything wrong." She explained, though I already knew what she meant.
"You mean Edward?" I asked.
"You know?" she looked genuinely shocked, Edward must have been keeping secrets.
"He told me he was seeing someone else the day he left," I explained, Esme looked furious.
"That little sh-" she began.
"Esme!" I scolded.
"Bella, he never should have left you like that. In the forest, I'm so ashamed of him. I didn't even have a clue about that until I started calling your friends in La Push," she said looking down. That must mean she doesn't know what really happened to Charlie.
"You called my friends?" I asked, why had no one said anything?
"Well yes, I'm sorry Bella I didn't mean to step over any boundaries but I needed to find you," she said her eyes pleading.
"For what? Is everything ok?" I asked, she looked much too worried for a vampire.
"Bella, Rose and Emmett had been fighting for quite some time," Esme said turning serious.
"Ooh kay, about what?" I asked, extremely confused by the strange change in topic.
"You my dear," she said tearing up. I sucked in a breath, I was shocked. I had hoped they all felt the same way but after Edwards harsh words I began to have doubts.
"Edwards decision to leave you was the hardest thing our family has gone through. We were all at odds. Edward had convinced not only Jasper, but Carlisle as well, that he needed to leave, we all fought about it for hours and hours. Em, Alice, and I didn't want to leave you. Rose was the swing vote." She said looking away
"Well that was never going to go my way," I said rolling my eyes.
"I'm sorry to rush through this, but I have come for a reason." Esme began to get impatient, I'd never seen her like this. "That's why I've been waiting, I knew you would come back once someone bought the house," she said quickly.
"My god, you're the one that bought the house? Esme, why?!" I asked, this was so not ok!
"Please understand Bella, we've been trying to reach you. Your number isn't the same, you don't live in Forks or go to the here school, and we aren't allowed on the Reservation.
"Carlisle and I even tried contacting nearly everyone on the Reservation, anyone that we could get ahold of to try and speak with you but they never budged," Esme sighed defeatedly. "I understand that it was out of bounds but you know I wouldn't do this unless absolutely necessary." She looked so defeated as she finished defending her actions.
"I didn't know that you had called," I said softly. They had kept it from me, they had lied. "Who did you call?"
"Bella, please don't do this. You know they just love you," she said, trying to cover for the people that lied and broke promises.
"I need you to tell me who," I said sternly.
"Billy, Samuel, Jacob, your friend Kimberly. That one I am very sorry for, we very much upset a young man named Jared." She had the decency to look guilty, and she truly was.
There was a moment of silence as I took it in, the pack had been keeping secrets. We had all talked about this right after I moved in. I sat everyone down and told them, if I was going to be part of the family, the pack, that they couldn't keep secrets. More than one of the Cullen's kept things hidden from me, I wouldn't live like that again. They all agreed then and there, though it seems I shouldn't have trusted them at their word.
I was also surprised that Kim didn't tell me anything, she was one of my closest friends now. The betrayal stung more than I cared to show.
"I need your help Bella," Esme said interrupting my train of thought. "Something has happened to Emmett, that's why I've come. Please believe me, there's no other reason I would disrupt your life like this," her hands reached out to grab both of mine, her topaz eyes begging me to understand.
"What's going on with Emmett?" I asked scared, he was my favorite of the Cullen's. Had been since the day I met him, if I was being honest I cared about him a great deal. I wouldn't want to use the word 'crush', mostly because it made me feel pathetic, but my feelings for Emmett ran deeper than the other Cullen's.
"Emmett, he isn't doing well," she explained lamely.
"What do you mean he isn't 'doing well', he's a vampire. What could possibly be wrong?" I asked rudely.
"It happened just after Rosalie left him," Esme whispered.
"She what?! How could she do that? I thought they were mates?!" I yelled, I couldn't believe her! Emmett was crazy about her, she was his entire world!
"As we all did, it seems she was deceiving us, as was Edward," she said between clenched teeth, I cringed slightly at the way she said his name. "I do hope this isn't too much for you dear but, he and Rose have run off together." She spoke softly, looking me up and down.
"I knew he was seeing someone else but I had no idea...Rose. Wait, Edward left me over a year ago. Why are you just now coming to me?" I asked looking at her, her face getting hard as I did.
"Rose didn't tell Emmett about it right away, she and Edward carried on together for quite some time before coming clean," she spat. Now I understood, two of her children lied to her and seriously hurt another in the process. Well, two others, if she still counted me. Of course, she was angry, I was pretty pissed too.
"I'm confused Esme, why did you have to come here? What's going on?" I asked getting frustrated.
"Emmett has been asking for you, he's been...unable to handle the events that have occurred," she said cryptically.
"Would you like to vague that up for me?" I snipped.
"Bella, please understand. I need you, but I don't want to involve you if you decide you can't help," she tried to explain.
"You need me? What could I possibly do?"
"Like I said, Emmett has been asking for you. We really need to calm him, it's been days since he's hunted," she said, her eyes imploring me to understand.
"And you want me to go near him?!" I squeaked, Emmett was huge! I had never seen him hungry before but I could imagine that disaster.
"Bella! We would keep you safe at all costs! You need to understand no harm will come to you. You're our family too, no matter what happened in the past. We love you, but we need your help. It kills me to have to ask anything of you Bella, after what my family's leaving cost you." Esme dropped her head, I knew she was guilt ridden about everything. If I was a different person I may have punished her. Sending her away, refusing to do anything for the vampire family that had abandoned me; but I wasn't that kind of person.
"Of course, I'll help you," I said softly. Esme's head snapped up, her eyes meeting mine.
"Bella, I can't tell you how grateful I am! I will be forever indebted to you," she said tearing up for the second time that day.
"Esme, please! You owe me nothing, I'm just happy to have my family back." I said looking down, feeling a little silly. Esme pulled me into a hug.
"I'll never leave you again if that's what you wish," she whispered into my hair.
"So, when can you leave?" She asked her eyes lighting up.
"Oh! We need to go right away," I started dumbly.
"I'm so sorry to rush you Bella, I wouldn't unless absolutely necessary," Esme said.
"Right, of course. Tell Emmett we're on the way!" I said calmly, though I felt anything but.
"Yes...yes! Brilliant!" She exclaimed pulling out her phone.
Now I just had to tell Billy and the pack.