Disclaimer: Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.
Author's Note: I could say thank you a million different ways, but I think the best way to thank you all for the amazing support is with a new chapter. Also, just so you guys know, my laptop is having issues and it's getting fixed right now. I'm going to try my best to keep up with regular updates until I get it back, so please be patient with me :)This chapter is very different from all the others and is also the longest chapter I have written for this story thus far. Also, the POV's switch a few times, so I hope it doesn't get annoying. Enjoy! :)
Rosalie POV
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Cullen. It says here your dry cleaning was picked up this morning."
I stared at the young woman who was currently standing at the other side of the counter, my mouth parted slightly as I tried remembering whether or not I had asked Emmett to pick up my dry cleaning for me.
Alice and I were going to dinner tonight with one of the top fashion designers in the city who was interested in selling some of her work in mine and Alice's store. I had bought the dress a couple of weeks ago just for this very occasion.
"Amber, right?" I smiled politely, looking at the name tag hanging on the lanyard around her neck. At her nod, I continued, "Listen, I need that dress tonight. It's important. Do you remember who picked up my dry cleaning?" I asked as calmly as I could.
Don't shoot the messenger. Do not. Shoot. The. Messenger.
She shook her head and bit her bottom lip nervously. "No, I just started my shift forty-five minutes ago and your dry cleaning was picked up at nine a.m."
"Nine?" I repeated, confused. Emmett was at work by nine and nobody else was home. Nobody except for… "Motherfucker," I muttered, turning to look out the window of the dry cleaner's, almost thinking that Edward and Bella would be standing there with smirks on their faces as they waved my dress at me mockingly. I huffed and turned back around, Amber standing there looking like a deer caught in the headlights.
"Jodie's been here since opening," she suddenly remembered, her eyes brightening immensely as she walked behind a rack of clothing to where I'm sure the back room was. "Jodie?" I heard her call.
Amber walked out a few minutes later, an older woman trailing close behind her. "This is Rosalie Cullen," Amber explained. "Do you remember who picked up her dry cleaning this morning?"
"Oh, yes, Cullen," the woman—Jodie—replied. "There was a man and a woman," she started, and I immediately saw red.
"Did they say what their names were?" I gritted through my teeth, trying desperately to reign in my anger.
"No…but I do remember the man was…very attractive," Jodie laughed breathlessly.
"And he did a panty-dropping smirk and had you in the back fetching my dry cleaning in ten minutes, am I correct?" I barked at her.
She immediately straightened her features and glared at me. "Excuse me?"
"You are most definitely not excused. How dare you give my dry cleaning to somebody else?" I demanded.
"Well, for the record, they said they were sponsoring a local charity and that you were donating the dress." She paused and glared at me from head to toe. "How wrong I was to think you were such a generous and warm-hearted person for wanting to donate a five-hundred dollar dress."
Filthy litter liars.
I shook my head and chuckled darkly before meeting Jodie's gaze again. "Jesus. If I wasn't pissed beyond belief at somebody else, I would be across that counter right now," I threatened.
"I'd like to see you try," Jodie challenged, as Amber cowered into the corner.
I glared at her. "I wish I could. But I need to save my energy for someone else." I shook my head and headed toward the exit. I walked out onto the sidewalk and crossed my arms over my chest as I glanced up one side of the street and then the other.
"I'm going to kill them."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Emmett POV
"This was a nice lunch," Alice said as I pulled up in front of her and Rosalie's boutique. I glanced inside to see if Rosalie would be there.
"She isn't here," Alice answered my unspoken question. "She went on her lunch break early to run a few errands."
I nodded and smiled before kissing my sister's cheek. "Have a nice rest of the day, kid."
She glared at my old nickname for her, but I could tell a smile threatened to escape her lips as she climbed out of the car. "You, too, muscle man," she cooed. It was my turn to glare at the phrase she used to call me when I went through my 'I-need-to-be-the-size-of-Hulk-Hogan' phase my first year of college.
She laughed at my expression before shutting my door and jogging into the store. I shook my head and chuckled as I started on the drive back across town
to my office building. I was about thirty minutes away from the office when I saw red and blue lights flashing in my review mirror.
"Shit," I muttered, trying to think of what I had done illegally as I pulled beside a vacant spot on the curb.
I waited with bated breath as I looked in my side-view mirror and watched the police officer exit his car and strut up to my window. I pressed the button and rolled the window down all the way as he leaned on the side of my car, placing his hand on the hood. He looked vaguely familiar, but I wasn't exactly sure where I had seen him before.
"Good afternoon, sir," I greeted politely.
"License and registration, please," he requested in a clipped tone, completely ignoring any pleasantries.
I nodded and quickly reached into my back pocket and retrieved my wallet. When I opened it, however, I noticed that the slot I usually kept my i.d. card in was empty. I blanched and shifted through the other slots, but couldn't find it. I wasn't sure how I hadn't noticed it was missing when I had paid for lunch.
I swallowed hard and looked at the officer who was waiting patiently by the window. I reached for the glove compartment to at least pull out my registration information, but the envelope I usually kept my insurance and registration cards in was missing.
"Is there a problem, sir?" the police officer asked, almost condescendingly.
I sat up in my seat and looked at him, shaking my head. "I, uh, I can't seem to find my license. Or registration," I explained quietly, shifting my gaze to the steering wheel.
"What a surprise," he quipped. I looked at him, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion, before he added, "Please step out of the vehicle, sir."
"What seems to be the problem, officer?" I asked nervously.
"Step out of the vehicle," he said again.
I took my keys out of the ignition and stepped out. Before I even had time to register what was going on, my hands were pinned behind my back and hand cuffs were placed around my wrists. I didn't even know you could get arrested for this shit.
"Sir, you are under arrest. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law," the officer declared as he led me to the police cruiser that was parked behind my car.
"Can you at least tell me what I did?" I pleaded anxiously as he shoved me into the backseat.
"Someone reported this car stolen. A Mr. Emmett Cullen," he explained as he slammed my door shut and walked back to my car, locking the doors and making sure it was secure before walking back to the police cruiser and getting into the front seat.
"I'm sorry, sir, did you say Emmett Cullen?" I asked through the screen that was separating us.
He pulled away from the curb and headed in the opposite direction, nodding. "Yep," he replied, popping the 'p' loudly. "Got a call in this morning."
"I didn't steal that car. That car is mine," I desperately tried to explain.
"Then where was your proof of registration? License?" he inquired, almost mockingly as he raised an eyebrow at me through the rearview mirror.
"Look, I don't know," I prattled on. "Listen, you've gotta believe me. That is my car. I am Emmett Cullen."
"Yea, he said you would say that," the officer murmured ominously.
"Who?" I asked, more confused than ever.
"The man who called this morning and reported the car stolen."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Rosalie POV
"Oh, hey, how was your break? Did you pick up your dress?" Alice asked me excitedly as I stormed back into the store and threw my purse down on the counter in front of her. Her smiled dropped when she saw my expression. "What happened?" she asked me worriedly.
I wondered what I should tell her. If I told her that Edward and Bella had stolen my dress, then she would want to know why. Of course, I couldn't be one hundred percent sure that they had done it in the first place.
Oh, who the fuck was I kidding? Of course they did it.
"The dry cleaners lost it," I decided to say instead.
Her mouth dropped open. "What?"
I nodded dejectedly.
"Rose, that was a one of a kind, Mary Lane original."
"I know," I replied in a clipped tone, placing my palms on the counter top and glaring at her.
"It was five hundred dollars."
"I know."
"You don't have anything to wear tonight."
"I know."
"What are you going to do?" she asked.
"Jesus Christ, Alice, I don't know!" I finally snapped. Her eyes widened at my sudden blow up and I realized I had been having quite a few of those with her these days and it was all because of them. "Listen, I'm taking the rest of the day off," I spoke hastily as I collected my purse and a few papers. "I'll see you at the house."
"What are you going to do about a dress tonight?" she called after me.
I turned around and looked at her. "If I'm not in jail for attempted murder, then I'll figure something out."
Her mouth fell open and she gaped at my retreating form as I exited the boutique and headed toward my car. I hopped in and hurriedly pulled on my seat belt as I pulled away from the curb and headed towards the lake house.
"Mother-fucking…fuckers!" I yelled, slamming my palm against the steering wheel. In the distance I could hear my cell phone ringing in my purse and I blindly reached to the passenger seat and shifted around inside before I finally found it. "Hello?" I barked into the receiver.
"Rose? Baby?" Emmett's apprehensive voice came in on the other end.
"Emmett?" I implored, suddenly worried as I came to a stop at a red light.
"Rose, listen to me. I'm…I'm in jail," he mumbled.
"What?" I shrieked.
"Yea, I need you to come here. Now."
"Wait, why are you in jail?" I asked, confused.
"Someone called in this morning and reported my car stolen. And my license and registration wasn't in my car so I couldn't prove that they were wrong," he explained.
They wouldn't.
"Who called, Emmett?" I asked, trying to keep my voice low and even.
"Someone claiming they were me!" he answered exasperatedly.
"Son of a bitch," I muttered, shaking my head and knowing exactly who was behind this. "I'm going to kill them," I said louder as the street light turned green and I continued on my way to the lake house.
"Kill who?" Emmett asked, his voice sounding confused.
"Sit tight, baby. I'll be there in a bit." I didn't even give him a chance to reply as I hung up and threw my phone on the seat beside me.
I noticed the cars ahead of me were all pretty much stopped and as I looked further ahead, I noticed there was heavy construction on the side of the road, so every lane but one was closed.
"Fu-u-u-u-ck," I groaned, throwing my head on the headrest as my phone started ringing again. I didn't even bother checking the caller i.d when I answered. "What?" I yelled, pissed as hell that there was so much fucking construction and traffic.
"Hey, Rose."
My breathing caught and I only realized I swerved slightly when there was a loud honk from the lane beside me.
"Bella! What the fuck is going on?" I demanded, finally unleashing all of my pent up rage.
"Rose, you need to calm down. You don't want to get into an accident. That guy looked pretty pissed," she replied evenly.
I was stopped behind the car in front of me since no one was moving anymore and I took the time to survey my surroundings. Bella was watching me. That was both frustrating as hell—since now I knew she and Edward were not at the lake house—and convenient as fuck—if they were close, then that would make my job a hell of a lot easier.
"Go, Rose," she said softly.
My eyes snapped forward and I saw a giant gap between me and the car in front of me since traffic had started moving again. I eased my foot off the break and continued with the slow pace.
"What is going on, Bella? Why is Emmett in jail? And why the hell did you and Edward take my dress?" I snapped angrily.
"Collateral damage," she answered easily. "We took two of the most important things away from you. Emmett…and your five hundred dollar, Mary Lane original."
"God damnit! Can everyone please stop reminding me of the price? It only pisses me off more!" I fumed.
"You are to listen to the following instructions," she responded, seemingly ignoring my tantrum.
"Fuck you!" I seethed. "Give me my dress and get Emmett the hell out of jail!"
I heard her exhale a heavy breath and then shuffling in the background before his voice came on the other side.
"Rose," Edward started, just as calmly as Bella. "Don't you want to see your husband and your precious dress again?"
"What I want to see is you, so that I can kick your fucking ass!" I bit back.
He chuckled into the receiver and that only served to piss me off more. "Just do what we say. There is a coffee shop on the corner of the next light. Pull in," he instructed quietly.
"And why the fuck should I?" I demanded.
"Call my cell phone when you get there."
"Edward—"
Fucker hung up on me.
I pulled into the parking lot of the coffee shop he mentioned and angrily parked my car before picking up my cell phone and dialing his number.
"Good girl," he chuckled into the phone. I bit back my retort and waited impatiently as he continued, "Alright, now go inside. Order a medium caramel latte and a small mocha frappucino."
"Are you serious?" I asked incredulously. "You want me to order you coffee?"
"Rose, every minute you waste is another minute that Emmett is rotting in a jail cell. Not to mention your dress. Every time you question us, it's another inch off the bottom."
"Don't you dare touch that dress!" I shrieked as I jumped out of my car and headed toward the coffee shop.
Edward chuckled again. "Classic, Rose. Your husband is in jail and you're more worried about your dress."
"Shut the fuck up," I snapped, disconnecting the call and walking into the coffee shop. I ordered their drinks and then walked back to my car, putting the cup holder with the two drinks in the passenger seat just as my phone started ringing again. "Okay, I got your precious coffee. Now what?" I asked, not bothering to mask the irritation in my voice.
"Okay, now go to the park across the street," he responded, not a trail of joking in his tone.
"Okay, Edward, you guys had your fun. I get it. This is payback. Now grow the fuck up and give me my dress and get Emmett out of jail."
"Alright," he breathed into the phone, and I smirked at how easy it was to win. I was the master of these games and there was no way these two amateurs could beat me. "Bella," I heard him say, his voice sounding distant. "Get the scissors."
"No!" I yelped before I could stop myself. "Okay, okay, I'm going. Just please don't touch my dress," I pleaded pathetically.
"We don't want to, Rose. But you're resisting again. You know the rules," Edward replied calmly.
I sighed and put the phone in my lap as I drove across the street to the large park. After parking the car, I grabbed my phone and the drinks and got out, walking over to the nearest picnic table.
"Okay, what now?" I asked through gritted teeth.
"Now drink them."
My mouth fell open as I stood frozen in front of the table, the Styrofoam cup holder in one hand, the cell phone pressed to my ear in the other. "What?"
"Drink them, Rose. Every last drop. You might want to sit. This could take a while."
"Edward, what is this?" I chuckled darkly. "You're really going to play these games with me? I don't fucking have time for this."
"You know what, Rose?" Bella's voice suddenly snapped on the other end as the phone was handed back to her. "I didn't have time for your and Emmett's fucking games for the last couple of weeks, either. So guess what? Payback is a bitch."
"That was different!" I retorted. "I was trying to help you!"
"What a way to go about doing that, huh?" she laughed without humor. "Drink them, Rose. And then call us when you're done so we can explain your next task."
"You know what, Bella? I am going to shove my foot up your—"
Bitch hung up on me.
I sat there for forty-five minutes, first slurping down the frappucino and getting brain freeze after brain freeze. I could have just thrown the drinks out and said I drank them, but the two idiots were somehow watching me and I knew they would see.
After I stomached the first drink, I moved onto the caramel latte. It took less time to drink that one since it was purely liquefied and warm. I sat there upon finishing, rubbing my now full stomach as I grabbed my phone and dialed Edward's number.
"Good job, Rosalie," Bella chirped on the other end. "You're being a real team player. Putting up with our shit like this. Kind of like Edward and I had to for the last couple of weeks."
"Okay, Bella, listen here—"
"You're wasting time," she sang mockingly.
I contained the eye roll and huff that was threatening to escape as I snapped my mouth shut and waited.
"Now, there is a Build-A-Bear shop down the street, next to Annie's Flower Shop, right?" she asked.
I glared at nothing in particular as I walked to the sidewalk and looked down the street. Sure enough, next to the small flower shop, there was an enormous Build-A-Bear workshop, little children filing in and out with smiles on their faces.
"Yes," I replied in a clipped tone.
"Alright." I could practically hear the smile in her voice. "Go make me one."
It was my turn to laugh without humor. "Are you kidding me?" I demanded disbelievingly.
"No," she responded in a somewhat bored tone. "I've always wanted one, but I'm too embarrassed to go in and make one myself."
"So you're subjecting me to the humiliation?" I didn't even try to hide the venom in my voice anymore.
"Subjecting to humiliation," she repeated. "Hmm, sound familiar?"
"You're taking this too far," I insisted.
"Taking things too far," she echoed. "Again, sound familiar?"
"Swan—"
"The scissors are in my hand, Rose," she threatened smoothly.
I huffed and hung up the phone before storming down the sidewalk, not bothering to take my car. I crossed the street and threw the door to the damn shop open and froze in place as I looked around at all the smiling children and beaming parents, watching their kids stuff and dress and make birth certificates for their little friends. I had only ever been in one of these things once before, and that was in passing, just to see what it was. I had no fucking clue what I was supposed to do.
"Good afternoon, miss," a pimple-faced teenager greeted me enthusiastically. "My name is Marcus. Are you here to build a best friend for life?"
"Do I look like I'm here to build a best friend for life?" I bit back derisively.
Marcus swallowed hard and shook his head. "No, ma'am," he replied, his voice shaking slightly.
"Just show me how to do this so I can leave," I sighed.
He nodded vigorously before asking me which animal I wanted.
"Surprise me," I responded sarcastically.
I did as he instructed and filled the little creature with as much cotton as I could before I moved on to the other stations. I carelessly dressed him up in whatever I could find as Marcus stayed close behind me.
I finally got to the last station—making the birth certificates—and I had to come up with a name.
"Alright, so just choose a name and then print out the birth certificate. Simple as that," Marcus said as he leaned next to me, placing his hand on the table. I glared at his proximity and he immediately jumped back as I looked back at the screen, tapping my fingers impatiently on the table beside me. I planned on just typing in 'Joe' or
'Timothy'—something completely random—when I decided I wanted to at least gain some semblance of my dignity back.
I smiled wickedly at the screen as I typed in the perfect name for Bella's little friend.
"Um, miss?" Marcus started, his voice cracking as he read my choice. "That's not very appropriate."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Emmett POV
"For the thousandth time," I started, frustrated as hell. "I am Emmett Cullen."
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to please be quiet," the officer who had arrested me responded. There was an air of cocky-ness about him, almost as if he got some sort of strange amusement and benefit from me being here—like he was in on some private joke or something.
"Dude, come on," I tried desperately. "I have to be at work, okay? I have a job. My wife is probably worried sick right now."
Okay, that part wasn't really true. When I had talked to Rosalie on the phone, she had confused the hell out of me. I wasn't sure what she meant when she said, 'I'm going to kill them.'
Then she told me to sit tight. Sit tight? How the fuck was I supposed to sit tight when I was sitting in a jail cell, being accused of stealing my own car?
"Sir, if you're wife was worried, wouldn't she be here right now?" the officer smirked back.
I stared at him confused, wondering if all police officer's were always so arrogant when they caught a supposed felon. I also wondered if he recognized me like I did him, and if that was the reason for his high and mighty behavior.
As I tilted my head to the side to try and figure out where the hell I had seen him before, I asked, "What did you say your name was again?"
"I didn't."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Rosalie POV
I walked out of the workshop, the Build-A-Bear box in one hand and my cell phone in the other. If they were watching me, then they would call any minute now. Sure enough, two minutes later, my phone rang. I was walking down the sidewalk, back toward my car, when I answered.
"Hello?" I barked.
"Is she adorable?" Bella asked mockingly.
"It's a he, and yes, he's pretty fucking fantastic!" I retorted.
"Great! Thanks, Rose! I'll see you when you get home!"
"Wait, what? That's it? That's really all you guys got?" I asked incredulously. "Oooh, you made me drink two cups of coffee and had me go into a teddy bear store!" I mocked, waving my hands around animatedly. "You got me good. You got me so good," I finished sarcastically.
"We would have planned more, Rosalie," Edward chimed in. I was apparently now on speakerphone. "But we figured you would need time to go to the impound lot," he said nonchalantly.
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion as I halted my steps. "Why would I need to go to the impound lot?"
"Because your car is being towed," Bella replied casually.
I looked up and my mouth fell open as I saw I was parked beside the sidewalk next to the red fire lane. My eyes shifted to the empty spot in the parking lot where I had previously been parked.
"You moved my car?!" I shrieked into the receiver.
"Yea," Edward replied evenly.
"How the hell did you move it?! Where did you even find my spare key?!" I demanded, quickly making my way to where my car was now being lifted onto the tow truck.
"Gee, I don't know. In the cookie jar where mom and dad keep all the spare keys?" he responded sarcastically.
"Okay, that is it!" I screeched, fuming. "That is fucking it! I never did shit like this to you guys! I never got you guys thrown in jail or had your cars towed or made you humiliate yourselves like this!"
"No, Rose, you didn't," Bella responded, her tone eerily calm. "What you and Emmett did was so much worse. Because you guys fucked with our emotions. You messed with our lives. You put us through so much crap, so much…" I could hear her choking up and knew she was on the verge of tears. I slowed my steps and watched, defeated, as my car continued being slowly hauled onto the back of the truck.
"But Edward and I would never do that to you guys," she continued, having gained some control over her emotions. "We'd never play with your feelings like that. This may have been stupid and immature and childish…but it's the only thing we can bring ourselves to do to you guys. And you want to know why?" she asked. I waited, knowing it was a rhetorical question. She took a deep breath and continued, "Because we'd never want to hurt you the way you hurt us."
It was silent on the other end and just when I was about to say something, the line was disconnected. I sighed and put my phone in my pocket as I approached the truck driver and explained that I was the owner of the vehicle. He allowed me to ride with him to the impound lot so that I could claim my car and pay the fine.
The quiet ride gave me some time to think about Bella's words. It was true; Emmett and I had fucked with their emotions time and time again—played with their psyches—without even thinking about the effects it would have on them.
What Bella and Edward did to Emmett and I was inconvenient, childish, and taken too far—just like what Emmett and I had done to them. However, Edward and Bella did trivial things—things that could be fixed by just paying a fine or drinking a mocha frappucino so fast it gives you the worst fucking brain freeze. What Emmett and I did was lasting damage—something you couldn't just 'get over.'
I had only ever regretted a few small things in my life.
What Emmett and I had done was now one of them.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Edward POV
I kept glancing at Bella as we drove to the police station. I thought about how much fun we had had today fucking with Emmett and Rosalie, acting like a couple of teenagers pulling immature and hilarious pranks.
We had tried coming up with ways to mess with Rosalie and Emmett by taking advantage of the fact that they thought Bella and I were still separated. We contemplated telling them we were going through with the divorce, that we had already gone through with the divorce, or that we had found other people to be with. But all of those things hurt us…and we knew it would hurt them, too.
Like Bella had said to Rosalie on the phone…we didn't want to hurt them. We just wanted to get back at them. And yes, it was immature and childish, but it was also completely justified.
All of the inconvenient tasks we had Rosalie carry out were merely diversions while we set about moving her car and then calling the tow truck company. Her punishment was a little complicated, but Emmett's was fairly easy. It wasn't that hard to report a call stolen when you had all of the proper paperwork one would need to clam ownership of the vehicle.
Although getting back at Emmett and Rosalie was both fulfilling and completely amusing, the best part of the day was spending time with Bella.
We had a lot of free time sitting in the car as we made sure all of our plans fell into play. In that free time, we talked. And for the first time, we didn't just talk about the fallout of our relationship and everything we had done wrong—those things had been talked to death. Instead, we discussed our future together; what we would do upon returning to New York, where we were going to live, and what our plans were for after Alice and Jasper's wedding.
And then we talked about trivial things, joking with each other, and occasionally stealing kisses when we waited for Rosalie to call back. It was the most comfortable and most amazing day of my entire life.
But after that last conversation with Rosalie, I knew Bella was starting to feel pain again. What Emmett and Rosalie had done these last couple of weeks had gotten to both of us, but I could tell it really affected Bella now, even though she tried convincing me a million times that she was fine.
I knew better.
"Bella," I began, reaching over and taking her hand in mine as we stopped behind a red light. "Are you okay, baby?"
She looked at me and nodded, though her eyes were filled with unshed tears. "I'm fine," she replied, smiling weakly at me.
I offered a half hearted one in return as I lifted her hand to my lips and pressed a gently kiss to the back of her hand. "I love you," I murmured.
Her smiled widened slightly. "I love you more."
I chuckled against her hand before resting it in my lap, our fingers remaining intertwined the rest of the way to the police station.
I opened the car door for her and kissed her lips once before walking behind her into the front office.
"Motherfucker! I am Emmett Cullen! What the fuck do I have to do to prove it?! Take fingerprints, Google me, anything! Just please let me out!" Emmett's loud, angry voice rang out from the back where the four jail cells were.
Bella and I exchanged glances and both burst out into laughter as a young police officer rounded the back corner and approached us.
"Evening, officer," I said as seriously as I could.
"Is that Edward?" Emmett's voice bellowed from the back. "Oh thank God! My brother is here! My baby brother has come to save me!"
I chuckled and shook my head before looking back at the officer. "Thanks, Eric. You don't know how much this means to us, man," I said, making sure to keep my voice low.
"Don't sweat it, Cullen," Eric replied, giving me one of those manly high five, back pats. "I'll forever be indebted to you for helping me pass calculus senior year."
I shook my head and waved my hand dismissively. "Consider us even, man. Tutoring you was easy."
"But you're still the reason I graduated," he reminded me.
Eric and I had been pretty close in high school. He was among the tight knit group of friends that I hung out with, and once Bella and I started dating, she became close to a lot of my friends as well. We stayed in touch after graduation, via e-mails and such, and I knew he was working in the city of Seattle as a cop. He had always said he owed me for helping him pass calculus—he wouldn't have been able to graduate otherwise—and told me to call him if I ever needed a favor. That came in pretty handy this morning when Bella and I had been trying to devise a creative and entertaining way to get back at Emmett and Rosalie.
"Emmett didn't recognize you?" I asked disbelievingly. Eric had been over to our house quite a few times through out high school and had met Emmett on several occasions. Eric had changed a lot in the last few years, though, and definitely looked a little different.
"I think he started to, but I don't think it's actually clicked for him," he chuckled. "He's starting to get antsy, so you wanna go in there and tell him?"
I nodded and laughed. "Yea, dude. Thanks again. You sure you won't get into any trouble?
"Are you kidding, Cullen? I'm still stealthy like a cat. I never got caught for my pranks in high school and I will never get caught for them now," he responded, acting cocky though I knew him well enough to know he was just teasing.
I laughed again and nodded, patting him on the back before following him to the back where there were three empty jail cells, and one with a fuming Emmett inside. Bella and I waited to the side as Eric unlocked the cell and opened the door.
"Alright, you're free to go," Eric said, still keeping up with the façade.
"Fuck yes! Did my brother tell you who I was? He did, didn't he?" Emmett replied, walking out and staring Eric down. "I told you I was Emmett Cullen."
Eric chuckled and closed the jail cell again before looking at him. "I know who you are, Emmett," he admitted, finally dropping the act.
Emmett stared at him in confusion and I had to fight to keep my laughter at bay. "What the fuck?" he raged, turning to look at Bella and me.
"You remember Eric Yorkie. Right, Em?" I asked dismissively.
Emmett's head swung back around and he stared disbelievingly at a smirking Eric. "I knew I fucking recognized you!" He pointed a finger at him. "You went to Forks High School!"
Eric nodded. "Yup. Graduated with Bella and Edward here. Good times, huh, man?" he asked me mockingly.
"Definitely good times," I agreed, smiling widely.
"Wait, you're the guy who called in and reported my car being stolen?" Emmett demanded, turning to look at me.
I nodded.
"And you stole my registration and driver's license?"
"Borrowed," I corrected. This only seemed to anger him further.
"What the fuck for?" he seethed.
I shrugged indifferently. "Payback."
"Payback," he repeated dully. "Payback for what?"
I raised my eyebrows at him as Bella shook her head angrily beside me.
"Payback for what?" she hissed furiously. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Eric, it was good seeing you again," I intervened before Bella could rip Emmett's balls off and feed them to him.
"You, too, man. I'll talk to you later," he responded, happy as always as he shook my hand. He never asked questions or demanded to know why we were doing this. He had always been a loyal friend to Bella and I and we knew we could trust him. "Nice seeing you again, Bella," he said, turning to her and opening his arms for a hug.
Bella looked at him and smiled, all traces of anger gone as she hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Eric," she said quietly.
After retrieving the keys to Emmett's car and exchanging some last parting words—Emmett taking a moment to finally enjoy the little reunion with Eric, even though it was under bad circumstances—we headed out to Esme's car; she had let us borrow it for the day.
Emmett demanded that he sit shotgun because we had 'blown his day to hell,' so I drove back to where Emmett's car was still parked on the side of the road while he blabbed on about what assholes we were.
"Shut up, Emmett!" Bella finally snapped after twenty minutes of Emmett going on and on about how we had successfully ruined his day. He still didn't even know what we had put Rosalie through.
Emmett froze and looked over at Bella, shocked at her explosion. I, too, was a little surprised. Bella never raised her voice like that unless she was really, really angry. I knew from firsthand experience.
The rest of the car ride to Emmett's car was spent in uncomfortable silence. When we finally reached his car, he hopped out and slammed the door behind him. I watched as he hung his head low and walked to his car before starting it up and pulling away from the curb, heading in the direction of the lake house.
Bella didn't say anything and made no move to come to the passenger seat, so a few minutes after Emmett departed, I put the car in drive and continued on to the lake house in silence.
Once we arrived, I parked the car in the large driveway since the garage was probably full, and hopped out. When I noticed Bella didn't get out as well, I walked to the back door and opened it.
"Bella," I said quietly. She looked up at me. "Are you coming?" I asked her softly.
She sighed. "I'm just going to sit out here for a while," she responded quietly. "I'll come inside in a little bit."
My eyebrows were furrowed in confusion, but I simply nodded and closed the door before walking up the porch and through the front door. I glanced around and noticed that no one was home yet except for Emmett and possibly Rosalie. With a heavy sigh, I walked into the living room and dropped myself onto the couch, running my hands over my face as I heard footsteps enter the room.
"Hey, man."
I looked up when I heard Emmett's gruff voice and I simply nodded in response as he sat in the couch across from me.
"Where's Bella?" he asked.
"In the car," I stated simply.
"Why?"
I shrugged and finally made eye contact with him. "You know, what you and Rosalie did these last couple of weeks…it was really fucked up. I'm not passed it, but I can let things go over time. You're my brother and Rosalie is basically my sister." I paused and he waited patiently as I collected my thoughts. "But Bella…you know, she puts so much trust in the people that she cares about. Her trust is earned, it's not given easily, and you guys had it. She trusted you to be good friends to her, good family. But instead you just fucked with her. With us."
He nodded, which shocked the hell out of me. "I know. I know." He let out a loud exhale as he slumped back into the couch. "When she snapped at me in the car…for the first time, I realized how much our getting involved fucked things up. She's never…yelled at me like that before."
"I know," I agreed quietly.
There was a long, drawn out silence before Emmett spoke again. "But you guys got me good," he suddenly chuckled.
My head snapped up and I looked at him incredulously. "What?"
He was nodding and smiling. "Getting me arrested? Shit, that was…fucking brilliant."
I chuckled and shook my head. "You were in jail for half of the day and you thought it was brilliant?"
He nodded again, fervently. "Fuck yea, man! I would have never been able to come up with something like that."
"Bella actually thought of it. I just called Eric," I admitted, proud of Bella's diabolical moment.
He laughed a little more boisterously before composing himself and eyeing me seriously. "I'm really sorry, man. About everything. I know it's going to take a hell of a lot more than that, but…it's all I've got right now." He shrugged, defeated.
"I know, Em. I know," I sighed. "It's going to take some time for me to forgive what you guys did, but…I do accept your apology."
"Thanks, Edward." He paused and I waited for him to continue, knowing he had more to say and was trying to figure out how to say it. "So you and Bella. You're really through, huh?"
I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd holding, but just as I opened my mouth to tell him the truth, the front door opened and slammed and Rosalie came strutting in, looking solemn and defeated—much like Emmett.
"What happened to you today, baby?" Emmett asked, concerned, as he stood up.
She sighed and held up the Build-A-Bear box. "Where's Bella?" she asked me.
"She wants to be alone right now," I answered immediately.
"Edward, please. I want to talk to her," she said, her eyes pleading.
I knew that Bella just wanted to be left alone and the last thing she needed was to talk to Rosalie or Emmett, so I just shook my head.
Rosalie opened her mouth to argue, but then closed it and simply nodded. "Okay," she conceded. "I'm sincerely sorry for everything Emmett and I have done these last couple of weeks, though, Edward. And I know it's going to take a lot of time for you and Bella to forgive us, but I just wanted you to know we never meant to hurt either of you." She let out a shaky breath and looked at the ground before meeting Emmett's gaze with tear-filled eyes. "And, baby, I'm sorry for roping you into doing most of that shit. You kept telling me to let things go, but I wouldn't listen."
I had never seen Rosalie cry before, and it was starting to scare me. Emmett walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"Hey," he said softly. "I'm just as guilty. And don't forget, I came up with about half of our schemes. You just initiated the planning."
Rosalie chuckled against him and nodded before pulling away and wiping the tears from her eyes. They kept their arms around each other as they both looked at me, and in that moment all I wanted to do was go and hold my Bella.
"We really are sorry, Edward," Rosalie said again.
Emmett nodded his agreement, his hold on Rosalie tightening. "We were assholes," he agreed.
"And we deserved everything we got today," Rosalie added.
Emmett's eyebrows knit together in confusion as he looked down at her. "We?" he asked her.
Rosalie laughed quietly through her tears and let out a deep breath before saying, "Let's go upstairs. I'll tell you all about it while I get ready for mine and Alice's dinner tonight." Her gaze turned to me and she bit her lip nervously.
"Your dress is in the car. I'll get it in a minute," I said, answering her silent question.
She smiled at me weakly and nodded. "Thanks, Edward," she replied quietly before looking at Emmett. "Come on. I'll explain all about my day and then you can tell me about jail."
Emmett smiled and kissed Rosalie firmly on the lips before taking her hand and leading her toward the stairs.
"And Edward?"
I looked at Rosalie as she and Emmett stood at the foot of the stairs.
"When Bella's ready, tell her we really want to talk to her," Rosalie said softly. I simply nodded and watched as they headed up the stairs and closed their bedroom door behind them.
I ran my hand through my hair and leaned my head back on the couch, closing my eyes. A few minutes passed before I heard the front door open and close. I didn't open my eyes, but I heard the light footsteps make their way over to where I was sitting. I felt her weight in my lap and I reflexively wrapped my arms around her waist and moaned softly when she ran her hands through my hair.
I finally opened my eyes and smiled up at Bella. Her eyes were red and puffy and I knew she had been crying. She hardly ever showed how much of an effect Rosalie and Emmett's meddling had had on her, but I could see now that it really had gotten to her.
"What is it, love?" I asked her worriedly.
She sniffed back tears and exhaled a heavy breath. "I just realized today that they really don't think what they did was wrong," she answered.
"I think they do now," I replied softly.
She looked at me confused. "Why do you say that?"
"They apologized," I stated simply. She scoffed as I continued, "They were sincere, Bella. I'm mad as hell at them for what they did, but it's been done. Nothing left to do now but move forward."
"I'm just not ready to face them yet."
"And that's fine," I urged her gently. "You don't owe them anything. Take as much time as you need." I paused again and considered my next words. "But they did apologize for everything and I accepted…only on my behalf," I added quickly when she glared at me. "They're not fully forgiven yet and it's going to take some time, but I'm at least going to give them a chance to show us they can be trusted."
She sighed reluctantly and nodded. "I know. I know they can be, I just never thought they would stoop so low."
"But they did, and they know that," I responded. A smile slowly made its way onto my face as I thought back on our day. I was met with her confused eyes. "But we got them back pretty damn good, huh?" I teased, smirking.
She laughed and I instantly felt the tension leave her body. "God, it felt so good," she breathed, throwing her head back and smiling before leaning on my shoulder and kissing my neck. "The best part was getting to spend an entire day alone with you, though," she murmured.
"I feel the same way," I smiled. "But I have to admit, you're pretty hot when you're being devious."
She laughed again and lifted her head up to look at me. "And you're pretty sexy when you're scheming."
"Couldn't have done it without you, love," I replied honestly.
Her smile faded slightly and she observed me intensely for a few moments. "Same here…love," she whispered huskily.
My gaze traveled down to her lips and just when I was going to lean in and kiss her, she closed the remaining distance between us, locking her mouth confidently with mine.
"I love you, Edward," she breathed against my lips.
"Mmm," I moaned. "I love you more."
"Impossible," she mumbled, her lips still latched onto mine.
"Bella, you talk too much," I said against her mouth, chuckling softly.
She pulled away and glared at me. I tried kissing her again, but she pulled back and stared me down.
"I didn't mean it," I said softly, smiling my crooked smile at her—I knew it drove her crazy.
"Would you prefer it if I just stopped talking from now on?" she quipped.
I shook my head and brought my mouth within an inch of hers—this time she didn't pull away from me.
"Never," I whispered against her lips, before kissing her chastely. "I want to hear your voice for the rest of my life."
"Good," she smiled, her eyes still closed as neither of us made a move to pull away from each other. "Because I'm never going to stop talking."
I chuckled and gently helped her off my lap as I stood up, taking her hand in mine and leading her up the stairs. "Come on, love. We need to rest. We've had a long day," I teased softly, smirking.
"Seriously, I need to take a hot bath or something. My body's sore from all that sitting in the car we did," she replied once we entered our bedroom.
"Hmm," I hummed quietly. "Let me help you with that."
Author's Note: When I first started this story, it was meant to be funny an angsty at the same time, but of course angst always has a way of becoming the more dominate theme, and that is okay. But this is some humor that I have wanted to squeeze into the storyline and never quite knew how to fit it in. I had fun writing this chapter and I think it was an amusing way for Edward and Bella to get some payback, but I am also nervous about hearing what you guys thought since it was different from all the angst and drama in previous chapters—so lay it on me :)