Chapter 18: Not a Possession

Rosalie was sitting in Esme's gardens with Maggie in her lap. For the last three days the young woman hardly spoke a word and it was beginning to worry Emmett. She woke up screaming every night from nightmares she wouldn't even tell him about. She would sit in Esme's gardens and cradle Maggie in her lap. She ate and slept, or just barely slept. Her once golden, curly, blond hair was now flat and a little disheveled. Her skin was paler and her eyes were empty.

Emmett was standing by the window watching Rosalie just sit and stare into space. "Hungry sweetheart?" Esme asked softly, her hand resting on his arm.

"No, I'm alright ma," he answered while his eyes trailed back outside toward Rosalie, "she hardly talks anymore."

Esme rubbed his arm gently. "I'm losing her, I'm truly losing her," he murmured.

"Emmett…" she murmured gently.

"I have to go to work," Emmett told his mother before he grabbed his keys and left.

Esme sighed sadly before she looked back outside at Rosalie.

Rosalie was stroking Maggie's hair while the toddler just babbled her little baby talk, brushing her doll's hair. "Rosalie," Esme called. The young woman glanced over at her future mother-in-law before her eyes went back to Maggie. "How are you doing sweetheart?" she asked sitting next to her. Rosalie shrugged her shoulders. "Rosie, you know you can talk to me about anything," she said softly. The young woman nodded her head slowly. "Would it help to know that I know exactly what you're going through?" Esme asked.

Rosalie glanced at Esme with a quizzical look. Esme took Maggie and had her go play so she didn't have to hear the conversation. "I was engaged once before I met Carlisle. His name was Charles, a rich, powerful man. From what I hear so is Royce," Esme told her. Rosalie froze at the name and swallowed against the forming lump in her throat. "Charles started off as a kind man, sweet, caring, but then he changed as soon as that ring was placed on my finger. As soon as we got engaged he beat me everyday. First it was over little things, but then it was just because I was there. I lost count of all the times I went to the emergency room because of him," she started.

Rosalie felt tears press against her eyes, but she just kept watching Maggie play. "Then I was pregnant…" Esme started. Rosalie looked at the woman in disbelief. "Yes, before Emmett I was pregnant with a little boy that I named Samuel. He was a happy, beautiful baby," she murmured. Esme let out a sigh as she stared at her gardens. "A couple weeks after he was born, I went to his nursery and he wasn't breathing. Nothing is more heartbreaking, deadlier than losing a child," Esme explained.

Nodding her head slowly, Rosalie's bottom lip trembled. "I know of the other three little girls you lost Rosalie. I know about them, Emmett told me. Sweetheart I'm so sorry that Royce was that cruel to make you lose those little girls. No mother should have to endure the loss of a child, let alone three of them," she answered. Rosalie swallowed hard, lowering her head sniffling. "I know what Royce is doing now is scaring you and it's killing Emmett to see you hurting like this," she added. Rosalie was quiet for a minute.

"I'm not meaning to hurt Emmett," she said softly.

"You're not hurting him, he knows you're scared. Any normal person would be scared with everything he is doing. This is when you have to be strong, because not only is he threatening your safety, Rosie. He's threatening Maggie's safety, and the baby's safety," Esme told her, rubbing her hand over Rosalie's bulging stomach.

Rosalie rested her hand on her stomach sniffling. "Come here sweetie," Esme whispered pulling her into a hug. The young woman rested her head on her shoulder letting out a sob. "I know sweetheart…I know, it's okay," she whispered stroking her hair as she cried.

At the garage, Emmett was lying underneath one of the cars that were brought in. "Hey, Rick, pass me that wrench would ya?" he called out. The wrench was passed into his hand, but before he could get back to work, he suddenly felt someone grab a hold of the handle of the creeper he was on and pulled him out from under the car. "What the…" he started when he looked up into Rosalie's violet eyes, "Rose…"

"I came to see you," she said quietly.

Emmett sat up. "You okay? Is Maggie okay? The baby?" he asked.

"Maggie's okay, the baby's okay, but I'm not," she replied.

He furrowed a brow. "Emmett I haven't been okay for a long, long time. I was a stupid teenage girl who wanted to fulfill that girl's fantasy of marrying some rich, powerful guy and living in this big mansion. I learned to grow up really fast when he first hit me and I realized that it wasn't a fairytale," she added. Emmett sighed as he leaned back against the car. "I've tried to run away before, I've tried to run from Royce several times, but he always caught me and that beating was worse than the last. Emmett, I started to think that's how my life was supposed to be, Royce's personal punching bag," she explained.

"And that is wrong, Rosalie. That is so messed up that you would think that's how life is supposed to be lived," he answered.

He turned so he was face to face with her. "I know I'm not as rich as my parents, I can't give you that big ass mansion with the big yards and all that. I can't give you that fairytale that little girls dream about, because all that money and everything went into this shop. All I can give you Rosie, is my heart and that is something I have been giving you over and over again," he explained. Rosalie smiled as she placed her hands on his face.

"You are all I want. You, Maggie, and the baby are all I want in this world," she answered with tears in her eyes.

Emmett smiled as he placed his hands on her disappearing waist and kissed her deeply. Rosalie kissed him back, one of her hands moving to the back of his neck when he pulled her into his lap.

Back at Rosalie and Emmett's apartment, Royce was tearing through everything he could get his hands on. He walked over to the bookshelf in the master bedroom, ripping all the books out when the leather bound photo album fell to the floor and opened to the first page. Grabbing the book, he threw it on the table as he looked at the page. He saw the three sonograms of the three girls Rosalie miscarried.

Glaring at the sonograms he turned the page to see several more sonograms. All saying "Maggie" and what week the sonogram was taken. Snorting at the sonograms, he turned to the next page. There were two different sonograms on this page. What was written above the pictures made his eyes almost spit fire at the pages: "Baby Boy Eight Weeks" "Baby Boy Thirteen Weeks". Underneath the sonograms was a picture of Rosalie standing in front of the camera, looking like she was laughing while her hands were under her bulging stomach. "So you are now carrying the son I want but you're giving him to the wrong guy!" he hissed. He ripped the photograph from the book before leaving the apartment.