He was there faster than she thought possible, even for vampires. One minute she'd been all but bawling on the phone, as he listened quietly, murmuring that it would be alright, that she would be okay, that he would make it better. The next minute he was rubbing circles into her lower back. Soft, but firm at the same time. Comforting. His voice was thick with emotion, more southern than she'd ever recalled hearing it before.
"He's an idiot Minnie, just plum foolish sometimes, I swear. What makes it worse is that he thinks he's the smart one, but he'll see darlin', I promise you, he'll see." He whispered soothingly into her hair. Which smelled like sweet and heavy like summer and made him think all manner of things he shouldn't be thinking when he was supposed to be comforting her. "It'll be okay, honey." He said again, and Bella shot up. This was the first time he'd actually seen her face since he'd been here, and, even through her tears, he was completely shocked by her beauty.
"It won't be okay, Emmett!" she cried, "He doesn't want me! And why should he?! Why should he?! I'm just plain, not spectacular. I blush and I fall all the time. I never know what I'm doing. I push him and push him and push him and he always says no and then I tell him to leave and when he does, I feel like my whole world is falling apart all over again." She cried. He pulled her close, letting her sob against his chest.
"You're far from plain, Minnie. Far, far from plain. You're the closest to perfection that man's ever seen. Guaranteed. I'd reckon even the stars are jealous of you." She snorted. "Only because I have Edward." He snorted right back, "I've always thought of stars as fun loving things. What the hell would they want with Edward?" She laughed a little, just a little, and he squeezed her a little tighter. "Edward's just the lucky son of a gun that got you, but the stars have wanted to be you since birth, I'd bet. You're flawless, Bella." He soothed. But her head shot up again. "Then why doesn't he want me!" She cried. "Why doesn't anybody want me?" She sobbed.
Something violent pushed its way up into his throat, and he had to scoot her off of his lap so he could pace her room. His eyes had hardened when he looked at her again. "I can't help with your little pity party anymore Bella, not if you're gonna talk like that." He said, flatly. She looked at him, confused. "Nobody wants you? Nobody wants you?" He continued. "I left my family, I ran away from my home, for wanting you. And then, when you needed me, I came back for you. My wife can't find it in her to eat with I'm gone, but I came back for you. I'm sick for wanting you, Bella. Almost insane from it. So I can't let you sit here and say silly shit like nobody wants you. I can't do that." He raged quietly, careful not to wake her father. She stared at him in awe. No one had ever spoken to her like that before. So angrily, so passionately. He wanted her. And even though it was wrong, and she'd never act on it, it made her feel good. Nothing wrong with feeling good. Especially when she wasn't going to act on it....was she?
"Emmett I..." she began, but quickly realized she had no idea what she was going to say. "You make me laugh." she blurted out dumbly, he turned to look at her, and without words, she knew it wasn't enough. She continued. "He doesn't. We don't just laugh. You make me see the world different. You make it brighter for me. And sometimes, when me and Edward lay here, in the dark, talking about the future, and marriage, and my change, and VIctoria, sometimes I wish it was you laying with me, and that I didn't have to worry about such big things any more, and that I could just laugh." She quieted, and looked up at him. He'd stopped pacing, and looked at her with an expression she couldn't at all place.
All at once he was walking over to her, scooting her over on the bed, and laying in the spot where Edward usually was, except he was closer, laying under the blankets with her. Emmett didn't feel as cold as Edward, she realized, and wondered why.
"Why did the chicken cross the road?" He asked her quietly. "I don't know, why did the chicken cross the road?" She fired back. He shrugged, "I have no idea, thats why I was asking you. Humans have been laughing at that joke for decades and I've never gotten it." His face was serious, but his tone was light, and she giggled a little.
They continued that way until late into the night, when she fell asleep, nestled in the crook of his arm. He lay there for while, waiting for the talking, wondering who's name she would call in her sleep. When he finally heard it, it was bittersweet perfection. "Emmett..." she muttered, "I need you, Emmett." she sighed, snuggling closer into him, and in that moment he knew he needed her too.
He was gone before she woke up that morning, but she realized she'd slept better than she had in a long time. Edward would be gone all weekend, she wondered if she could convince Emmett to come back. He was good company.
She wondered what she was going to do about Edward, and how she was going to get Emmett's scent out of her room. She tried not to think about Edward and his coming back as she went downstairs to make breakfast for herself. But she couldn't help but realize this was going to be a problem. If Edward were air, Emmett had just become water. She needed him in her life. She didn't know how she was going to explain to the love of her life that she'd been in touch with his brother all along. She didn't know what she was going to say to Rosalie, but something had to be done.
Emmett's mind wandered along the same paths as he ran. He tried to steer clear of where he knew his family would be hunting, but he came close enough with in their path to hear Rosalie screaming. It ate at him that he'd done this to her. It ate at him that it didn't bother him more. It tore at him to no end that, in his heart, Bella's one night of peace balanced out Rosalie's screaming, and he knew if he didn't do something soon, he'd be hearing Rosalie's screams for the rest of his life.