10:50am.
"Marie, you can start bringing breakfast out onto the patio. Everyone should be arriving soon." Julia directed, grabbing the large dish of bacon.
"Yes ma'am." Marie replied, setting the other large dishes of brunch food onto the dining cart.
"Come on Rosalie! Everyone will here soon!" Julia shouted, standing at the bottom of the stairs.
"I'm coming!" Rose hollered back, before appearing at the top of the stairs.
"Wow, New York has really done a number on you. I see your fashion sense has skyrocketed." Julia joked, meeting her daughter halfway on the stairs, "If that shirt and those jeans were any tighter, they'd be your skin."
"Mom, please. Not today…" Rose sighed, heading down the stairs.
"Sorry, the shirt is pretty, and I love your shoes." Julia complimented, hearing the doorbell ring, "You look beautiful Rosalie."
"I'll get it!" Jasper yelled, jogging towards the front door.
"Are you five? Why do I have to keep reminding you about running in the house?" Julia hollered, speed walking after her son, "Are you coming dear?"
"No. I'm going outside. Marie might need some help." Rose responded, heading in the opposite direction.
"Okay." Julia mumbled, turning back towards the direction she was going.
Jasper opened the door to reveal Esme, Carlisle and Edward.
"Es!" Julia screamed, bouncing up and down, excitedly, at her older sister's arrival.
"Jules!" Esme exclaimed , enthusiastically, returning the same greeting.
"Are we the first ones here?" Carlisle asked, holding a pot of hot grits.
"Of course." Julia laughed, closing the door behind her brother-in-law.
"Where can I put this?" Carlisle questioned, holding the pot in the air.
"Jasper, show Carlisle where to put that." Julia directed, grabbing her sister's hand before pulling her into the living room.
Jasper and Edward headed to the backyard, leaving their mothers chatting in the main entrance of the house.
"I got a lecture yesterday." Edward sighed, opening the back door.
"So did me and Rose." Jasper added, noticing his sister sitting in a patio chair.
"Right there." Jasper stated, clearing off a spot on the patio table.
"Hey Rose!" Edward greeted, walking over to her.
"Hi Edward!" Rose replied, happily, pulling him into a hug.
11:05am.
"We're just waiting on Charlie, Renee and Bella, then we can eat." Anthony informed, as they all took seats around the table.
Alice was avoiding Emmett and Jasper. She didn't feel like hearing lectures about how she's suppose to be feeling. None of them understand. They never will. It's basically her fault all of this happened. If she never bullied Mike, he wouldn't have brought a gun.
"Why are you so quiet?" Edward asked, taking a seat next to Alice.
"I just have nothing to say." Alice growled, turning away from Edward.
"Don't be mad at me. I didn't do anything. Don't push everyone away." Edward pleaded, cautiously, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"Don't touch me." Alice spat, pushing his hand off of her.
Rosalie was sitting next to Emmett, both of their hands intertwined with one another. Rose was currently telling Emmett about last night. When she walked into her room, she noticed a small blood stain, hidden on her curtains. She immediately broke down, as her mother and brother came rushing to the room. Julia demanded for Marie to take the curtain and immediately replace it.
It took her an hour before she finally fell asleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she experienced flashbacks of that night. She could see it happening, like it was happening all over again. He wanted a dance. She didn't. Rose wanted to go find Emmett. Him admitting that he loves her. Rose admitting that she doesn't love him. Him pulling out his gun. Rose begging for him to put it away. Him shooting her.
"How did you end up falling asleep?" Emmett asked, rubbing Rose's hand, soothingly.
"Eventually I just did. I don't really know." Rose answered, seeing Bella, Charlie and Renee walk through the back door.
11:35am.
Everyone was sitting around the table, eating their food. The parents and Bella chatted, laughed and cracked jokes. The children, not so much. They just ate in silence.
"Why are all of you so quiet? We did this brunch thing to bring all of us together." Renee said, looking around the table.
"Sometimes it's better not to say anything, than to say how you truly feel and make things worse." Alice muttered, before taking a bite of eggs.
"How do you truly feel?" Esme asked, pouring herself a glass of orange juice.
"I feel like screaming! I feel like it's my fault! I feel like I should have been one of those corpses! I feel like no one understands me! I feel like ripping someone's head off!" Alice hollered, pushing her empty plate away from her body.
"Maybe you should talk to someone." Julia insisted, earning a glare from Alice.
"That's why I don't feel like telling you people how I feel!" Alice shouted, running her hand down her face.
"Would anyone like another glass of orange juice?" Bella asked, holding up the pitcher, before setting it back down.
"Sometimes I close my eyes and I can still feel the pain. Then I open them and realize I got through it. I just need to learn to let go of it." Rose whispered, nibbling onto her last piece of bacon, "Some days I even have to wake up and just tell myself to breathe, -you can do this, then I smile and prepare to face the day."
"That's good sweetheart." Julia whispered, patting her daughter's hand.
"What about you Bella?" Cynthia questioned, quirking her brow at Bella's unconcerned exterior.
"Um, I feel good. Nice. I feel better than yesterday. I just live each day as it comes. Life is short, so why waste life being tied up on foolish emotions?" Bella remarked, earning several glares from around the table. "I just don't care anymore. I really don't."
"These emotions I'm feeling aren't foolish! We've lost friends that we'll never be able to get back! This was as much your fault than it was mine and Alice's! So what I rejected him? You ditched him! You teased him right along with Alice! You told his deep, dark, embarrassing secrets to the entire school! You humiliated him! You don't deserve friends, because apparently you don't know what friendship means!" Rose shouted, getting out of her seat, before Bella interrupted her.
"Mike would be so proud that you're defending his honor. He would fall deeper in love with his precious Rose." Bella said, winking her eye at Rose.
Rose pounced onto Bella and smacked her in the face. Bella tried to push Rose off, but didn't have any luck. Rose continued hitting Bella until she felt her dad pull her off.
"You should have died that night!" Bella screamed, touching her bloodied lip.
"Shut up!" Jasper growled, approaching Bella before Julia pulled him back.
"You shouldn't be here today. You should be rotting in a coffin!" Bella continued, holding her hand over her mouth, to cover the blood.
"That's enough!" Julia screamed, standing in between her daughter and Bella, "You have no right to say that!"
"I'm returning your knife…I finally got it out of my back!" Rose spat, feeling Emmett pull her slowly away from Bella, "One day you're going to need me, but I'm not going to be there because you threw it all away when you decided not to care."
11:50am.
Julia, Esme, Cynthia and Renee waved as their children left in the limo, on there way to the cemetery. The mothers heard arguing outside and followed the noise. Anthony and Carlisle were arguing with Charlie about Bella. Bill just kept his distance. He agreed with everything Rose said, but he felt he didn't need to voice his opinion.
"Your daughter is going to get hurt and no one is going to care!" Anthony shouted, as Marie cleaned up all of the dishes.
"Stop!" Cynthia yelled, pushing them apart.
"No let him continue. He's telling the truth." Julia sighed, causing Renee to approach her.
"I don't agree with how Bella's acting, but she's my daughter and you have to realize what she went through!"
"Who cares what your daughter went through? She got shot in her freaking shoulder! Oh, what's that going to do, other than leave a mark? She should have had it the worst! It's more her fault than it is anyone else's. Those innocent kids in the gym who died had it the worst! Your daughter had no right to tell mine she should have died that night! No right! And I don't give a damn who she is to you, right now to me, she's an enemy because she not only pissed my kids off, but she pissed me and my husband off as well!" Julia screamed, before storming into the house.
Renee stood in silence. She looked towards Esme, who avoided to look back. Esme pushed past Renee to chase after her sister.
"Get your stuff and leave." Anthony spat, before following his wife and sister-in-law into the house.
12:10pm.
"The cemetery looks exactly the same." Alice whispered, stepping out of the limo, "Gloomy and isolated."
Alice led the group to the tomb stones of their friends. Emmett, Jasper and Edward kept Bella and Rose a distance away from each other.
"Who do you think was right in the situation?" Bella asked, falling behind her friends with Edward.
"Honestly?" he asked, waiting for her to nod, "Rose."
"What? Why?" Bella bellowed, crossing her arms, angrily.
"Because she was right. If you don't feel anything you don't have to keep reminding everyone that you don't care. Some stuff is just better left unsaid. You had no right to tell my cousin she should have died that night!" Edward remarked, before speeding up to catch up with everyone else.
Bella stood, speechless. She knew she was wrong, but she just hoped Edward would agree with her because he's her boyfriend.
Candles were lit. Stuffed animals were propped up around the tombs. Pictures of the students were situated on the ground. Flowers were everywhere within five feet of the graves. It was like the memorial service all over again, just without the large crowd of grievers and the cluster of paparazzi.
"They didn't deserve any of this." Alice whispered, blinking back the tears that threatened to come out.
She didn't go through a whole year without crying to start crying right now. She refused to breakdown and show a weakness.
"You're right. Life isn't fair." Emmett added, adjusting a crooked picture.
Rose stood back, not saying a word. She closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh air. She thought about last year, how everyone was so excited for the Valentines Day dance. Everyone was talking about it. Everyone was going dress and tux shopping. She knew if they knew what she knows now, no one would have shown up.
"Remember we can't be here long, we have to go to the school. It'll take about ten minutes to get there from here." Jasper informed, moving away from Bella as she approached slowly.
Rose walked around the cemetery before stumbling upon Michael Newton's grave stone.
"Guys!" Rose called out, waving them over.
Rose went into her pocket and pulled out an old, practically dead flower. The flower Mike Newton gave her on Valentines Day last year. It was rotted and thin. She set the flower onto his tomb before everyone came over.
"So it is true. He is dead." Alice muttered, brushing her hand along the stone.
"Serves him right." Bella added, brushing the dirt off of the grave.
"Karma's a bitch." Rose growled, causing Bella to laugh.
"I don't understand. He died midnight…how did they bury him that fast?" Alice asked, biting onto her bottom lip, while wrapping her arms around her waist.
"They probably…" Jasper started, before shaking his head, "I don't know. Maybe they just threw his body into a coffin and buried it. No memorial service."
Bella stood up straight and turned Rose to face her.
"What do you want?" Rose asked, raising her voice, about to cause Jasper and Emmett to intervene.
"I want to apologize. I had no right to say you should have died that night. I have no right to be feeling how I am feeling." Bella proclaimed, taking Rose's hand in hers, "I don't know why I'm feeling like this, but I can't help it."
"I accept." Rose whispered, before seeing a flash of light, "I don't deserve to hold a grudge against you."
The paparazzi and news crew arrived at the cemetery flashing camera lights in their direction.
"What made you all come to visit Michael Newton today?" Reporter One asked, shoving the microphone into Edward's face.
"We came to visit our late friends, but we stumbled upon Mike's grave. We didn't believe it was true, but I guess it is." Edward replied, as the paparazzi continued taking pictures.
"How are you feeling a year later about everything that happened?"
Reporter Two questioned, turning her microphone to Bella.
Bella bit down onto her tongue, refusing to comment on that question.
"It's still hard. We'll never forget what happened no matter how hard we try. They didn't deserve this fate. We all had so much going for us and it was just taken away from them in the blink of an eye." Rose answered, stepping in for Bella, as the reporter quickly pushed the microphone into her face.
Emmett smiled down at Rose, happy at the way she's handling herself. He noted how she's not as fragile as she was yesterday.
"Where are you all headed next?" Reporter Three wondered, offering the microphone up to anyone who would answer.
"We prefer not to answer that. You all might pop up." Emmett responded, throwing his arm around Rose.
"Smart kid." Reporter One commented, turning off his microphone.
They started walking back towards the parking lot, leaving the paparazzi and reporters looking down at Mike's grave, shaking their heads in disapproval.
"Onto Forks High!" Jasper announced, opening the limo door.
12:45pm.
Margaret Newton, Mike's mom stood in the distance watching as those kids visited her son's grave. They had no right to be there. It was all their fault in the first place. She knew they would come back, but she thought it was to remember the kids who died, not to visit her son's grave.
Mike deserved vengeance for what they did. He deserved justice. Justice was not served. They wouldn't even allow her to throw him a funeral. They just buried his body and threw any old tombstone on his grave. He deserved better than that.
Margaret couldn't stand how those tomb stones were beautifully decorated and her son's looked bland and boring.
Margaret felt Bella was right in telling Rose she should have died that night. But, Margaret also felt the same went for Alice and Bella as well. They're going to the school next. Margaret knew she had enough time to rush home, pick up something, and then meet them at the school. It'll all be over today. They'll get what they deserved. She'll finish off the job her son started.
1:00pm.
The limo pulled into the parking lot of the school.
"Want me to wait right here?" the driver asked, turning off the engine.
"No. We don't know how long we're going to take." Edward answered, hopping out of the car, "I'll text you when we're ready."
"Alright." the driver replied, pulling off.
Each person turned to face the school. Since the shooting, the school closes Valentines Day in memory of those students who died. Emmett grabbed Rosalie's hand as each of them headed up to the entrance. Bella pulled open the door and was the first one to step in.
"Can you believe we're back?" Jasper asked, as they walked along the hallway.
"No. I thought I would never see this place again." Edward replied, shaking his head, while throwing his arm around Bella's waist.
Rose stopped in her tracks. She looked up at her locker, which was covered in flowers and sweet notes. She stooped low and touched the ground.
"I was shot right here." Rosalie whispered, blinking back the tears, "I bled out right here. Mike was just a few feet in front of me."
"Come on babe." Emmett said, grabbing Rose's arm to pull her back to her feet, "Lets keep walking…"
Alice and Bella stared at their old lockers, which were located next to each other, both also decorated with flowers and nice notes. Bella came to an abrupt stop outside of the girls' bathroom. This was where it happened.
Bella covered her mouth as her eyes watered. She turned away from her friends as she started to cry. Edward proudly pulled her into a hug. She buried her head into the crook of his neck as she cried.
Edward and Bella followed everyone towards the gym. The doors were left open, awaiting their arrival. They stepped into the gym, and the impact from their friends' deaths hit Bella the hardest.
"It's okay." Alice sighed, patting Bella's back.
"No it's not! I didn't cry at their funerals!" Bella exclaimed, backing out of the gym.
"Funerals. A great party people throw for you on the day they know you can't come." Rose summed up, brushing it off, trying to make Bella feel better.
"They probably think I'm so insensitive!" Bella proclaimed, storming off, as Edward, Jasper and Emmett chased after her.
Who better to make her feel better than the three boys who didn't get shot? Alice and Rose stood, silently, in the gym. Soft music began to fill the gym…just like last year. The gym doors quickly slammed close, causing Alice to run over to them.
"The doors won't open!" Alice bellowed, panicky.
"Emmett! Edward! Jasper!…Bella! Guys this isn't funny!" Rose screamed, walking around the large gym, "This is a sick joke!"
"Who said this is a joke?" Margaret asked, making her presence known, while twirling her son's gun in her hand.
Review:
Part 3 is coming soon! Meanwhile, check out my friend Ms. Hale's story CSI: Miami based off of our Twilight characters AND my other friend Amani C's story Under Siege...Both are GREATTT! I wouldn't lie to you!
-Rachel.