Yes, I know it's been a while, and I am sorry. I kind of get side-tracked sometimes. I started a new story and I had to get to a good stopping place. You know how it is. Or maybe you don't, but I am assuming you are all noddng your head and saying, "Oh, yeah, I get it! No worries, we still love you anyway!" Yep, all of you said that. In unison, of course. LOL. Well, this is a sucky author's note, but I had to put something and I can't plead with you to review anymore. Why? Because, well, it's done no good. But, that's okay!

Hope you enjoy...

Emmett sat back down, prompting me to do the same. "He's being investigated for murder."

"Oh, okay?" I laughed and brushed the leaves that had gathered on my back onto the ground.

Emmett stood, more gracefully than I, and put his hand lightly on my arm. Now he decides to be nice? I can get up on my own thank you. I'm stronger anyway. Hmph. "Seriously, Bella. He is."

"Because…?" I led on like nothing. It was too surreal to be reality. This wasn't real. It has to be some hidden camera CSI type show. This doesn't happen in Forks. It rains, it's cloudy, vampires live as civil humans, upstanding members of the community don't get investigated for murder, especially people who don't go out of their way to make themselves known.

He shrugged and never dropped his honest gaze. I hoped he would and prove this was all just a cruel joke. "Because…he is. Someone thought they saw him kill someone. Simple as that."

Someone saw him? Where? Who? "Simple as that." Wait, that means someone had to report it, point the finger at my husband. My marital instincts kicked in. "Who said they saw him?" I hissed, harsher than I should if I wanted to keep up my calm appearance.

"A vampire. Another vampire."

"There are more?" I squeaked and I felt my chest fill with burning oxygen.

His eyes rolled back into his head. "Yeah, I mean, you have met more than just us. Do you not remember—"

I cut him off. "I'm not stupid. I know there are more vampires out there, but not…here. I thought it was only us," I asked, but stated at the same time.

"It is."

I stared blankly at Emmett. You have to give me something else. Something. It is what? It is raining? No duh, we live in the rainiest place in the continental U.S.

Emmett took my silence as a chance to explain, "We are the only coven around here. This one wasn't…isn't from around here." His eyes tried to explain what his words couldn't.

"Do you even understand this?" I questioned. He looked like a third grader who had to read a book and give an oral review, but forgot and skimmed through it before class started.

Emmett twisted around, looking for something to help me—and probably him—visualize what the story was, "Not completely. Edward wasn't…well…he didn't say exactly what…who it was, but Jasper said something…Edward couldn't look at us. I think I—"

"Just say it!" I was getting irritated with all of this beating around the bush. I was tired of having these secretive meetings with my brother-in-law in the middle of the woods. I had a perfectly good cottage waiting for me, and a perfect husband who didn't want to divorce me. Life had to be good. People get wrongly accused all the time. He was wrongly accused. Simple as that, like Emmett said.

"The Volturi! Okay. Gosh, Bella, you couldn't let me sugarcoat it could you?"

My breath left my body as I felt my eyes widen. What did they want? I know what—or whom—they wanted, but leave us alone! "How do you sugarcoat that!?"

"If you would have given me a chance—"

"How does Aro come to the police and they not suspect anything?" I asked. Aro wasn't exactly a…common citizen.

"It wasn't Aro, Marcus, or any of the head Volturi. It was someone they sent. Even Edward doesn't know them. Carlisle hasn't been to see him, so, before you ask, I don't know if he knows him either."

I put my head between both palms, not wanting to hear any more, but knowing I had to, "Just leave us alone." I said, barely above a whisper. "So that's why he was at the…"

"Yes."

"And how long has this been going on?"

"I don't know. I only found out about it yesterday." Emmett was as somber as I had ever seen him.

"You weren't like this when you found out were you?" I motioned to his stature, which was slumped, and his face, which was positioned more toward the ground than me. His honest stare wasn't able to fixate on my face anymore.

"No. I was—"

"Livid," I finished.

Emmett grunted, "To say the least." He said soft enough for my vampire hearing to catch it, but mostly he said it to himself.

"How is he going to—"

"A good lawyer I guess? We can't help any more. He's kind of on his own." I could see the pain on his Emmett's face, not being able to help his brother. He didn't want to admit the last statement, but he thought he had to.

"He's not on his own. He has his whole family to help him. He is the one who decided to keep it hidden. He knows we would have come rushing to his aid in a minute's notice. He knows that. " I was confused with the anger I felt for Edward not telling me, his wife, or any other members of his family, and the urge for me to move heaven and earth to help him. If there is a heaven after this.

"I know, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah, but he's not on his own." I gritted my teeth and grimaced, thinking of the pain Edward went through, trying to do everything on his own. "If he thinks this is as simple as him cleaning up someone else's mess, why didn't Edward tell me?!" I half-screamed, half-squealed into the air.

Emmett sensed the sudden urgency and craziness in my voice and stepped back, losing that sense of sadness. He looked ready to run, "I don't know. He's weird. I would have told you everything."

"Why didn't he tell me?" I started coming closer to Emmett, the anger boiling inside of me.

"I said I didn't know. I don't know. All we talked about was this psycho that killed this dude and is trying to blame Edward, that's all. He asked about you, so obviously he cares, but other than that, I didn't ask why he didn't tell you. He was going all crazy, kind of like you right now, and I told him you were okay, but I didn't tell him where you were. That's what you wanted. Alone time. To think," he backed up further, palms outward, in defense. "Don't I get Brownie Points for that?" he stifled a laugh.

"You want Brownie Points? Fine. Have all the Brownie Points you want. But why didn't the man I took vows with to stay true to each other, tell me what in the—"

"Bella! Hey!" Alice's voice broke my mid-pounce on Emmett. "Wait, am I interrupting something?"

Emmett spoke, "Nope. Alice, right on time," He looked at his empty wrist, where a watch should be. "Right on time. Well, you two have a lot of catching up to do, so why not start now? I will be out of your way. See you later Alice. Bella…um…"

Emmett ran back toward the Cullen home as Alice and I stood in the wilderness.

"You know you have to come home." The tone she said the simple statement in was cocky.

Alice's assurance caught me off guard, "No I don't!"

"So…" She motioned to the woods surrounding us, "You're going to stay out here? Wearing that? Uh uh." She shook her head from side to side, "You're going to come home, sit in front of a big pile of Coture, and we're going to talk this all out."

She grabbed at my arm, but I pulled away, "No. Edward had his chance of telling me. He wants to do this on his own. Fine. Let him. It's not my problem anyway." I wanted to go home and be with my husband and family. It would even probably be worth sitting in front of a big pile of overpriced, below-quality garments, but I couldn't give up that easily. I was still ticked.

I started to walk away when Alice jumped in front of me, blocking my route. "Bella. Come on. This is Edward, king of all stubbornness. He has his moments. This is one of those moments, one of those many moments. He just didn't want to worry you."

"Worry me? Worry me? Want to know what I thought was happening? I thought he wanted a divorce. A divorce! Him. Me. Done. That's something to worry about. He didn't even clue me in on what was the matter. I'm his wife!" I threw my hands up and hissed the last three words.

"He would never do that." Alice whispered, and stroked my hair.

"Well he did! What if Jasper was being investigated, and you knew nothing about it, and you jumped to conclusions. And don't say you wouldn't because I know you would. You would be 'Bella, Jasper's all secretive and he won't tell me anything.' I know you would, Alice." I faced Alice with the what-would-you-do scenario, hoping she would be as outraged as I was.

"He would tell me." She smiled her cocky smile again. Her confidence was unnerving.

I didn't raise my tone with Alice. I wasn't in the mood for her getting mad at me. I had to have someone on my side, "Well, just for the sake of arguing, let's say he didn't. What would you do? How would you react?"

"He wouldn't—"

"Let's say he did Alice! Play along!"

Alice drew in a deep breath, seeing I was frazzled, and continued petting my hair.

"I'm sorry, but please."

"Bella, I'm not going to agree with you. Jasper and I are completely different from you and Edward. And if he did happen to be keeping a secret from me, I would just look through his things," she said it so matter-of-factly there was no contradicting. "But Rose, that's another story. She'd probably move out for a few months. But even Emmett isn't that stupid. Edward, he just…screwed up. He needs you. I don't know about right now, but he needs you. He wants you. Goodness, the other night when Emmett came home, he almost mauled him in the yard because Emmett wouldn't spill the beans. He loves you. He always has and he always will. You know that. You love him, too."

She led the statement on, waiting for my response, "Yeah, yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm not mad."

"I know. Wow, I've been saying that a lot lately. I'm never the one people come to get advice from." She laughed her twinkling laugh, which made me smile under my hair.

"Technically I didn't come to you, you came to me."

"Don't ruin the moment," Alice said as she continued to stroke me like the sister I always wanted, but never had.

And if you really want to. If this story was worth taking the precious time out of your hectic lives to write a few simple acknowledgments, then I would be honored. If not. Then, I'll cry.