Chapter Nineteen: Miles

Bella's POV

"Did he say anything else?" I asked as I chased Carlisle through the house. He'd been running around since three a.m. last night when Emmett called. All I knew was that Rosalie cheated and he was on his way with the girls.

"Nope." He sighed as he paced the living room.

"Carlisle!" I yelled and he finally stopped moving long enough to look up at me. "Please, calm down."

"Calm down?" I asked. "My best friends world is crashing down in front of my eyes." He screamed as he pushed some magazines off of the coffee table. "FUCK!"

"Carlisle, please." I begged.

"I thought they were the one couple that would actually make it." He cried as he sat down. "Besides us, of course."

"Of course." I whispered, giving him a sad smile. I knew he was nervous about getting remarried. The first one ended horribly and I understood his doubts and feared. But, this was going to work. It just had to.

"She cheated on him, Bella." He whispered. "She cheated."

"I know," I nodded as I walked over and sat down on the arm of the chair he'd slumped into. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang and Carlisle bolted from his seat to the front door. I went into the kitchen, trying to give them the space they needed.

I kept the girls busy while the guys talked out on the back porch. I wanted so badly to know what happened, but it was none of my business. I didn't know Emmett and he didn't particularly like me. I mean, I was the slut who got his best friend kicked out of NYU. So, I played with their toys with them and did what I could to make his life easier.

"They're going to stay here tonight if that's okay." Carlisle sighed as he stood at the doorway to our bedroom.

"Of course." I nodded, walking over to him and wrapping my arms around his neck. "Did he tell you exactly what happened?"

"He didn't walk in on the action," He sighed. "But, her phone went off when she was giving a bath to the twins and he went over to bring it to her." He explained. "But, he read the message the guy sent and got curious."

"What it'd say?" I asked.

"I had fun last night." He laughed. "After he read that, he opened her phone and looked through all the messages they'd shared."

"And?"

"They were just him begging for more and her saying no...except apparently the night before he found out."

"Has he talked to her?"

"No." He shook his head. "He didn't even tell her where they were going." He whispered. "I gotta call her."

"Carlisle,"

"She doesn't know where her kids are." He told me. "As a parent, I have to tell her."

"And as a friend of Emmett's?" I asked.

"I have to call her, Bella." He sighed. "You'll understand once we have a child of our own."

I helped Emmett cart in the Pack N' Plays for the twins and help set Ariana in Edward's bed. We put pillows on the floors and around her, but she was too old for a crib and she had to be in a bed. Once Carlisle came back inside, he was reading Ariana asleep as I helped rock Claire to sleep.

"You look good like that." He smiled as he grabbed Charlotte.

"You too." I smiled, leaning in for a kiss. Holding the twins, putting them to sleep just felt right. I wanted to marry him soon because I wanted a family with him. But, I wasn't so sure how much longer he'd actually want kids. He was nearing forty and although he kept telling me he wanted more kids, I wasn't so sure how true that was the older her got.

Once all the girls were asleep, we found Emmett passed out at the kitchen island with a glass of amber liquid in a glass. I saw the half-empty bottle of whiskey and looked over at Carlisle.

"That's from my parents anniversary party." He whispered. "My dad gave it to me to take and I totally forgot I had it. He didn't drink that much."

"Good," I sighed in relief. Carlisle went to wake Emmett up as I headed out the door to pick Edward up. He was spending a lot of time with Nate to try and fill the Kayleigh filled void he had. He was glad to give his bed up to Ariana and told me he'd take the pull-out couch.

I was having trouble sleeping that night. Carlisle told me the only other relationship he trusted more than his parents was Emmett and Rosalie's. He told me they'd had the perfect relationship and then perfect marriage. They were the lucky ones who rarely even fought. I just hoped Carlisle wasn't having second thoughts.

I woke up early the next morning and cooked everyone breakfast. I made chocolate chip, blueberry, and regular pancakes as well as an assortment of meats and toasts. By the time everyone got up, it looked like I was trying to feed an army.

"Wow," Edward laughed as he sped over to the tabled and grabbed three chocolate pancakes.

"Edward, manners." Carlisle warned.

"Sorry," He shrugged before digging in.

"I'll go get the booster seats." Emmett whispered, sounding empty as he handed Claire to Carlisle. He sat down with her in his lap and began feeding her small pieces of pancake and I smiled at the sight. He was such a good father. It didn't matter that she wasn't his daughter.

"How did you know I was hear?" I heard Emmett ask someone at the door. I looked at Carlisle and he shut his eyes, looking pained.

"Is that Rosalie?" I whispered.

"You just left, Emmett. With our daughters." A familiar woman's voice cried and I looked over at Carlisle who gave me a sad nod. "Please, we can work this out."

"No, we can't." He yelled. "Now leave."

"They're my kids too!" She yelled back. Now they were in a screaming match. "You had no right to take them like that!"

"And you had no right to screw someone else and wreck our family!" He screeched and Carlisle took Claire back upstairs. "You've ruined us!"

"Emmett,"

"Just go away!"

"Not without the girls."

"You're going to have to get past me if you ever want to see them again." He said darkly and I looked over at Edward who was just starring scared up at me. I gave him a sad smile then told him to go upstairs and he dind't argue with me.

"You can't do this!"

"Watch me!" He yelled as he slammed the door in her face. He came into the kitchen, looking flustered and like he was on the verge of tears. "FUCK!" He screamed as he threw the nearest thing to him at the wall. Thankfully it was just a glass.

"Emmett," Carlisle whispered from the door of the kitchen. He looked up with tears streaming down cheeks. "Ariana's asking for Rosalie."

"What?" He asked with a shakey voice.

"She wants her mom." He shrugged.

"Well, she isn't going to see her mom for a very long time."

"Emmett." He whispered. "When I found out Esme cheated, I wanted to keep Edward from her." Carlisle explained. "But, I couldn't do that because as much as I was hurting, she was his mom and nothing I did was going to change that."

"I can't trust her."

"No, I couldn't either." He said. "But, Esme was always a good mother. She'd never do anything to harm Edward." He whispered. "And, Rosalie's an even better mom."

"I don't even know if she's still here." He argued. He was trying so hard, but he was losing.

"She is." I spoke up. "She's still on the front porch." I told him as I peered out the window and saw a very broken girl sitting on the porch steps, her head in her knees.

"Fine, but someone has to give Ariana to her mother." He said. "I can't look at her."

"I'll go get her." Carlisle offered as he raced upstairs. Emmett slumped onto one of the chairs and buried his face in his hands.

"She was the love of my life." He cried. "I did everything for her. I was so damn good to her. I never even yelled at her!" He said. "I don't deserve this."

"No one does." I whispered as I sat down next to him.

"My girls...what's going to happen to them?" He asked, looking up at me with puffy eyes. "I don't want this for them, but I can't look at her now. I don't think I'll ever be able to look at her again."

"I think you need some space." I whispered. "But, I don't think you should give up." I told him. "It'd be different if it were just you and her, but it isn't. And, you owe it to your girls to at least try and work things out."

"But...what happens if things still don't work out?" He asked.

"Then at least you'll be able to tell the girls you tried." I said, giving him a small smile. "And if she's the love of your life, it's worth trying."

"Why are you being so good to me?" He asked after a long pause. "All I did was give you grief for being with Carlisle and getting him kicked out."

"You were there for me after what happened with Professor Michaelson." I shrugged. "You didn't have to be. You could have called the cops and left me at the hospital, but you didn't" I explained, tears filling my eyes. "You were there when Carlisle couldn't be."

"I couldn't have just left you lay there." He shrugged. "I owed it to him to at least take care of you."

Emmett took a leave from NYU and came to live with us. He told us he couldn't even be in the same house let alone the same city for the time being. He promised Carlisle he'd try and work everything out, but for the time being, he just needed his space. The girls were with Rosalie for the time being. He didn't have the right to move them in with us and uproot them from everything they'd ever known.

And, having him around was actually really helpful. He didn't cook, but the house was spotless each day when we came home and Edward's homework was always finished and he was entertained.

But, I couldn't help but think he was trying to hide. He refused to talk to anyone but his girls and the three of us. He was even ignoring his parents and family members. I was worried for him, but Carlisle told me this is how he handed things with Esme.

But, when Thanksgiving time rolled around and he still hadn't talked about things, I was getting worried. Carlisle told me this last for three weeks after finding Esme, but it had been months since Emmett found out and he was nowhere near leaving.

"You have to talk to him." I urged as we got ready for bed the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

"Bella, that's all I've been doing since he got here." He whispered as he turned down the sheets. "Nothing I say is going to make him get back together with his cheating wife."

"I'm not saying he needs to get back together with her," I defended as I followed him into our bathroom. "But, I think he needs to talk to her. They need to work this out."

"Why?" He asked as he removed his contact lenses. "Why is it so important to you they work it out?"

"Because they have kids together!" I argued as he put his glasses on.

"I had a kid with Esme." He reminded me. "Am I a bad parent because I didn't want to get back together with my cheating bitch of a wife?" Great. He was mad.

"No, Edward was older..."

"You know what, Bella? Just stop." He sighed. "Stop trying to fix this and worry about something else. Not everything can be fixed and honestly this isn't any of your business." He told me and I had to take a step back. He'd never talked to me like this before. "These are my friends, friends that are my own age so just back off!"

"Fine," I sighed as I bit my lip, just not wanting to cry. "I'll stay out of your business." I told him and ran out of the room. This was literally our first fight. He'd never been so cruel towards me and always welcomed me into his life. And he'd never brought up the age difference. Ever.

I didn't know what to do so I grabbed my car keys and headed outside. I got into the car and started the engine. I was about to back out when I saw Carlisle standing on the front porch, begging me not to go. But, I was upset and needed space so I backed out and drove away.

I drove around for a while before finally pulling over in another neighborhood. I felt the tears forming in my eyes as I dug around my bag for my phone. There was no way my mother would understand, so I decided against calling her so I called the only other person I could think of.

"Bells?" Alice asked sleepily and I began to sob into the phone. "Sweetie, what's wrong?"

"Carlisle and I had a fight." I cried. "And we've never fought before so I left the house and I don't really have friends here and I miss you."

"I miss you too," She whispered.

"I'm sorry, I know it's late..."

"You never need to be sorry for calling." She told me. "Besides, it's been way too long since we've talked." She giggled.

"True," I nodded.

"So, what happened?"

I told her the entire story. From the phone call Emmett made to Carlisle months ago to the fight we'd just had. She didn't say anything, she just listened like I needed her to and after talking, I felt better. I missed her terribly and I couldn't wait until they moved up here.

"I should probably go," I sighed as I looked at the clock and realized we'd been talking for an hour and a half. "Carlisle's probably worried sick."

"Good, serve him right for saying those things to you."

"Bye, Ali." I sighed.

"Bye, Bells." She said. "It's gonna be okay. You two are even more perfect for each other than Jazz and I are."

"I don't think that's possible." I laughed before pressing the END button. I took a deep breath before starting the car again and driving home. The living room lights were still on and I could see a body slumped over on the porch swing.

I got out of the car and walked towards the porch. Carlisle was sitting there, his hands folded together and my heart jerked a little. I hated seeing him so upset. I walked up to where he was and loudly cleared my throat.

"Bella," He sighed in relief once he looked up and saw me standing there.

"My age has nothing to do with this." I huffed as he stood up and tried hugging me. "And the fact that you threw the fact that I'm not your age in my face really hurts."

"I'm sorry,"

"You should be!" I yelled. "It's not a problem."

"No it isn't."

"You're the problem!" I told him. "I get it, you went through the same thing, but you and Esme didn't work things out. I mean, I'm grateful for that, but you didn't."

"I didn't want to." He said, dropping his head. "She cheated, I wasn't going to be married to a cheater."

"And right now, Emmett needs to be encouraged to work things out. He has three kids with her, those girls deserve their parents to be together."

"Why are you getting so worked up about this?"

"Because!" I screamed. "My mom cheated on my dad and walked out! She walked out and didn't even look back!"

"But..."

"Renee is my stepmom." I sighed. "My mom...my real mom...walked out on my dad when I was two." I explained. "She didn't want to work things out and my dad hasn't been the same. He didn't deserve that and neither did I." I sighed as I sat down.

"How'd you find out?" He asked, sitting down next to me.

"I four when he met Renee." I told him. "She was new to town and was started working at the local diner."

"You call her mom though?"

"She isn't my blood mother...but being a parent is so much more than that."

"It is." He agreed. "If you would have just said something, I wouldn't have said those things."

"You shouldn't have said those things at all." I scoffed.

"People make mistakes, Bella and I'd take back what I said if I could." He sighed. "But, I am sorry."

"I guess I can accept your apology." I smiled. "But, our age gap doesn't matter."

"No, it certainly does not." He agreed. "Come on, it's getting cold."