Chapter 2: The Future Brings No Surprises

[disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, I'd be rich. Sadly I am not.]

"So wait," Alice said. She had a thing for her garden boy?"

"That's not so scandalous," Bella interjected. "Alice hooked up with the pool boy when she was sixteen," she teased.

"Shut up," Alice muttered, kicking her cousin in the leg.

"Girls, please," their grandmother said. "This was a different time. It was looked down upon to be in love with someone outside of your class. And Rosalie's mother was all about social status. Imagine what would have happened if she found out her eldest daughter had feelings for someone who she considered 'the help'?"

"Oh Royce, you're too funny!" Mrs. Hale laughed, patting him on the shoulder. Rosalie had, at her parent's insistence, invited Royce over for a dinner at her house. There really was nothing wrong with Royce. After all, he was handsome, funny, smart, and wealthy. But Rosalie could see from this one night that he was like her parents, and if she married him, her life would be exactly the same as it was now.

She'd never escape if she married him.

Royce looked over at Rosalie, giving her a smile. She smiled back, though it didn't reach her eyes. She'd been miserable all night. Royce and her parents were doing all the talking while she was expected to sit silent. It was maddening.

Did no one realize she was smart enough to contribute to the conversation? She wasn't just some pretty face—she had a brain too!

Finally fed up, Rosalie rose to her feet, getting the attention of everyone at the table. "Rose, where are you going?" her mother questioned.

She sighed, showing her the lighter and cigarette case in her hands.

Her mother shook her head. "Can't that wait until after our guests leave?" she asked, giving her daughter an angry look.

"No, it's alright," Royce said, rising to his feet. "I should be heading home anyways," he said, looking at the clock, which ready seven. "It'll be getting dark soon, anyways," he added.

"Rose, why don't you walk Royce to the door?" her mother suggested.

Rosalie put on a fake smile and nodded her head, taking Royce's arm and leading him to the front door, walking outside with him and pausing at the door of his car.

Royce King III, the only son of Royce King Jr. and his wife Mary, was due to take over the family business on his 21st birthday. He was the oldest child and only son of the King's, so it was natural that he would be the one to inherit it while his two sisters were to be married off to rich families when they turned eighteen. Royce, however, had to do one thing before he became the boss.

He had to find a bride.

Every girl in town knew this. And every girl in town wanted to be that bride. After all, the Kings were very wealthy, and any wife of Royce's would be sure to live a life of luxury. And once his parents were out of the picture, she would be running things, not Mrs. King. It was every girl's dream.

Every girl except Rosalie, that was.

Sure, she would love to have a rich husband one day. But it was not going to be Royce. She had plans for her life. Plans that did not include her getting married at age sixteen.

Rosalie paused at the door of Royce's care, turning to face him. She stared up at his face, the fake smile still planted on her face.

"So, Rose. May I call on you again?" he asked. Rosalie knew it didn't matter what she said. He would call on her regardless, having got the approval from her parents. So, instead of saying no and acting like a brat, she nodded her head.

Rosalie knew it was coming, but she still couldn't help but be shocked when Royce leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She couldn't deny that the kiss was nice, but behind it, she knew there were strings attached, just as there always was with Royce.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Rose," Royce said, reaching up and stroking her cheek lightly before climbing into his car and driving off.

Rosalie stood there for a moment before she heard leaves rustling. She turned, seeing Emmett McCarthy walking out of the garden, covered in dirt, a red rose in his hands.

"Oh, Ms. Hale. I didn't expect you to be out," he said, sounding surprised. Rosalie saw right through that, figuring he had seen Royce kiss her.

"Were you spying on me?" she questioned, looking him up and down. Royce was handsome, she'd give him that. But he was nothing compared to Emmett. Emmett was a year or two younger than Royce, though he looked like he could be three older than him. He was built from working all day in the garden. He was also incredibly tan. His dark curly hair was messy, though it suited him. Rosalie looked up at his face, seeing the sweat dripping down from his brow. She smiled a little, thinking how she'd never seen him look more attractive.

"Of course not, Ms. Hale. I was just finishing up for the day," he said politely. Rosalie thought for a moment before she figured she was being silly. Why would Emmett need to spy on her? She was his employer's daughter. And she was much too young for him.

"Of course you weren't. I'm sorry, Emmett," she said. "I'm just…I have a lot on my mind and you surprised me," she said.

"Would you like to talk about it?" he asked, looking down at her. "We could go for a walk. It's still light out. And I'm sure your parents will just assume you're out here speaking with Mr. King," he said, giving her an excuse.

Rosalie smiled a little, nodding her head and taking Emmett's sweaty, yet comfortable arm. "Let's head down by the lake," she suggested.

Rosalie was far from being dressed appropriately to walk down by the lake. She was in a lacy pink dress that fell just above her knees accented by pearl earrings and a necklace. Her blonde hair was pulled back and curled, the curls spilling over her shoulders. She had a flower clipped into her hair and heeled sandals on her feet.

Rosalie smoothed her hair with one hand as she kept her other one on Emmett's arm. "So what seems to be bothering Ms. Rosalie Hale?" he asked as the pair made their way down the path that lead to the lake by her house.

"It's silly," Rosalie said, feeling a bit embarrassed. After all, her problems were silly compared to the problems most Americans were facing.

"Ms. Hale, you can tell me. I promise not to laugh or anything," he said.

Rosalie couldn't help but smile a little. "Emmett, how many times have I told you to call me Rose?" she asked, looking up at him, noticing the sun starting to set.

Emmett smiled, and Rose thought she could see a hint of a blush. "At least once more, Ms. Hale," he teased, looking down at her. Of course he thought she was beautiful—everyone in town did. But she was too young for him. And way out of his league. She would never want to be with a poor gardener when she had the rich and handsome Royce King III yearning for her attention.

Wait, what was he thinking? Rosalie was the daughter of his employers. He had a job, something that was hard to come by in this time. He wasn't prepared to give that up by fooling around with his boss' daughter. Not that she'd ever want to do that, anyways. He'd just have to keep his thoughts about her to himself. Besides, that was what masturbation was for, anyways.

Rosalie let out another sigh. "Well, my parents expect me to like Royce. Every girl in town expects me to like Royce. Hell, even Royce expects me to like Royce."

"And you don't?" Emmett asked, unable to keep the hope out of his voice.

Rosalie shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know if I do or I don't. He's nice enough. And if I married him I'd have a nice life."

"But…?"

"But he's everything I don't want. He's full of himself. And he thinks he's the smartest boy around. Plus, he wants a pretty but stupid wife who will tend to his every wish. And that's not me. I know he's going to propose eventually. It's only natural. But he's too old for me. I don't want to get married at sixteen. But everyone expects me to. Everyone expects me to do all sorts of things. It's like I can't choose anything in my life anymore."

"Just say no," Emmett said, looking down at her. "Fuck them all. Do what you want."

"Do what I want?" Rosalie asked as if the idea was new to her.

"Yes, do what you want. It's your life. You should control it."

"You make it sound like it's something easy to do. When Royce asks me to marry him, my parents expect me to say yes. If I don't, they'll never speak to me again. I won't have anything left. I have to say yes to Royce if I want to keep the life I have now."

"Do you?" Emmett asked.

"Do I what?" Rosalie asked, looking up at him. She wished she could just do what Emmett was telling her to. She wished she could do what she wanted with her life. Because if she could, she wouldn't be standing here, telling Emmett McCarthy all her problems. She'd be kissing him. Or at least holding his hand. Everything about him appealed to her. But everything about him was all wrong for her. He was poor. He worked for her family. And he would never like her the way she liked him. It could never and would never happen. She knew that. But she couldn't help hoping that maybe one day all her dreams would come true.

"Do you want to keep the life that you have now?" he asked.

"Why wouldn't I want to keep this life? I have a house. I have money. I have everything I could ever want."

"Money doesn't buy happiness. It just buys stuff. I mean, you're not happy," he observed. "You've told me that much. So why would you want to continue that unhappiness?"

"I…" Rosalie paused. Why would she want to continue the life she had? She hated every part of it. And if she married Royce, it would take her ten minutes to throw herself off the roof. She'd never survive if she stayed. But she didn't know what else to do.

"You what?" Emmett asked, pausing and turning towards her, cupping her soft face in his rough hand, covered in calluses from working in the gardens all day.

"I hate my life," she said, turning her face away from his hand, ashamed. She'd never said those words aloud to anyone before, and the fact that she was telling her gardener this embarrassed her. "Everyone expects me to do what they want. But no one ever asks me what I want to do."

"Well, what do you want to do?" Emmett asked her, extending his arm to her again. Rosalie took it and the two resumed their walk.

"Anything and everything. I want to learn about things that are important, not which fork you use first at a dinner party. I want to have freedom to do what I want with my life, not become a wife at sixteen. I want to get a job and help people, not stay home and raise children my whole life. Does that sound silly to you?" she asked.

Emmett shook his head. "Of course it doesn't. You sound like every girl I know who's just curious about what the world has to offer. You're still young. You should be able to do what you want, not what someone else wants," he said, turning and leading her back up towards her house.

Emmett came to a stop outside the front where his motorbike was parked, turning towards Rosalie. "Here," he said, handing her the red rose in his hands. "A rose for a Rose," he joked, his hand lingering on her bare arm a moment longer than it should have.

He instantly pulled away, knowing her wasn't being appropriate. "I should head home," he said, seeing the dark sky above their heads. "You'll think about what I said?" he asked, walking over to his bike. Rosalie followed.

"I wish I could, Emmett. But I can't. My life's been planned for me. I'll say yes when Royce asks me to marry him. It's been decided," she sighed, looking at him with sad eyes.

Emmett climbed on his bike, looking down at her. "Just think about it," he said, pulling his helmet on. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said, turning his bike on and peeling away. Rosalie swore she heard him shout 'bye, Rose!', but she figured she was just imagining it. The single rose still in her hand, Rosalie headed back inside.

Her parents, of course, were both waiting anxiously for her. "Well?" her mother asked, practically jumping in excitement.

"He kissed me," Rosalie said with a sigh.

She winced as her mother squealed. "Oh Rosalie, this is wonderful! A marriage proposal can't be far off. Now, tomorrow I want you to go down to the store and bring Royce something to eat. And you leave those nasty cigarettes behind. Royce doesn't need to see that nasty habit of yours," she scolded.

Rosalie nodded her head obediently, not saying a word. She knew her protests wouldn't do any good. She thought about what Emmett said, but put it in the back of her mind. It was silly. She should just accept her place in life and live it. There was no choice when it came to her life. She'd marry Royce when he asked for her hand. That was that.

Rosalie strolled up the stairs to her room, shutting the door behind her and slipped out of her shoes, unzipping her dress and letting it fall to the floor. She changed into her nightgown, pulling the flower out of her hair, letting her curls fall loose.

Rosalie took a look at the rose lying across her vanity before picking it up, setting it in the vase in her room that was filled with white lilies. She smiled as she looked at it, climbing into her bed. She didn't know why, but that goofy and adorable Emmett McCarthy could always make her smile.

She fell asleep shortly after that, Emmett McCarthy still on her mind.

xxxxx

"Lizzy, I'm home!" Emmett called, walking into the house he shared with his kid sister. It was a tiny house—more of a shack, actually—but it was somewhere to live. It was more than most people had, and he was grateful for that.

A dark haired seventeen-year-old came running into the main room, a huge smile on her face. She was tall and lanky, still dressed in her uniform. "Em!" she laughed, throwing her arms around her older brother and pulled him into a hug.

"Hey kid," he laughed, kissing her on the top of her head. "How was work?" he asked, taking a seat on their beat-up couch, grabbing a beer from the bucket sitting on the table. He opened it, taking a long drink.

Elizabeth, known to everyone else as Lizzy, flopped onto the couch next to her brother, kicking her shoes off and rested her feet on the table. "Tiring as hell, like usual," she said, looking over at him. "Vera's brother asked me out again," she sighed.

Emmett let out a laugh. "Why don't you just say yes?" he asked. "You clearly like him. And he's made it obvious that he likes you."

Lizzy shrugged her shoulders. "Because I don't want to marry him. I want to get out of here, and if I say yes, I'll end up married to him in a year. I want to go to California, be an actress, and marry Clark Gable," she joked.

Emmett shook his head. "You're ridiculous. It's never going to happen."

"Speaking of things that are never going to happen, how was the princess today?" Lizzy asked, unable to hide her distaste. She would never understand why her brother liked Rosalie Hale. She was unpleasant. And a spoiled rich brat. Lizzy hated her.

"Her name's Rose. And we actually went on a walk tonight. But you're right, it's never going to happen. She's going to marry Royce King III and be miserable her whole life. I just wish there was something I could do to save her from that," he sighed, getting up.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Bed. I have a lot on my mind," he said. "You can head out with Vera if you want. Just be back by midnight," he said, shutting the door to his room and flopping onto his bed, thoughts of Rosalie clouding his mind.

It was wrong. She was younger than his sister. She was the daughter of the family he worked for. She was rich, and she was going to end up marrying Royce. Emmett had no chance.

But she was beautiful. And funny. And smart. Plus, she wasn't like the rest of them. She wanted to make something of her life.

But she never would. Unless she stood up for herself, she would be stuck in the life she had until she died. And since she'd never stick up for herself, she'd end up married to Royce by the end of the year.

And there was nothing Emmett could do to help her.

"Wait, he liked her too?" Bella asked.

"Of course he did," Edward said, rolling his eyes. "Look at her," he said, pointing to the picture. "She was beautiful. I don't blame him for liking her."

"But how did they ever get together?" Alice asked. "I mean, she sounds like she was reluctant to go against what her parents wanted. Even if she did like the garden boy, why would she choose him over the guy who could give her anything she wanted?"

"She chose the guy who gave her everything she wanted," Emily said, looking at both her grand-daughters. "It just took her awhile to realize that Emmett was everything she wanted."

Review please?

Also, Rosalie's dinner outfit is in my profile