Ember POV
"You…want me to get in trouble?" I speak, a little confused.
I was in Dad's study because I wanted to discuss going back to school Monday. I had been making great progress since the night I broke down. It had been a couple weeks and my legs were healed with minimal scarring. I had been upset by the scars but my dad assured me they would fade with time and that scars weren't something to be ashamed of anyway. My parents had my school work sent to me online again, like when I had come back injured from fighting my father. They asked if I wanted to take a bit to study at home since I would have more time to relax and it had been nice. After my complete meltdown, my emotions had refused to be bottled up again. I wasn't crying all of the time but I had periods where I just didn't want to talk to anybody I just wanted to sit and think. I wanted to be left alone. Then there were periods where I wanted to be surrounded by my family and being apart from them made me feel like I would never see them again. It didn't really make sense but I knew going back to school in person right after my breakdown would likely send me over the edge again. It had been decided that I would take off dance as well until the competition season started, my teachers just requested I stay stretched and not deteriorate. It was only another week now but still, you can lose a lot of strength and flexibility in three weeks. I wanted to get back to school this coming week so I could ease back into my full schedule, which is why I was in Dad's study. We had discussed returning and he agreed and then we ended up on the topic of my fear of disobedience.
"No I don't want you to get in trouble." Dad spoke, "I do want you to realize that no matter what you do, we will still love you and be proud of you. I simply said if you ever disobeyed, we would be able to show you that."
"So you don't want me to get into trouble but you do want the results of me getting in trouble." I spoke with a slight laugh.
"I suppose. Don't take that as permission to get into mischief. But if you do, don't be afraid." He said.
"So should I skip class again? Or maybe tell you I am at a sleepover but really go hitchhiking to the city. How much trouble are we asking for here?" I joke.
His expression turns stern with a hint of humor underneath. "Young lady, I am not asking you to get in trouble and furthermore if I was, I would never condone something as dangerous as hitchhiking. Do you know what could happen?" He started.
"Daddy no not the lecture." I begged, regretting my joke. I'm gonna be here for hours.
"You don't know people and you get in a car with them- they could harm you. They could be murderers or rapists. They could be drunk and crash. They could kidnap you. They-"
"Oh I know! I know! They could offer me drugs!" I I acted mock-interested to which my dad glared at me. I laughed. "Dad I know I was only joking. Please spare me." I gave him my best doe eyes which made him finally break character and laugh.
There was a brief silence and I couldn't help myself. "So it's settled I will skip class."
"You're insufferable." My dad said while I giggled at his expression.
"Ember, in all seriousness, I am so tremendously proud of you for allowing yourself to seek comfort these past couple weeks. Please continue to do this as it has meant the world to us, especially your overprotective mom." He speaks, smiling.
"Thank you for comforting me." I respond simply. He stands and I follow.
He envelopes me in a hug and kisses the top of my head. "Get some sleep, sweetheart."
"Night, Dad."
I walk to my room and climb into my bed, not bothering to turn the light on. I sink deep under my covers and open my phone, planning on mindlessly scrolling for a bit until I'm more tired. There is dead silence in my room before I hear directly next to me a "loud" whisper.
"So no Mario Party tonight?" Emmett's whisper voice causes me to drop my phone and scream.
"AHHHHHHHHH" I sit straight up.
My room light is switched on, causing me to squint. Emmett Is literally on the ground laughing and my mom is at the door.
"Emmett why on earth would you deliberately scare your sister!?" Mom sternly says from my doorway, hearing what happened.
Looking at Emmett I can't help myself and I start laughing along with him. I must have caught a case of the giggles because I couldn't stop. I was much more quiet than Emmett but I was covering my mouth and had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard.
"You- You- hahahahaha were just just waiting in the dark hahahaha" I lean over, cracking up.
"You should have seen your FACE HAHAHAHA" Emmett slaps the floor as he laughs. My siblings all have made their way up by now and are chuckling too. My mom has her arms crossed with an "I'll wait" expression similar to what teachers look like when they are waiting for their class to settle down.
I calm down and eventually so does Emmett, but we are all still smiling.
"Sorry, Sprite." He says, finally standing up, not sounding the least bit sorry.
"No you aren't." I respond.
"I could punish him if you like, Sweetheart." My mom offered, a hint of humor in her expression.
"Hey!" Emmett protested.
"You know, now that I think of it…" I start.
"No no no, my dear sister would never want me to be in trouble." He looked at me with a pleading expression.
"What are we thinking, Ember?" Mom asks.
"Something cruel and unusual." I respond.
"Dude!" Emmett almost yells. Everyone dissolves into laughter again.
"Alright, everyone out Ember is trying to sleep." Mom speaks again.
"What about Mario Kart, Sprite. It's only ten and and it's Friday. Pleaaaaaasee?" Emmett realized I was the only one who couldn't turn him down when he asked to play video games so we had been playing frequently with my recent free time. When I started to beat him frequently, he became more insistent, always wanting rematches. I really enjoyed it, so I didn't mind.
"One hour, Emmett. One." I say and climb out of bed. Before I could get my feet on the ground I was hoisted over his shoulder.
"EMMETT. I am NOT a rag doll." I insist as I am being carried downstairs.
"Finally it's not me anymore." Bella says.
Things are starting to look up for me. I am so glad because it was a rough couple weeks. My family had all helped me. I remember Jasper being the first sibling I really opened up to in that first week which led to my biggest confession to date.
Flashback
I had been downstairs in the "game room" which was off to the side of the living room. I had taken a special liking to this room as there was a portion where both the wall and ceiling was glass. When it rained, I liked to sit under this portion on a cushion so I could hear the rain surround me.
I had been trying to read a book, "Forged by Fire" as reading about others who shared similar experiences to mine was supposed to make me feel less alone. At least that's what google said. Instead I had become angry.
My line of thinking while reading strayed with my emotion. How could he do that to him? The character in the book didn't deserve it. How could he have done that to me? Why did he do that to me? I didn't deserve it.
My chest felt heavy. I set the book down next to me, not wanting to continue. I stared out the window, sorrow and anger making my chest heavy.
"Would you like some company or to be left alone?" I hear Jasper's smooth voice with a hint of souther accent leaking through.
I sigh and shrug, wanting company but knowing Jasper would have to suffer with me if I was feeling down. I had been instructed to not use my shield as much as I felt comfortable not to since it also effectively helped me snuff out emotions. I was supposed to be feeling them and working through them, so often I didn't put up my shield.
"Don't worry about me, Darlin, I am quite used to people's emotions." He responded to my unspoken thoughts.
"Penny for your thoughts?" He speaks again.
I look at him, wondering what to say.
"Jasper, did you ever feel my Dad's emotions?" I asked, catching him a little off guard.
His expression turned a bit sour. "Yes."
"Did he…did he have any positive emotion?" I asked.
"I didn't feel for too long but the times I did try to read him there was anger and contempt. Excitement but for sadistic purposes. Much further down… it wasn't remorse for what he was doing but a sense of dread in general." He spoke, seeming to hesitate to tell me the last part.
"It's okay Jasper I knew he wouldn't feel bad about what he did to me. He hated me." I responded.
"His hatred for you was unwarranted, Ember. He was a truly sick individual."
"I know." There was a short pause and I felt my eyes well up. "One time, when I was six, we were at a fast food restaurant. He hadn't started to…do that to me yet. He mostly just showed indifference. I did witness a fair share of the same abuse directed toward my mom. Anyway, he showed me how to peel off the top of a straw wrapper and blow into it to shoot the wrapper at someone. I remember him laughing when I successfully did it and telling me I did perfectly. I just wonder how… how he developed his hatred for me. He didn't always hate me. I don't think he ever loved me, but at one time he at least felt enough positivity toward me to teach me a silly little trick. I think it was my mom leaving. I think he hated her and when she left he needed a new outlet. I just wonder if he ever felt…any paternal feelings. I don't even know where I am going with this." I end my story with a sigh and lean my head back against the glass wall behind me.
"Abuse from a parent is hard to wrap your brain around because no matter how you look at it or try to justify it, it doesn't make sense. Children are vulnerable, innocent, and dependent. When the one supposed to protect you makes you feel unsafe, a child is forced to live in a state of anxiety. Development is hindered and usually it causes people to grow up too fast. They learn to depend on only themselves." He speaks. He understands I like to have logical answers for why things are the way they are. He understands there was no logic behind my father's actions that would make me feel better.
"I like having reasons for things." I say simply.
"I know." He says.
"When I was fourteen I got so sick of being punished for no reason that I started acting up just so that I felt I earned my punishment. It didn't last long because his punishments were never something anyone would have earned. They were cruel. Still, I did some crazy stuff." I confessed. I take a deep breath and feel a little lighter after talking with Jasper. I was accepting that I would never find a reason satisfactory enough for me as to why my father did what he did. I felt better after giving up trying.
"What did you do?" He asked, curiously. He knew I was feeling better otherwise I doubt he would have asked.
I smirk a little. "I can't get in trouble for something I did before, can I?" I ask, knowing my parents would likely hear. If I ever wanted to have a private conversation in this house, I was told to ask and they would accommodate since they couldn't help their super hearing. Mostly, I didn't mind my conversations being heard.
Suddenly Emmett was in the room. "What mischief could you have possibly gotten into?" He asked. I laugh at his prompt appearance as soon as I mention my misdeeds.
"Emmett. Let's just say it is a good thing I can evade cops rather well." I speak, a little embarrassed of what I did.
As quickly as Emmett had arrived, all of my siblings and parents were suddenly in the room.
"Spill! What was it?" Alice asked.
"Honey, we came to tell you that you do not have to tell them anything." My mom speaks.
"Regardless of what your siblings want." Dad said pointedly at Emmett who was pouting.
"I can't get in trouble?" I ask them, just to confirm.
"We would not hold anything against you, Dear." Mom assures me.
"Not even a lecture?" I look at dad who rolls his eyes at me.
"No lecture." He promises.
I blush, still unsure if I wanted them to know. I glanced around at all of their curious-excited faces. Mom and Dad were much less pushy but I could tell they were curious.
"Okay well. Okay. So …alright." I try to figure out where to start and they all crowded around me, seated on the floor like it was story time. I giggled. Mom and dad sat on the sofa at the back of the room, having much more tact.
"It was July and I had this friend who was much older than me. Chrissa, she was seventeen at the time. She lived on my street and thought I was older when we first met, I guess because I acted it. She didn't question my age until we already had been hanging out a while. So anyway, I didn't get to spend a ton of time with her, only when my dad was gone during the day. Well anyway…" I start to get nervous.
"Uh huh and?" Emmett asked. I smiled at his impatience.
"She told me that she was going to a party being thrown a few miles away by some college kids. She said she wouldn't normally invite someone so young, but that I was one of her "besties" so she was. I told her I definitely wouldn't be able to ask my Dad but that …" I glanced at my parents who only looked curious.
"That I would sneak out. She agreed to pick me up, well she would have her boyfriend who was driving her pick me up. So that night, after my father fell asleep-he had been particularly mean to me that night so he wasted a lot of energy and was out pretty good- I cleaned myself up and climbed out of my window. Well Chrissa and her boyfriend were waiting and when I got in the car she handed me a water bottle. Only it was um…" I blush. "Well it was tequila." I said.
My parents looked like they were trying to cover their shock while Emmett was quick to whoop. "You got drunk?!"
"She didn't say she drank it." My mom interrupted him.
There was a pause.
"So I drank it." I laugh suddenly, nerves probably.
More shock now on everyones face, but from Emmett it's more like awe.
"I drank… well about eight ounces since it was half a water bottle and keep in mind I had never drank before. I was also doing it on an empty stomach so I remember it hitting me rather quickly. I have a lot of balance normally, so I was able to walk but to be honest with you all I remember getting to the party, meeting a couple people and then…."
"And then?!" Emmett speaks, way too enthralled.
"I have no recollection. There are a couple hours where its just…blank. I do remember sort of regaining consciousness, like being able to remember the party, a couple hours into it. I was um … well. I was holding a red solo cup and standing on the roof in my undergarments."
"WHAAAAT?"
"NO WAY"
"THE ROOF?
"UNDERWEAR?"
Theres a chorus of disbelief.
"No it gets worse." I hold my hand up. Wide eyes meet mine. "I'm just getting started."
They quiet again, though, some of them still have their mouths open in shock. I didn't look at my parents.
"So I was still very drunk so it's a little blurry but I remember being up their with several people. We were jumping off the roof into the pool. Hence, the underwear. Chrissa was there with me and we were both dying laughing, I don't know at what. We run together and jump, luckily making it into the pool. Only…We noticed as we were jumping since we had a good view there were cop cars coming down the street. They had their lights on but the music was so loud no one could hear the sirens. We got out of the pool and I remember stumbling around trying to find my clothes while Chrissa was trying to find her boyfriend. The music cuts off and everyone starts yelling 'The cops! Run' which sent everyone scrambling. I couldn't find my clothes but … Well I found someone's clothes. You guys know my big T-shirt with the mountain scene?" I asked, as I had worn it for a pajama shirt several times.
They nodded.
"Well I grabbed that off of a chair as well as some guys basketball shorts. I pulled the draw string as tight as I could and tied the worse knot of my life because my fingers wouldn't cooperate and I could still barely see. I mean I was conscious by this point but I was still blasted. I must have drank other things while blacked out. Anyway I can see the cops in the house through the windows that faced the backyard. So I hopped over their backyard fence, which hurt a lot because I was barefoot and my legs were exposed." I pulled my sock down to show them the scar on the top of my foot from the jagged brick wall.
"I end up in the neighbors backyard because I hopped the shared fence instead of the back way so then I am chased by their Pomeranian until I hop their fence, which was better because it was wood but then I fell off the top into the rocks. I somehow get myself up and onto the sidewalk but a cop car is coming so I start running. I cut through the little alley that was across the street between houses and through a park. I don't know how I got away, maybe my magic helped. I can't be sure because I don't remember using any shields but I guess I must have."
"Bad ASS, EMBER" Emmett yells.
I shake my head. "There's more." Theres a few seconds of shocked mumbling before they quiet again.
"Well I was bleeding, shoeless, and still very drunk. I was walking through a neighborhood, completely lost because I didn't have a phone back then and I was unfamiliar with this neighborhood. So anyway, I don't even know what time it is at this point but I know I have to get back home. I try to remember where I ran from and based off that information start walking the direction I think my house is in. I don't know how long I walked but I sobered up a little after a while, not much, and was starting to panic because the sky was brightening. If anyone saw me they'd call the cops. I remembered that that I could use my ability to feel where my father was, a strange one I know. I just let my instincts guide me and ran. I was home, somehow, soon after that but I saw Chrissa's boyfriend's car outside my house. Chrissa gets out and runs to me, thankful I made it back. She tells me that there is no way she is going to get away with what happened as she had told her parents it was an alcohol free, parent chaperoned party which everyone would know it wasn't since they were busted. She says that her mom told her one more slip up and she would be sent to live with her dad. She said if her mom was going to do that, she was going to really make it count. She asked me what she should do and do you know what I said?"
"WHAT?" Emmett boomed, way too excited.
"I told her we should steal my dads car." I spoke.
There was shocked silence, no one knew what to say.
"She actually agreed but told me I had to drive because she was too drunk. I was too but she said I was less than her. She told her boyfriend she was going to spend the night, well day, whatever at my house so he wouldn't stop her. After he drove away I climbed back into my window, changed, and snuck downstairs to steal my dad's car keys. I barely knew how to drive, only having done it a couple times when my dad was too messed up to get us home from wherever. I was also still drunk, mind you." I blush again, really regretting this part because it was so unsafe.
My siblings now looked dumbstruck.
"You didn't." Bella said in disbelief.
"I did." I respond. "I took backroads. I vividly remember taking out several trash barrels and one mailbox. I made it to the road everyone calls 'Death's detour' because it was like riding a roller coaster. I made it several miles and all the way back to my street before 9am. Well right down the street I went over the curb and down the little grass hill toward the trees. We flipped once and landed upside down."
There was silence for a beat. "What happened then?" Rosalie asked.
"Then we crawled out of the windows which we luckily had down after taking out seatbelts off. There really is no other way than falling straight down like they show in the movies." I add at the end.
I continued after a deep breath. "We took off running, no one had come out yet. We cut through the trees to not be seen, luckily both mostly uninjured. We split up behind our houses, both sneaking back in to our respective homes. I changed into pajamas, washed my face, made it look like I had been sleeping all night, and climbed into bed. My dad didn't wake up until almost ten when all the sirens came down the street. I pretended to wake up and come out of my room as he was walking down the hall. I remember him shoving me out of the way so he could be nosey and see what all the fuss was about."
"Did he find out it was you?" Jasper asked.
"No. When I got home, before I got into bed I hid the spare house key from under the mat and left the front door open so it looked like someone broke in and found his keys since they hung right by the door. The cops told him there had been a crazy party a few miles away and that several people had gone on a drunk tirade bashing peoples car windshields or slashing their tires, breaking house windows, and they wouldn't be surprised if he was a victim of this. Since there were so many cases of destruction that night, they never fully got around to investigating. The insurance covered it and my dad was never the wiser. I actually remember he was so preoccupied that day that I had a pretty pleasant day. I had a hangover and my body ached but he left me alone all day, talking to police and then the insurance place. He never suspected it was me. Never believed I was capable." I finished my story and then finally risked a glance at my parents. They were rigid and looked to be holding in what they wanted to say.
"Dude mom and dad are going to explode trying to hold back their lecture." Emmett spoke finally after several seconds of stunned silence. My siblings started laughing and I could't help but join.
"I don't need a lecture I know it was incredibly dangerous. At that point I really didn't care if I got hurt but I should have cared about all the other people who got hurt. I'm just thankful most of the neighborhood had weird aversions to security cameras."
"You should be thankful you are even alive, young lady!" Mom couldn't help herself. I looked at her wide eyed. "I'm sorry, I know I said no lecture but good heavens!" She started before my siblings all laughed.
"I told you!" Emmett said nudging my leg.
"I know mom. I'm sorry." I say blushing.
She managed to hold her tongue but Dad was still a statue. He hadn't spoken in ages.
"I think you broke daddy." Alice said, giggling.
"Quick, someone make a smartass remark, it's the only way to bring him back." Emmett says, causing us all to laugh. Dad moves to look at Emmett with narrowed eyes.
"He lives!" He booms. "Pops, I thought Ember sent you into a coma for a second."
Mom and Dad had been gobsmacked but my siblings looked like they almost gained respect for me after my confession. It was funny, after telling them this I felt myself relax. It was almost like I proved to them I wasn't perfect and so the pressure to be resolved a little. That was when I really started to feel better about my place in this family.
Current
I allowed Emmett to win one race after I brutally annihilated him four times in a row. My other brothers joined and were having a blast giving Emmett a hard time for losing to me. I said only one hour but eventually Dad came down.
"Kid's it is 1:30am, Ember needs to sleep." He spoke with authority. I looked surprised, not realizing how late it was. There was a chorus of disappointment from my brothers but I handed my controller to Bella and they quickly refocused to try to get her to play.
My dad escorted me up the stairs with an arm over my shoulder. I was thinking of the day I confessed and how he, along with everyone else, didn't treat me any differently after knowing my enormous screw up.
We reached his and mom's room and before I continued to my own, I turn and hug him.
"I love you, dad." I say.
He hugs me back and says with emotion, "I love you too, my wonderful daughter."
A/N:Ember had a wild side? Who would have guessed? Please review :) -CullenGirl9397