I only had a brief idea of where I wanted this chapter to go and didn't spend much time with any revisions so I was hesitant to post it but then I thought what the hell. So, here it is. Please tell me what you think
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Bella POV
"Company's coming" Edward said with a sigh.
"We're back!" I heard Alice cry happily as I heard the front door open with a bang.
"Be careful Alice." I heard Esme scold, obviously fearful of any damage Alice might have caused the unsuspecting door.
I heard 6 pairs of footsteps come up the stairs, the sounds of Emmetts's nearly drowning out the rest. I tried to get up to greet them but Edward held me tighter to his lap.
"Eat, please." He whispered into my hair.
"But.."
"No buts." He said picking up the messy cheeseburger and holding it to my mouth gesturing me to take a bite.
"I can feed myself you know." Really he was being too much.
I could feel his grin as he sensed my annoyance. "Please, just humor me."
"Bella!" Emmett yelled loudly startling me and making me jump. I turned to see him grinning and could not help but grin back.
"Hey Emmett"
Alice looked at Edwards restraining arms wrapped around my waist and gave him a glare. "You know Edward, it wouldn't kill you to let her go so she can greet us properly."
Edward glared back at her but released me. I jumped up and hugged Alice first even though we had just spent the past 2 days together. Emmett wouldn't be denied though and grabbed me as soon as Alice released me picking me up and swinging me around.
"I missed you Bella." He said. "These guys were no fun without you."
"I'm glad I amuse you Emmett." I said when he finally put me down. "I've missed you too."
Esme grabbed me next and pulled me tightly to her. "Thank you" she said, her voice full of emotion. "Thank you for saving my son." Save her son? I thought. My actions very nearly killed him. She appeared to look at Edward over my shoulder. "And you Edward, don't you ever scare me like that again."
"Sorry Mom." He mumbled and she grabbed him into the embrace as well.
"Bella," Carlisle said taking my hand in his and looked directly at me with his warm butterscotch gaze. "Please know that I speak for all of us when I say that we have missed you terribly and are so sorry for what you went through in our absence."
I heard Rosalie snort in the background. Apparently, not everybody missed me. Carlisle silenced her with his frown.
Jasper seemed the most hesitant to greet me, well, besides Rosalie. He stood leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen eyeing me warily. I was no empath like he was but I could tell he was still suffering guilt for what happened at my birthday party last year. It was up to me to approach him.
"Jasper," I started. "I just want you to know, I in no way blame you nor have I ever blamed you for what happened last year. I blame myself, actually. I am the one that gave myself the damn paper cut." I heard Edward sigh behind me as if he disagreed. "In fact." I said cheerily wanting to lighten the suddenly tense mood in the room." If clumsiness was classified as a disability, I would be able to get better parking spaces."
Jasper grinned then feeling that my words matched my mood, that I honestly didn't blame him. "Alice told me." He said. "But it means so much to hear it from you."
I saw Alice mouth a "thank you" to me. I also saw some sort of silent communication happening between Edward and Carlisle. It looked very serious and I knew it was about me judging by the way Carlisle had glanced in my direction.
Edward raked his fingers in his hair and sighed in frustration. "I'm well aware of that Carlisle." He said. I looked at him. "Nothing, don't worry about it." He said to me. I hated when he kept me in the dark like that as if I was a child that needed to be protected. Before I got a chance to voice my disagreement with him, Rosalie stepped forward.
"I just wanted to say, I'm…"
"Can it Rose." Edward said unwilling to hear her apology.
"Edward, let her finish." I said, not wanting to be the cause of anymore discord in the family.
"Thank you Bella." She said looking at me directly, which surprised the hell out of me. "Look, I just wanted to apologize to you and Edward both. I truly had no idea what he would decide to do when he found out. I just thought he would come home and we could all be together again."
"I told you Rosalie. It told you not to tell him." Alice said.
"You're always trying to coddle him. I just thought it would be better if he knew." She responded haughtily.
"Girls" Esme scolded looking at Rosalie and then Alice.
"Forget it Rosalie." I said "I'm the one that jumped off the damn cliff. I should be the one apologizing."
Edward obviously disagreed judging by the way he shook his head. "You have nothing to apologize for." He said moving behind me and wrapping his arms around me. I leaned back into him savoring the feel of his arms encasing me. No matter how long I lived and hopefully that would be forever, I would never be able to get enough of that.
"Absolutely not." Esme agreed. "Bella, dear, there is no need for you to apologize."
Rosalie's eyes lost any pretense of remorse then and she looked almost smug as her eyes narrowed at me. Her it comes, I thought.
She played idly with the charm around her neck as she spoke her next words. "Well I can't say I'm 100% sorry. In fact, Bella, you should be thanking me. After all, if I never told Edward what you did, he wouldn't be here with you now. So yes, I do believe you owe me a 'thank you' at the very least."
Edward growled menacingly behind me and I heard a collective gasp from around the room. I was so shocked I couldn't think. Carlisle and Esme both looked horrified and disappointed, Emmett looked disgusted with his wife, Jasper's expression seemed to be a mixture of everybody's all at once. It was Alice however, that went in for the proverbial kill.
"You selfish bitch!" Alice screamed at her slapping her so hard across the face, I swore it shook the whole house. "You never cared what it would do to Edward if he found out Bella was dead. You only cared about yourself and your own self centered agenda. You didn't care if it destroyed him. Because of you, it almost did."
Rosalie moved in to attack but Emmett held her back.
"You know you deserved that." He said.
"Are you turning against me too, Emmett?" She said to him.
"No one is turning against anybody." Carlisle said holding his hands up. He turned to Rosalie. "I have to say though Rosalie, your mother and I are very disappointed in you. Why would you deliberately try to hurt Edward this way?"
Rosalie sobbed. "I didn't mean to hurt him, really. I feel horrible that I did. I just wanted everything to back to normal again, like it was before she arrived."
Edward snarled at her.
"And what 'normal' would that be Rosalie?" Alice sneered. "Would it be the 'normal' before Bella when all Edward would do was mope around the house or would it be the 'normal' after we left when he did nothing but lay in fetal position day after day ceasing to even exist before he couldn't take it anymore and just left us. Because, frankly, I can't see the better alternative with either one!"
The mental image I got from that made me wince because it mirrored exactly what I did. This animosity could not go on any longer. I was ruining their family.
"Stop!" I yelled. "Just stop."
I could feel everyone's eyes on me waiting to hear what I had to say and suddenly I felt very small. Disentangling myself from Edward's arms, I moved into the center of the room and looked at them all each individually stopping at Rosalie.
"This has to stop." I said. "You are a family. The enmity is this room is so palpable I can taste it. Families shouldn't be like this, especially yours. I remember when I first used to come here, how so in tune with each other you all were. Don't any of you remember how happy you used to be? Because I do. Rosalie, you were right." She looked at me in surprise.
"Bella?" I heard Alice question me as she took a step towards me.
I held my hand up to her. "Please Alice, let me finish." Rosalie is right because ever since I came into your lives, you've all been miserable. I've seen it happening and I was selfish too because I love you all so much that I didn't want to see it."
"No, Bella." I heard Edward behind me and I knew I couldn't face him. If I did, all my resolve to do what was best even if it killed me (and it would) would disappear.
"May I?" Carlisle said to Edward. He must have nodded because Carlisle continued. He took my hand in his once again.
"Bella, we are not, as you say, miserable because you came into our lives, we are miserable because we left yours. Bella, before you became a part of this family, and yes you are a part of this family, we were all just existing, going through the motions, as it were. Edward, especially. He never felt the joy in anything…until you."
"I just brought him pain." I mumbled.
Carlisle shook his head. "No, you brought him great happiness and opened his heart to feel a love like he has never felt before. Unfortunately when you open your heart like he did, you also leave it open for the other not healthy emotions. Esme and I were ecstatic that you came into our lives. You changed Edward. He was happy, for the first time since he was turned, he was happy and I am thankful everyday for you. As for the rest of us, well you brought back our humanity and perhaps that is why Rosalie feels such animosity towards you. Just being in close proximity to you forced her to remember her own human experiences and she is jealous of yours."
Rosalie, jealous of me? I nearly laughed at the thought. With a hmmph, Rosalie left the room. Emmett went to go follow her but Esme stopped him.
"Don't Emmett. She needs to think about what she has done."
Carlisle spoke to me once again. "I am not asking you to forgive her. I'm not sure I would be able to do that at the moment were I in your shoes. I am just asking that you understand." I nodded at him. "And Bella, don't ever feel have ruined our lives or our family. We love you as our own, dear daughter. Never forget that."
He kissed my forehead and I felt the tears slipping from my eyes.