"Emmett, don't," I said sharply as he opened his mouth, grinning. "This isn't funny."
"I'll say. It's hilarious! And so typically Edward! He waits all this time, rejected the likes of Tanya, and goodness knows how many other hot women, and then ends up falling for a fragile little human!" he guffawed.
"You think this is funny, do you Emmett?" Rosalie snarled at her husband. "This is anything but funny!"
"Thank you Rose," Carlisle sighed. "At least one out of you two is trying to be sensible, and supportive of Edward."
"Oh the hell I'm supportive Carlisle!" she suddenly shouted, her face angry. "She will end up the death of us, can't you see?"
"Rosalie Hale!" I said angrily. How dare she speak like that!
"Shut up Esme! You always try to make things better, and it makes me sick! Edward has made one mistake too many, and no matter how hard you try to make his life that little bit easier, like you always do, it wont work!" she snarled at me.
I was taken aback. Rosalie had never spoken to me like that before, and it stung. It stung a lot.
"Whoa, Rose, that was way out of line, babe," Emmett muttered to her.
"But it's true!" she replied angrily. "Maybe if she took a step back long enough to look, she would realise that Edward was not all she thinks he is!"
All at once, they were shouting at Rosalie, Carlisle and Jasper in defence of me, Alice and Emmett defending their brother.
"Rosalie, you don't know what you're talking about!" Alice growled, lowering into a crouch.
"Alice, don't!" Jasper said anxiously. Although Alice could take out Rosalie easily, he was wary for her, and who wouldn't be, with Rosalie imitating her stance and hisses passing through her bared teeth.
"Oh, and you do?" she snarled back.
"I've seen what will happen, I know how it will pan out!" Alice hissed.
"Rosalie, Alice, that's enough!" Carlisle shouted, standing between them with his hands out. Rosalie ignored him, and sprang out of her crouch towards Alice. Everything seemed to go in slow motion then. I saw Emmett and Jasper from the corner of my eye start towards them, but there seemed to be no need. Alice stayed motionless as Rosalie moved through the air towards her, a grin on her face as she saw, a split second before the rest of us, what Carlisle was going to do. He sprang upwards, taking Rosalie off guard as she soared through the air in a graceful leap, and crashed into her, quickly wrapping his arms around her to stop her from flying into the wall. She snarled at him, but was helpless in his strong arms. Few seconds had passed, but to me it seemed like years as I watched them struggle in the air and came crashing to the floor. She pulled away from him as soon as her stilettos touched the carpet, a fresh growl ripping though her once again. Carlsile's face was furious. I had never seen him so angry, and for once, he truly looked like the vampire he was.
"Do you see what you are doing, Rosalie?" Jasper said quietly from where he held Alice in his arms protectively. "You are not worried, you're not worried in the slightest about us, or for the girl, either, least of all Edward. No, I can see that you're jealous of the girl. I can only assume why, but your jealousy has caused you, within seconds, to turn on Alice, the woman you have called 'sister' for so long, to turn on Carlisle, with whom words cannot describe, and to hurt Esme, the woman who has adored and loved us beyond what any of us deserve. All because in your little world, everything has to be about you."
"Me? Jealous? Are you out of your mind, Jasper?" Rosalie shrieked from the opposite side of the room.
"No," he smiled slightly. "But the feelings emitting from you are the strongest I have felt from you in such a long while."
"You're dead to me," she said in a voice as cold as her words, and she stalked out. We all stood dumbfounded or a moment, until Emmett moved, scurrying after Rose with an apologetic look.
"Jasper," I breathed, walking over to my son and touching his arm. "Thank you."
"Any time, Esme," he smiled properly. "Ignore what Rosalie said and did. She was not in the right frame of mind, she didn't mean any of it."
"Esme, I know this has upset you, but don't let it. Please?" Alice spoke softly, stepping out of Jasper's hold to hug me. "You're the most wonderful person in all of existence, and don't let that barbie of a vampire make you think otherwise."
I smiled. "Thank you sweetie. You are too kind. I love you both, very much," I sighed, touching each of their cheeks fondly.
"Come on Jasper," Alice murmured, leading him out of the dining room by the hand. "I've got something to show you in your closet."
I heard Jasper moan something about feeling like a mannequin in a shop. And sure enough, a second later I head Alice hit him on the arm playfully.
"Esme?" a smooth voice came from the other side of the room. I turned and saw Carlisle looking worried, all traces of anger gone as if they had never been there. I took a step towards him, and soon enough he had taken me in his arms and began stroking my hair.
"Oh Carlisle," I sighed, pulling away as my eyebrows knitted together.
"Hey hey, what's wrong, honey?" he asked quietly, running his fingers across the worry lines of my forehead and smoothing them out. Slowly, he ran his fingers lightly down my face and across my cheek, tracing them over my lips and slowly back over my cheeks to either side of my neck
"How did it come to this?" I asked him sadly and sank back into his embrace once again.
"Come to what, kitten?"
"This, fighting amongst ourselves, driving each other crazy? That was the closest thing we have ever come to a proper fight, you have never had to do anything like that before, never have I seen Rosalie like that, or Alice, both looking so... malicious. What if this is the beginning?"
I felt Carlisle tense. "The beginning of what?"
"The beginning of the end." My voice cracked.
"Darling Esme, that will never happen, I promise you. It will blow over, I am sure of it." He didn't sound sure though. He pulled me closer and kissed my head in between his gentle murmuring.
"You know what Rose said," I began quietly after a few minutes of comfortable silence. "Before, I mean?"
"Yes," he answered slowly.
"Do I drive you insane at all?" I asked worriedly.
"Not in the way you mean, no," he replied with a slight chuckle. I smiled slightly, but was not convinced.
"And do I always try to make things better?" I pressed.
"Not always, no."
"But..."
"No but. You offer help when you know you will not be rejected, and you would do anything to keep the Cullens together," he said simply.
"Oh." That wasn't as bad as I thought.
"Esme, you heard what Jasper said, you are an amazing woman. If only you could see it for yourself," he said sadly. I sighed. I wasn't very fond of compliments, but tried my best of accept them with good grace usually. Now, I felt weary, and didn't feel like pretending anything for anyone, not even my husband.
"Feeling tired?" he asked.
"Yes, but it is very strange. I haven't ever felt weary like this before. It's like I want to sleep, but I don't. It's very confusing."
"I know what you mean," he sighed. "I have felt like that before. You want to know what the best cure is?"
"Sure thing, Dr Cullen," I smiled into his shoulder.
"Lying in bed with your most loving wife, or, in your case, husband."
"Hmm, is that so? Doing what, exactly?"
"Just being. I find you are the greatest cure. Maybe it will work in reverse," he wondered hopefully.
"Ok, I'll be up in a moment," I sighed again and pulled away from him. It seemed like that would be my thing of the day. Sighing. He kissed my forehead gently, and then watched me anxiously as I made my way out of the room.
It wasn't hard to find Rosalie. All you had to do was follow the sounds of a high pitched moan to the garage. I hovered outside of the door for a moment, and watched them. Rosalie was grumbling about something the car wasn't doing right, and throwing dark looks at Emmett, who was trying his best to please his wife.
I stepped out into the garage bravely, smoothing my skirt self-concisely.
"Esme," Emmett nodded to me warily and then tuned back to the car.
"Rosalie-"I began, but she turned away from me. It broke my heart, and I felt something begin inside me. My shoulders heaved up and down quickly, and I felt slightly numb, my eyes refusing to focus on anything.
Within moments Carlisle was behind me, leading me away from the garage and up to our room, where I let my sorrows of the day out in my tearless sobs, hugging myself to Carlisle in the blankets of the bed. We lay there all night in the silence, just like Carlisle had said, just being, enjoying the fact that we didn't have to share our love psychically to know it was there, just the stroke of a hand, the slight tighten of arms, the gentle whisper of our lips in a small kiss. Those things were just as good for me.
Half my mind was on Edward all night though, as I constantly fretted about him, where he was, what he was doing, desperately hoping that we would see him soon. But he didn't return all night. That was never a good sign. My stomach was in knots all night.