Chapter 21: Youve Got Mail

Bella sighed as she got home from school. "Hey Bella, how was school?" Sue asked.

"The usual," she replied, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

Sue smiled while she rocked Gabriel back and forth in her arms. "I'm going to go upstairs and get my work done," she informed

"Alright, dinner's at 5," Sue answered.

Bella nodded before heading upstairs.

Sitting at her computer, Bella decided to open her email first. She smiled when she found an email from Emmett. Opening it, she began to read.

Dear Bella,

I regret having to write you this letter than telling you face to face. Except, it would be harder to tell you this in person. Therefore, I felt that this was the best way to do this. I know you would want to hear this as soon as possible, so why wait.

Bella, our relationship isn't what it used to be. Being in two different towns is difficult, more difficult than anything. You are a wonderful person, the greatest girl I have ever known. I will always remember the wonderful times we had together, but I just feel that it is time we went our own ways.

I am so sorry for hurting you in such a way. We're just not good together anymore. Our relationship isn't good. We're not good together anymore; we need to go on with our lives. I hope you have a wonderful life and I hope you forgive me.

Wishing you the best,

Emmett

Bella felt like someone had taken a knife and shoved it through her heart. She reread the email three or four times, trying to find another email from Emmett that would say 'Ha, ha, I'm kidding love you'. Except there was no such email, just the one that was now burned in her brain. "This isn't right, this can't be right," she whispered. She grabbed her cell phone and dialed Emmett's number.

"Hey, you reached Emmett's cell phone, I'm not here to take your call right now so leave your name and your number and I'll get back to you," his voicemail played.

She hung up, getting up from her chair and ran down the stairs with tears blurring her vision.

Sue was in the kitchen cooing at Gabriel when Bella ran down the stairs. "Bella?" she called when the teenager ran out of the house sobbing.

"BELLA!" Seth called.

Bella ran down the stairs and passed her dad. "Bella?" Charlie called as she ran into the woods.

Bella was hurrying down a hill when she slipped and fell to the ground. Instead of getting up, she just lied there with tears in her eyes. She curled up in the fetal position letting out a sob. "This isn't right," she whispered sniffling. As she was lying there on the ground, she kept thinking the words of the email over and repeatedly in her head. The words didn't make sense, nothing made sense.

After lying there for what felt like hours, she slowly got up from the ground. "BELLA? BELLA WHERE ARE YOU?" she heard Charlie shout. She gasped when a flashlight hit her eyes.

"CHARLIE!" Jacob called hurrying over to her.

"I'm okay Jake," she assured her friend.

Charlie saw his daughter and hurried down the hill towards her. "Bella what are you doing out here?" he asked hugging her. Bella hugged him back.

"I'm sorry," she told him with tears in her eyes.

"What happened baby?" he asked as he led her home.

Bella sniffled. "I got an email from Emmett, breaking up with me," she replied.

"Wait what?" Charlie asked stunned standing in front of her.

"Emmett broke up with me dad," she told him.

Charlie stared at his daughter in disbelief. "That's why you're out here?" he asked.

"I just had to run…I had to get away from the house," she replied.

He stroked the hair from her eyes. "Come on baby," he murmured, leading her into the house.

That night, Bella was in her room crying herself to sleep while Sue was standing outside the woman's door, looking at her husband. "This doesn't make sense Charlie," she whispered.

"I know," he answered.

She peeked into the room again to find Bella curling up in the fetal position on her bed no longer crying but just whimpering Emmett's name repeatedly. Sue sighed, closing the door again. "Just leave her alone for the night Sue," he whispered. She nodded her head slowly as they went into their room.

The next day, Bella was sitting in her room staring at the picture of her and Emmett. Her eyes were red and puffy from the crying but also dark from the lack of sleep. She wouldn't eat; she hardly slept through the night. All she could think about was Emmett.

Except, the more she thought about the email, the less sense it made to her. "Why would he break up with me via email? He would never do that," she whispered. She chewed on her bottom lip as she started thinking some more. "Being in difficult towns is difficult…but we were even further apart before this," she whispered. Getting up from her bed, she walked over to her computer.

After she printed out the email, she walked down the stairs to the kitchen. "Sue," she called to her stepmother.

"Bella, are you okay sweetheart?" Sue asked concerned.

Bella let out a shaky breath. "Can you help me get a plane ticket to Stanford?" she asked. The woman stared at her quizzically. "Sue, please, I have to see him. If this email is true I want to hear it from him," she insisted. She held up the paper to her stepmother. "It doesn't make sense, Sue. I know deep down it's not right," she persisted.

Taking the paper, Sue began to reread the words that were in the email. "This doesn't sound like Emmett," she commented.

"That's why I need to hear it from him," Bella answered.

Sue nodded her head slowly after a minute. "You deserve answers," she agreed. Letting out a deep breath, Bella dashed upstairs to get her clothes back together. As she was packing, she looked at the picture of her and Emmett.

Emmett was leaning against a stone wall with his arm around Bella's waist, the side of his head resting against the top of her head. Bella was leaning against his chest, one hand resting on his chest while the other was sitting on his hand that was on her waist.

Biting her lower lip, she let out a shaky breath. "What's going on Emmett?" she whispered before putting the picture into her suitcase.