AN- Whew, this one was a hard one. I can't even tell you how much I deleted and rewrote until I was happy(ish) with it. It's still not perfect but I think it's as good as it's gonna get right now. I hope you all are not disappointed.
Thanks for all of the reviews last chapter. I'm so glad you all stuck with me and are still interested to read about these two.
Saturday, December 11th
EmPOV
As expected, Mom made a huge deal when I told her on Saturday morning that I was going to drive Edward and myself up to Port Angeles that night. I figured she wouldn't be completely on board with the whole stalking Alice thing, but I wasn't anticipating her real problem being with the company I had requested.
"But I asked, and he said yes."
"I want you to tell him never mind, that you can't go and maybe some other time," she insisted.
"But why? He seemed totally fine with the plan," I only fibbed a little bit. He did seem alright with it, after some convincing. "I even asked ahead of time." She wouldn't be able to accuse me of springing it on him like last time.
"I don't want him in a crowded movie theater right now. He hasn't spent much time outside of the house, and the place to start isn't in a room full of people where he can't leave until the movie's over."
"He can leave whenever he wants, I promise. If he's freaked out, we'll leave. I already told him I wanted to go, if I take it back he'll totally see through it. You don't want him to think that I don't want to be his friend, do you?" I asked pointedly. She was always telling me to try to talk to him, engage him, whatever. Well, there was only so much to do around the house, and it always ended in him escaping to his room. At least at the movies he was guaranteed a few hours out, whether he liked it or not.
I knew I had her now. She looked a little hesitant, clearly considering the repercussions of me going back on my plans with him.
"Besides, a new movie came out last night, so everyone will be going to see that. The movie we're seeing is weeks old, it shouldn't be too crowded. We'll sit in the back so nobody bothers us. It'll be good for him to go out and do something to feel normal, right?"
"I don't know, Emmett. I know you're just going so you can bother your sister anyway."
"Exactly, what could possibly be more normal than a teenage boy lookin' out for his little sis, right?"
She rolled her eyes, but smiled a little and I knew I had won.
"I'll talk to him about it. If he doesn't want to go, he's not going, and you will not pressure him into it. Got it? Don't say a word about it to him, I won't have you making him feel bad about something like this," she told me sternly.
I was told to wait downstairs while she discussed it with Edward, which was really fucking hard to do because it would have been way too easy to sneak up after her and eavesdrop from my bedroom. But no, I did not, I stayed where I was told to and didn't push my luck.
It wasn't that long before she came back and gave me a, reluctant, go ahead for the movie plan, all the while warning me to keep an eye on him and bring him home at the first sign of distress. I was to call in the event of anything going wrong and I should make sure that it doesn't, because if I mess this up it wasn't happening again anytime soon.
As much as I wanted to be confident that nothing would happen, I had to admit that this was as much a test run for me as it was for Edward. I tried my best to act normal and natural around him, but it was hard. For one, I had to keep from saying stuff that went too far over his head. Sometimes there was everyday stuff that he had no way to know about, and that came up in natural conversation, that I needed to stop and explain without making it sound like I thought he was an idiot. Like the texting thing. I did my best to go slow so I made sense but not too slow that I sounded like I was speaking to a three year old. I wished it wasn't an issue, but I worried that I would get too far ahead of him and he would become overwhelmed and stop trying to learn.
Something else that could potentially be a problem was my need to keep my act going. I shouldn't, and couldn't, like Edward. He was most definitely off limits, and the attempt to make myself accept that was already exhausting.
I had never gone about actively pursuing anybody before, me and Rose just kinda happened. And I definitely hadn't tried it with a boy. I found myself wanting to do stupid things, like finding excuses to tell funny stories at dinner while he was listening, or going to excessive effort to look and smell nice for a simple family meal in the kitchen. I wasn't trying to flirt or anything, I just realized I was doing it after I could stop it. I'm sure he didn't pick up on anything, but the fact remained that I had made him off limits, and yet some part of my brain was still trying to get him to notice me.
Meanwhile, I had not spoken to Rose all weekend and she was bound to know that something seriously wrong was going on. She hadn't called either, and I suspected she was waiting for me to initiate contact, but that was even worse. I didn't want to, but I had to, and I kept going around in a circle.
I had set a deadline though. By next Friday, she would know. It might kill her, but she had to know. She might kill me as well, but even that wasn't enough to compensate for what I was doing to her. I already felt sick about what an ass I was, and the only way I could live with myself was by thinking about other things. She had to stay out of my mind right now.
So I thought about what me and Edward would talk about in the car, what he would be like at the movies, and how he would react if anything did go wrong.
Around four, I got in the shower, getting ready slowly and way too meticulously for a guy, but telling myself there was nothing wrong with being extra clean. I dressed casually, in my favorite jeans and a button up green plaid shirt, one that Alice had bought me and told me I looked good in, but it was still casual enough for an outing with a guy friend. I headed downstairs after one last look in the mirror. Edward wasn't anywhere in sight, but Esme had told me he was going, and I didn't think he would back out on me. He was probably just hiding up there until exactly five.
Jasper came to pick Alice up, but as soon as he pulled into the driveway, Alice was running out the door, not giving him any time to come up to the house and get her himself. Obviously she didn't want me talking to him, but that was okay. I would get my chance.
As I expected, Edward came down at five o'clock on the dot, dressed similarly to me in a long sleeved shirt but threw a sweatshirt on over it before we both grabbed our coats and I got my keys. We were almost out the door when Mom stopped us, of course.
"You guys ready to head out?" she asked innocently. Duh, what did it look like? I let Edward answer, seeing that it was him she really wanted to talk to anyway. He just nodded and tried to look pleased with the situation, although he really just looked nervous.
"You're sure you don't want to stay in? You guys could rent something and watch it here, or-"
"Nope, we're going. Don't worry Mom, everything will be just fine. It's just the movies, no big deal I swear." I gave her a hug, hopefully it was comforting enough that she would trust me blindly with her new son. She looked to Edward, waiting for his answer.
"I want to go, really. I'll be fine. I'm okay." He was convincing himself just as much as her, I was sure of it, but whatever talk they had that morning seemed to mean more to her, so she nodded and opened the door for us.
"Call for any reason, and don't be out too late. And don't bother your sister."
"Yeah, we'll see about that. Bye Mom!" I said quickly and rushed to the car so she couldn't lecture me.
Edward got there at his own pace, so by the time he climbed in I had already started the car and was fiddling with the heat, impatiently. It was fucking cold out today.
"Shit, it's cold," I commented.
Edward murmured a little in agreement. I glanced at him. His hands were shoved deep into his coat pockets and his head was leaned back against the headrest, looking up at the ceiling.
"You tired?"
It took him a minute to answer, and when he did, it was a mumbled, "yeah, I guess."
He looked more than sleepy to me. He looked…defeated. Like he just didn't give a shit about what happened. He had only agreed to come with me after I told him I would help him get out of his 'funk' so now that's what I had to do. If he was upset about something, maybe it would be good for him to talk about it with someone who wasn't an adult. I started where I thought the problem had begun.
"It was weird seeing Johnson yesterday. You like him?"
I was on the main road now, so I had my eyes on the road, but I saw his head roll towards me, looking in my direction instead of the roof of the car.
"Yeah, he's okay. It's kind of awkward now. But yeah."
"He's pretty cool. You can tell he actually enjoys and cares about his job, which is better than some other people we've dealt with during foster care. I get what you're saying though. When I was little, whenever he visited or called I never knew what to say to him." I was taking a shot in the dark here, trying to be understanding, but not really knowing why it was awkward for him. "It's like he leaves for weeks and he wants you to tell him everything that's happened in one conversation. I never knew what exactly he wanted me to say."
He hesitated, and I could tell I hadn't exactly hit the nail on the head with why he thought it was awkward. "Yeah, but I was kind of rude when I first met him. He didn't seem to mind, but I feel bad I made him put up with me and he's so nice now." That one I really did get completely.
"Dude, I'm not even kidding that happened with me too. Well, it wasn't the first time I met him but a few weeks later. He tried to come and take me to Carlisle and Esme and I just wanted to go back home with my parents. I was so pissed at him, but I didn't get I wasn't going back home. I freaked out on him a bit, but I kinda think he's used to it by now. Nobody's exactly happy in foster care, you know?"
"Yeah, I guess." He hesitated again, and I knew he was curious. I told him that I was adopted before, but I didn't tell him any details. I didn't have a problem with sharing the basics. Most of my friends knew how I had ended up with the Cullens, or at least part of it. Eventually, and I wasn't surprised, his curiosity ran out.
"Where were you before you went to them?" he asked, quietly, but with genuine interest.
"I was in a group home. It fucking sucked. I was only there for a few weeks, but it was bad enough. I lucked out with the Cullens, big time. Some of the kids there had been there for a long time."
"What's a group home like?" I grinned as he started to lose his hesitancy.
"The one I was at was in this house, it was pretty big but full of kids. Most were my age or older, but I was only seven so they seemed really scary. I shared a room with four other boys, and it was always loud and you never got a minute alone. I was freaked out enough because my parents weren't there, but then I had to go somewhere weird and stressful, man was I happy to move in with the Cullens," I explained. I tried to stop myself from considering that he might be wishing he had been in a group home, and I was rubbing salt in his wounds by saying how much I hated it.
"Where were your parents?" He asked right away, before trying to take it back. "I mean, you don't have to tell me. Sorry."
I smiled again, showing him it was okay. "Don't worry about it, I don't mind. They weren't the best parents in the world. I think they meant well, but they both got caught up with drugs. I don't remember a lot but I do know I was alone a lot and they didn't always take the best care of me. Basically, they were both arrested, my mom ended up in a rehab center for a while and my dad was in jail." There was more to the story, but I had learned a long time ago that I didn't need to share it with everyone and I no longer felt bad lying a little to avoid the entire truth. It was a little heavy for our conversation and to be honest, I didn't want to talk about that part.
"Oh…sorry," he was back to mumbling and I was sorry the conversation had taken that turn. I didn't mind telling him, but he seemed uncomfortable now.
"No, I seriously don't mind. I was just saying I know where you're coming from."
We were quiet for a minute. Then I continued, since he wasn't going to.
"Can I ask you something?"
He shrugged and added, "I guess."
"Esme wouldn't tell me. What was up with those letters yesterday?"
I felt like maybe I had pushed my luck too far when he didn't answer, but eventually he seemed to work through it and be able to give me something.
"They're from people that saw me on the news, I guess. Mr. Johnson keeps calling them well-wishers, but they were all pretty much just mad." He was looking away now, back out the window, with his hands still shoved in his pockets. The car was plenty warm by now, but he still looked as stiff as ever.
"Mad at him?" What was I supposed to call him? The asshole that ruined your life, sick bastard, crazed lunatic? "At Owens, I mean?"
Edward visibly flinched when I said his name. "Yeah. Mad at him."
"Well that's pretty fucked up, actually. I mean, sure they were probably trying to be nice and all, but they should keep their opinions to themselves. They don't know what's going on, it's not really anybody's place to judge, not to mention shoving their opinions down your throat," I said heatedly. Whose place was it to remind Edward about the ass that did all that shit to him? I don't think he would easily forget, and he didn't need strangers telling him to be angry. Couldn't people just let him be?
"Yeah, I know," he muttered.
We were quiet for a while, and I thought about the huge amount of pressure Edward surely felt. I mean, this guy just shows up with all these letters from strangers, and Edward's just expected to be grateful and react well to them. Well, who was to say how he was supposed to react, he obviously didn't see it the same way as Mr. Johnson or my parents did. He did a remarkable job at keeping his head and not freaking out about it like I probably would have. I know he wasn't a very vocal guy, but I would have a hard time not pointing out how stupid I thought they were being.
Edward's ability to keep calm and not over-react was impressive to me, but I didn't really think it was a good quality for him to have. He was obviously holding a lot back, and that couldn't be good. Then again, I didn't know what he did in his room, behind closed doors. He could be saving all his emotions for then and freaking out while nobody watched. That would make a lot of sense, but it probably wasn't the healthiest way to go about things. He shouldn't have to just take everything that was thrown at him. He needed to fight, and communicate what he was okay with and what he didn't like. How else would he ever make any progress? I would have to make it my job to read him. To see the signs and know what he wanted to say, whether he said it or not.
We were nearing Port Angeles now. I didn't know if Edward recognized his surroundings, but he broke the silence first, like he wanted to make sure he had time to ask before we arrived.
"Why do you want to follow Alice?"
"Because. She thinks it's okay to go out with a guy two years older than her. I'm making sure he treats her right before I can be okay with it."
"So you're spying on her?"
I huffed. "If you want to get technical, I suppose you could call it that. But I'm pretty sure she knows I'm coming. There's no way Esme wouldn't tell her."
"But I thought you were friends with Jasper?" He sounded confused, and rightly so. I had told Edward we were friends and I had him over to the house. Now I was taking it back, clearly showing Edward that I didn't trust him.
"We are friends. But guys do some pretty stupid shit when girls get involved, and I want to make sure Alice doesn't get hurt. She's never really dated before, and she might do something stupid too. It's just best if they have some…supervision," I said with a hint of an evil grin. I wasn't trying to ruin her night or anything, but if they happened to have an awful time, well I didn't see that as being a problem.
"So what are you going to do?" he sounded more accepting of the plan than I could have hoped for, and I was again glad it was him here and not Rose.
"Well, I figured out what movie they're seeing. As long as we get there before them, we can sit in the very back and hopefully, they won't see us but I will be able to see them."
We were quiet after that, and as we entered the city and I neared the movie theater, he began to fidget and bite at his nails. He was nervous. But he didn't want to make a big deal about it.
I knew going out was a big deal for him, and it wasn't hard to understand why. It hadn't escaped my notice that he hadn't actually gone out anywhere with me yet. He went for car rides. It wasn't the same thing. I knew he had successfully gone to the hospital with Carlisle, but again, it wasn't quite the same as a social outing to the movies. He had insisted several times to me and Mom that he did want to come tonight. If he wanted to go, then I would help him do it. I might be asking for trouble, but it only seemed fair.
Pulling into the lot behind the theater, I tried to see it from his perspective. Not that there were tons of people, but it was a Saturday evening and even in Port Angeles, that meant a good crowd at the movies. He didn't know if these people could be a threat to him. He didn't even know what to expect at a movie theater. It must be so confusing and scary when everything you did was a new experience. It was no wonder he was never really comfortable or relaxed.
Once parked, I took the keys out of the ignition and waited. It was silent. He didn't make a move at all, we could have still been driving. The only change I could see was his eyes. They were darting all around to different people walking by. Nobody noticed him that I could see, but he noticed everybody. It didn't take much insight to know why he was so interested.
"You ready to go?" I asked, trying to sound casual but the truth was, the longer we sat here, the higher the tension rose. He might have shrugged, might have shuddered, I couldn't really tell but it didn't matter. He wasn't ready to go, he was freaked out.
I sighed. The last thing I wanted to do was make it awkward. I didn't want to point out our differences or make myself seem better than him. I had planned on acting as casually as possible, thinking that even if we both knew he was freaked out, if we ignored it and didn't talk about it, he would be more comfortable and be able to deal with it in his own time, without judgment from me. That wasn't going to work. He needed me to say it, to talk him through this.
"Dude, I'm not going to let anybody fuck with you. Don't worry about it. They'll leave you alone."
He moved now, his head jerking towards mine immediately. For a second I thought he was pissed, like he hadn't wanted me to say anything and he was insulted. But then his glare broke. He was almost pleading me now, wanting to believe what I had said.
When he looked down at his knees, I spoke again. "I swear, nobody's going to bother you, okay? I'll be with you the whole time and not to be cocky, but I'll scare the shit out of anybody who tries. And once you get this first time over with, it'll be a lot easier, right?"
He took a minute to think about it, but then without saying anything else, he suddenly opened his door and exited the car, slamming the door shut behind him. I was left behind, still with my seatbelt on. I rushed to catch up with him, locking the car as I closed my own door. I met him at the back of the jeep, just standing there with his hands deep in his pockets again. He was still glancing all around, but he seemed like he was ready to do this, scared or not.
I motioned forward with my hands, and he took off towards the building, again leaving me to follow behind.
Catching up, I said, "By the way, sorry if this movie sucks. I didn't pick it, you know. Alice has pretty shitty taste in movies. But hey, it's the price you pay when stalking people I guess…."
He didn't respond, didn't even nod, but I felt better when talking. The new topic had easily broken the tension from the car and I wanted to keep talking, even if he wasn't listening.
"I didn't really plan this far ahead actually…I'm not sure what I'm going to do if I actually see them. Like outside of the movie. Not sure if Jasper knows or anything so they'll probably be, you know, mad. I guess I should try to avoid them, I just want to like watch from a distance or something…." Edward clearly didn't give a shit about my rant, but I was just making noise so it didn't matter.
He was walking fast, I mean like border line jogging, but that was okay. He reached the doors first and pulled them open. Once inside the warm lobby, he finally stopped. I walked, slowly, towards the ticket counter, making sure to watch him out of the corner of my eye to see him follow me. He stayed closed, but behind me. There was a short line at the counter, but they had several employees working different registers so it went fairly quickly. Edward seemed to have gotten himself together a little by then because when I pulled my wallet out and told the lady behind the counter what we were seeing, he came to stand right next to me. He was still looking suspiciously around like somebody was about to jump at him but at least he wasn't shaking and running to the car like last time.
"Do you have a student I.D.? It's a ten percent discount," the woman said.
"Oh, yeah I do…" I pulled mine out of my wallet and as I handed it to her, made an excuse for Edward so he didn't have to. "He doesn't have his with him but here's mine." She printed our tickets and handed them both to me.
"Thanks." I turned and motioned for Edward to follow me towards the theaters.
"Here's your ticket." I handed him his and he still didn't say anything, but nodded. Just as we were about to reach the guy that would take them, the worst possible thing happened.
"Hey! Cullen!" a familiar voiced called. Whipping my head around for the source of the noise, I spotted him immediately.
"Fuck," I muttered, pissed that we were so close to getting through unscathed and now Edward had to meet this dumbass. "Hold on and let me talk to this guy for a second, Edward."
Mike Newton had almost caught up to us and I turned to meet him.
"Hey Mike." Edward stood back a little, but he was clearly with me and I knew his presence wouldn't go unnoticed.
"Hey, are you seeing the movie that just came out?" he asked, pointing to a poster for it.
"Oh, no, we're, uh, meeting Alice here. She didn't want to see it," I lied. That drew Mike's attention towards Edward, who he clearly hadn't paid any attention to up until then.
"Oh, hi, I'm Mike. I'm on the football team with Emmett. Who are…?" Mike spoke to Edward now, hinting for him to tell him how we knew each other.
I knew my dad had been on the news in Seattle. He had talked about Edward, and while he hadn't exactly said his name or told people where we lived, he was a prominent figure in the tiny town of Forks, and there had been talk about the new kid the Cullens had taken in. Obviously the story would be huge, our family taking in the kid that had been kidnapped and the focus of several large news stories since, if only it could be confirmed that the whole thing was true. Like with my friends, some people didn't watch the news and didn't care, but others would do anything for a big piece of gossip around here. Unfortunately, the news would break eventually no matter what I did about it, and whether or not Mike knew enough to confirm people's suspicions…well I didn't have much of a choice.
"This is Edward, he's a friend of ours."
"Oh is he staying with you?" he hinted at the real truth, and just like that I knew he knew who he really was.
"Yeah, like I said we're meeting Alice so…" I tried to end the conversation but he really wouldn't let me.
"Where's Rosalie?" he asked instead.
"She's at home, didn't want to come," I lied again, shortly to encourage him to end our little chat soon.
"Oh, well I'm here with Jessica if you guys want to join us. I know you bought different tickets, but nobody will notice. I'm sure she would like to meet your friend too." He gave Edward another analyzing glance, and I started to worry that he was going to confront the situation outright.
"No thanks, really, we have to go. See you at school," I hedged, and started to direct Edward away from this obnoxious kid.
"Yeah, I'll see you at school!" he said happily. He seemed a little weird tonight, but my concern was on getting Edward away from him instead. Once through the line for the man to take our tickets and on our way towards the theater he directed us to, I tried to explain the weird interaction.
"Sorry. He's fucking annoying, can't believe he's here right now."
I expected Edward to stick with this non-verbal thing he was suddenly so good at but instead, he suddenly told me, "He knows too."
"He knows what?"
"Who I really am. He looked at me and….he knows." He was confident, if only in his ability to read people for that information. I had suspected as much as well but having Edward confirm my suspicions made our trip out tonight seem a little risky and trivial.
I shook my head. I shouldn't think stuff like that. Edward needed to get out, he couldn't hide inside for his whole life.
"Oh. Well, whatever, I mean he didn't say anything and you're probably not going to see him anymore anyway," I shrugged it off. "He's pretty harmless." As much as I tried to reassure him, Mike made me nervous. I looked around over my shoulder as we turned the corner.
Our movie was on in one of the very back theaters, as I had predicted, and we were the only ones heading in the doors. We were still pretty early and I hadn't caught sight of Alice yet. I led the way up the ramp to the seating and after glancing back in the dark to make sure Edward was still following me, headed up the stairs to the back. There were only half a dozen or so other people here and it was a relief not only to Edward but me as well.
"You alright?" I asked once we were sitting. He didn't look me in the eye while he nodded, and I understood it to mean that he didn't want to acknowledge his nerves in the car or the pep talk I had to give him. He wanted to pretend everything was fine and that I had no idea he was even freaked out at all by his surroundings. I could do that.
I waited for Alice to arrive, feeling accomplished and very sneaky for hijacking their date. Somewhere deep down I felt a twinge or guilt for lying to her taking matters into my own hands, but I honestly just wanted to take care of my little sister. While I knew that Jasper was a good guy, I also knew there were a lot of jackass's out there and I needed to confirm that he was going to treat her right before I would let him have free reign, so to speak. It anything ever happened to her because I wasn't paying enough attention…well I would definitely never forgive myself.
But as the minutes trickled by, the lights dimmed, the previews started, and no Alice was in sight, I started to get pissed. I mean, where could they possibly be? I saw them leave the house not ten minutes after me, they couldn't be too far.
When the credits started rolling for the real movie, I feel like an idiot. She's played me, I just know it. She knew I was going to try this, and she tricked me. I was pissed, and I looked the part, sitting slumped in the seat with my arms across my chest.
"Are they not coming?" Edward asked, very unsure.
"No." I said it bluntly, my irritation clear. When I realized I was pouting like a four year old, I relaxed my face and looked over at Edward.
What I saw made me completely forget about Alice and Jasper.
Edward was, quite the opposite of me, leaning forward, his arms wrapped around his stomach, almost rocking in his chair. He was looking up, but not at the opening scene of the movie we were supposed to be watching. He was looking at the people around us, his eyes scanning from a guy with his girlfriend two rows in front of us and about ten feet to the right, and another couple right in front of us but five or six rows down. He was obviously watching them for signs of a threat, like they were suddenly going to forget about their dates and come back here to hurt Edward.
He was breathing heavily threw his nose, and if I didn't know better, I would say he was on the verge of some sort of an attack. My sullen mood surely wasn't doing anything to comfort him, and I wondered if he really wanted to leave.
"Edward?" He glanced at me before continuing his surveillance. I didn't want to ask him directly, he had made it clear to me that he didn't want me to point out that I knew he was nervous. "We can leave if you want, you know. We don't have to stay. Alice isn't even here." I tried to sound calm and impartial.
"No, I don't want to go." His body was saying something completely different. "I mean, if you want to, we can…" he backtracked, looking even more nervous than before. Like I would ever be mad for him telling me his opinion. If he wanted to stay, he could stay. That was all there was. He wanted to do this, to prove that he could maybe, and even if he was having a hard time with it, his mind was set.
"We'll stay then," I agreed. "But Alice is gonna get it later…I can't believe she's not here," I muttered, irritated again. Instead of looking scared this time though, Edward almost smiled. More like smirked, but close enough.
I don't think either one of us watched any of the movie. Edward eventually calmed down a little and relaxed in his seat, but his eyes never stopped roaming from person to person across the room. It was a good thing we sat in the back, or else he would have looked weird turning around every twenty seconds.
I on the other hand spent the first part of the movie mad, and the rest of it trying to pretend I wasn't watching the boy next to me. I imagined a completely different world where he wasn't terrified of his surroundings and even if he never saw me like I see him, we could at least be comfortable friends. Laugh around and kid about the stupid movie we were watching and come up with explanations of Alice's whereabouts. He could even help me come up with a retaliation plan.
But instead, I sat there in the back row of the dark theater watching him try to stay calm and not freak out. He was trying, really hard, to be a normal teenager on a normal night out. He was, sadly, failing miserable. I mean, it could be a whole lot worse, but I didn't know if he would ever be normal. The fact that he was trying though meant more than I could imagine, because it was so obviously difficult and it would be so easy for him to just stay in his bedroom and ignore the world. But here he was, doing his best because I asked him to.
It sucked, because all I could do was sit here and watch him struggle.
The movie ended, and I only knew because the lights were on and people were moving. I don't think Edward knew either because he only watched the dude in front of us get up and leave. Thankfully, he went right instead of coming directly in front of us. Edward's eyes watched him go all the way down until he was out of view.
"Ready?"
He nodded. The theater was pretty much empty now. I stood up, he followed.
As my eyes adjusted to the bright light in the hall, Edward walked beside me this time, not behind, as we entered the main lobby and turned towards the exit. I thought the night was over, but it hadn't even begun.
I wasn't even paying attention. I was looking forward, towards the goal of the exit doors so this night could end when I heard something that wasn't right.
"Edward? Excuse me Edward Masen?" I looked around for the source of the voice. It sounded urgent, and the man I saw jogging towards us definitely looked urgent too. But why the fuck was he calling out Edwards name? Edward didn't know anybody. I didn't know this guy, and he shouldn't know Edward.
"Hey! Hold on, Edward. I just want a quick word with you." The guy was closer now, within a few feet. Edward had seen him as well, and was backing up to get away from this man who obviously was seen as a threat.
Then I saw it. This dude, who was wearing khaki pants and a tie, was holding a camera. It was a nice, small, expensive looking camera with a long strap that he had slung over his shoulder, like he was trying to hide the camera.
He was smiling now, a gross, overly pleased smile directed towards Edward. "I thought you were going to run out on me there Edward," he said with a lighthearted laugh while his arm went up to reach around Edwards shoulder.
Immediately, before he could even touch Edward, my hand was on his shoulder, shoving him away.
"Hey man, what are you doing?" I asked him, really pissed off now. Who was he that he thought he could just come up to him and do that?
He held up his one, non-hidden arm in front of him as if surrendering. But he wasn't done yet. "I just wanted to introduce myself and ask Edward a few questions, if you don't mind. My name is-"
"Yeah, I do fucking mind," I said sharply, putting myself between Edward and the man and steering Edward, who was white as a sheet, towards the exit.
He was a persistent fucker though, and followed closely behind.
"And I take it you're Emmett Cullen, Dr. Cullen's son? How is home life working out with your new foster brother, given his difficult background?"
I didn't know if he was recording us or not, but I hoped he caught the "fuck off," I threw at him before yanking the doors open and nudging Edward out first, as to not get caught by this guy. As it turns out, that was a mistake. The first thing I saw outside was a blinding camera flash. Then I heard some jumbled yelling and names being called. Once my eyes adjusted, I saw what seemed like dozens of reporters, but in reality was probably only a few. The fact that they were there at all overwhelmed me, and my mind exaggerated everything. The lights of their cameras, the size and the speed they were coming at us, and most noticeably, their yells. For the life of me I couldn't make anything coherent out, but it was obvious who they wanted.
Maybe one second, maybe ten seconds went by before I was able to snap out of all of this and move. Edward was not so lucky. It seemed he had frozen. It was my job to unfreeze him, as I told him I wasn't going to let anybody fuck with him.
Getting an arm around him to start with, I shoved him into motion, jogging as fast as I could make him move towards the car. After a few more light flashes from behind me, I had the instinct to grab his hood and throw it over his head, so their pictures were useless. I put a hand on his head, pointing it down towards the ground so unless someone was standing right in front of him, they couldn't see who he was.
It seemed like minutes but was probably only seconds before we made it to my Jeep. I used the button to unlock all the doors, opened the passenger side, pretty much shoved Edward in, and slammed his door, locking all the doors again. I ran to my side and unlocked my door with the key, not trusting these vultures around an unlocked car with Edward inside.
By some miracle, the parking space in front of me was empty, and I could just pull forward and out instead of having to fight threw the small crowd that had formed behind us.
The seconds after pulling away from that nightmare were surreal. It was very quiet, and everything seemed muted. The headlights of other cars were softer, I was driving slower, and it didn't seem as bitter cold as the ride there.
I was out of breath. My head was spinning a little bit. What the fuck had just happened?
A few miles away from the theater, I was looking out my rearview and felt the urge to hide somewhere. What if they were trying to follow me? I pulled into a restaurant's parking lot and stopped in a back, uninhibited corner of it. I parked. It was silent.
Bracing myself, I turned towards Edward, expecting the worse. Here was one thing I could not possibly be exaggerating.
His hood was still up, he was leaning down low, his head almost touching his knees, and he was shaking. I couldn't see his face but I knew it would be pale and frantic.
I was at a loss here, caught between my own shock and not knowing how on earth to comfort him. There as literally nothing I could say to make this go away.
I took a deep breath, shaken up myself, before shaking my head to clear it so I could focus on him.
"Edward?" No answer. He didn't even move. I could hear him sucking in breathes. He might have been crying. I couldn't quite tell. "Edward?" I said again, a little louder and a little more panicked.
All at once, he shot upright, gasped in a huge breathe, and fumbled at the door handle, trying to get out. He couldn't open it, it was locked, and he just yanked harder. I quickly flipped the switch on my door that unlocked all of the doors and he practically fell out of the car.
Before I knew it, he was out of the car and running towards the wooded back lot behind the restaurant's property. I yanked my own door open, knowing it wasn't a good idea to let him out of my sight when he was so upset. I had flashes of him bolting, trying to get away and running aimlessly threw unknown woods. I knew he couldn't outrun me, but I didn't think now was a good time to let him try either.
I didn't need to worry about that though, because his goal was simply the tree line. By the time I got to him, he was already doubled over, puking his guts out onto the twigs and dead leafs.
"Shit," I muttered. I seriously fucked up this time. Why did I even ask him to come with me?
I took another glance around the parking lot, feeling like we were being followed. We weren't, and I turned my attention back to Edward, who wasn't quite finished yet.
I didn't know what to do here. I mean, I didn't want to say anything stupid, and I wasn't sure if I should touch him or not. Rose was hung over and puking once, and I held her hair, but I mean, Edward didn't have hair to hold, and he wasn't big on touching as it was. So I stood their awkwardly, waiting for him to be done.
Eventually, he was left bent over with his hands on his knees, heaving for breath, the puffs of air visible since it was so fucking cold out here. We were silent, still, and I felt like if I said anything I would only make it worse.
For once, he said it all. "Fuck."
"Yeah," I agreed.
He stood up, wiping his mouth with his sleeve and looking around the parking lot, the same as I had.
"Can we go home?" he asked, sounding pretty desperate and exhausted.
"I have some water in my car, I think," I said instead of an answer, and headed to the car, digging around in the back seat for the last bottle I had used when working out. It was half drunk and a week old, but better than nothing. I handed it to him, and with a shaking hand, he took it and chugged the whole thing.
Neither one of us had anything to say, so I started the car and got on the highway as fast as I could. Grabbing my phone, I realized I needed to let my parents know. This was definitely under the "something going wrong" category, and I didn't have the first clue about what to do here.
Before I could put the phone to my ear, however, Edward shoved my hand down, away from my face.
"Don't fucking call Esme." He looked pissed for once, and I was confused as to what the hell had gotten into him.
"What? I have to call her, man. This is serious, they need to know," I reasoned. What if those fuckers were following us? I tried to call her again, this time getting the phone all the way to my ear before Edward full out grabbed it away from me and threw it on the back seat.
"Don't call her!" he nearly shouted at me.
"What the hell, Edward?" I said, stunned at his sudden ability to give a shit what I did.
"I told her it would be fine. I'm fucking fine, don't call her. Just go home." He was seriously worked up now, breathing heavily and red faced.
"Well I guess I don't have much of a choice now, do I?" I said bitterly. I mean, I was driving and he just threw my phone into the mess of my back seat, so I guess he won.
He ran his fingers threw his hair, well actually it was more like yanking, but he exhaled a huge breath at the end and, while it was still shaky, seemed like it calmed him down a little.
"Sorry," he said so softly I barely heard it.
"Are you okay? That was fucking crazy back there," I said bluntly, deciding that we were past all the subtle bullshit.
He put his head back in his hands and his elbows back on his knees. He didn't answer, but I figured it out for myself. Occasionally, he would run his hands over his face, but he stared at the car floor most of the way home.
I drove way too fast on the way back, and we were home in record time. I took stalk of Edward while I pulled into the driveway, and all things considered, he seemed pretty good. He wasn't shaking, but he had this freaky stare thing happening, like he wasn't really with me.
"You know I have to tell them, right?" I asked.
He didn't answer right away, but when I had parked, he gave me a short, "whatever," and yanked his door open, jogging up the steps to the house. After digging out my phone, I followed, and what I saw when I got inside didn't surprise me.
Edward was trying to escape up the stairs and my mom was in her pajamas, holding on lightly to one of his wrists, trying to keep him from disappearing. Dad was standing nearby, looking equally worried.
"Honey, just tell me what happened. You look like you don't feel well, are you okay?" she asked him, urgently.
"I'm fine, please just let me go upstairs," he said, in a tone that was more desperate than anything I had ever heard.
She looked at me, seeking reassurance, and I nodded, telling her to let him go and I would explain.
She let go. He was gone, skipping two steps at a time on his way up.
"What happened, Emmett? I told you to call me!"
I took my coat and shoes off and sat down on the couch, preparing for the long explanation.
"He wouldn't let me call you."
"Why is he upset? What happened?" she asked, exasperated. When they were both on the couch, I told them.
"We left the movie, and this dude came up to us. He knew our names and wanted to talk to Edward. He had a camera," I said pointedly, as if it explained everything.
Carlisle ran a hand over his face, exhaling sharply and Esme's face crumpled, disappointed.
"And?" Carlisle pressed, ready for the worst of it now.
"And I told him to get lost and I got Edward out of there, but there were more outside. Like lots of them, taking pictures and yelling. I got him to the car, but I mean, there wasn't much avoiding them."
"What did Edward do?" Esme urged me to continue.
"Well, he didn't really do anything for a minute. I drove out of there pretty fast and he was just, like, hunched over and shaking. I parked a few miles away and he jumped out and threw up in some trees."
She looked heartbroken now, and I was sure she was going to cry.
"None of them followed you?" Carlisle asked me.
"I don't think so. I didn't see anybody too close behind me and none in the parking lot that I could tell."
"Did he talk to you at all?" Esme was still worried about his reaction, and rightly so.
"No, not really. I gave him some water in the car and he was quiet, except I tried to call you and he really didn't want me to, told me to just go home."
Esme was crying now, and she came over to my couch and sat next to me, wrapping her small arms around my frame in a hug. I rubbed her back, thinking she needed more comfort than I did.
"What about Alice, was she with you?" she asked.
"No, I didn't see her anywhere. She wasn't at the movies." I hadn't even thought of that, and I wanted to kick myself for not making sure she was safe, I was just so focused on Edward.
"I'll call her," Carlisle said, getting up to grab a phone.
"I can't believe those people," Esme mumbled to me. "Why can't he just have one night? He just wanted to be normal for one night."
I nodded, agreeing.
"Was he okay at the movie?" she asked, hopeful.
"Yeah, it was alright. He was a little tense, you know, but he made it through at least. I think he would have been pleased with himself if he had time to think it through before…."
"Alice is fine, she's on her way home with Jasper. Be here in thirty minutes or so," Carlisle said as he sat back down. "Emmett, how did they know you'd be there? Did you recognize any of the reporters or was it just by chance someone saw him?"
"Yeah. Mike Newton saw him," I deadpanned.
"What?" Esme asked, shocked.
"He was there, he talked to me before the movie. He asked who he was and I told him Edward was a friend, but he knew. I didn't think he would do anything, at the most gossip around town. But apparently I overestimated him."
Everyone was quiet for a few minutes, taking it in, before Carlisle spoke again.
"I'll call Aro in the morning, to see if there's anything we should be doing. At least get him up to speed. In the meantime, Emmett, Edward should stay at the house." I nodded, for once not objecting to that. I didn't think Edward would want to go anywhere anyway.
"You should get some sleep, okay honey?" Esme told me. "We'll talk more in the morning, but you did a great job. I'm so glad you were with him when this happened." She hugged me tightly one last time before getting up and doing the same to Carlisle.
Once I reached the third floor, I looked over at Edward's door. It was shut, not that it was a surprise. I couldn't help but get an ominous feeling, like he would be spending a lot of time behind a closed door in the future.
I had really thought tonight would be good for him. Thought it would be progress, and that he would feel much better about himself afterwards. Turns out I couldn't have been more wrong.
What I heard when I got closer to his door both cemented my gloomy prediction and was testament to what a failure this night had been. Muffled through the wooden door, but still the loudest sound I heard that night, was the sound of Edward sobbing.
AN- Hope you liked Emmett, next chapter is back to Edward.