Chapter 18: Three Years Later
A/N: In this chapter, Bella has only been to three years of college, since she took off a year. Shane, Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett have all finished their four year terms. Edward is in medical school, now, so unfortunately, he has four more years. By the way, Stonewalls was a real karaoke bar that I used to go to. It closed down.
Bella's POV
Shane finished college, and he began to watch my little three-year-old, Heathcliff, for me.
I was able to focus on the new school year that lay ahead.
It was June, though, and I constantly found my thoughts drifting to Emmett. He stopped talking to me for a few months, so I did the same. My silent treatment, however, turned out to last a few years.
I thought it would be better for everyone, including Heath. He knew that Shane nor Edward was his dad, and I knew that he really wanted to meet him, but I couldn't bring myself to tell Emmett. So I stopped speaking with him altogether.
I asked Rosalie about him every once in awhile, but she said she didn't know anything. I knew she was probably lying, but I also knew Rose. It was probably for the best.
Shane told me that I needed to have some fun, that he would watch and play with Heathcliff - they had become best friends, despite the age difference - and kept trying to send Edward and I out to a karaoke bar.
I finally agreed, and Edward took me to Stonewalls. We went inside, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Emmett fucking Hale. I gasped, and Edward turned to me.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
I shook off the shock and whispered, "Emmett's here, but it's okay. I'm going to go sing a song."
"Okay…That's weird."
"What?"
"You only sing around Emmett. I haven't heard you sing in about four years."
I sighed. "Yeah, I know."
I walked up to the guy and requested to sing When You're Gone by Avril Lavigne. When it was my turn after the guy up there sang, I took center stage and looked right at Emmett. He was turned away, but I saw the look of shock on his face when I began to sing, for he pivoted and stared into my eyes.
I always needed time on my own
I never thought I'd
Need you there when I cried
And the days feel like years when I'm alone
And the bed where you lie
Is made up on your side
When you walk away
I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now?
When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing, too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day
And make it okay
I miss you
I never felt this way before
Everything that I do
Reminds me of you
And the clothes you left
They lie on the floor
And they smell just like you
I love the things that you do
When you walk away
I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now?
When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing, too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day
And make it okay
I miss you
We were made for each other
Out there together
I know we were
Yeah, yeah
And all I ever wanted was for you to know everything I do
I give my heart and soul
I can hardly breathe
I need to feel you right here with me
Yeah
When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing, too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day
And make it okay
I miss you
I stood there for a second, and Emmett began to make his way toward me. I ran off the stage and into Edward's waiting arms. He held me close in a brotherly way while Emmett just stared in disbelief. Then, he walked over to the DJ and requested a song. He stood on the stage and began to sing Cinderella Story by the Plain White T's.
I've heard that you've asking about me
Least, that's the word on the street
I just don't know what to believe
Why was I dumb enough to leave?
I saw you with him today
The boy who took my place
You seemed so much happier with me
But maybe that's just the way I want it to be
But it's just another one of those days
The way you made it all feel so right
The way you fit into my arm's at night
I'll remember that feeling for the rest of my life
But it's just another one of those days
I can't help but feel a little upset
About the things you and I never had
I had the world
But instead, threw it all away
Now, it's just another one of those days
So, tell me what happens next?
It's out of my hands, I guess
I just don't know what to believe
Why don't you tell me to believe?
Why did you let me leave?
It's not the way it's gotta be
What's wrong with me?
Why don't you tell me to believe?
Why did you let me leave?
Is that the way this has to be?
But it's just another one of those days
The way you made it all feel so right
The way you fit into my arm's at night
I'll remember that feeling for the rest of my life
But it's just another one of those days
I can't help but feel a little upset
About the things you and I never had
I had the world
But instead, threw it all away
Now, it's just another one of those days
He finished and walked off the stage, running as fast as he could towards me through the crowd.
"Take me home," I muttered to Edward.
He nodded, and we ran to his car. It was bad enough that I saw Emmett after so long, but now, I was going to have to face him. We pulled into the drive, and sure enough, Emmett did, too.
"Bella, wait!" He called from his Jeep.
"We can talk inside," I said harshly.
"Front porch," he replied in the same tone.
"Fine." I looked at Edward and mumbled, "Can you help Shane with Heath?"
He smiled sadly and nodded, walking inside. Emmett and I sat down on the bench, the same one Shane and I had talked on.
"Why did you stop talking to me?" he asked.
"Wait a second. What? You stopped talking to me first."
He sighed. "Bella, I wasn't allowed to for a few months. I had an accident. A linebacker crashed into me, threw me twelve yards, and I broke my leg and screwed up my back. I was pretty lucky that I didn't become paralyzed. They kept me just in case something happened. As soon as I got out, I called you over and over again. You never picked up or called back. So eventually, I just stopped."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know. Oh, god. I wasn't there." I buried my face into my hands and sobbed slightly. "Um, Emmett, can I ask you something?"
"Yeah, sure. You can ask me anything…"
"Why did you come back? After I ignored you and everything?" I asked softly, tears falling rapidly down my cheeks.
"I wanted to see you again. Now that we're out of college, I thought maybe it'd be easier for us to be together. If you still wanted to be…"
"First off, I haven't even finished college, yet! And second, you can't just come back into my life like this and expect me to still want to be with you! You just can't! I mean, I still do, but what if something had happened? Like I had married Shane?" I yelled.
"But I know you didn't."
"You're right, but before you say you want to be with me still, there's someone you should meet…"
I stood up and walked inside; Emmett followed, confusion spreading across his perfect features.
"Heath! Heath, baby, come here!" I called. Edward and Shane came out with Heathcliff, and Emmett gasped. "Em, this is Heath. Heathcliff Alexander…er…Swan."
"Am I…you know…?" he stuttered.
"Yeah. If you want to act like it, then can I go ahead and tell him?" I asked. He nodded, so I picked up our child and smiled. "Heath. This is your daddy."
"Daddy? You my daddy?" His eyes lit up, and a grin was plastered on his face, dimples and all, just like his dad.
"Yeah, Heath. I'm your daddy," Emmett announced, and Heath held out his arms.
Emmett grabbed him and held him tightly. "Daddy. I miss you, daddy."
"I know. I'm so sorry…" Emmett began to cry.
"Daddy, don't cwy."
Emmett smiled widely. "I'm happy, Heath. I'm crying because I'm happy."
"Heath happy, too." His smile mirrored his father's once again.
"Good. Can mommy and daddy go talk for a minute?"
Heath nodded. "Uhhuh. I love you, Daddy."
Emmett's face lit up, and he squeezed him tightly. "Daddy loves you, too, Heath."
Emmett set him down, and we both walked upstairs. We went into my room, and I sat down on my bed, preparing for the onslaught that I was sure would follow.
"Why didn't you tell me I had a son, Bella? A three-year old son, to be specific…" He wasn't being too loud, thankfully.
"I thought it would be better for us all."
"You thought it'd be better for our child to grow up without a father? What kind of sick woman are you?"
"I'm not sick, okay? I didn't think you'd want him! I thought that since I had Edward and Shane to help me, I would be fine without you, but I'm not!" I fell to the floor, crying. "I'm not okay. I love you, Emmett…I loved you five and a half years ago, and I still love you, now."
"I love you, too, but what are we going to do? I can always move up here. Didn't you say you had to finish school?"
My tears were still coming, but they were silent. "Yeah, I have another year. And you don't have to move up here if you don't want to…"
"I want my child to have a father and a mother, okay? I can watch Heath while you go to school, and then, we can spend the rest of the day as a family after you unwind." He tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "How does that sound?"
I smiled. "Amazing. Are you sure you want to do this?"
He grinned as well and used the phrase I had used so many times. "I've never been more sure about anything in my life. I want this."
"Alright. Em, I'm really sorry I never told you. I'm sure you'll be a great dad."
"I'm sure you're already a fantastic mom, Bells."
We sat there, staring at each other with smiles on our faces, for the longest time.
"Well, do you know what this means?" he finally asked.
"No, what?"
"We get to get a house together!" He exclaimed.
"Oh, geez…" I laughed and rolled my eyes. "I guess we can, but let's just rent one. I kind of want to move back to Phoenix, if that's okay."
"Of course. I wouldn't mind at all."
I placed my small hands in his big ones and sighed contently. I looked deep into his eyes. "I'm never going to forgive myself for not calling you back…"
"And I'm never going to forgive myself for choosing football over you…"
I gasped. "Don't say that. You've always wanted to play…"
"But ever since I met you, I've wanted you a whole lot more. I just didn't realize it until now."