All characters except for Annabelle Causley and a few others belong to Stephenie Meyer…and, of course, the writer is not receiving any profit for this story whatsoever.
This is an AU out of Stephenie Meyers' Twilight series. This story starts after Eclipse, two weeks before Edward and Bella's wedding.
Chapter Fifteen
"Hey…where're you going," Annabelle looked over her shoulder at Emmett, sitting on the couch, a videogame controller dangling from his hand. She frowned as she realized he was asking out of genuine curiosity and not suspicion.
"I'm going for a walk," Annabelle shrugged, a smile on her face, keeping her eyes locked onto his. His question was an attempted overture to being friendly and Annabelle was willing to take what he offered.
"Oh…you're always going out for walks. Why don't you stay in and play with me for a while," Emmett smiled at her, offering the other control, assuming she would agree.
Walking towards him, she sat on the edge of the couch, taking the control from him, "I've never played before."
As Emmett explained the buttons on the control, Annabelle couldn't help but feel a bit of joy at this turn of events. So far, that was three, not counting Edward. She had been here for a week and a half and it looked like there was a definite possibility she may actually become friends with the Cullens…except for Rosalie, of course.
After several lost games, Annabelle began getting the hang of it, despite Emmett's attempts to distract her with his hilarious antics. Laughing hard, she watched Emmett throw down the control as she beat him by mere seconds.
"So not fair," Emmett growled as he turned to look at Annabelle, her eyes glittering with merriment. Emmett couldn't help but smile at her as she put the control down on the ground. She leaned back into the couch, feeling comfortable and relaxed around him, "You've never played before and it took you all of what, an hour, to beat me? That really sucks."
"I'm a quick study," Annabelle chuckled as Emmett shook his head in mock disbelief, "Besides, you were so busy trying to distract me that in the end, you weren't paying enough attention."
"Well, beating me by five seconds doesn't really count."
"Oh, really? Then how about we play one more game, you keep your mouth shut and we see how big of a landslide I can beat you by," Emmett laughed as he picked up his control, setting up a new game.
"Awful tough talk from someone I've embarrassed about fifteen times," Emmett grinned at her as he picked the toughest racetrack, knowing full well he would have an advantage over Annabelle.
"I wouldn't call it embarrassed…quite frankly, I don't think you should brag about those wins when I was just learning the game. I think that's embarrassing…lets me know you hardly ever win when you're playing against someone who knows what they're doing," Annabelle moved around the white couch, tucking her legs under her, preparing for a long and overdrawn competition against Emmett.
"Ha, ha," Emmett stuck his tongue out at her as he finished programming the game, "Alright, this is a straightforward, no tricks racetrack. Neither one of us has an advantage."
Annabelle laughed as the videogame countdown started, "Liar. You picked the one that would give you an advantage."
Emmett's head whipped around, frowning at her, "How would you know? We've only used one of the racetracks."
"Emmett, there's no need for me to explain how I know you're lying. Just know that I know," Annabelle laughed as they began running their cars down the racetrack, smoothly turning corners and keeping neck to neck with Emmett's car.
"Well that's cryptic," Emmett quickly glanced at her, smiling at the laughter on her face, "Still hanging on to the mystery, uh?"
"Keeps you from kicking me out of the house, doesn't it?"
"Well, that and the fact that you're Edward's friend," Emmett shrugged then turned to look at her, his eyes big with shock at his thoughtless comment. Annabelle gave him a big smile, grateful for his candid honesty.
"I thought being Edward's friend was what got me in through the door," Annabelle laughed as Emmett sighed with obvious relief she hadn't overreacted concerning his comment.
"Yes, yes it did. Stop trying to make me think," Emmett growled as Annabelle sped by him around the third lap, "It won't help you."
"Really," Annabelle laughed as she gained more space, "Is that why you're eating my dust?"
"Ha, ha, smack talk," Emmett gave her a smirk, pushing his car to go faster, "You suck at it."
"Not as bad as you suck at this game," Annabelle crowed in delight as she past Emmett, a whole lap ahead of him. Keeping her speed, she quickly gained another lap, laughing at Emmett as he growled in mock anger.
"Oh, wow," Annabelle dropped the control as she completed the sixth and final lap, having won by three laps, "That would've been embarrassing if you had been shooting your mouth off…"
Emmett stuck his tongue out, turning the television off with the remote as he settle back into the couch. Annabelle crossed her arms, feeling relaxed despite the growing silence.
"Do you miss Italy," Annabelle looked over at Emmett and smiled, feeling oddly grateful for an opportunity to talk to someone.
"I would if I had gotten the chance to see Italy," Annabelle shrugged as bits and pieces of her past hundred years went through her mind, "As it was, I only saw the plaza out of the window of my room."
"You weren't allowed out," Emmett stared at her with something akin to horror. Annabelle smiled at him, wondering if it was smart to share anything about her past.
"No…Aro had his reasons for keeping me in my room. He never really explained them to me but it was easy enough to know it had to do with jealousy," Annabelle tucked her hands between her knees, fingering the fringe of the knee length denim shorts she was wearing, not sure if she should let this conversation continue.
"So Aro didn't want to share you with anybody else, huh," Emmett looked her up and down, giving her an appreciative smile at what he saw, "Can't say I blame him."
Annabelle laughed as she pulled her knees up, resting her chin on them, "I think it had to do with something other than that. There was always…something…possessive about the way he treated me. He never really explained it…and I was never brave enough to ask him. I just assumed things were the way they were supposed to be…until Alice, Bella and Edward came to Voltura, that is."
"Well, I'm glad you decided there was more to life than just what Aro was offering," Emmett looked out the windows on the west side of the house, "You'll finally get to see there's more than just blood and power," he turned to look at her, his dimples deepening as he smiled at her, "There's family, friends, loyalty, love…I hope you find that while you're here."
"Well, so far, I've found friends in Alice and Jasper and…you," Annabelle ended the phrase in a high note, making it sound like a question rather than a statement.
"Of course you have…not to mention, you have Edward and Bella," Emmett chuckled as Annabelle looked at him in surprise, "She likes you…normally she likes everyone…she just tends to feel a little more insecure than usual with you around. Give her time."
"Yeah, she's a sweet girl," Annabelle pushed herself out of the couch, giving Emmett a dazzling smile, "I'm sure after the wedding, she'll feel more comfortable around me. At least she'll know, for sure, that Edward's all hers."
"She already knows that," Emmett stood up as well, walking out of the house with her.
"I'm going to go for a run," Annabelle looked up at him as he opened the door for her, "Why are you following me?"
"I'm going to the garage," Emmett grinned as he closed the door behind them, "Rosalie is working on Edward's car and I'm going to see if I can help…plus, I don't like spending too much time away from her."
"I see…she'll especially love the fact you spend that time away from her with me," the sarcasm fairly dripped off of every word as Annabelle walked down the front porch steps.
"Cut her some slack, Annabelle," Emmett briefly placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it in an effort to reassure her, "She'll come around. It's always been harder for her to accept new members of the family."
"So I'm a new member of the family, uh," Annabelle grinned at him, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her shorts, "I guess Rosalie's behavior towards me is a good sign then."
Emmett laughed as he waved at her, turning towards the garage. Annabelle stood still for a while, staring at Emmett's retreating back, feeling oddly buoyant after her time spent with him.
Turning, she headed towards the back of the house, picking up speed as she made a straight line to the mountains. She wanted to feel the wind against her face, the ground moving swiftly from under her, the speed clearing her head and keeping dark heavy thoughts at bay. Even though it had been good for her to talk to Emmett, she hated discussing her past hundred years…especially Aro.
She knew it was time to tell the Cullens why she had come to Forks, in all reality, it was absolutely necessary to tell them yet she felt hesitant to do so what with the wedding being two days away.
"After the wedding," her words were whipped out of her mouth by the wind as she kept up a steady pace, not sure who she was making this promise to, "I'll tell them all after the wedding."
